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Yes. That is exactly right. I am glad that you narrowed it down to the exact point.
- For example, science has proven that an apple does not have an intrinsic color of red. It also does not have a ‘sweet taste.’
- Both those perceptions are made up in the mind.
- Scientists say those perceptions arise in the brain. But how can a sweetness or a color perception arise in a brain made of inert atoms and molecules?
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I’m glad I got it!
So, does this mean that anicca sanna is cultivated through contemplating examples such as colours and tastes?
Furthermore, what exactly needs to be understood about the purāṇa kamma stage? So far, I understand that it happens automatically and unconsciously. A puthujjana cannot prevent the initial attachment.
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1. “So, does this mean that anicca sanna is cultivated through contemplating examples such as colours and tastes?”
- Yes. It plays a critical role in cultivating anicca sanna. Doesn’t it? What is the point of chasing ‘illusions of pleasure’?
2. I hope you and others will answer the following question, which also gives further insights. Why do people kill, steal, lie, etc., i.e., engage in immoral deeds in general? Aren’t all those done in the pursuit of ‘sensory pleasures’ if they are illusions?
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Why do people kill, steal, lie, etc., i.e., engage in immoral deeds in general? Aren’t all those done in the pursuit of ‘sensory pleasures’ if they are illusions?
Absolutely, yes! I’d say that people who go to extremes for sensory pleasure are convinced that they can find lasting stability in this world and that it’s possible to be completely safe from suffering.
The realization that sensory pleasure is fleeting drastically reduces immoral behavior.
Furthermore, once one realizes that attachment ultimately brings nothing but suffering, the desire for sensual pleasure diminishes even further.
Of course, the realization that sensory pleasure is ultimately just a hallucination has the most drastic consequences. Although I think it’s also the hardest to put into practice.
It would be great if you could briefly touch on my last question about the purana kamma phase. I think that one unfortunately got a bit lost in the mix.
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OK. Your question was: “Furthermore, what exactly needs to be understood about the purāṇa kamma stage? So far, I understand that it happens automatically and unconsciously. A puthujjana cannot prevent the initial attachment.”
- The main point is that once the purāṇa kamma stage begins for a puthujjana with a sensory event, it is inevitable that at least some of those events will lead to kamma accumulation.
- Then, how can a puthujjana get out of that ‘kamma accumulation’ ever? They are trapped in the kāma loka forever!
- A relatively few can temporarily bypass the kāma loka and enter the rupa loka Brahma mindset (i.e., jhāna). They will be reborn in a Brahma realm, but at the end of that existence, they will be reborn in the kāma loka. That is because they had not eliminated the ‘kāma rāga samyojana.’ I explained that in #6 of “Buddhist Non-Attachment Is Based on Yoniso Manasikāra.” Also see “Overcoming Kāma Saññā – Satipaṭṭhāna Bhumi or Jhāna.”
- Therefore, until one realizes how the purāṇa kamma stage begins automatically (with the trigger of ‘kāma saññā‘) and understands how to overcome that kāma saññā to enter the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi, one will be forever trapped in the rebirth process; they may temporarily be reborn in rupa loka, or even arupa loka, but eventually end up in the kāma loka. See “Overcoming Kāma Saññā – Satipaṭṭhāna Bhumi or Jhāna.”
- Those are critical points to understand. Please feel free to ask questions on anything unclear. It takes contemplation during a quiet time to fully understand these issues.
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By the way, my comment in the previous post, “Aren’t all those done in the pursuit of ‘sensory pleasures’ if they are illusions?” is better worded as, “Aren’t all those done in the pursuit of ‘sensory pleasures’ not realizing they are illusions?“
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1. In the above comment, I explained that a puthujjana is perpetually trapped in the kāma loka; they may have rebirths in rupa and arupa loka Brahma realms from time in time, but always end up in the kāma loka.
- I did not mention how that cycle is broken.
2. That cycle is broken only when one attains the Sotapanna stage and is able to overcome the ‘kāma saññā.’ That happens for the first time when a puthujjana becomes a Sotapanna. At that moment, puthujjana‘s mind overcomes the kāma saññā and enters the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi for the first time ever. While the brief time the mind is in the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi, the first three diṭṭhi saṁyojana are broken/eliminated.
- After that, the Sotapanna must cultivate Satipaṭṭhāna, learn to overcome kāma saññā on a regular basis, and enter the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi at will.
- A Sotapanna attains higher magga phala while contemplating Dhamma concepts (Paṭicca Samuppāda, Tilakkhana, etc.) while in the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi. Comprehending Dhamma concepts becomes much easier when the mind is not influenced by the kāma saññā.
- The key is the following: kāma raga saṁyojana and patigha saṁyojana are broken while a Sotapanna contemplates Dhamma concepts and comprehends the deeper teachings while in the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi. That is when they become Anagamis.
- In the same way, an Anāgāmi must enter the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi to comprehend Dhamma at an even deeper level and to break the last five saṁyojana, thereby attaining the Arahant stage.
3. That is why it is critical to understand the complete ‘kamma accumulation process’ (‘purana‘ or ‘initial’ and ‘nava‘ or ‘new’ kamma accumulation stages) so that one understands the necessity to overcome the kāma saññā.
- See “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation” and “Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi – Free of Loka Saññā.”
