Reply To: Nirutti of “Micchā”

#40409
Lal
Keymaster

Good question.

Yes. It could be the following.

Icchā” is “liking” or “craving.”
– We like things based on our view/perception of a “me” and “mine.”
– There is a key verse: “Etam mama, eso’ham asmi, eso attāti,” which means, “That is mIne, it is me, or my attā (my essence).”
– Thus “ma” root represents “me” and “mine.”
– It is possible that “micchā” comes from the combination of those two words: mama/me + icchā.

Attachment to worldly things reduces drastically with the dispelling of sakkāya diṭṭhi at the Sotapanna stage by “seeing” that there is no “permanent soul” or essence of “me.” Our existence arises based only on causes/effects, i.e., Paticca Samuppada. There is no “me” traversing the Samsara or the rebirth process. That is the deeper level of micchā diṭṭhi.
– The wrong perception (“micchā saññā” or “saññā vipallāsa“) goes away completely only at the Arahant stage.