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1. All five components of pañcupādānakkhandha (pañca upādānakkhandha, i.e., rupa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, and viññāṇa) are mental entities, i.e., they arise in the mind.
- In the recent post “Etaṁ mama, esohamasmi, eso me attā’ti – Connection to Taṇhā, Māna, Diṭṭhi,” I presented evidence that “rupa” in the suttās refers to “rupa upadanakkhandha” and is mental.
2. Similarly, “saṅkhāra” in the suttās always refers to “abhisaṅkhāra” with “sañcetanā.” As we know, “sañ” refers to defilements or “rāga, dosa, moha.”
3. (Abhi)saṅkhāra can also be categorized as kāya saṅkhāra, vacī saṅkhāra, and citta saṅkhāra. They are all done with “sañcetanā.”
- Yes. The “Cūḷavedallasutta (MN 44)” explains them as “Assāsapassāsā kho, āvuso visākha, kāyasaṅkhāro, vitakkavicārā vacīsaṅkhāro, saññā ca vedanā ca cittasaṅkhāro”ti.” The English translation in the link translates the first part as “Breathing is a physical process,” implying that Assāsapassāsā means “breathing in and out.”
- Of course, breathing is also controlled by the mind, but it does not involve “sañcetanā.” P.S. Therefore, Assāsapassāsā cannot possibly mean “breathing in and out.” That translation is wrong.
- In some older posts, I also may have referred to kāya saṅkhāra incorrectly. I realized that error within the past couple of years (there may be posts that require revision). I haven’t had time to look for and correct such possible errors in old posts.
4. Kāya saṅkhāra refers to sankappa (subtle version of “abhisaṅkhāra“) that are automatically generated in the “purāna kamma” stage; see “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation.”
- I have not explicitly discussed the fact that kāya saṅkhāra refers to sankappa. I will explain that when I start rewriting the posts on Satipaṭṭhāna.
- Until then, I can only state the meaning of “Assāsapassāsā kāyasaṅkhāro” as “one must fully comprehend how sankappa arises in the purāna kamma stage.” Thus, “Assāsapassāsā” is not a definition of kāya saṅkhāra. It merely states that to cultivate Satipaṭṭhāna, one must fully comprehend how sankappa arises in the purāna kamma stage.
- Here, “Assāsapassāsa” has the same meaning as “jānato passato.” See “Jānato Passato” and Ājāniya – Critical Words to Remember.”
5. Buddha’s teachings are much deeper and profound than most people realize. I realized this only within the past couple of years.
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I found the following account from the Tipitaka of Ven. Adhimutta (an Arahant).
- He was captured by a band of bandits. In those days, some people believed in making sacrifices to the Gods.
- They were taking him to be sacrificed, but were astonished to see that the Thero was not afraid of being killed. Usually, their victims would be screaming and begging for their lives.
- The following account starts with the bandits asking him why he is not scared: “Adhimuttattheragāthā.”
- Thero‘s response is from marker 3.1 through 15.4. He explains to them why he is not afraid of dying (he had broken all ten samyojana, including asmi māna or the “sense of me”); in fact, he is looking forward to Parinibbāna to be free of even a trace of suffering.
- As stated there, in the end, some of the bandits become bhikkhus and attain Arahantship.
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1. Whether or not one believes in a “sense of me,” that “sense of me” is in everyone except for an Arahant.
- It is a “sansāric bond” (specifically “asmi māna” samyojana) that binds all except Arahants to the rebirth process.
- The easiest way to check this is to think about the following: Are you not afraid to die? If someone tries to kill you, would you not panic and try to avoid getting killed using all your resources?
2. In the same way, all ten samyojana (sakkāya diṭṭhi, vicikicchā, silabbata parāmāsa, kāma rāga, paṭigha, rupa rāga, arupa rāga, māna, uddaccha, avijjā) are in an average human (puthujjana).
- See #14 of “Etaṁ mama, esohamasmi, eso me attā’ti – Connection to Taṇhā, Māna, Diṭṭhi“ and my comments on May 25, 2025, above.
- They can be broken only by fully understanding the Buddha’s worldview, i.e., by cultivating paññā. That is a step-by-step process. Getting rid of asmi māna comes at the end. Even thinking about how to remove the “sense of me” is unfathomable even to a Sotapanna. It is like trying to learn calculus without knowing how to add and subtract.
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Yes, I seem to have missed an enormous factor, 9 orders of magnitude! Thank you!
- However, we can also look at it the other way, i.e., if the time taken is 10 billion years, then the mass removed by each stroke is about 36 × 10^-9 grams. The correct numbers could be somewhere in between.
- So, I need to think about how to correct it. Either way, it shows the magnitude of the time scale.
Yes, if you mean that the flow of life is real and will be there as long as the fuel (raga, dosa, moha) to feed it is there.
