Yes. When I first realized this a few years ago, I was awestruck.
This is the key message the Buddha sought to convey. In those days, one had to first take his word based on faith.
But now we have another confirmation via modern science. Colors, tastes, etc., are not real; they are mind-made perceptions, and that is why the Buddha called ‘saññā‘ a mirage.
Without realizing this, all living beings attach to those /mind-made pleasures and engage in akusala kamma.That leads to rebirths in the apayas, where most rebirths are. That is the root cuase of suffering!
How amazing it must be to be free from apayas forever! But this seems very very hard to digest. No wonder very few people are ariyas as compared to anariyas… Feels very very sad knowing that.
The following quote is from the post “Cuti and Marana – Related to Bhava and Jāti.”
I went through above post again and those linked suttas as well. It kind of says that, today’s majestic person can or rather inevitably become apayagami tomorrow. It seems even if one is good, one will be forced by the three poisons certainly somehow to take birth in lower realms/places of dangerous suffering. All this can be avoided by and only by following buddha’s teachings! It makes me very happy to know that, it is possible to literally reverse this cycle. But I wonder how all this dhamma is literally free of cost!? It seems like it is actually the hardest to repay debt, that is repaying to the one who guided one or caused one to glimpse nibbana. I read your post about difference between metta bhavana and ariya metta bhavana. Wishing for others to be happy on surface is relatively easy task, but wishing for others to be sotapanna, sakadagami, anagamai, arahant is literally scarily tough task. When I read that difference idk why it felt like it takes ultimate guts to even do ariya metta bhavana and why it is called ariya metta bhavana. Ok one question sir @Lal, you said,
Now, you may have to think through this in detail. It would be impossible to live in a colorless world, let alone being able to enjoy it. It would be as if we didn’t have eyes. This is why the Buddha called ‘saññā‘ a mirage.
So to live in such world it seems impossible to me. I mean very concept of ‘to live’ doesn’t seem to apply there. If I just suppose for the sake of asking question, so to live in such a world one really needs ultimate wisdom I think, isn’t it? Because if not then it is as good as non-existence or something like that, isn’t it?
And after that you said..
The world of 31 realms and the living beings in them, in ultimate reality, can be described by only rūpa, citta, and cetasika. When an Arahant separates from the ‘world of 31 realms,’ Nibbana is the result.
“Things” in the world of 31 realms are described by rupa, which do not possess colors, tastes, etc. The ‘living beings’ have rūpa, citta, cetasika.
So for the arahant it is just rupa, Citta and cetasikas and no individual concrete beings around…So nibbana is the result for only arahats after separating from 31 realms right? Is it the case that everyone(puthujana) at the moment of marana or if not marana, atleast at the moment of cuti i.e. end of uppatti bhava, can access this nibbana element but cannot realise that because there are no eyes to see, is that the case? Or putthujana is so unlucky (or so away from truth) that even in the end of uppati bhava doesn’t even have a chance to glimpse at this nibbana element from beyond 31 realms? In other words, even having eyes after marana or the end of uppati bhava would just show him only that which is within 31 realms and not the reality beyond them! Is that the case? :(..what am I missing here?