I thought about this issue some more.
– The situation becomes even clearer if we put it in the following way.
1. At the first level, nāmagotta are the four “nāma” aggregates: vedanakkhandha, saññākkhandha, saṅkhārakkhandha, and viññāṇakkhandha.
2. One part of nāmagotta is associated with vipāka viññāṇa. They don’t have kammic energies. They are “memory records” without any associated energy.
– The other part of nāmagotta is associated with kamma viññāṇa. Those are dhammā that can bring vipāka. They also belong to “memory records” but have associated kammic energies and can bring vipāka on their own.
3. Thus, regardless of whether they have associated kammic energies or not, all of viññāṇakkhandha contribute to nāmagotta.
4. If anyone has questions/comments, please post. The more we discuss, the clearer it becomes.
– Some may not have thought about such details.
– Of course, one can get to the Sotapanna stage without getting into such details. The critical part is to realize this world’s unfruitful/dangerous nature (in the rebirth process.)