Reply To: Validity of current interpretation of Satipatthana Sutta

#51061
Lal
Keymaster

TripleGemStudent wrote: “I thought what’s said was simple, practical and another way to say how anapana sati / satipatthana can be practiced / carried out. I would also like to add  “not just realizing something negative”, but also positive and neutral. Or sukha (sōmanassa), dukkha ( dōmanassa), adukhamasukha (upekkha) using the teachings on the “all” (sabba) to reflect / contemplate on the tilakkhana nature of what has arisen and know it’s cessation.”

  • This is a critical point to think about deeply.

1. A Paticca Samuppada process starts with a sensory input (arammana.) 

  • An arammana leads to a sukha , dukkha , or adukhamasukha vedana first. This is the “bahidda vinnana” stage. Here, sukha and dukkha vedana arise ONLY due to the physical body. All other types (seeing, hearing, taste, etc.) only lead to adukhamasukha vedana. However, ALL kinds of arammana trigger “distorted sanna.”
  • This “distorted sanna” gives a false perception” that sugar is sweet or a particular woman is attractive.
  • That happens in the mind of anyone born a human. That set of “distorted sanna” is associated with any human body, and thus arises also in an Arahant.

2. In the next moment (within a split second), that “distorted sanna” triggers one’s samyojana/anusaya

  • That leads to the arising of “mind-made vedana” which are sōmanassa, dōmanassa, or upekkha (neutral) and the initial attachment occurs at the ajjhatta vinnana” stage.
  • Then, the mind keeps attaching to that arammana to varying degrees, depending on the situation. 
  • If the mind gets firmly attached, it gets to the “tanha paccaya upadana” stage, and that is when “new kamma” or “nava kamma” accumulation starts. 
  • See “Ārammaṇa (Sensory Input) Initiates Critical Processes.” See the figure in #7.
  • P.S. Since an Arahant has no samyojana/anusaya left, this step (and subsequent steps) DO NOT occur in an Arahant‘s mind. 

3. I have been trying to explain this concept because it is critically needed to cultivate Satipatthana Bhavana correctly

  • In the “Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (DN 22)” the following verse appears repeatedly: “Iti ajjhattaṁ vā kāye kāyānupassī viharati, bahiddhā vā kāye kāyānupassī viharati” in the Kāyānupassana section.
  • Similarly, “Iti ajjhattaṁ vā vedanāsu vedanānupassī viharati, bahiddhā vā vedanāsu vedanānupassī viharati” appears in the Vedanānupassanā section (@11.11), “Iti ajjhattaṁ vā citte cittānupassī viharati, bahiddhā vā citte cittānupassī viharati” appears in the Cittānupassanā section (@12.18), and “Iti ajjhattaṁ vā dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati, bahiddhā vā dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati” appears in the Dhammānupassanā section.

4. Therefore, if anyone wants to understand the correct version of Satipaṭṭhāna, one needs to understand the concept of “distorted sanna,bahidda vinnana, ajjhatta vinnana, etc.

5. Feel free to ask questions from any of those old posts. Please provide the link to the post and the relevant bullet number. 

  • Note: My old posts in the “Maha Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta” section do not discuss these aspects. It is a “first-level” to be grasped.