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One aspect that many people do not realize is the following. Most get discouraged by simply looking at the idea of how the mind can create solid matter, for example, “our solid bodies.” The mind only creates the “seeds” for material objects.
- For example, the mind does not create our physical body directly. It only creates enough energy for the mental body (gandhabba), and that energy is unimaginably tiny compared to our physical body. (As Einstein confirmed, matter and energy are equivalent. If you convert the mass of a human body to energy, that would be an enormous number in energy units.)
- Just as a tiny seed can grow into a massive tree by absorbing water and nutrients from the soil, an unimaginably small gandhabba (that gets into the womb of a mother) gives rise to the heavy human body by taking in food, first from the mother and then, once outside the womb, by consuming solid food. See #5 of “Kamma Viññāṇa and Nāmarūpa Paricceda Ñāṇa.”
- P.S. Also see #6 of “How Do We See? – Role of the Gandhabba“
- However, to understand advanced posts like those, one must have a good background about kammic energy, viññāṇa, gandhabba, etc.
- May be reading such a post can get someone motivated to get started!
- I am a physicist with a Ph.D., and I can say that what modern science knows is only a tiny fraction of what the Buddha taught. After over ten years, I am still learning the deeper aspects of the Buddha’s teachings! Modern science knows NOTHING about the mind.
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No. It is not from a sutta, but rather one way to cultivate mettā for all beings trapped in the rebirth process and not released from the apāyās.
- There can be many ways to cultivate mettā, once you understand what it is about.
Question: How is the mind the originator of external rupa?
1. This is a complex subject and needs some background in basic teachings of the Buddha about kamma.
- Kamma means not just any action, but ‘an action done with a defiled mind.’ A defiled mind is one that harbors raga (greed), dosa (anger), or moha (ignorance of the Buddha’s teachings).
- A kamma can be done with physical action (kaya kamma), speech (vaci kamma), or thoughts (mano kamma). In fact, one does kaya and vaci kamma also based on mano kamma. Also see, “Ten Immoral Actions (Dasa Akusala)“
- Such a kamma generates kammic energy. Some of that energy is spent on speech and actions. But a significant part of that energy is stored in “vinnana dhatu.” The collective kammic energy of all living beings leads to the arising of the external world. One’s own kammic energy can bring future rebirths for oneself.
- That is an extremely summarized version of a complex subject.
2. I suggest reading posts in the following sections to build up on those ideas: “Living Dhamma” and “Moral Living and Fundamentals”
- It is a good idea to scan the post lists and read topics that seem interesting first.
- It will take some time to grasp these concepts, especially if one has not been exposed to Buddha’s teachings.
External rupa is material, of course. For example, a gold ring is made of atoms and molecules.
- When person X sees that ring, a mental image of it is grasped by the mind. That is the ‘internal rupa.’
There are five mental enoties associated with that ‘internal rupa‘:
- Rupa or Rupakkhandha: It registers the size, colors, shape, etc. associated with the gold ring. Furthermore, the mind compares seeing such objects in the past and matches those past experiences to recognize the object as a gold ring. That is why it is called ‘rupakkhandha‘ or an ‘aggregate or collection of rupa.’ That is a very simple explanation of a deeper subject, but a starting point.
- Vedana or Vedanakkhadha: The mind may ‘feel’ a sensation of pleasure seeing the gold ring. Suppose you saw it at the dentist’s office while waiting for your appointment. Someone may have accidentally dropped it.
- Saññā or Saññākkhandha: Recognition of the object as a gold ring. It also incorporates any value that is placed on it. The gold ring could be expensive.
- Saṅkhāra or Saṅkhārakkhndha: Thoughts that arise related to the gold ring. You may consider keeping it for yourself, instead of handing it over to the receptionist, in case the owner comes looking for it. If so, then greed would have arisen in you.
- Viññāṇa or Viññāṇakkhandha: Overall mental impression of the ring and any future plans regarding it. If you decide to keep it, you may think about giving it to your wife or girlfriend as a gift. Or you may decide to sell it.
That is a very basic explanation. The mind is extremely fast. All those things happen within a split second.
- Detailed explanations in “The Five Aggregates (Pañcakkhandha).”
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New Post:
Avijjā is Triggered by Kāma Saññā in Kāma Loka
Revised:
Ānāpānasati – Connection To Satipaṭṭhāna | Pure Dhamma
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Yes. Most English translations on the internet are incorrect because they translate word-for-word without understanding the meanings.
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1. Are you aware that two ancient yogis, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, attained the fourth jhana?
- Did they have Samma Samadhi, which is the culmination of the Noble Eightfold Path?
- If so, they would have been at least Anagamis, very close to the Arahant stage.
- They had attained the fourth jhana by suppressing kama raga. They are still puthujjana, not released from the apayas.
2. One needs to be in the Ariya fourth jhana (with kama raga samyojana eliminated) to be in the peak of Samma Samadhi.
- The suttas you quoted refer to the Ariya fourth jhana.
- The suttas do not explain that; it is to be understood.
3. There are levels of Samma Samadhi attained by Sotapannas, Sakadagamis, Anagamis, and Arahants.
- Those never go away. Because of the anantarika (unbreakable) Samma Samadhi attained by a Sotapanna, for example, exempts them from rebirths in the apayas.
