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Namo Tassa Bhagawato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa
A B C D
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Above, I have drawn a Line with A B C D .. …..written on top of the line , representing corresponding segments of the line below them. ie., A to B is one Segment, B to C another segment of the Line and so on so forth.What I find astounding is if we look carefully , at no point of time, are we really seeing the entirety of the line- the entirety of it thoroughly -in and out – at any one given point of time.
yet , there the Line stands, mocking us, we are sure of it.
Even within A to B , one given segment, how hard we may try we can never , truly see the entirety of the sub segment, at any one given point of time , and yet just like the Line, its sub segment(s) too mockingly stare at us!
Perhaps our mind itself is the time machine which our science fictions so romanticizes, Mind, which sews up different points between A to B or A to “N” and presents to us one single Line. (or each of its sub segments when looking at the segments). The magnitude of what it so achieves is spell binding.
Using different set of terms, Point A to point B is space, therefore to proceed from Point A to point B , eye or the mind obivosly has to take “Time. Therefore between A and B or A to “n” , the mind has to sew up distances travelled as well as time that has elapsed , and all that has happened in between!
The one single line is the final dress shown to us by the Mind, using the threads of Time, Space and perhaps other variables.
We can apply the same to lines, squares, circles, to objects in front of us and if we can tune into what i am trying to say , it can be just get a tad uneasy.
Then sirs, same applied to our lives, made up of different segments , made up of time, space, events etc , these our Mind needs to sew up, which it so brilliantly does, into one single whole (My Life- Me and My life)
In Radha Satta Sutta , Lord, when asked by Elder Radha, replies that “a being is” “only as long as there is “stucking up” in raga, nandi, tanha” for forms, vedana, sanna, sankhara, and vinnana. Like children playing with sand castles, the aspirant is advised to scatter away these, sand/mud castles and not to get stuck in them. From getting stuck (upadana) comes becoming (continuity or the one single line), from becoming comes birth and what follows, is something, each of us must have by hearted by now.
Understanding so, Have we bought any value? I think So. Because now we are equipped by Dhamma, to look at ourselves, not as “beings”, someone there at the core, but rather as the very act of “getting stucked to what is”. We need to be clear. We are not talking about the final dress (person, personality, Life and so on) but the raw “sense of being someone”, or the raw sense of being , which we have, and resting on which we are sure we are someone and of the final dress.
In this Sutta , this particular Sense of Being is completely overhauled and shown to be, in actuality an act of getting stucked to what is.
The “Getting Stucked up” , perhaps is also how one Life is sewn on to the other. This holding On must be consisting of , or connected to tremendrous energy. There isnt any static being, moving from one birth to the other, but rather with the tremendrous energy connected with “getting stuck”, holding on” fresh set of nama and rupa , conditioned by the traits of these “Holding On” – move on…. , the series.
But coming back to our present lives , Getting stucked, or being the very act of “getting stucked up” are we happy?
Friends, please correct/improve..
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There are several Radha Suttas.
- It would be helpful to provide a link or more specifications, such as SN 22.71, which is one of the Radha Suttas.
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I discussed that sutta in “Five Aggregates and Tilakkhaṇa – Introduction” and “Aniccaṁ Vipariṇāmi Aññathābhāvi – A Critical Verse.”
- I am not quite sure whether that is what you tried to explain in your analogy.
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Sir i went through them.
I am thinking That Satta is not Satta Bhava (a sense of being) but rather “Satta” is Satta or Visatta (in the sense of being caught, attatched, raga) which fuels the mis- interpretation of there being someone- “ME”. “I”.
Actually, in my thought, Satta or Visatta (the attatchment) is itself misinterpreted as the Basic Sense of Being. “I”.
This Basic Sense of Being is then used to build the next level of individuality which is where “Gopinadh” Comes in.
That is about it Sir.
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A satta is any living being without at least the Sotapanna Anugami stage of Nibbana.
- Sotapanna Anugami is the “lowest” of the eight Noble Persons (Ariyas). All Ariyas are guaranteed to attain Nibbana (Arahanthood) within seven bhava (existences.)
- Any other living being (including all Devas and Brahmas) belong to the “satta” category.
- That is explained in the “Satta Sutta (SN 23.2)” you quoted. I have linked to the exact place in the sutta: “Rūpe kho, rādha, yo chando yo rāgo yā nandī yā taṇhā, tatra satto, tatra visatto, tasmā sattoti vuccati” OR “Anyone who has cravings for sensory inputs (rupa) is a “satta.”
- In the strict sense, only an Arahant is not a “satta.” However, all other Ariyas are guaranteed to attain Arahanthood within seven bhava (existences). Thus, an Ariya is usually not included in the category of “satta.”
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Sir. Beautiful.
In particular “Anyone who has cravings for sensory inputs (rupa) is a “satta” – reading this is , I felt someone was pouring honey in my ears. I thought Radha’s Satta Sutta was sweet, and the above summing up , is like crushing out the sweetness into some jaggery.
After looking at my post, it is inhhumane in its approach. I have to admit. While Your articulation , is like in the middle: human yet human in some rightly balanced sense(i cant articulate) .
