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“If everything is conditioned, even thoughts and wisdom, is there such a thing as free action?”
1. Good question. This question gets to the heart of the distinction between the ‘purana kamma‘ and ‘nava kamma‘ stages.
- The ‘purana kamma‘ stage, especially at the beginning, runs on ‘auto pilot’ without thinking, and is controlled by two things: (i) the number of unbroken samyojana one has (at the very beginning in the ‘purana kamma‘ stage), and (ii) one’s mindset (gati, pronounced ‘gathi’) at that moment (toward the middle of the ‘purana kamma‘ stage). Therefore, controlling this process requires comprehension of the ‘purana kamma‘ stage.
- On the other hand, we become aware of our thoughts in the ‘nava kamma‘ stage, and thus are able to control them. This is where we do mano, vaci, and kaya kamma (dasa akusala) with intention.
- One must live a moral life controlling the ‘nava kamma‘ stage, while learning Noble Truths/Paticca Samuppada/Tilakkhana to eliminate samyojana and gati in the ‘purana kamma‘ stage.
- I described the basic idea in “Kamma Nirodha – How Does It Happen?“
2. You wrote, “I learn better through discussion rather than reading long paragraphs.”
- If you understand Sinhala, the following discussion could help understand the ‘purana kamma‘ and ‘nava kamma‘ stages (they have more): “බුදු දහම, මාර්ග ඵල සහ මග වැඩීම“.
- I referred to it in #6 of the post “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation.”
Yes. Tackling the third is harder, but can be done once the ‘complete sequence of kamma generation‘ (the same as the suffering generation) is understood.
- That is what a Buddha teaches, and what we need to understand.
- Our mind is in autopilot in the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage. Even though we cannot directly control it, once the complete process is understood, it can be controlled.
- First, we must control kamma generation in the ‘nava kamma‘ stage (abstaining from dasa akusala) and, simultaneously, spend time understanding the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage. That second part is the ‘real meditation’ or Vipassanā.
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Yes. The meanings can be derived in several ways.
1. I am glad that I asked you about your understanding of the “purāna kamma” and “nava kamma” stages. I normally respond to comments, thinking that the questioner is familiar with the current posts on the website.
- I first discussed those two stages over two years ago: “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation.”
- However, some background material was covered even before that. You can see the progression in “New / Revised Posts.”
2. However, I recently (January 3, 2026) started a new series of posts to get to the same point with a different approach: “Buddha Dhamma.”
- May be you can start with the new section. Of course, you can first read “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation” and try to see whether you can grasp it, by also perusing through posts in “New / Revised Posts” from late 2023.
3. Please spend some time along the above lines. Once you have some idea, you can start asking questions by citing any specific post.
- A key aspect is understanding the concept of saññā. See, for example, “Saññā – What It Really Means.”
- Maybe you can read that post first and ask questions about anything unclear.
- Please don’t be intimidated by the sheer number of posts. Once you make a connection (the ‘ahā moment’ can come at any time!) and get started, things will become clearer. The only way to learn is to spend time and ask questions about anything that’s unclear.
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You are correct. I have revised that part of #3 of “Kusala/Akusala and Puñña/Apuñña Kamma” as follows:
- Rebirths in the 16 rupaloka Brahma realms require cultivation of bhāvanā in addition to dāna and sila. Those who cultivate jhāna are reborn in the 16 rupa loka Brahma realms, and those who go beyond that and cultivate arupa samāpatti are reborn in the 4 arupa loka Brahma realms. (However, bhāvanā in Buddha Dhamma, for a Noble Person above the Sotapanna Anugāmi stage, means cultivating Satipaṭṭhāna: “Bhāvanā Sutta (AN 7.71).” Also see “Mindfulness, Wisdom, and Reducing Unwholesome Emotions in Daily Life“)
Tobias asked: “It seems that Bhavana is valued more highly than Dana and Sila. Can one conclude from this that people who are good at meditating have also sufficiently cultivated Sila and Dana? Or, put another way, is Bhavana only possible if Sila and Dana are sufficiently cultivated?”
- Yes. That is why I revised the post as above.
- For example, ancient yogis (such as Ālāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta) attained jhāna by cultivating dāna, sila, and bhāvanā. Yet, they did not know how to cultivate Satipaṭṭhāna to attain magga phala. Their bhāvanā involved only contemplating the drawbacks of ‘sensual pleasures.’ They did not know that thoughts of ‘sensual pleasures’ cannot be permanently stopped until one understands the ‘purana kamma‘ stage of kamma accumulation: “.Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation.“
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@AniccaSeeker: You may not have seen my above comment yet. I will wait to hear from you. I cannot explain things until I know roughly where you are on the Path.
- Until then, the following sutta explains what ‘bhāvanā‘ in Buddha Dhamma is: “Bhāvanā Sutta (AN 7.71).” One must first cultivate Satipaṭṭhāna.
- Essentially, one cannot remove defilements in the mind permanently (with the removal of samyojana) until one grasps the worldview of the Buddha and frees the mind of pañca nīvaraṇa at least for a short time.
- The first time overcoming pañca nīvaraṇa (temporarily) occurs at the Sotapanna phala moment.
- So, the first step is to understand Buddha’s worldview. It explains how the ‘world’ (the same as pañcupādānakkhandha) arises through two stages of mind contamination: purāna kamma and nava kamma. No one knows about the ‘unconscious part’ of the pañcupādānakkhandha generation (the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage) until a Buddha discovers it.
