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Yes. The video provides a glimpse into Buddha’s teachings. Even though a video cannot explain the fundamentals, it provides some insights.
1. “Sexual urge” is built into our physical body as well as the human psyche.
- In the same way, the sweetness of honey or the appealing smell of a rose is also built into our physical body and the human psyche in general.
- However, those are “distorted perceptions (saññā)” that get incorporated into our mental and physical bodies via Paticca Samuppada.
- For those who have not read them, I have discussed that for about a year. See the posts after 8/5/23 in “New / Revised Posts.”
2. The deeper aspect of Buddha’s teachings is that we can overcome those “distorted saññā.”
- First, one must understand how it arises “naturally” via Paticca Samuppada.
3. The Buddha called saññā a mirage in the “Pheṇapiṇḍūpama Sutta (SN 22.95).”
- When a thirsty animal sees the mirage of a “body of water” ahead on a hot Summer day, that is a “distorted saññā” arising in its mind. It is tempted by it, runs toward it, and ultimately may die of exhaustion. A human may get that same wrong perception. But a human is capable of disregarding it by logical thinking.
- “Sexual urge” or the “sweetness of honey” are also mirages. However, unlike the “distorted saññā” of a “body of water” on a hot Summer day, the sexual urge is not easy to dismiss.
- It is extremely hard to overcome that “built-in mirage” because we have all cultivated it through countless lives. The best way to overcome it is to understand how it gets “built-in” to our physical and mental bodies via Paticca Samuppada.
- Finalizing that analysis could take a few more months, but I can vouch that “distorted saññā” can be overcome.
4. That “distorted saññā” cannot be removed (at least while living day-to-day life), but one can stop being tempted by it.
- Furthermore, that distorted saññā “goes underground” (or stays hidden) when one gets to samadhi and experiences the “sappabhāsa citta” or the “bright mind.” I have not yet discussed the “sappabhāsa citta,” but that is the closest we can get to the “pabhassara citta” or the “suffering-free mind” until we attain the Arahant stage.
5. On a practical level, we know that sex is not essential for healthy living. Buddhist monks practice celibacy (they have taken a vow to abstain from sex), and I am confident that they are much healthier than average people.
- Of course, 99+% of them practice celibacy without even having heard of the concept of “distorted saññā.” They do that with faith.
- When one can see that it is made up by our own minds, it becomes much easier to disregard it.
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I have revised the Pathfinder’s link to where to start reading about this issue.
1. Venerables Sariputta and Moggalana were the chief disciples of the Buddha.
- They excelled in two different areas. Ven. Sariputta excelled in Dhamma, the core teachings, and Ven. Moggalana excelled in cultivating Ariya jhana and supernormal (iddhi) powers.
2. A bhikkhu‘s first goal is to attain the Sotapanna stage and “be born in the Ariya lineage.” Once “born an Ariya,” a bhikkhu needs to get to higher magga phala mostly via cultivating insight meditation (the same as Satipatthana/Anapanasati).
- Some (born with relevant gati) also cultivated iddhi powers (via cultivating jhana).
- Thus, Ven. Sariputta helped in the “(Ariya) birth-giving process,” and Ven. Moggallana helped in the latter stages.
3. One should read the sutta with that background.
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Welcome to the forum, Lagrade!
- I was born into a Theravada Buddhist family (and was brought up that way), so I will leave it to those who were either born non-Buddhist or had a minimal Buddhist background to answer Lagrade’s questions.
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Lagrade wrote: “This is very interesting. I would like to ask you how a “puthujjana” could start seeing the drawbacks of sensual pleasures and thus remove the cravings?”
- Yes. This is at the core of Buddha’s teachings (Paticca Samuppada.)
- I will be starting a new series of posts by next weekend, which could help you understand it.
- In the meantime, see whether you can get some ideas from the post “Is It Necessary for a Buddhist to Eliminate Sensual Desires?“
Lagrade wrote: “There is a loneliness epidemic going on in countries like USA and Japan for some years now, and many people are suffering from touch deprivation which can lead to depression and PTSD.”
