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Hello Brett,
Yes. I have read those accounts too.
However, “hadaya vatthu” is not the same as the hadaya or heart.
The heart is part of the physical body. Hadaya vatthu is part of the mental body (gandhabba).
– While the mental body is staying with the physical body, hadaya vatthu OVERLAPS the heart.However, sometimes the mental body separates from the physical body even while the person is living, as in the cases of Near-Death Experiences (NDE).
– In such cases, hadaya vatthu comes out of the physical body, as part of the gandhabba.Still, the mental body and the physical body can affect each other to some extent. The anecdotal evidence of some such effects is what you mentioned.
Yes. A somewhat better way to say that is as follows:
It is possible for attachment to worldly things to happen (taṇhā) as long as the dangers of attaching to worldly things are not comprehended.
– That understanding grows as paññā grows.
– Thus, the tendency to attach to worldly things starts to fade away at the Sotapanna Anugami stage.No. An Arahant does not generate tanha but generates mano sankhara.
A discussed in the recent post, “Saṅkhāra – Should Not be Translated as a Single Word” (see #3), any citta had mano sankhara (vedana and sanna).
– An Arahant generates mano sankhara but does not have tanha.Khanti is to get to some kind of “relaxation” or “calming down.”
– When one sees how the samsaric suffering arises via Anuloma (forward) Paticca Samuppada process, one gets to Anuloma Khanti.
– That is a “cooling down” reached when one gets close to Nibbana by realizing the perils of cultivating sankhara “in hopes of enjoying worldly pleasures.”When one also realizes that such suffering can be overcome by the Patiloma (backward) Paticca Samuppada process, one can see how that “cooling down” can be attained. That basically completes the two requirements to start pursuing the Noble Path.
– “Sammattaniyāma” may come from “sammā” + “atta” + “niyama” where sammā is to “remove san“, “atta” is “refuge”/”ultimate truth”, and “niyama” is a “law” or “principle.”Yes. That is the full niddesa version.
– Thank you for pointing that out, Lang!It is also important to note that the Akusala-mula PS process starts when the mind attaches to an arammana. That is discussed in detail in the post:
“Difference Between Tanhā and Upādāna“Hello CeruleanArc! Good observations.
First, let me point out the main difference between the foundational aspects of Buddha Dhamma and modern science.
– Modern science is based on physics, and physics is based on material phenomena. Mental aspects are EXPECTED TO arise out of physical phenomena. Therefore, anything outside of that framework, the scientists label “metaphysics.”
– Buddha Dhamma is based on the mind. Physical things also arise out of mental phenomena. This aspect ALSO comes out of Paticca Samuppada. I have not presented this analysis yet. Understanding that requires a good understanding of Paticca Samuppada (and Abhidhamma.)With that in mind, we can look at your first observation: “Why don’t we remember our past lives?” Since some people do, and we’ve provided that as evidence for past lives being real, we now need to explain why only a few people have these memories. It’s simple. Because the spiritual component of a human being is the only thing that passes from one life to the next, then it must store memory. But because of the material limitations of the human brain, without some spiritual mechanism to allow the brain to access this information, the brain can only access memory stored in the brain..”
– In the above framework of modern science, there is nothing outside of the brain that can retain memories. So, when the brain dies, ALL memories are lost. It is not possible to even think about past lives, because there is no basis for future life to arise DUE TO the current life!
– This is why such phenomena as memories of past lives are not even seriously considered by scientists. They put all such phenomena into the category of “metaphysics” and don’t even try to address them. For them, that would be an impossibility based on the assumptions built into modern science as I outlined above.Now, to the second part of your comment: “Anyway, I wrote all this because I find it particularly egregious when laypeople say, “It’s only a theory,” as if that was a gotcha for science. It really isn’t. Science has two names for “things that we are currently 99.99% sure that we know about the world.” The two names are laws and theories…”
– The difference between scientific LAWS and THEORIES is not clear-cut.
– Even those “laws” tend to be watered down to “theories” with new discoveries of deeper aspects. For example, we had “Newton’s laws of gravitation” for a long while, where gravity was treated as a force. But with Einstein’s theory of general relativity, gravity is a feature of “spacetime.”
– On the other hand, the laws of Buddha Dhamma are UNIVERSAL. Those laws (based on Paticca Samuppada) are effective whether a Buddha discovers them or not. A Buddha only discovers those nature’s laws. Those are not the laws of the Buddha!Finally, you write: “EDIT: To clarify, both scientific laws and scientific theories are subject to change if disproven by an exception that “breaks the rules.” That’s the wonderful thing about science. .”
– Yes. Within the framework of modern science that is true. But science can make only so much progress because the framework is LIMITED TO material phenomena. There is no way to accommodate mental phenomena.
