[Aniduan]

I was able to reduce tanha for food and sex by a significant degree. I was able to completely quit alcohol. With progress in these areas the tapa reduced.

I am having difficulty with reducing ego (asmi mana). When someone doesn’t treat me well, even if unintentionally I get very upset. This happens mostly at work place. I feel like I deserve some respect and not to be ignored. I practice satipattana whole day but at moments like these I am completely overwhelmed and start my plans to take revenge on people and hate them. I don’t like this tapa and wish I don’ feel it but I can’t help and get carried away.

I know asmi mana goes away completely only at the Arahanth stage. But what are some ways to reduce this gradually.

[Lal]

You have made great progress. Sadhu! Sadhu!! Sadhu!!!

You are right. Asmi mana goes away only at the Arahant stage.
– However, asmi mana will also decrease gradually as you make progress. It is not a sudden drop.

For example, a Sotapanna Anugami starts losing all ten samyojana gradually as he/she makes progress.
– Then the first three samyojana (sakkaya ditthi, vicikicca, silabbata paramasa) will cease in one thought-moment. That is when one attains the Sotapanna stage.
– However, by that time the other 7 samyojana would have decreased in varying degrees too.
– Then kama raga and patigha will cease to exist at the Anagami phala moment. By that time, the other five samyojana would have decreased in varying degrees.

But it is asmi mana that is usually eliminated last together with avijja. There are some who have eliminated rupa raga and arupa raga but have the other three (mana, uddacca, avijja) remaining to some degree. Those there are the last to go away at the Arahant stage.

So, I would not worry too much about asmi mana. Hopefully, you will see it reduce too gradually.

By the way, one loses asmi mana when one fully realizes the anatta nature.
– The first step is to “see” the anicca nature.
– The current series of posts on the Five Aggregates discuss these in a systematic way:
“The Five Aggregates (Pañcakkhandha)“

[Aniduan]

Thank you. I guess I need to be patient and just keep learning dhamma and make progress. I will read the The Five Aggregates again from the start step by step.

With Metta

[Aniduan]

Thank you Lal. I guess I need to be patient and just keep learning dhamma and make progress. I will read the The Five Aggregates again from the start step by step.

With Metta

[Christian]

from what I found asmi mana is strongly connected to sanna – it does not exists without perception and it’s created on the basis of perception and whole PS cycle related to vinnana also. I realized that my sanna starts to disappear and by sanna I mean here polluted perception with avijja so I guess it would be in relation to viannana. Generally for example once seeing something would trigger me I was surprised there was no trigger in my mind – normally would be there, my mind so to speak was ready to “grasp” that bhava of reaction but there was nothing to grasp which kind of shocked my mind. Path is very organic ,gradual and step by step unless you are high born beyond Neyya stage for most people it will be in parts. :)

[Lal]

Yes. Christian.

There are three types of distortions (vipallasa) that arise due to taking the world to be of “nicca, sukha, atta” nature, instead of anicca, dukkha, anatta (real nature).
– There are three levels of comprehension. Roughly speaking, one removes the wrong views (ditthi vipallasa) about them at the Sotapanna stage. Then sanna vipallasa removed at the Anagami stage and citta vipallasa removed at the Arahant stage.

A Sotapanna or a Sakadagami has NOT removed the sanna for sensory pleasures (that is why they are reborn in kama loka). In other words, he/she may UNDERSTAND that those are not worth pursuing. But they just cannot help enjoying sensory pleasures. That means they have not removed the “SANNA vipallasa”. That means “confusion on PERCEPTIONS about wrong/unfruitful activities”.

I will get to discuss vipallasa in upcoming posts in the pancakkhandha section.

[Lal]

I just came across a post on vipallasa. I had forgotten about it:
“Vipallāsa (Diṭṭhi, Saññā, Citta) Affect Sankhāra“

P.S. This post requires revision.

• This reply was modified 2 weeks ago by Lal.

[pathfinder]

I have the same problem as Aniduan. I find that a lot of suffering i face is due to ego. However it’s not like contemplating on sense pleasures – here i can say that ice cream is anicca and hence not worth pursuing. But for pride and ego, it is not something that i willingly grasp in the first place, I would be more than happy to let it go! I know very well that my sense of self is of anicca, dukkha and anatta nature, but i automatically still hold on to it.

Eg if my boss scolds me, it would be wonderful if I have no ego. Or if someone spreads falsehoods about me. 

In this case, how will yall contemplate on things that affect your ego? Is there a form of meditation that we can do to actively target this sense of self/ego?

• This reply was modified 2 weeks ago by pathfinder.

[Lal]

” Asmi mana goes away only at the Arahant stage.
– However, asmi mana will also decrease gradually as you make progress. It is not a sudden drop.”

I wrote that in my first comment above.

Getting there is a step-by-step process.

1. Getting rid of mundane wrong views (ten types of miccha ditthi) is first. Such wrong views include not believing in kamma/kamma vipaka and rebirth. Because one cannot understand Buddha Dhamma without that basis.

2. Next is to get rid of deeper wrong views, especially sakkaya ditthi. Having sakkaya ditthi means believing that sensory pleasures can be rewarding. By doing that, one gets to the Sotapanna stage.

3. Next is to eliminate kama raga at the Anagami stage. When one understands how “distorted sanna” leads to attachment to sensory pleasures, kama raga automatically disappears.

4. Asmi mana (or the sense of “me” and “I”) goes away only at the Arahant stage.

However, all those gradually decrease as one learns Dhamma and tries to live it, i.e., live a moral life.

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Waisaka

[pathfinder]

Hi Lal, I have understood the above, but I was wondering if there are direct methods to reduce asmi mana.

For example to reduce lobha, we can try to give more (dana). To reduce dosa, we can do more metta bhavana. We can also contemplate the anicca, dukkha anatta nature to reduce attachments to wordly things.

In that sense, are there any contemplation practices to reduce asmi mana head on?

[Lal]

I see. But the only way to remove asmi mana is to cultivate the anicca, dukkha, and anatta nature.

• In fact, once one gets rid of the mundane wrong views (ten types of miccha ditthi), all other steps I mentioned involve that.
• Several suttas state that it is the contemplation of anicca, dukkha, and anatta nature that leads to all the magga phala.

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pathfinder

[Lal]

The following sutta explains that all magga phala are attained by contemplating the “anicca, dukkha, roga, gaṇḍa, salla, aghato, ābādhato, parato palokato suññato anatta” nature of pañcupādānakkhandhā (written simply as rupa, vedana, sanna, sankhara, vinnana in almost all suttas.)

• “Sīlavanta Sutta (SN 22.122)“
• Of course, the English translation in the link has many errors, especially regarding anicca and anatta!

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pathfinder

[pathfinder]

Thank you! I guess a more “targeted” approach then would be to contemplate the anicca, dukkha, anatta moments whenever we venerate the self. Eg dressing up, putting on makeup, staring at yourself in the mirror, doing things to impress others.

[Author]

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