Regarding rupakkhanda, I’ve been reading through the comments and the links. I find that I’m not completely clear on the following.
I know that Rūpakkhanda is preserved in nāmalōka as namagotta. It is an energy-less record. Simply a mental impression of whatever rupa encountered (past, present, and future).
There are two types of things in the mental plane or nāmalōka: dhammā with kammic energy and namagotta without energy.
Now, to quote from the post from #6:
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That makes sense since the six internal and five external āyatana takes into account the rupakkhandha.
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The sixth external āyatana (dhammā) incorporates the four mental aggregates. Nāmagotta contains all records of the four mental aggregates. Even though nāmagotta are not dhammā, they come to mind as dhammā when we recall them.
Nāmalōka actually contains records of all the aggregates. However, they can come to the mind only as dhammā, the sixth external ayatana. Here is where there’s gap for me: Where does rupupadanakkhanda fit in? That has embedded energy already. But a namagotta (that includes rupakkhanda) has no energy. How is that not part of dhammā then (which contains energy)? I’m sure I’m missing some finer details, so I’d appreciate any explanation that allows me to comprehend it better.