[lal54]

TGS wrote: 

“#2. 

In post #40386  

It mentions that “namagotta are NOT rupakkhandha”.  

• I just read that comment. I did not see that statement there.

I think the following explanation may answer the above questions. I am putting my thoughts together for a new post, so this may be a good time to see whether I need to add more to the following:

How Memories Are Recorded in Viññāṇa Dhātu 

7. We can get a good idea of how memories are recorded in viññāṇa dhātu by understanding what it means to “see a rupa.” When you see a tree, only a “snapshot” of that tree is processed by the brain and sent to the hadaya vatthu (via cakkhu pasada rupa.) The registration of that image in mind is vedanā, and recognition of that image as a tree is saññā. (But even if we don’t realize it, multiple fast images are needed to get a “full picture” of the tree with saccadic eye movements; i.e., several such “snapshots” combine to give the image of the tree. )Thus, the tree is recognized with vedanākkhandha and saññākkhandha.  If no further “mind actions” take place, that vedanākkhandha and saññākkhandha are all that is recorded in viññāṇa dhātu. But that also includes saṅkhārakkhandha since vedanā/saññā are mano saṅkhāra!

• The point is that only the three aggregates of vedanā, saññā, and saṅkhāra recorded in viññāṇa dhātu define that rupa (the image of the tree.) Note that viññāṇakkhandha, in this case, comprises only vedanākkhandha, saññākkhandha, and saṅkhārakkhandha (with only mano saṅkhāra.) Hopefully, you can confirm that the rupakkhandha is “all mental” and is defined by only the four mental aggregates (but only the first three are enough.) Thus, in this case, namagotta is enough to define rupakkhandha.
• Again, to emphasize: what is preserved is vedanākkhandha, saññākkhandha, and saṅkhārakkhandha. But it contains all the necessary information to re-create a “mental image” of the rupa that was seen, i.e., the rupakkhandha.

8. Now, suppose instead of a tree, you see an attractive person, and lust arises in you. In this case, cetanā becomes sañcetanā (including kāma rāga) and is now more than a “seeing event.” Now a “kamma viññāṇa” arises, and that involves abhisankhara. Therefore, drastic changes take place in both saṅkhārakkhandha and viññāṇakkhandha. Thus, the namagotta now has an associated kammic energy! 

• Thus, now a memory of seeing that person is in viññāṇa dhātu, but, in addition, there is also an associated kamma bija, i.e., it is now a dhammā!

Viññāṇa Dhātu includes Records With and Without Kammic Energy

9. Therefore, memory records may or may not have associated kammic energy. Each sensory experience and our response to them are included in nāmagotta (all vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, and viññāna associated with every experience AND response). Some had embedded kammic energy when abhisaṅkhāra was involved, i.e., when kamma viññāna was involved. Those latter kinds are nāmagotta with energy, i.e., dhammā. 

If there are questions, please quote from the above and ask questions so that I can see what more needs to be added.