- That holds only for puthujjana (humans who are not Buddha’s disciples or Noble Persons/Ariyas.)
- When one starts comprehending the “true nature of the world,” the desire for contact with “pleasurable experiences” and interactions with others diminishes. In fact, one would prefer less of a “social life” and more of “deep contemplation.” That is why most meditators seek seclusion. Again, this requires a lengthy explanation, and I hope to address it to some extent in the upcoming posts.
- However, I must emphasize that contact with parents and others is essential for young children. Babies require cuddling and loving care, which are necessary for their mental and physical development.
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1. One becomes an Anagami by realizing the drawbacks and adverse consequences of being born with a physical body that can cause ailments and diseases. In addition, kama raga generates incessant subtle levels of dissatisfaction and a sense of non-fulfillment. Even when reborn in a Deva realm, that second aspect is there, even though Devas do not have ailments or diseases.
- The drawbacks of rupa loka Brahma realms are even more challenging to comprehend. The mental states there do not have much suffering and mostly “jhanic pleasures.”
- The “samapatti pleasures” of arupa loka Brhamas are even more subtle and long-lasting.
- Thus, it is harder to lose rupa raga and even harder to lose arupa raga.
2. The key is to realize that none of those “births/existences” are permanent. Unless one becomes a Sotapanna by comprehending the “big picture,” all those rebirths become useless because even the arupa loka Brahmas can be reborn later in the apayas.
- That high level of “possible suffering” at the Sotapanna stage is easier to understand. That is what one must tackle first. P.S. One can easily see the level of suffering in the apayas, at least in the animal realm.
- It is difficult for a puthujjana to see the drawbacks of sensual pleasures, let alone those of jhanic and samapatti pleasures. That is why the Buddha realized it would not be easy to teach his Dhamma to humans.
3. Still, seeing the “big picture” with all the realms can be beneficial. That way, one can start grasping the concept of “distorted sanna,” which clearly shows that all existences are “mind-made” (via Paticca Samuppada) and not real; they are all mirages in the sense they provide only “temporary relief” (in the higher realms) and do not lead to the elimination of suffering.
- However, one must first focus on removing the “immediate level of suffering.”
- Only a Sotapanna can start perceiving the drawbacks of jhanic pleasures, and even that happens only after grasping the concept of “distorted sanna” well.
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OK. Thank you! I changed the sub-heading to: “Three Lower Levels” Have distorted Saññā”
- I also made a few more changes to #3 and #4 of the post.
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Good suggestion. Thank you!
- If anyone comes across a post(s) that need revision, please send me the link or its title: [email protected].
Taking any “lokiya nimitta” (an object belonging to the world) as a meditation object (nimitta) is an anariya meditation (as Christian emphasized).
- Once Ven. Ananda asked the Buddha about that, and the Buddha explained it in detail. See “Saññā Sutta (AN 11.7).”
- Ven. Ananda asked: “Siyā nu kho, bhante, bhikkhuno tathārūpo samādhipaṭilābho yathā neva pathaviyaṁ pathavisaññī assa, na āpasmiṁ āposaññī assa, na tejasmiṁ tejosaññī assa, na vāyasmiṁ vāyosaññī assa, na ākāsānañcāyatane ākāsānañcāyatanasaññī assa, na viññāṇañcāyatane viññāṇañcāyatanasaññī assa, na ākiñcaññāyatane ākiñcaññāyatanasaññī assa, na nevasaññānāsaññāyatane nevasaññānāsaññāyatanasaññī assa, na idhaloke idhalokasaññī assa, na paraloke paralokasaññī assa, yampidaṁ diṭṭhaṁ sutaṁ mutaṁ viññātaṁ pattaṁ pariyesitaṁ anuvicaritaṁ manasā, tatrāpi na saññī assa; saññī ca pana assā”ti?