- Until then, everyone tries to stop mind contamination with the mind already in the nava kamma stage. They can never reach the purāna kamma stage until they clearly understand how it arises automatically.
- That seems like a lot of work, but it can be done. But one must proceed step-by-step. Before starting on Satipaṭṭhāna, one must meditate (contemplate) on the complete ‘mind contamination process’ occurring via two stages. That allows the mind to overcome pañca nīvaraṇa (temporarily) and attain the Sotapanna stage.
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Yes. One needs to understand how and why those emotions arise, and what triggers them. Until the root causes and the triggering mechanism are figured out, we can never stop such emotions from arising.
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I am glad that you realized the following: “I think just observing emotions is not enough to develop wisdom.”
- I highlighted that part of your comment above.
1. That is why ancient yogis, before the Buddha (like Ālāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta), could not attain a magga phala.
- Many people who engage in meditation today are like those two yogis. Of course, they are better than those who engage in ‘breath meditation’ because there is no ‘meditation’ in ‘breath meditation.’
2. The problem is the following. You are trying to meditate while in the ‘nava kamma‘ stage or at least toward the end of the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage.
- Those ancient yogis like Ālāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta did not know how a mind becomes defiled in two stages: purāna kamma and nava kamma.
- Before I go any further, are you familiar with those two stages of mind contamination?
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I will try to do that in detail at some point. But for the moment, the following could be helpful.
1. Let us consider the first sutta (both are the same in content), where it describes how a Noble Person (Sotapanna Anugami or above) lives attempting to follow Buddha’s qualities (‘ariyasāvako tathāgataṁ anussarati‘. itipi so bhagavā arahaṁ sammāsambuddho vijjācaraṇasampanno sugato lokavidū anuttaro purisadammasārathi satthā devamanussānaṁ buddho bhagavā’ti.): “Mahānāma Sutta (AN 6.10). “
- Then, @3.1 and @4.1 say the same about following the qualities of Dhamma and Sangha.
- Then, @5.2: A noble disciple is thus able to live with ethical conduct with their mind devoid of greed, hate, and delusion: ‘Yasmiṁ, mahānāma, samaye ariyasāvako sīlaṁ anussarati nevassa tasmiṁ samaye rāgapariyuṭṭhitaṁ cittaṁ hoti, na dosapariyuṭṭhitaṁ cittaṁ hoti, na mohapariyuṭṭhitaṁ cittaṁ hoti‘
- Also note that tathāgataṁ anussarati‘ (@2.2) involves the qualities of the Buddha: ‘‘itipi so bhagavā arahaṁ sammāsambuddho vijjācaraṇasampanno sugato lokavidū anuttaro purisadammasārathi satthā devamanussānaṁ buddho bhagavā’ti.’ Similarly, dhammaṁ anussarati (@3.1) involves the qualities of the Dhamma: ‘svākkhāto bhagavatā dhammo sandiṭṭhiko akāliko ehipassiko opaneyyiko paccattaṁ veditabbo viññūhī’ti.’ AND saṅghaṁ anussarati (@4.1) involves the qualities of the Saṅgha: ‘suppaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho, ujuppaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho, ñāyappaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho, sāmīcippaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho, yadidaṁ cattāri purisayugāni aṭṭha purisapuggalā esa bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho āhuneyyo pāhuneyyo dakkhiṇeyyo añjalikaraṇīyo anuttaraṁ puññakkhettaṁ lokassā’ti.’ Those are the nine, six, and nine supreme qualities attributed to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha, respectively: see #2 of “Supreme Qualities of Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha.”
2. Now, those can be tied to the four qualities of a Sotapanna/Sotapanna Anugami, per “Veḷudvāreyya Sutta (SN 55.7)” and several other suttas: ‘So buddhe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti—itipi so bhagavā …pe… satthā devamanussānaṁ buddho bhagavāti;dhamme …pe…saṅghe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti suppaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho …pe… anuttaraṁ puññakkhettaṁ lokassāti. ariyakantehi sīlehi samannāgato hoti akhaṇḍehi …pe… samādhisaṁvattanikehi.’
- These (@11. through 11.4) are the same nine, six, and nine supreme qualities attributed to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha, respectively, in “Supreme Qualities of Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha“
- So, that is the connection between the two suttas: Mahānāma Sutta (AN 6.10) and Veḷudvāreyya Sutta (SN 55.7).
- At the end of the “Veḷudvāreyya Sutta (SN 55.7)“, it is clearly stated that these Noble Persons are free of the apayas, i.e., at the Sotapanna stage.
3. Also see “Anussati and Anupassanā – Being Mindful and Removing Defilements” and “Sotapatti Aṅga – The Four Qualities of a Sotāpanna.”
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Thank you, TGS!
- Yes. It was Waharaka Thero whom we should all be thankful to. He opened a door that had been closed for over a thousand years. We must make further progress for the next generation; many are still contributing to this advancement. It is still a ‘work in progress.’ Eventually, there will be many living Arahants before the end of the Buddha Gotama’s Buddha Sāsana.
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I am glad to hear your account. I am further impressed by the fact that you seem to be a young person.
- May the Blessings of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha be with you always!
New:
Rūpa Samudaya – A ‘Colorful World’ Is Created by the Mind
Revised:
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Of course, you did not break any rules. Thank you for the reference.
- Let me provide the Pali version of the sutta Saurabh@2110 provided, and the SuttaCentral translation side-by-side:
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