- An Arahant lives until the end of the physical body that he/she was born with. That physical body was born before attaining Arahanthood and will survive until the kammic energy it came with is exhausted. Once the physical body dies, all fuel is exhausted, and the lifestream of the Arahant ends—no more rebirths in any of the 31 realms in this world.
- On the other hand, a puthujjana (average human) — or even a Noble Person below the Arahant stage — would have more fuel to sustain another life at the death of the physical body. But a Sotapanna would not have fuel to initiate a rebirth in an apaya; an Anagami would not have fuel to initiate a rebirth in the kama loka.
I have updated the post “Etaṁ mama, esohamasmi, eso me attā’ti – Connection to Taṇhā, Māna, Diṭṭhi“ to discuss the above.
- I think it is a valid point to discuss. Thank you for bringing it up.
1. Do you care about suffering?
- The Bodhisatta strived to find and stop the root causes of suffering. He did not investigate whether a “self” or “me” exists in reality.
- His investigations led to attaining Buddhahood. That is when he discovered the actual reality of existence, i.e., the fact that there is no “me” in ultimate reality is a byproduct of solving the root causes of suffering.
- The Buddha emphasized that he teaches the following: “In the past, as today, what I describe is suffering and the cessation of suffering.” See “Alagaddūpama Sutta (MN 22).”
- Similar statements are in several suttās. See, for example, “Titthāyatana Sutta (AN 3.61).”
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2. There is another critical point.
- One should not focus on whether a “self” or “me” exists in ultimate reality (especially at the beginning).
- Focusing on that can lead to stress and even mental issues. We have discussed one such case recently in this forum.
- Only at or above the Anāgāmi stage will one realize the truth of that ultimate reality.
3. This is why I stated the sequence of handling diṭṭhi, taṇhā, and māna (issue of a “me”) in that order. To quote from yesterday’s post, “Etaṁ mama, esohamasmi, eso me attā’ti – Connection to Taṇhā, Māna, Diṭṭhi“:
“14. Thus, attachment to sensory inputs occurs with taṇhā, māna, and diṭṭhi.
- The latter (diṭṭhi) is specifically sakkāya diṭṭhi. One first removes sakkāya diṭṭhi (and the associated vicikicchā and silabbata parāmāsa) at the Sotapanna stage.
- Taṇhā manifests as kāma rāga, rupa rāga, and arupa rāga. Kāma rāga (tendency to attach to sensual pleasures and associated paṭigha) is removed at the Anāgāmi stage. Rupa rāga (craving jhānic pleasures) and arupa rāga (craving arupa samāpatti pleasures) are removed at the Arahant stage.
- Removal of kāma rāga and paṭigha stops rebirths in kāma loka. Removal of rupa rāga and arupa rāga also stops rebirths in rupa and arupa loka, respectively; those “jhānic/samāpatti pleasures” are also mind-made.
- Finally, māna (sense of “me”) is also removed at the Arahant stage.“
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1. Thank you for summarizing the passages in my previous posts. It will help me revise them as needed.
- Also, you wrote: “<br />” I’ve tried several times to delete it, but it doesn’t work. So I’ll just leave it as is.”
- Sorry about that. It is a bug with the forum software. I have corrected them above. In the future, just leave them; I can easily correct them.
2. The following is the correct statement (which you quoted first):
- “There is a widespread belief that Buddha Gotama’s Buddha Sāsana will last 5000 years. However, I have not seen it in the Tipiṭaka. It could be in a later Commentary, but I have not seen such a commentary either.”
- Let me provide some evidence from the Tipiṭaka to confirm it.
3. The “Gotami Sutta (AN 8.51)” has the following verse (I have linked to that verse): “Sace, ānanda, nālabhissa mātugāmo tathāgatappavedite dhammavinaye agārasmā anagāriyaṃ pabbajjaṃ, ciraṭṭhitikaṃ, ānanda, brahmacariyaṃ abhavissa, vassasahassameva saddhammo tiṭṭheyya. Yato ca kho, ānanda, mātugāmo tathāgatappavedite dhammavinaye agārasmā anagāriyaṃ pabbajito, na dāni, ānanda, brahmacariyaṃ ciraṭṭhitikaṃ bhavissati. Pañceva dāni, ānanda, vassasatāni saddhammo ṭhassati.”
Translated: “But, Ānanda, if women had not obtained permission to bear the robes, the Buddha Sasana would have lasted 1,000 years. But now that I have given them permission, the Sasana will last only 500 years.”- However, at least one sutta says that as long as true Dhamma does not disappear, people will be able to attain Nibbana as long as there are living Sotapannas (or above) who can teach others. That is discussed below.
4. The Buddha emphasized that his teachings (among humans) will not disappear as long as there are at least Sotapannas among humans who can keep passing down the teachings to the next generation.
