Yes! I am really glad to see that you have grasped it correctly.
“So at the automatic mano sankhara stage, only tanha and attachment is there. There is no upadana at all in the mano sankhara stage?”
- That is rght. One may get attracted to something based on one’s current gati. Those mano sankhara arise automatically, as we discussed in the post, “Amazingly Fast Time Evolution of a Thought (Citta)“.
- Upadana or “pulling it closer” happens with vaci sankhara, when one consciously start thinking about how nice it would be to “get hold of that thing”, whatever it is.
- Even if one does not act to get possession of it, one may enjoy just “day dreaming” about it. This is a dangerous process and not many people understand how bad (addictive) that can be.
- In the “upadana paccaya bhava” step, one does not necessarily need to take action to make “bhava” or “kamma beeja”. Conscious thinking (vaci sankhara) is enough, if done long enough.
So, when you say, “If this is the case, controlling sankappa/assada is not a trivial matter. It is the key to gradually start reducing tanha and eventually removing it.”, that is exactly right.
As for #3: The fish seeing the bait and immediately getting attracted to it is tanha. Then actually thinking how nice would it be to taste is upadana.
Of course, a fish does not have much of a neocortex like we do to “think about it”. It just goes with the first impulse; basically tanha is followed automatically by upadana, and then also acting on it.
Of course, even if we all have the neocortex, many of us do not make use it. It needs to be used in order to really become effective. This is why it takes time to cultivate Anapana/Satipatthana. It gets easier with time to “slow down and think about the consequences”, and not to act on impulse.
Yes. It depends on the person. Abhidhamma is not necessary, but if one likes it, then one can see much deeper.
– Abhidhamma is more precise, and in fact when are there unresolved issues with sutta interpretations, one has to fall back on Abhidhamma.