Dear Lal,
Bohoma pin for your explanation. I took the time to read your articles, and this is the way I now understand it:
- The world indeed arises out of past avijjā and taṇhā. Why? Because everything is built from suddhāṭṭhaka — four elements (pathavi, āpo, tejo, vāyo) formed by avijjā, and the other four (vaṇṇa, gandha, rasa, ojā) made meaningful through taṇhā.
- I now see more clearly what distorted saññā means. We confuse our vipāka vedanā with permanent reality.
- Example: cake tastes sweet. That “sweetness” is distorted saññā, not a fixed truth. In fact, it’s only my vipāka sukha vedanā manifesting.
- Without knowing this, I build taṇhā over that saññā — I think the taste is “mine,” controllable, available on demand.
- This is how avijjā and taṇhā keep extending saṃsāra, leading to repeated dukkha.
- I also came to see the difference between anicca and anitya more clearly:
- Anitya (impermanence) is just one small part, like the tail of the elephant — it points to the fact that things arise and pass away.
- Anicca is the whole elephant — because these things arise and pass away beyond our control, they cannot be held according to desire. That’s why clinging to them inevitably leads to dukkha, and shows anatta.
🙏 Bohoma pin again for guiding me to see this connection between vipāka vedanā, distorted saññā, taṇhā, and anicca.
If I am misunderstanding any part of this, please kindly correct me.