Anyway I will think on how to readjust my thought in the post and come back in this backdrop sir.
Mutlpile things to be clear about, being, sense of being, that which causes and conditions the Being, as well as Sense of Being…..
….Look at Man!
To Be, He has to Love all that he Can!
But all that He Loves comes with a Span!
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Do you See sir,…..?…. by admitting me in the forum, all of you will be getting free poetry service as a value addition. which other member is giving it?
(thank God You must be saying. hm?)
Regards Sir, Have a good day.
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Sweet is Dhamma, Sweet is Sangha, Sweeter is Buddha.
Sir, is my understanding , a bit better, in line now?…..i am re-adjusting with, some better clarity, as follows:
I consider myself to be an individual. Someone living this Life, having these experiences, experiencing these havings etc. I am Gopinadh…..me!
Yet at the same time , with a little effort, I can see , there are several components to my self which enable me to function as an individual.
There is a raw Sense of Being (I AM), various “things” and “actions” (actions done by kaya , by nama, including hardwired tendencies ) which appear to be done by me, or owned by me, etc. All these make up “me” “Gopinadh”. I have a Past, living this Life now and have a tomorrow.
Gopinadh is one whole. Like Laptop is one whole. It has keyboard, touch pad, touch screen, usb ports, battery, power, hardware and all the software. But I see it as one whole “a lap top” just as one “gopinadh”.
If laptop falls down, it’s the lap top which is broken and similalry It is I who lives, who laughs , who cries and who will one day die and so on so forth.
This Gopinadh will go on and on , into Ramesh, into David, into a De Silva, Dog, or a preta as long as Gopinadh has cravings for sensory inputs (rupa). He is a “satta”. He also has a slight peep into how his cravings create suffering.
The astounding thing is even with this understanding and peep into reality, even while he possesses this knowledge , as long as it doesn’t penetrate deeper , he still remains Satta.
In our land we call a similar thing “Smashana Vairagyam” . Smashana is graveyard and vairagyam is “Viraga”.
Someone dies, all of us go , tell each other, “this is life friends”, “death is inevitable” etc etc and 2 days henceforth we are disappointed that our favourite food spot is closed! Only as long as we are inside the graveyard the vairagya remains.
This sir is how the “Satta” Lives.
For all intents and purposes, there exists no difference between satta without a peep into this knowledge and to this particular satta with such superficial knowledge, who has only “smashana vairagyam”- graveyard viraga!.
However, maybe one day in “gopinadh” or “David” or “De Silva”the peep into reality grows, it penetrates deeper, the realization deepens in its depth and seriousness and reflects back in ones Life, in ones Conduct , in ones Freedom.
He realizes he is delimited, defined by what he “attaches to”. Like our friend Dog, which is tied to a post with a leash to his collar, and goes round and round around it, He realizes He is defined, delimited by the Five Aggregates owing to His craving for them. He realizes in his bones, that being so tied to the leash, He comes to be with them , suffers with them, rises and falls with them, dies with them and moves on with them.
This realisation itself seems to be stupendous. It seems easy in thought, but for people like me who can grasp it in only thought and not in actuality, it seems next to impossible. I honestly have no clue how one eventually actualizes this vision, Lives it!. But it doesnt mean others do not have. I belong to the ordinary run of the mill group , where as we can rest be assured that there are Aryans around. The fact that i don not have a clue is only a reflection on my lack of seriousness and hard work and nothing more.
Then sir,(in the case of one where it starts to actualize) , the satta is set on the path. The actualization of saccas (truths) begin in the “Sattas” Life. The Vision Penetrates deeper. Freedom grows. truthfulness grows.
With gradual ending of craving He or She Proceeds from Being a Satta, towards not being a Satta(tied to the post with a leash to His or Her Collar). In other words He or She completely resolves all the elements of Satta, Sense of Being, having Properties, Having Family, Actions, Birth, Death, Rebirth, etc etc etc into their proper places. The sun of Freedom starts to shine brightly. He or She can now completely look into the various factors which constitute a satta and assign each of them their proper place.
Then man starts to live a life in truth. Not just He , but his fellow men, beings, social systems….. too are benefited by this Aryan.
In social Terms He or She stands as the epitome of correct , consummate and highest values which felloe men can aspire. Society gets a fresh breath of Life.
That’s about it Sir. Under this topic – satta , I think we touched imp points, the individual, how he or she can improve, why there is an area of improvement and how such an individual can benefit the society , for there in lies the value addition.
Kindly correct/add/improve
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Yes. Depending on one’s actions and lifestyle (based on one’s mindset), one will have certain gati (character/habits).
- One will become that in the upcoming life/rebirth.
- If one lives like a preta (greedy), one will likely be reborn a preta (hungry ghost.) If one lives a moral life and cultivates anariya jhana, one will be reborn a Brahma. Both are useless, but a Brahma will at least have a peaceful life while it lasts.
- It is the same lifestream that lives the life of a human, Deva, animal, preta, Brahma, etc. The rebirth process is just moving back and forth between “good realms” and “bad realms.”
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