Reply To: Permanent effect of magga citta

#34084
Lal
Keymaster

I read the “Cūḷanikā Sutta (AN 3.80)” and made a correction to my March 25, 2021 comment above.
– A “cūḷanikā lokadhātu” or a “small world system” has 1000 planetary systems like our Solar system.

A “dvisahassī majjhimikā lokadhātu” has 1000 of such “cūḷanikā lokadhātu”.
– A “tisahassī mahāsahassī lokadhātu” has 2000 of such “dvisahassī majjhimikā lokadhātu“.

So, a Buddha has “access” to a “tisahassī mahāsahassī lokadhātu” or 2 million planetary systems like ours.
– But all others (with abhinna powers) are limited to our “cūḷanikā lokadhātu” or a MAXIMUM of 1000 planetary systems like ours.

Now regarding your question: “But do you know how to explain what seems to me to be a contradiction between the claim that a Buddha is limited to a dasasahassi lokadhātu and the fact that nama loka has no space dimension..”
– What is the contradiction?

Just because nama loka (vinnana plane) has “no space dimension” does not make anyone have access to ALL nama loka everywhere. The access of an average human is limited to just the kama loka in our Solar system.
– For example, we know that many Arahants at the time of the Buddha (and even later) had the ability to visit certain Brahma realms. But they certainly could not access anything beyond our “cūḷanikā lokadhātu”. At least, there is no such account in Tipitaka. The above sutta says that the Buddha could access much bigger “tisahassī mahāsahassī lokadhātu“. That is all we know.

P.S. However, the following is probably a good explanation.
1. The vinnana plane also has ENERGY.
– As I have explained, “material things” are made of suddhatthaka. A suddhatthaka is also energy ABOVE a certain level. As we know, Einstein confirmed that mass is related to energy via the equation, E = mc^2. See, “The Origin of Matter – Suddhāṭṭhaka
– Therefore, accessing the vinnana plane corresponding to different realms is NOT trivial. One needs abhinna powers to access them.
– A Buddha with the highest abhinna powers can access more.

2. For example, the vinnana plane for the kama loka “resides” at kama loka. the Vinnana plane for the rupa loka “resides” at the rupa loka, and the same for arupa loka.
– All three lokas in our planetary system are interlinked.
– That is why a human grasping a Brahma existence (bhava) at the end of the human bhava is reborn INSTANTANEOUSLY in that Brahma realm.

I will discuss this more in the current series of posts on “Paṭicca Samuppāda – Essential Concepts.”