Lets use the example of punitive thinking to illustrate the Twelve Nidanas of dependent origination.

1. Ignorance (avijja): The person lacks understanding of the true nature of reality, including the arising and passing away of all phenomena.

2. Mental formations (sankhara): Due to ignorance, the person forms habitual patterns of thinking and reacting with punitive thoughts towards themselves and others.

3. Consciousness (viññana): The persons consciousness is conditioned by these mental formations, making them prone to experiencing punitive thoughts.

4. Name and form (nama-rupa): The persons body and mind manifest in a way that is susceptible to punitive thinking.

5. The six sense bases (salayatana): The persons sense organs interact with the external world, and they receive sensory input that can trigger punitive thoughts.

6. Contact (phassa): The person encounters situations that trigger their punitive thoughts, such as making a mistake or witnessing someone elses wrongdoing.

7. Feeling (vedana): The person experiences an unpleasant feeling as a result of the contact, leading to punitive thoughts towards themselves or others.

8. Craving (tanha): The person develops a desire to punish themselves or others, in order to mitigate their feelings of distress.

9. Clinging (upadana): The persons attachment to their punitive thoughts intensifies, perpetuating the cycle of craving and clinging.

10. Becoming (bhava): This clinging to punitive thoughts reinforces the persons habitual patterns and karmic tendencies, leading to the development of punitive traits.

11. Birth (jati): The persons punitive traits manifest in actual punitive behavior towards themselves or others.

12. Old age and death (jara-marana): The persons punitive mindset leads to suffering and negative consequences in their present life and future lives.

This example illustrates how the Twelve Nidanas apply to the arising and perpetuation of punitive thinking. By recognizing the interdependence of these links and cultivating mindfulness, we can work towards breaking the cycle of suffering and developing more beneficial patterns of thinking and behavior.

How to break cycle at each point:

To break the cycle of punitive thinking at each point in the Twelve Nidanas, we could take the following steps:

1. Ignorance (avijja): By cultivating awareness of the true nature of reality, including the impermanence and interdependence of all phenomena, we can begin to overcome our ignorance. We can do this through studying Buddhist teachings, meditating, and reflecting on our experience.

2. Mental formations (sankhara): With awareness and insight, we can begin to recognize our habitual patterns of thought and action that arise from ignorance. Through mindfulness, we can learn to observe these patterns without judgment or attachment, and begin to develop new, more positive habits of thought and action.

3. Consciousness (viññana): By developing positive mental states and responding skillfully to situations, we can condition our consciousness in a more positive direction. For example, we could develop loving-kindness meditation practices to cultivate a more positive mindset towards ourselves and others.

4. Name and form (nama-rupa): By developing mindfulness of the body and mind, we can begin to observe how our thoughts contribute to our physical and mental states. We can then make choices that lead to more positive outcomes.

5. The six sense bases (salayatana): By engaging in practices of restraint and mindfulness, we can reduce the impact of external stimuli on our mental states. For example, we could practice limiting exposure to media that is triggering or negative.

6. Contact (phassa): By developing mindfulness of our experiences, we can observe how certain situations and stimuli trigger our negative thought patterns. We can then make choices, such as avoiding or reframing those situations or stimuli to reduce the potential for triggering our punitive thoughts.

7. Feeling (vedana): By developing acceptance and non-judgment towards our unpleasant feelings, we can reduce the impact of those feelings on our thoughts and behaviors. Mindfulness meditation can help us observe and accept our feelings without becoming attached or reactive.

8. Craving (tanha): By developing awareness of our desires and attachments, we can begin to loosen our grip on them. We can practice letting go of our punitive thoughts and desires to punish ourselves or others.

9. Clinging (upadana): By continuing to practice awareness and mindfulness, we can reduce our attachment to our negative patterns and cultivate positive ones. We can also work on developing more positive habits and associations through conditioning our minds with positive mental states.

10. Becoming (bhava): By breaking the cycle of craving and clinging, we can avoid reinforcing negative patterns and tendencies. We can cultivate positive habits and tendencies that lead to a more positive sense of self.

11. Birth (jati): By cultivating positive tendencies and developing skillful habits of thought and action, we can avoid the birth of negative patterns and tendencies. We can continue to cultivate positive tendencies throughout our lives so that they become our norm.

12. Old age and death (jara-marana): By breaking the cycle of punitive thinking, we can reduce our tendency to suffer and experience negative consequences in our present and future lives.