- The translation there can be improved as., “Could it be, bhante, that a bhikkhu might gain a samādhi like this? They would not focus their minds on pathavi (as using a clay ball in kasina meditation) by “taking in” the “pathavi saññā” OR āpo (as using a water bowl in kasina meditation) by “taking in” the “āpo saññā” OR tejo (as using a fire in kasina meditation) by “taking in” the “tejo saññā” OR vāyo (as using air in breath meditation) by “taking in” the “vāyo saññā” ..
- For example, “breath meditation” takes the saññā of air as the nimitta: “vāyosaññī assa.”
- The rest of the verse similarly is on arupa samapatti. For example, to cultivate ākāsānañcāyatana arupa samapatti, an Ariya will not focus their mind on “infinite space.”
- P.S. At the end of the verse, Ven. Ananda asked whether a samādhi can be attained without taking any nimitta associated with this world (this realm or any other realm). The answer is yes.
- @marker 5.1, the Buddha explains that an Ariya (Noble Person) takes the “cooling down/ultimate calmness of Nibbana” as the nimitta: “‘etaṁ santaṁ etaṁ paṇītaṁ, yadidaṁ sabbasaṅkhārasamatho sabbūpadhipaṭinissaggo taṇhākkhayo virāgo nirodho nibbānan’ti.”
P.P.S. This is also why saññā is a critical concept in Buddha Dhamma. All saññās associated with this world are illusions or mirages, as we have discussed: “Sotapanna Stage via Understanding Perception (Saññā).”
Regarding the birth of the first few elephants or dinosaurs on Earth in a new eon, it happens as opapatika births. Humans who have degraded their gati are gradually reborn in the animal and other realms, according to the gati they develop. That happens after a very long time (probably around a billion years) when the conditions on Earth have changed so that vegetation has emerged.
- Even now, opapatika births can happen even in the human realm, but they are extremely rare. There is an account in the Tipitaka about at least one such birth.
- See “Four Types of Births in Buddhism.”
Yes, it is correct. An Arahant does not generate pancupādānakkhandha.
- An Arahant‘s mind does not “advance” or “defile/contaminate” to the ajjhatta vinnana stage with ajjhatta rupa, ajjhatta vedana, ajjhatta sanna, ajjhatta sankhara, and ajjhatta vinnana.
- P.S. “Ajjha” means “mine,” and “atta” means “beneficial” in this context. Thus, Arahant‘s mind would not consider any sensory input to be of “benefit” and is worth taking to be “me” or “mine.”
- Bahiddha vinnana has a “distorted sanna” but is not defiled; i.e., it does not have raga, dosa, or moha associated with it.
- Only those with pancupādānakkhandha transition from the bahiddha stage to the ajjhatta stage.
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Topics like this can waste our time. I stopped responding in another related thread due to this reason.
- However, let me respond to some of TGS’s quotes because they could help us understand a bit of Buddha Dhamma or dispel some obviously wrong misconceptions.
TGS quoted: “I do not understand how the first dinosaur or the first elephant or the first human appeared on earth. Can someone please explain?”
- The appearance of humans with “Bahama-like subtle bodies” is explained in the “Buddhism and Evolution – Aggañña Sutta (DN 27).” Those humans are then gradually reborn in the other realms; that is how the first elephant appears, for example.
- Even when our cakkavala (Solar system) is destroyed, only the “dense matter” is destroyed. Higher Brahma realms (above the Abhassara Brahma realm) remain intact.
TGS quoted: “If humans saw Dinosaurs and put them in temples that would mean those temples have been there for more than 50 millions years and withstood a comet strike which is not possible.”
- A comet strike does not physically damage everything on Earth. That is impossible. Read about it by doing a Google search.
- For example, the comment strike that killed all dinosaurs only created a crater a few kilometers in diameter. It did not destroy other physical structures. However, the dust plume blanketed the Earth and blocked Sunlight for a long time. That led to the killing of all dinosaurs and many species of large animals, and it probably killed most humans, too.
