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Part 1 of Jorg’s questions:
5. “pamukha” means “coming first”. “samādhi pamukhā sabbe dhammā.” means “samādhi comes first (when creating) all dhammā.”
– Note that micchā samādhi leads to generating “bad dhammā“, for example, bad rebirths.6. “adhipati” means taking control or one who is in charge.
– So, Sutta Central translations are not too far off.7. “Uttara.” You are right: “‘Incomparably better’ seems to be more fitting.”
– For example, “uttarimanussadhamma” refer to “extraordinary or superhuman qualities,” for example, jhana and magga phala.8,9. are in different contexts.
“vimutti sārā sabbe dhammā’ means “release (Nibbana) is better than all dhamma.
“amat’ogadhā (amata ogadhā) sabbe dhammā” means similar since “amata” is Nibbana.
They are results.
– “paññuttarā (paññā uttarā) sabbe dhammā” is the way to get to Nibbana.
– P.S. Note that dhammā lead to “things that exist in this world” especially creating “new bhava” leading to rebirths. That happens via Akusala-mula PS. Buddha Dhamma means “bhava uddha dhamma” or “stopping future rebirths.” That is done via Kusala-mula PS, which requires “paññā” to some level to get started. Paññā is optimized at the Arahant stage when no more akusala citta (to do abhishankhara with avijja) can arise in mind.Part 2 of Jorg’s questions:
I think the main point is that AN 9.14 get into the details.
– It gets into the details of how dhammā are created via Paticca Samuppada; here, dhammā are essentially kammic energy (bhava) created by the mind starting with “avijja paccaya sankhara.”
– But in reality, PS gets started when an arammana comes to mind. It is at the “tanha paccaya upadana” step (once one gets attached to an arammana) that one starts doing (abhi)sankhara with “avijja paccaya sankhara.” See, “Difference Between Tanhā and Upādāna” The chart in #12 is important. The first several posts in “Worldview of the Buddha” explain that in detail.The sequence is arammana>phassa>vedana>samphassa>samphassa-ja-vedana>tanha>upadana, at which stage it goes to “avijja paccaya sankhara” (see the chart of #12 as mentioned above) and start:
avijja>(abhi)sankhara (with vitakka/vicara)>vinnana>namaupa, and on to bhava.
– That is highly condensed. You can read those posts “to dig in deeper.” But you have the right idea.Your explanation is good. I tried to add a bit more information.
P.S. “Vitakka” means to start “internally debating” what to do about an arammana (that one just got attached to.) “Vicara” means to stay there and continue that process generating more “namarupa.”
– Think about what happens if you get stuck on the idea of buying a car. You will be ‘daydreaming” about the types of cars you would like. That is engaging in vitakka/vicara.
– By the way, vitakka/vicara involves kama/vyapada/vihimsa saṅkappa. The opposites are savitakka/savicara. See “Vitakka, Vicāra, Savitakka, Savicāra, and Avitakka, Avicāra.”#1. Earthquakes are because of the motion of the tectonic plates.
#2 and #3. Scientists know nothing about the Earth’s structure below a certain depth. Everything else is just speculation (but based on current theories).
We tend to give too much credence to “scientific theories.” They are theories, not necessarily facts.
– For example, Newton’s theory of gravitation was supposed to be the truth at one time.
– But now, it holds only under certain conditions, and Einstein’s general theory of relativity is supposed to hold on a large scale.I will try to follow the rules below for revised posts.
1. If there are major revisions, it will say “re-written.”
2. If there is a specific and critical change in just one or two bullet points, they will be identified.
3. If only minor changes throughout the post, it will say “revised.” Of course, there could be some important changes, but I will not be able to itemize them. So, it will be good to at least scan the post.
I have a list of revised posts to be posted tomorrow. Some of them may not be according to the above rules.
– By the way, a list of revised posts (together with a new post) will be posted in “General Information and Updates -2” each week.I don’t think you wrote any Pali words incorrectly.
– It was general advice to all, especially about pronunciation. That is where I don’t have any feedback at all. So, I don’t even know whether it is a significant issue.
– I just wanted to ensure that people know about the “Tipitaka English” convention for writing Pali words. Some newer readers may not even have read those posts.OK. I will keep that in mind.
I will state a specific bullet # (along with the revision date) if it is a critical change.
