[dosakkhayo]

What is the meaning of paññatti? Through reading Tipitaka, I couldn’t get clear understanding of it until now. I believe it is not important, but I would like to know the reason why it isn’t.

[Lal]

Paññatti means “to establish conventions” to characterize things in this world so that people can communicate among themselves.

• Each language has assigned “names” for things, time, etc. 
• One can get a basic idea of how to assign time by reading the “Niruttipatha Sutta (SN 22.62).”
• Another set of examples is in the “Mahānidāna Sutta (DN 15).” Here, “paññāyethā” means “without such assignments, one cannot provide meaning to a word like “adhivacana samphasso” or “paṭigha samphasso.”

1 user thanked author for this post.

dosakkhayo

[TripleGemStudent]

Currently I have the understanding of nama-rupa to have two and open to possibly more interpretations. Two of these interpretations of nama-rupa that I have come across are “mind” (nama), “energy / matter” (rupa) and the other, “name” (nama) and “form” (rupa).

 

It’s mentioned:

 

“Paññatti means “to establish conventions” to characterize things in this world so that people can communicate among themselves.

• Each language has assigned “names” for things, time, etc. “

This is something very similar to how I understand nama-rupa as “name” and “form”. 

 

Would “Paññatti” have a similar meaning / idea / concept as “name” and “form” for the interpretation of nama-rupa?

 

[Lal]

1. No. Paññatti refers to the conventional “naming of things” so that people understand what a certain word means.

• Namarupa is a deep concept in Buddha Dhamma. It does not appear anywhere else.

2. A basic idea can be gleaned by looking at Paticca Samuppada.

• When X becomes interested in an arammana (say about a beautiful woman, Y) he starts generating sankharas: “avijja paccaya sankhara,” which are initially vaci sankhara (talking to himself). That starts a new expectation (kamma vinnana) to start a friendship with her: “sankhara paccaya vinnana.” 
• Based on that expectation, sankhara generation intensifies, and X imagines various scenarios. The figure of Y comes to his mind often, and that is the beginning of “namarupa formation.” These thoughts involve strong javana citta that generates “namarupa” in his mind: “vinnana paccaya namarupa.” There is kammic energy generated in this process.
• That “namarupa formation” leads to “namarupa paccaya salayatana.” Now, X utilizes all his sensory faculties to pursue Y. This process goes back and forth intensifying all those factors.

3. Reading the post “Kamma Viññāṇa – Link Between Mind and Matter” could be helpful.

• “namarupa” is where “nama” (thoughts about Y) generates kammic energy (rupa) regarding his expectations of Y. That is one way to explain “namarupa” for the above scenario.
• There are different ways to look at it. Also see “Viññāna Paccayā Nāmarūpa.”

3 users thanked author for this post.

Yash RS, dosakkhayo, TripleGemStudent

[Author]

Posts