“Is this related to internal and external āyatana?”
- No. Both internal and external āyatana arise in the MIND.
1. The sensory faculties of an average human are “indriya.” They become “internal āyatana“ only if we use them with raga, dosa, or moha.
- When an “indriya“ becomes “internal āyatana,” it does not grasp an accurate representation of an external rūpa (sights, sounds, tastes, smells, touches, and memories). Thus, the mind experiences a “distorted version” of a given rupa. That “distorted version” of a given rupa is called an “external āyatana“ (for example, “my house,” “my friend,” etc.) Therefore, an external āyatana is a “distorted version” of a given external rūpa. That is why one attaches to it. For an Arahant, external rupās never become external āyatana; they are just external rupās.
- Note that an “external āyatana” arises in the mind. It is NOT the external rupa.
- There is no equivalent English word for āyatana.
2. The Buddha did not describe the mechanism of how external rupa arise due to the COLLECTIVE kammic energies generated by living beings. It is critical to realize that the physical objects in the external world do not arise due to one mind but due to ALL relevant minds. That is likely to be a very complex process, and we don’t need to understand it.
- To attain Nibbana, we must understand how an INDIVIDUAL MIND (specifically one’s own mind) attaches to worldly things.
- That is the process explained by Paticca Samuppada.
- Both internal āyatana and external āyatana arise in a given mind.