Dosakkhayo asked: “If “vinnana paccaya namarupa” and “bhava paccaya jati” are separate and independent stages, how are they different?”
Two terms that are the hardest to understand in Paticca Samuppada are “namarupa formation” and the concept of “bhava.”
1. “Bhava” is the kammic energy that can sustain an existence. “Bhava” is two types: (i) During a lifetime, one can get into a”temporary existence” (temporary bhava) where more kammic energy corresponding to that type of existence is accumulated. (ii) That accumulated “bhava energy” can lead to a new existence at the cuti-patisandhi moment via “bhava paccaya jati.”
2. The primary mechanism of “bhava energy” formation is “namarupa formation.” This is where “nama” and “rupa” are combined by the mind, and kammic energy is produced in javana cittas. The critical steps are “avijja paccaya sankhara” through “vinnana paccaya namarupa.”
- However, one does not automatically start “avijja paccaya sankhara.” It begins with a sensory input (arammana) coming to the mind and the mind getting attached to it, for example, “cakkhunca paticca rupeca uppjjati cakkhu vinnanam.” The attachment starts with the mind generating “samphassa-ja-vedana” via “distorted sanna.”
- That always happens within a lifetime via Idappaccayata PS. See “Paṭicca Samuppāda During a Lifetime.”
- However, once attached to an arammana and getting to the “tanha paccaya upadana” step, the mind starts accumulating new kamma by starting at the “avijja paccaya sankhara” step. See “Taṇhā Paccayā Upādāna – Critical Step in Paṭicca Samuppāda” for details. I mentioned this post in another recent thread, but you don’t seem to have read it. See my comment on July 10, 2024 at 8:27 am in “Compilation of my thoughts.”
3. Accumulated kammic energy can lead to a new existence at the cuti-patisandhi moment via “bhava paccaya jati” as mentioned in #1 above. Sometimes the “Akusala-Mūla Uppatti Paṭicca Samuppāda” process is used to explain it.
- However, grasping a new existence at the cuti-patisandhi moment also happens in an Idappaccayata PS process. That also begins with a sensory input (arammana) coming to the mind and the mind getting attached to it, for example, “cakkhunca paticca rupeca uppjjati cakkhu vinnanam.”
- However, in this case, once reaching the “tanha paccaya upadana” step, the mind moves to the “bhava paccaya jati” step and grasps that new existence. In this case, there is no time to accumulate “more new kamma,” as in #2 above. Here, grasping a new existence also involves generating “samphassa-ja-vedana” via “distorted sanna.”
- Whether it is new kamma generation or grasping a new existence, a mind MUST attach to an arammana, and that is ALWAYS triggered by “distorted sanna.”
Paticca Samuppada is complex. It is not linear most of the time. However, it is stated linearly to explain the main concepts.
