October 25, 2024 at 6:16 am
#52549
Keymaster
It is good to remember the two rules mentioned in #1 of my previous comment quoted below:
- The mundane (or conventional) usage is with attā, to indicate “a person.”
- In most other cases, all four words, atta, anatta, attā, and anattā, could be associated with the anatta lakkhana in Tilakkhana.
The second rule applies in “‘Cakkhu attā’ti yo vadeyya taṃ na upapajjāti. .” It rhymes better to say “Cakkhu attā’ti” rather than “Cakkhu atta’ti” just like in “vedanā anattā” (mentioned in my previous comment.)
- “‘cakkhu is beneficial‘ does not hold..”
- In this case, “cakkhu” means “cakkhayatana,” not physical eyes or cakkhu indriya.
- “Cakkhayatana” is when one using cakkhu indriya as an “ayatana,” i.e., to enjoy sights. In the case of an Arahant, it is always used as cakkhu indriya and not cakkhayatana.
- The difference between cakkhu indriya and cakkhayatana is explained in “How Do Sense Faculties Become Internal Āyatana?“
P.S. It is possible (in most cases) to get an idea of “which of the two rules should apply” in a given situation by reading through the whole sutta (taking a quick scan).