“So it means that we have never really experienced the external world in its absolute form? “
- Yes. Even though that is how the world operates (to provide the “distorted sanna“), that operation is ultimately based on a deeper reality, rooted in Paticca Samuppada.
- That is why Buddha Dhamma is called “paramatta Dhamma,” where “parama atta” means “ultimate truth.”
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“So we have never really seen, smelt, tasted, touched and heard any external thing?”
- No. As I mentioned above, even Arahants, or the Buddha himself, perceived the world in this way, because the external world and our bodies are designed this way via Paticca Samuppada. They also taste honey to be sweet, or a particular woman to be attractive compared to others, for example. However, their minds have fully comprehended how that “distorted” perception (sanna) originates and thus do not attach to it.
- This is the issue to be grasped to understand Buddha’s teachings at the deepest level. I have been trying to explain this for the past three years in several different ways.
- Everyone knows that avijja (ignorance) means “not to comprehend the Four Noble Truths, or alternatively, Paticca Samuppada.” This is where one can truly understand them and start dispelling the remaining avijja and the tendency to attach to the “distorted” perception (sanna).
- This “distorted” perception (sanna) is so deeply embedded in our minds that even after “seeing it” at a basic level (at the Sotapanna stage), it takes an effort to overcome it. That is where one needs to cultivate the second stage of Satipatthana (“kama sanna,” which is the “distorted sanna” relevant to kama loka, is overcome at the Anagami stage). I have provided an overview in the current post: “Satipaṭṭhāna – What Does It Mean?“
