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Yash asked: “If someone goes for fishing in order to enjoy that act, he would be accumulating apunna abhisankhara. But what if he is not enjoying it and just committing the act with a neutral mindset (while knowing about it)?”
- Whether one knows about kamma/vipaka does not matter. Any kamma done with greed, anger, or ignorance of kammic laws (wrong views) is an apunna abhisankhara.
- However, a kamma done with joy is more potent than one done with a neutral mindset (for someone with wrong views.)
Yash asked: “If someone is not feeling pleasure out of bad acts but has to do them in some extreme situation, won’t it generate any kamma?”
- If this person is a Sotapanna (without wrong views), it still is an apunna abhisankhara. However, it is much less potent than the same action done by someone with wrong views. That is because a Sotapanna would not do it unless necessary in some situations. Also, a Sotapanna would not do it with joy.
- However, an Arahant will not generate an apunna abhisankhara under any situation.
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Very good.
However, there is a deeper issue related to your following statement: “However, external objects composed of apo, tejo, pathavi, and vayo are neutral.”
All objects (living and inert) are made of suddhāṭṭhaka (meaning eight components). In addition to apo, tejo, pathavi, and vayo, there are four more: vaṇṇa, gandha, rasa, and oja.
- The former four components are made (in the mind) via avijja, and the latter four are made with tanha (P.S. craving for worldly things, which depends on one’s gati. Humans crave things different from those animals crave, etc.)
- That is the deeper explanation for the “distorted sanna” that is built into not only our manomaya kaya (a few suddhāṭṭhaka) and the physical body (innumerable suddhāṭṭhaka) but also into inert matter (sweetness of sugar, etc.).
I tried to explain that in my comment on August 12, 2024 at 6:46 am, in the following thread: “Scientists getting a glimpse of distorted saññā.”
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I do not want to spend the time looking into those issues.
- But I remember watching a YouTube video by Praveen Mohan where he showed dinosaur depictions in various temples.
- For humans to do that, they must have seen dinosaurs.
- I just did a search and found the following videos by him on this subject: (3) PraveenMohan – YouTube
However, I do not recommend spending time on these issues.
- Faith in Buddha Dhamma comes not from such investigations but from seeing the truth of the teachings!
I can try to explain that as follows:
1. Bahiddha rupa (with “distorted sanna“) is created by ANYONE’S mind (including Arahants.)
2. On the other hand, “ajjhatta rupa” is created at various levels by each individual, depending on how many samyojana they have.
- A puthujjana‘s mind with all ten samyojana will generate the “most attractive” ajjhatta rupa with ditthi, tanha (kama raga, patigha, rupa raga, arupa raga samyojana), and mana (mana, uddhacca, avijja samyojana).
- A Sotapanna‘s mind with seven samyojana (w/o the three ditthi samyojana) will generate less attractive ajjhatta rupa with tanha and mana.
- An Anagami‘s mind with five samyojana (w/o the three ditthi samyojana and kama raga, patigha samyojana) will generate even less attractive ajjhatta rupa with rupa raga, arupa raga, and mana (mana, uddhacca, avijja samyojana).
- An Arahant‘s mind with no samyojana will stop at the”bahiddha rupa” stage.
3. Note that the “distorted sanna” is NOT a “defiled sanna” because no raga, dosa, or moha is associated with it.
- However, that “distorted sanna” arose due to kamma generation in previous lives. Anyone born in the human realm will have it because it is built into the mental and physical human bodies via Paticca Samuppada.
- Since an Arahant‘s mind has fully comprehended that (that is how all ten samyojana were eliminated), it will not be “fooled by” the “distorted sanna.” Thus, it will not advance to the “ajjhatta rupa” stage.
4. Thus, “bahidda rupa” is also a rupa created by the mind (via Paticca Samuppada). Since it is vipaka, it cannot be stopped from arising; it is built into the mental and physical human bodies (at the beginning of the “human bhava“) via Paticca Samuppada per #3 above.
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One thing we need to keep in mind is that the Buddha mainly focused on teaching what suffering is (to move away from the “suffering-free state” or the “pabhassara mind”) and how to stop it.
- His description of javana cittas is limited to those with raga, dosa, moha, leading to the arising of more bhava and jati in this world.
- Abhisankhara are sankhara with raga, dosa, moha.
A pure mind (in the absence of raga, dosa, moha) is capable of generating much more powerful results, like iddhi powers.