But if I update an old post, there could be too many “small” changes that cannot be listed.
For example, sometimes I see that a given sentence can be written better, even though it is not a critical revision. There are also instances where I add a link(s) to another relevant post(s).I am not sure whether you have read the following posts. They help understand a writing convention (adopted by early European scholars) that is widely used today to “write Pali words.”
“Tipiṭaka English” Convention Adopted by Early European Scholars – Part 1” and the second part referred to therin.
It may also be helpful to pronounce Pali words correctly. One could read the Pali version of, say “Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta” while listening a good recitation of it:
“Boy Who Remembered Pāli Suttas for 1500 Years” and “Sutta Chanting (with Pāli Text)” have recitation of that sutta.By the way, anyone can use this thread to ask questions on the above or if they have related questions.
– I see some people writing Pali words inconsistent with the above convention.
– More importantly, many pronounce Pali words incorrectly because they are unaware of the above “Tipitaka English” convention. For example, “citta” is not pronounced with “t” as in “top.” Rather it is pronounced with both “t”s as in “Theme”. Also, “c” is not pronounced as in “cat” but with “ch” sound as in “chip.”
– Thus, in standard English, that word may be written as “chiththa.”Good Point. A Sotapanna would have removed all three types of vipallāsa about anicca nature.
I have revised the post. Thank you!
That is wonderful!
– Buddha’s teachings are seeping into you faster. One just needs to get started, and once taken hold, Dhamma will take over.
– In the old days (when I was much younger), cars used to get stalled. A bunch of people needed to give the car a “big push” to get it moving. At a certain speed, the engine will start. After that, you just drive where you want to go. It becomes so easy.
– It looks like you have reached that starting point or may be close.By the way, your English is good too. I remember that you initially hesitated to come to the forum when you wrote emails to me. No worries! You can express yourself well.
The last sentence could be better as:
May all living beings be with the Blessings of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha!May the Blessings of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha be with you on your journey!
1. “So dāna means giving and cāga means generosity, the two are different concepts.”
– They are not really two different concepts. But “cāga” or the desire give may be intensified when one realizes the unfruitful nature of worldly things.
From “Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56.11)“:“Now this is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering.
It’s the fading away and cessation of that very same craving with nothing left over; giving it away, letting it go, releasing it, and not adhering to it.Idaṁ kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhanirodhaṁ ariyasaccaṁ—
yo tassāyeva taṇhāya asesavirāganirodho cāgo paṭinissaggo mutti anālayo.”2. “Idha, gahapati, ariyasāvako vigatamalamaccherena cetasā agāraṁ ajjhāvasati muttacāgo payatapāṇi vosaggarato yācayogo dānasaṁvibhāgarato.”
– “Macchariya” is “extreme greed.” See #5 of “Cetasika (Mental Factors)”
– “muttacāgo” is to be “released from attachments” and become generous.
– Those are two examples. It will take a long essay to fully explain. But as you learn Pali words, you will be able to glean the meanings slowly.
– The English translation there gives a good general idea.The video I posted earlier, “Webb Telescope detects Object older than The Big Bang, Current theories fail to explain this” has been taken off. Here is another entitled, “James Webb Telescope Just Discovered a Huge Structure That Is Older than the Universe!”:
There could be evidence that (i) stars older than the predicted age of the universe exist and (ii) expansion of the universe may not be true.
– However, scientists will take time to make certain of their conclusions before discarding the current “Big Bang Theory.” Many scientists have spent their whole lives working on the Big Bang Theory.You may find the following few suttas helpful:
1. “Dānānisaṁsa Sutta (AN 5.35)”
– Next two suttas in that series are on the same subject.2. A different aspect:
“Dānamahapphala Sutta (AN 7.52)”3. Benefits of giving will increase if given to honorable, especially bhikkhus. Of course, giving to Noble Persons with increasing magga phala will have higher merits peaking with a Buddha. But that does not mean giving to animals/poor people should be neglected. Give whenever possible and whenever a need is seen.
“Khetta Sutta (AN 8.34)”4. There are many suttas on the subject. Here is a search result at Sutta Central:
“526 results for dana”
– I randomly picked the above from the first page.Note: I see that you don’t capitalize the title of a topic properly. That may be from the Korean language. The following website will make it easy. Just type the title in there, and it will give you a properly capitalized version:
“Title Case Converter“Thank you for sharing your experience.