- The culmination or the peak of the Samma Samadhi can be equated to the Samadhi of an Anagami in the fourth Ariya jhana, who is very close to Arahanthood. The suttas you quoted refer to such Anagamis who are very close to the peak of Samma Samadhi. However, there can even be Arahants who have not cultivated the fourth jhana; those are Pannavimutti Arahants.
- The general definition of the peak of Samma Samadhi refers to fulfilling all other seven path factors, Samma Ditthi through Samma Sati.
4. Those are points I discussed in “Sammā Samādhi – How to Define It?“
- Please read the post carefully. If there are questions about the validity of any parts in the post, please quote from the post and explain why they are wrong.
- That is the only way to resolve any questions or issues.
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The above explains why it is only the Ariya fourth jhana that can be defined as the peak of Samma Samadhi.
- If an Anagami can get there, they are almost at Arahanthood.
- See the current post “Sammā Samādhi – How to Define It?“
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P.S. We all had cultivated rupa jhana and arupa samapatti countless times in our deep past. Most of us are still trapped in this rebirth process among the 31 realms.
- That is just moving from realm to realm among the 31 realms in the world. Any anariya rupa jhana and arupa samapatti belong to the world, not a part of Nibbana.
- If one can attain the Sotapanna stage, that surpasses any jhana or samapatti, because it is when one breaks free from the trap. Of course, one can use an anariya jhana to attain the Sotapanna stage by seeing the anicca nature of that jhana and moving into the Satipatthana Bhumi.
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Kusalaniddesa (section on Kusala Citta) starts here: “2. Kusalaniddesa“
1. Section 2.10.1.1. Mahākusalacitta through 2.10.1.4. Mahākusalacitta are on kamavacara (kama loka) kusala citta.
2. Section 2.10.2. Rūpāvacarakusalacitta on mundane rupavacara (rupa loka) kusala citta. These are mundane (anariya) jhana.
3. Section 2.10.3. Arūpāvacarakusalacitta on mundane arupavacara (arupa loka) kusala citta. These are mundane (anariya) rupa samapatti.
4. Section 2.10.4. Lokuttarakusalacitta on rupavacara (rupa loka) Lokuttara kusala citta. These are Lokuttara (Ariya) jhana: “2.10.4. Lokuttarakusalacitta“
- It starts with “Yasmiṁ samaye lokuttaraṁ jhānaṁ bhāveti ..”
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So, I hope you have the answer above.
- Those cultivated mundane (anariya) jhana have kama raga suppressed, not eliminated.
- In contrast, even the first Ariya jhana is reached by eliminating kama raga. Thus, only an Anagami or an Arahant would have Ariya jhana.
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The defiled mind (mano) of a puthijjana attaches to one’s own thoughts and creates the seeds for future lives.
- Those thoughts have rupa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, and viññāṇa. These are abreviated words representing rupa upādānakkhandha through viññāṇa upādānakkhandha, i.e., pañca upādānakkhandha or pañcupādānakkhandha.
- Those thoughts that initially arise are automatically defiled due to the “built-in distorted saññā” (the same as “kāma saññā” in kāma loka).
- Thus, one creates one’s own world, in the sense that one generates kammic energies to be reborn in various realms of the world.
- That is why the Buddha says one’s “loka” (world) is pañcupādānakkhandha, which is the same as “defiled mind.”
- I discussed that in #2 of the recent post, “Four Noble Truths: Connection to Anusotagāmi/Paṭisotagāmi.”
Perhaps Zapper was looking for such a detailed analysis.
Our thoughts arise in the mind. It receives external sensory inputs and generates thoughts in response to them.
- That is an unusual question. What else can it be?
The easiest way to understand is as follows:
- An Arahant has six indriya or ‘sensory faculties’: cakkhu indriya, sota indriya, jivhā indriya, ghāna indriya, kāya indriya, and mano indriya. Arahants can experience the world (like anyone else) without the arising of any defilements (rāga, dosa, moha) by using those six indriya.
- A puthujjana (average human) has six āyatana or ‘defiled sensory faculties’: cakkhu āyatana, sota āyatana, jivhā āyatana, ghāna āyatana, kāya āyatana, and mano āyatana. They ALWAYS experience the world WITH defilements (rāga, dosa, or moha) using those six āyatana.
- In the suttās, these six āyatana are, in many cases, abbreviated as just cakkhu, sota, jivhā, ghāna, kāya, and mano (without specifically saying they are āyatana). Sometimes they are stated specifically, e.g., cakkāyatana or cakkhu āyatana.
- Therefore, it is incorrect to translate “mano” as mind (as done in Sutta Central and many other websites). Mano, in most cases, refers to the defiled mind of a puthujjana, i.e., it is manāyatana or mana āyatana.
- When a puthujjnana attains Arahanthood, the six āyatana automatically convert to six indriya.
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Question: “Is it the logical portion of the mind and or does it also include thoughts of visual forms (Rupa) and forms related to the other senses?”
- All six sensory faculties experience the world with the mana indriya/āyatana.
- The other five (cakkhu, sota, jivhā, ghāna, kāya) are only “doors” to the outside world.
- For example, the cakkhu indriya/āyatana helps to see, i.e., the “rupa” or sight comes in through the cakkhu, but is experienced by the mind. The mind cannot directly receive rupa, sadda, gandha, rasa, or pottabbha.
New Post:
Four Noble Truths: Connection to Anusotagāmi/Paṭisotagāmi
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