- However, the Buddha did not elaborate on the mechanism responsible for such powers. However, it should be clear that Abhisankhara cannot yield them.
- Even some anariya yogis had some iddhi powers. Those were generated while they were highest jhana, where the abhisankhara generation was minimal.
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Jittananto’s description above is correct.
- However, it is possible that Mara Devaputta just wanted to tease the bhikkhuni or tried to see whether he could tempt her.
- Mara Devaputta lives in the highest Deva realm. He could have sex with unimaginably beautiful female Devas in that realm. There was no need for him to have sex with a human.
P.S. The statement, ” Hattakha Brahma is superior to Lord Buddha in the sense that he does not have a dense body and is not subject to illness and physical pain” is not appropriate, even though it is true that Brhamas don’t feel physical pain. No one is superior to the Buddha.
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I just revised the post “Essence of Buddhism – In the First Sutta.” There could be other posts where I had not been careful about the wording.
- One can see why this is important by reading “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation.”
- We always attach to pancupadanakkhandha because we always experience pancupadanakkhandha and NOT pancakkhandha.
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I want to make clear the following.
- There is no upadana in pancakkhandha.
- There is upadana in pancupadanakkhandha.
- Anyone below the Arahant NEVER experiences pancakkhandha and ALWAYS experiences pancupadanakkhandha.
There is a difference between sankhara and abhisankhara (sankhara with raga, dosa, moha, or defilements). Arahants generate sankhara but not abhisankhara.
- The problem is that suttas use sankhara to describe abhisankhara in many situations. For example, sankhara in “avijja paccaya sankhara” refer to “avijja paccaya abhisankhara.” One needs to understand the usage.
- The same applies to many other words. For example, actions with cetana are not “defiled actions,” but actions with “sancetana” are; yet, in many cases, “cetana” really means “sancetana.”
- Of course, most translators do not understand that which is a big problem. We have discussed that in many posts: “Elephant in the Room 1 – Direct Translation of the Tipiṭaka“
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I don’t understand the point of this part of discussion.
- Even if all these theories are true (based on skull measurements, etc), Neanderthals were also human. They interbred with Homo Sapiens (modern humans). Only those in the same species can interbreed.
- In that sutta, the Buddha described how human characteristics (for example, lifetimes) fluctuate (go up and down) over long periods.
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Taryal wrote: “I was wondering how the discovery of fossils of hominid species could be reconciled with Dhamma.”
- Human physiology can change with time. At the beginning of this eon (Maha Kappa), humans did not even have dense bodies like ours, as discussed in the post “Buddhism and Evolution – Aggañña Sutta (DN 27).”
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“Would such actions or examples be considered as kaya sankhara according to sir or others thinking?”
- You should be able to answer that question. Do those actions involve sancetana (i.e., with raga, dosa, moha in mind)?
- That is what I explained in #3 of my comment.
I don’t think it comes from Pali. However, in Sinhala, manussa (“mana” + “ussa“) means “higher mind.” Of course, maunssa is a word common to Pali and Sinhala.
- However, it makes sense. Even though Devas and Brahmas can attain Nibbana, only a human (maunssa) can attain Buddhahood.
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Thank you!
- Dhamma/adhamma, kusala/akusala, and other basic concepts are also discussed in “Anguttara Nikāya – Suttā on Key Concepts.”
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Please take the time to prepare the comment. I made some corrections/improvements so that others can understand it.
1. Yes. “Tattha katamo kāya saṅkhāro?” means “What is kaya sankhara?”
- Pali verses are not broken into separate words in many instances. “kāyasaṅkhāro” is “kāya saṅkhāro.”
- Also, singular words usually end with “o” in Pali. Thus, “kāya saṅkhāro” means “kāya saṅkhāra.”
2. I do not know why it asks the question, “What is kaya sankhara?” and goes on to explain the other two types as well.
- But it should not matter. Should it?
3. All we need to know here is that kamma can be done with the mind (thoughts arising in the mind), speech, and bodily actions. They are, respectively, citta (or mano) saṅkhāra, vaci saṅkhāra, and kāya saṅkhāra.
- But all three types arise in the mind. The first kind can arise without conscious thinking (automatically) and those are also called sankappa.
- To be included in “avijjā paccayā saṅkhārā” those must be “abhisankhara” done with sancetana (i.e., with raga, dosa, moha in mind.)
- The “Saṅkhāra Sutta (AN 3.23)” conveys those ideas.
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