You wrote: “Recently I realized the difference between wisdom and book knowledge.”
– I am glad to hear that. That is the key to understanding concepts in Buddha Dhamma. That whole idea of “vipassana meditation” is based on that.I also revised the old post that you referred to:
“A Simple Way to Enhance Merits (Kusala) and Avoid Demerits (Akusala)”
– I added a reference under “Notes” at the end (in #1).Thank you, Jorg.
Let me make it a bit clear. Jorg’s question/comment (that I posted for him) was made on August 19, 2022, at 5:41 am in the thread:
“Who cannot practice Ānāpānasati and Satipaṭṭhāna?”It is related to the issue of “vedanā-samosaraṇā sabbe dhammā”
P.S.
Jorg wrote, “Lal, I tried to copy the post in the link above and paste it here, but it again gave me the “forbidden” notification.”
– It is possible that this “forbidden” notification appears mainly for LONG comments. He was unable to post the same LONG comment again! His short comment above got posted without any error.
– Please use a word processor to compose longer comments. If it gets rejected, you can email it to me: [email protected]“Saṅkhata” means “prepared.”
– Everything in this world is “prepared” by the mind. Put another way, everything in this world arises via Paticca Samuppada.
– See “Manōpubbangamā Dhammā..”Everything that you mentioned is included in “saṅkhata“.
If you read the following three posts, you can get a good idea:
“Search Results for: uppado sankhata“The “10 factors” are in the verse: “‘kiṁ mūlakā, āvuso, sabbe dhammā, kiṁ sambhavā sabbe dhammā, kiṁ samudayā sabbe dhammā, kiṁ samosaraṇā sabbe dhammā, kiṁ pamukhā sabbe dhammā, kiṁ adhipateyyā sabbe dhammā, kiṁ uttarā sabbe dhammā, kiṁ sārā sabbe dhammā’ti, kiṁ ogadhā sabbe dhammā, kiṁ pariyosānā sabbe dhammâ ti.”
(The questions become clearer when you separate “kiṁ” meaning “what”?)
Jorg’s explanations of the first four factors are very good.
Jorg wrote:
5), 6), 7), 8), 9), 10).
From here on I’m not familiar with many of the terms.
Let me arrange each Q & A on the same line this time:5. kiṁ pamukhā sabbe dhammā? samādhi pamukhā sabbe dhammā.
6. kiṁ adhipateyyā sabbe dhammā? satādhipateyyā (sati adhipateyyā) sabbe dhammā.
7. kiṁ uttarā sabbe dhammā? paññuttarā (paññā uttarā) sabbe dhammā.
8. kiṁ sārā sabbe dhammā’ti? vimutti sārā sabbe dhammā’ti.
9. kiṁ ogadhā sabbe dhammā? amat’ogadhā (amata ogadhā) sabbe dhammā.
10. kiṁ pariyosānā sabbe dhammā ti? nibbāna pariyosānā sabbe dhammā tiLet me state the essence. I will write posts later to explain further.
A. Factors 1 through 6 point to the root causes of dhammā (that bear everything in this world).
–B. Note that there are ” mundane good dhammā” that lead to “better outcomes in this world like rebirths in Deva and Brahma realms. Those fall under puññābhisaṅkhāra.
– Factors 7 through 10 state that Nibbāna (reached via cultivation of paññā) is better than those “mundane good outcomes” which DO NOT last.C. Let me expand some of Jorg’s explanations.
(1) “chanda mūlakā sabbe dhammā”
– Here chanda includes rupa raga and arupa raga in addition to kama raga.
(2) – (4) Jorg’s explanations are good.
(5) Here, samādhi means “micchā samādhi“.
(6) Here, sati means “micchā sati“, i.e., the opposite of Sammā Sati. In other words, to focus on sensual, jhanic pleasures, etc.
As I wrote above, factors 7 through 10 state that Nibbāna (reached via cultivation of paññā) is better than those “mundane good outcomes” which DO NOT last.
(7) All cetasika (sobhana and asobhana) lead to the extension of the rebirth process. Only when paññā is optimized at the Arahant stage that one becomes free of all suffering. The rest of the factors need to be addressed that way.
(8) Sāra is “essence” or “good”.
(9) ogadhā is to be “immersed in”.
(10) pariyosānā is to end.