- However, all those who died survived in their gandhabba state. As conditions on Earth improve, the population of those species that were not completely wiped out can rebuild. That is how the populations of humans (and many smaller animals) grew over time. Even those dinosaur gandhabbas would live in that state until the end of their bhava energy. There could be dinosaur gandhabbas living to this day. They cannot be reborn with dinosaurs with physical bodies because there are no dinosaur parents to give birth to them!
Also, the videos about the “flat Earth hypothesis” are total garbage. I have seen them. They try to explain the pictures that show the Earth is round by saying that light curves due to Earth’s gravitational pull! However, only much more massive objects, like the Sun or other stars, can “bend the path of light,” and even that is a slight deviation.
I must say that Waisaka has made some valid remarks.
Yes. It is a good topic for “insight meditation.”
1. A maha kappa consists of four “asaṅkhyeyya kappas” or ‘incalculable periods.” That will help your point, “Of course 1 kappa is utterly long and suffering in the apaya for billions of years would be insane,” to sink into the mind.
- See “Kappa Sutta (AN 4.156).”
2. We can visualize it as follows: Suppose the following offer is made: You can have the most luxurious vacation possible for nine months, but you will be subjected to unimaginable suffering for almost three months.
- That is the equivalent of a sentient-being spending three “asaṅkhyeyya kappas” without suffering and almost one “asaṅkhyeyya kappa” in the apayas. That is because the time spent in all “good realms” (averaged over many maha kappas) is insignificant compared to the time spent in the apayas. See #8 of “Cuti and Marana – Related to Bhava and Jāti.”
- The other problem is that the cycle keeps repeating. It does not end until a magga phala is attained.
3. If one spends some time contemplating this, one would be incentivized to make the best effort to attain a magga phala!
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1. There is nothing wrong with getting into jhana. But one must be careful not to think one is closer to Nibbana (magga phala) because one can get into jhanas. Most Brahmas are puthujjana.
- The Buddha labeled the “kama loka” as “hīna dhātu” (hīna means “inferior”), “rupa loka” as “majjhima dhātu” (majjhima means “middle”), and “arupa loka” as “paṇīta dhātu” (paṇīta means “superior”).
- Thus, humans live in “kama loka,” which gives rise to “inferior perceptions, inferior views, inferior thoughts, inferior intentions, inferior aims, inferior wishes, an inferior person, and inferior speech.” See “Giñjakāvasatha Sutta (SN 14.13).”
- @ marker 4.1: Those Brahmas in rupa loka experience “middling (middle) perceptions, middling views, middling thoughts, middling intentions, middling aims, middling wishes, a middling person, and middling speech.”
- @ marker 5.1: Arupavacara Brahmas in arupa loka experience “superior perceptions, superior views, superior thoughts, superior intentions, superior aims, superior wishes, a superior person, and superior speech.”
2. Now, jhanic experiences (especially in jhana samapatti) of humans are similar to the experiences of rupa loka Brahmas.
- arupa samapatti experiences of humans are similar to the experiences of arupa loka Brahmas.
3. One can attain magga phala from kama loka, rupa loka, or arupa loka.
- However, since seeing and hearing are not possible in arupa loka, only those arupa Barhamas with at least the Sotapanna stage of Nibbana can attain higher magga phala.
4. From any of the “three lokas,” one must get to the upacara samadhi (for magga phala) to be able to cultivate Satipatthana and attain higher magga phala.
5. The advantage of getting into jhanas is that while in a jhana, it would be easier to get to upacara samadhi because most akusala thoughts do not arise while in the jhana.
- The disadvantage is that many people get attached to the “jhanic experience” and get stuck there. Some even think they have attained magga phala because of the “better mindset/experience,” which, unlike sensual (kama) experiences, can last long, even for hours.
- But if one can cultivate an Ariya jhana, that would be a special case. Only an Anagami can get into even the first Ariya jhana, because one would have eliminated kama raga (instead of just suppressing as in anariya jhana.)
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The old post has been rewritten with a new title: “Citta, Manō, Viññāna – Nine Stages of Mind Contamination“
- Dosakkhayo quoted from that new post.
- Yes. I will try to do that ASAP.
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