– For example, there are several scientific THEORIES on how consciousness may arise from inert matter. But none has been successful. It is an impossible task!I have been on travel and just got back. I will give my thoughts tomorrow.
If others have comments, please feel to post.
That is not quite correct. I just revised it as follows:
3. Tihetuka means kusala kamma done with alobha, adosa, amoha.
– Dvihetuka means kusala kamma done with alobha/amoha or adosa/amoha.
– Here, amoha means one would have wisdom at least at the minimum level, i.e., one would be aware of the laws of kamma.
– Ahetuka means kusala kamma done with alobha/adosa, but without comprehending the laws of kamma (i.e., one’s actions would have consequences in the future.)Thanks, Tobias!
Hello earthdweller,
You asked: “why in dvihetuka the root mentioned only alobha and adosa without amoha”
Actually, dvihetuka is defined as alobha/amoha OR adosa/amoha.
– Amoha MUST be there.That is because in order to understand Buddha Dhamma (to a basic level or to a deeper level) one must at least understand that one’s actions WILL HAVE consequences.
– That basic level of “wisdom” is needed for both dvihetuka and tihetuka.Then to understand the deeper dhamma and get to magga phala, one must have a tihetuka birth with amoha/alobha/adosa.
Since this is an important subject — and there have been many questions — I thought of re-writing an old post to clarify things a bit more.
See, “State of Mind in the Absence of Citta Vithi – Bhavaṅga”
Please feel free to ask questions. I can revise the post as needed to make it better.
P.S. Note that the “formatting panel” is available again.
I slightly revised (removed a sentence from my comment above). Answers to Tobias’s questions are below.
“Cakkhunca paticca rupeca uppajjhati cakkhu vinnanam”
– ‘Rupa” or “rupayanata” involve external visual objects.
– “Cakkhu” or “cakkhayatana” requires cakkhu pasada rupa.“Mananca paticca dhammeca uppajjhati mano vinnanam”
– “dhamma” or “dhammayatana” involve namagotta, kamma bija, etc and involve vinnana dhatu. Vinnana dhatu is present in all 31 realms.
– “mana” or “manayatana” is present when citta can arise.With those fundamental facts, we can address Tobias’s questions.
1. In Asañña realm, only physical bodies (inert) with hadaya vatthu of those beings are present. Of course, dhammayatana is also present but those “dhamma” are prevented from contacting hadaya vatthu. Thus, manayatana is not present.
– Hadaya vatthu is in the bhavanga state. As I explained before, those are NOT bhavanga citta.2. In arupa realms, only the manayatana and dhammayatana present.
3. Tobias’s final comment: I don’t see a problem with the following:
asanna satta – “Body only; no mind”I may have misunderstood some questions. If so, ask again.
Tobias:
Asañña satta has a hadaya vatthu.
– However, “mananca paticca dhammeca uppajjati mano vinananam” cannot take place because that is prevented by kammic energy for an asañña satta.
– So, the mind is effectively inactive, i.e., no citta can arise.Ekaja kaya is the first kaya (kammaja kaya) that arises at cuti-patisandhi. For an asañña satta that is the only kaya that can arise, since no citta can arise (no cittaja kaya, and hence no utuja kaya either).
I don’t see those formatting buttons either. Will try to see what the problem is.
Hello Lair,
Meditation can be at many levels. However, we can just take the two major types.
1. The commonly used “breath meditation” gives only temporary relief. The calming of the mind does not last long. This is practiced as a “formal meditation”, i.e., one needs to be sitting down and focusing on the breath.
2. The Buddhist Anapanasati meditation can be done at different levels in different postures.
– The primary type practiced at all waking moments is to watch for greedy, hateful/angry/ignorant thoughts/actions/speech and to avoid them.
– At the deepest level, one can do a formal meditation (sitting down in a quiet place). Here one can meditate on Dhamma concepts. For example, one can meditate on the unfruitful nature of attaching to worldly pleasures (anicca, dukkha, anatta nature). But one first needs to understand those concepts.The methods in #2 will lead to a permanent reduction of agitation of the mind. But it takes time.
See, “Bhāvanā (Meditation)”:
P.S. For some reason, the “formatting feature” is not working. I am unable to link to the page. I will try to figure out why.
Raj wrote: “I was wondering, if a gandhabba is a mental body, and if a person happens to die in Europe, but has a lot of attachments to his or her home continent ( family, friends, property, etc) then the gandhabba will tend to go to that area where the attachment is, and the mind can travel instantly to that area. ”
It is true that a person dying may be born in a faraway location.
– But it is not correct to say that the “mind travels.”
– It is better to say that the rebirth will take place in a “matching location.”For example, if a human is to be born a Deva, he would be born instantly in a Deva realm (located far away).
– The “place of birth” is according to the “gati” of that birth.
