Reply To: Ratana Sutta

#53296
Lal
Keymaster

You wrote: “And, I didn’t understand exactly what ‘a glimpse of Nibbana means, which is thanks to your explanation that that experience happens without distorted saññā at the moment of attaining the Sotapanna stage.”

  • I am glad that you understood.
  • All our immoral deeds (and thus future suffering) are based on the distorted saññā, i.e., our false perception that external things (sights, sounds, tastes, ..) have mind-pleasing aspects embedded in them.
  • Paṭicca Samuppāda programs our mental and physical bodies AND those external things to provide that distorted saññā. This is THE critical aspect to understand. I explained that in the first few posts in the “Worldview of the Buddha” section. Everything in the world arises via Paṭicca Samuppāda; it is a universal principle like Newton’s laws of motion. However, only a Buddha can discover Paṭicca Samuppāda because it is a mental phenomenon, not a material one.
  • All our thinking is clouded by that distorted saññā. Thus, we could say it is a root cause of avijjā. That is why it is the “Root of All Things”: “Mūlapariyāya Sutta – The Root of All Things” and “Saññā Nidānā hi Papañca Saṅkhā – Immoral Thoughts Based on ‘Distorted Saññā’.”
  • If someone can get that basic idea, the upcoming posts will help clarify things further. Otherwise, forthcoming posts may not make sense. Also, read the previous comments in this thread.
1 user thanked author for this post.