- Feel free to ask questions. It is possible that I am not understanding the ‘sticky issues’ many people have.
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I have a question or a request for advice. Although I understand purana and nava kamma, I also understand that kama sanna is deceiving me, I notice the purana kamma stage while it is happening, but I still follow sensual pleasures out of boredom. How can I stop this?
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1. What one feels as the beginning of an attachment depends on the progress one has made on the Noble Path.
- Most people feel the attachment only after the mind is well into the ‘nava kamma‘ stage. That is always true for those who have not even heard about this deeper aspect of Buddha’s teachings.
- One could start feeling the beginning of an attachment process early in the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage, only after cultivating ‘sense restraint (indriya samvara) after practicing ‘sati sampajanna.’ The latter means contemplating that the root of such defiled thoughts is ‘kāma saññā‘, which arises automatically in anyone born with a human body.
2. The key to stopping automatic attachment to the ‘kāma saññā‘ early in the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage is to contemplate the drawbacks (ādīnava) of attachment.
- However, that contemplation must be done while the mind is relatively free of the ‘nava kamma‘ stage, i.e., ideally when one is in ‘sitting meditation’ and not engaged with daily activities.
- What one should contemplate is the three entities of Assāda, Ādīnava, and Nissarana. Assāda describes how a mind becomes joyful with sensory experiences due to ‘false, mind-made perceptions.’ Based on such meaningless assāda, people tend to engage in akusala kamma, which leads to ‘bad vipāka‘ (including rebirths in the apāyās), and that is ādīnava. By comprehending that process, one can stop the generation of assāda and end future suffering; that is nissarana.
- That is discussed in “Assāda, Ādīnava, Nissarana – Introduction.” Additional relevant posts are in the “Assāda, Ādīnava, Nissarana” section.
- This is also called cultivating Satipaṭṭhāna. P.S. When the ‘kāma saññā‘ is present, the mind is ‘covered’ with ‘pañca nivaraṇa’ (Kāmacchanda, vyāpāda (or byāpāda), thina-middha, uddhacca-kukkucca, and vicikicchā). Then the mind is in the ‘ayoniso manasikāra‘ state, and it is difficult to comprehend the deeper teachings of the Buddha. See “Pañca Nīvaraṇa and Sensual Pleasures (Kāma Rāga).”
- Once one overcomes the ‘kāma saññā,’ the mind enters Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi. This is where one can truly engage in Vipassanā with ‘yoniso manasikāra‘ to attain magga phala. See “Buddhist Non-Attachment Is Based on Yoniso Manasikāra.” I have also discussed this in many other posts.
3. The following is for all readers in general.
- The more I think, the more I realize the following. Most people just read the weekly post. That is not going to ‘cut it.’
- Buddha’s teachings are only for those who must make a concerted effort. One must allocate at least half a day in a month to contemplation. Print out a number of posts and also have access to the computer to look up any other relevant posts. The easiest way is to focus on the sequential posts in “New / Revised Posts.” Where one should start on that list depends on one’s level of understanding. One could start with posts from early 2025 and see whether they are comprehensible. Then move to more recent posts, etc.
- When the mind is absorbed in a given task, and if one’s interest arises, then the mind will become calm and focused. That is when it will move toward the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi free of kāma saññā, and one attains the Sotapanna stage. It may not happen in one sitting, but as one continues this practice, the mind will start moving at least to the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage first.
- I discussed that briefly in #5 and #6 in “Assāda (Sense Pleasure) Experienced Is Mostly Mind-Made.”
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Yes. That is a good first step. That is how most people get started, by seeing the ‘impermanent’ nature of things.
- However, anicca is much more than ‘impermanence.’
- Impermanency of ‘material things’ is a result of ‘anicca nature.’
- Nature operates on Paṭicca Samuppāda and is inherently incapable of generating/leading to anything of a ‘permanent nature.’
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In the above, I wrote “Nature operates on Paṭicca Samuppāda and is inherently incapable of generating/leading to anything of a ‘permanent nature.’”
- ‘Rūpa Samudaya’ can be thought of in two ways: (i) Generation of ‘colorful rūpa‘ in the mind based on ‘colorless external rūpa‘ and (ii) Arising of ‘colorless rūpa‘ in the external world and the arising of the physical and mental bodies to generate ‘kāma saññā‘ that makes those ‘colorless rūpa‘ appear as ‘colorful.’
- Both of those occur via Paṭicca Samuppāda.
- I discussed the key ideas in “Paṭicca Samuppāda Creates the External World, Too!“
- Also see “Rūpa Samudaya – A ‘Colorful World’ Is Created by the Mind.”
- Buddha Dhamma is not a religion. It is the ultimate science that describes the true nature of the world. Modern science is only beginning to confirm that regarding the concepts of ‘kāma saññā.‘ See “The Illusion of Perception (Saññā) – It Is Scientific Consensus.”
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(ii) Arising of ‘colorless rūpa‘ in the external world and the arising of the physical and mental bodies to generate ‘kāma saññā‘ that makes those ‘colorless rūpa‘ appear as ‘colorful.’
I really like this definition! Does it essentially state that ‘colorful rūpa‘ are not worthy of liking, since color cannot be found anywhere in the external world? This would be a deeper aspect of the anicca nature, right?
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