- That is in the “Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (DN 16)”: “Yasmiṁ kho, subhadda, dhammavinaye ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo na upalabbhati, samaṇopi tattha na upalabbhati. Dutiyopi tattha samaṇo na upalabbhati. Tatiyopi tattha samaṇo na upalabbhati. Catutthopi tattha samaṇo na upalabbhati. Yasmiñca kho, subhadda, dhammavinaye ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo upalabbhati, samaṇopi tattha upalabbhati, dutiyopi tattha samaṇo upalabbhati, tatiyopi tattha samaṇo upalabbhati, catutthopi tattha samaṇo upalabbhati. Imasmiṁ kho, subhadda, dhammavinaye ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo upalabbhati, idheva, subhadda, samaṇo, idha dutiyo samaṇo, idha tatiyo samaṇo, idha catuttho samaṇo, suññā parappavādā samaṇebhi aññehi. –Ime ca, subhadda, bhikkhū sammā vihareyyuṁ, asuñño loko arahantehi assāti.”
That means: “Subhadda, in whatever teaching and training the noble eightfold path is not found, there is no true Sotapanna, Sakadāgāmi, Anāgāmi, or Arahant. In whatever teaching and training the noble eightfold path is found, there is a true Sotapanna, a Sakadāgāmi, an Anāgāmi, and an Arahant. The noble eightfold path is found in this teaching (Buddha Dhamma) and training (Vinaya).
– As long as bhikkhus maintain the Ariya lineage, this world will have Arahants.”
5. I have extracted #3 and #4 above from the post, “Four Conditions for Attaining Sōtapanna Magga/Phala.” Those are #12 and #13 in that post.
- That post provides a complete explanation.
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1. You wrote: “The main goal is to maintain a state of equanimity.”
- I have no issue with that. I believe many people attending Goenka retreats attain a “state of equanimity.”
- One can attain a “state of equanimity” by focusing the mind on a fixed object, such as the breath or a ball of clay. That is not hard.
2. I (and several others) tried to explain that achieving a “state of equanimity” is not the goal of the Buddha Dhamma. Of course, it helps to achieve a “state of equanimity” to engage in insight meditation.
- To understand the goal of the Buddha Dhamma, one must believe in the following: (i) There is a rebirth process, (ii) most rebirths are in “suffering-filled realms,” (iii) the rebirth process cannot be stopped until the “sansāric bonds” (bonds to the rebirth process) are broken by cultivating Satipaṭṭhāna.
- Therefore, until the four states of magga phala (Sotapanna, Sakadagami, Anagami, Arahant) are attained, one would not be free of future suffering.
- Do they teach how to cultivate Satipaṭṭhāna? If so, please outline what is taught regarding Satipaṭṭhāna.
3. The worst suffering in the lowest realms would be stopped by reaching the Sotapanna stage. One must at least see the anicca nature to be a Sotapanna.
- You wrote: “The teaching is to see the anicca nature in every moment.”
- Can you explain what you understood by that statement? The anicca nature of what specifically?
See #9 through #12 in “Nirōdha Samāpatti, Phala Samāpatti, Jhāna, and Jhāna Samāpatti.”
I asked Grok (AI): “How has the number of children seeking ‘gender change’ changed over the years? I am interested in the long-term trend.”
Answer:
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1980s: ~100–200 global referrals/year.
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1990s: ~200–500 global referrals/year.
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2000s: ~500–1,500 global referrals/year.
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2010: ~1,500–2,000 global referrals; ~700–1,000 U.S. diagnoses.
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2013: ~2,000–3,000 U.S. diagnoses; ~1,000 UK referrals.
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2021: ~42,000 U.S. diagnoses; ~10,000 UK cases.
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2023: ~13,994 U.S. minors treated (2019–2023 cumulative).
The trend shows an exponential increase starting around 2010, with a particularly sharp rise post-2013, driven by adolescent females and broader access to care.________I am not sure how accurate the data is. But the trend is clear.You wrote: “He says that in reality there are only 4 jhānas (rupa jhānas) and what we call “arupa jhānas” are actually states within the 4th jhāna.”
- What I highlighted above is what is wrong.
Yes. There are only four jhānās, which correspond to the mental states of rupa loka Brahmas.
- There are four arupa samāpattis, which correspond to the mental states of arupa loka Brahmas.
- So, it is incorrect to say the following (to quote from your comment), “He says that in reality there are only 4 jhānas (rupa jhānas) and what we call “arupa jhānas” are actually states within the 4th jhāna.”
__________
The eight states you quoted from the Tapussa Sutta confirm what I mentioned above.
- The ninth one at the end of your comment is not a jhāna or samāpatti.
- “The cessation of perception and feeling“ is “nirodha samāpatti,” which is attainable only by an Arahant.
Also, see “Tapussa Sutta (AN 9.41)– Akuppā Cētōvimutti” and “Nirōdha Samāpatti, Phala Samāpatti, Jhāna, and Jhāna Samāpatti.”
