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Thanks for letting us know, Aniduan.
I don’t have any issue on my end, but I use the Microsoft Edge browser.
– If anyone else has that issue, please post.OK. Let me clarify that.
There are two facts verified by Tipitaka references:
1. The Buddha stated that his Buddha Sasana would FLOURISH only in the first 500 years. That means there will be abundant Arahants at any time during that period.
2. However, his Buddha Sasana will not completely disappear until the Ariya lineage is maintained.The above statements are also confirmed by the following:
– There were 1000 (or 500, I don’t remember the exact #) Arahants present at the Fourth Buddhist Council held about 500 years after the Prinibbana of the Buddha. That was the last Council conducted by Arahants.
– Soon after that the true and correct teachings started fading away in the MAINSTREAM. That was due to the rise and spread of Mahayana.
– However, there have been infrequent Arahants and people with various stages of magga phala within the past 2000 years. During this period, there could have been “small bursts of resurgence” due to the birth of Jati Sotapannas. We are in such a “burst of activity” right now, thanks to Waharaka Thero.
– I have discussed some of that in the recent post, “Yoniso Manasikāra and Paṭicca Samuppāda.”The 5000 years number is a limit to how far such “small bursts of resurgence” can go into the future.
– I have read accounts in various places (I cannot remember where; it may not be the Tipitaka) that the absolute limit of the duration of the Buddha Gotama’s Buddha Sasana is 5000 years. Waharaka Thero has mentioned that too, without giving a reference.
– However, Wahraka Thero also mentioned that at the end, all the “dhathus” of the Buddha (remains of his body parts like teeth) will disappear. Furthermore, the number of bhikkhus will drastically reduce and they will gradually start living as householders. By that time, they will only wear a “yellow band” on their arm instead of wearing the yellow robes.
– That is happening even now in Japan to some extent, I have heard. But I am not certain.
– However, we are not even close to that worldwide.Therefore, I think it is OK to leave that “5000-year” number as the duration of this Buddha Sasana (i.e., 2500 more years as the absolute limit). It just gives the idea that it is far from over.
Tobias: I am not sure which post(s) you are referring to and why. You need to be more specific.
– What is “2500 years”?
– Which posts refer to that number?Hello Aniduan,
I don’t think Sotapannas (or any others with certain magga phala) have similar capabilities for explaining dhamma concepts to others.
– Understanding and explaining are two different things.For example, a Sammasambuddha (like Buddha Gotama) discovers Buddha Dhamma on his own and can also explain it to others.
– On the other hand, a paccekabuddha discovers Buddha Dhamma on his own but CANNOT explain it to others.Thanks, Tobias.
Here is a detailed description of the account in the Vinaya Pitaka where the Buddha says Buddha Dhamma will FLOURISH only for 500 years:
“20. Nuns (Bhikkhunī)”
– There is also the “Gotamī Sutta (AN 8.51)” that summarizes the above account.But that does not mean Buddha Dhamma would have disappeared after 500 years.
– As the reference given by Tobias points out, the Buddha said that “the Buddha Sasana will survive in the human realm as long as the Noble lineage survives (meaning as long as there are Sotapannas).
– That is in the “Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (DN 16)” toward the end: “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. Variant: ca → idheva (mr)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, no Sakadagami, no Anagami, and no Arahant found. In whatever teaching and training the noble eightfold path is found, there is a true Sotapanna found, a Sakadagami, an Anagami, and an Arahant found. In this teaching (Buddha Dhamma) and training (Vinaya) the noble eightfold path is found.
– As long as bhikkhus maintain the Ariya lineage, this world will have Arahants.”“Is “purisa” just “male”?”
– No. That is what I stated above.““Puggala” is “a person”, right?”
– Yes. That is right.From those two, we can see that a “purisa puggala” is a “person with purisa gati.” That can mean “higher or dominant qualities.”
– Then, “attha purisa puggala” means specifically the eight types of Noble Persons.
– Therefore, women who are at or above the Sotapanna Anugami belong to that category.“Where is that described in the Tipitaka?”
There may not be a direct description like that in the Tipitaka.
– We need to understand that Tipitaka provides only the basic framework.
– We need to make sure that anything that we derive is NOT contradictory to the Tipitaka.
– If anyone can present contradictory evidence, we can discuss that. That is how we sort out issues like this.“Can the gender change during a bhava, so one jati as female, another as male?”
– Yes. I specifically stated that above.
– In fact, there is a direct Tipitaka reference for that. One time, a wealthy person saw a young Arahant taking a bath in a river. That Arahant had an attractive physique and immoral thoughts about that Arahant came to the mind of that person. His sex changed instantaneously. He lived the life of a woman for several years and had a couple of babies too. Later on, he met that Arahant again was able to switch back to become a male.
– I don’t remember the Tipitaka reference. If anyone knows, please post.OK. It is done.
You can switch between the dark mode and the regular mode by clicking the “crescent Moon” icon to the bottom right.
It is a good idea to use the dark mode at night (easier for the eyes). Thanks again for the suggestion. I have been too lazy to look to implement that capability.
Please comment if there are any issues.
Yes. It is a good idea. Especially at night, the dark mode is good for the eyes.
We will look into how to get it done. Thanks.
This is frustrating.
OK. I should have said, ”The sixth process that Tobias referred to, “manañca paṭicca dhammē ca uppajjāti manōviññāṇaṃ” initiated by a manōdvāravajjana citta.. It is not NECESSARILY a good or bad kamma vipaka. It is a “functional citta” that can arise as needed.” (I did not have NECESSARILY there.)
But anyone should be able to understand what I meant, with my detailed explanation.
Anyway, this is my last comment, unless there are other issues.
Daniel wrote: “According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, some Citta Vitthi do not even go to the stage of “Pancadvara citta”, e.g. the very slight object at page 161.”
– ALL 15 types listed on p. 161 are listed under “Pancadvara citta vithi”. However, if that arammana is very weak, the pancadvara does not even open. The bhavanga tries to break off but does not, and goes back to the “bhavanga state.”Daniel asked: “But Bhikkhu Bodhi also calls the” Vibrational Bhavanga citta” a resultant, which I translate as vipaka?”
– Bhavanga vibration is initiated by a pañcadvāravajjana or a manōdvāravajjana arammana.Daniel asked: “It would mean the dhamma that initiates the cuti-patisandhi transition in arupa-realm is not a vipaka?”
– I explained above that my initial premise was not correct. The premise was that all sensory inputs are due to kamma vipaka. I made that statement you quoted based on that wrong premise.
– Here is the bottom line: A sensory event (in any realm) can take place as a vipaka or it can happen due to other reasons. Please read my comments carefully before commenting. Otherwise, it can get confusing. A dhamma that initiates the cuti-patisandhi transition in arupa-realm is a vipaka but there can be other sensory inputs that are not vipaka. To repeat: A sensory event is initiated by a pañcadvāravajjana or a manōdvāravajjana citta, and those are functional citta; see the Table on p. 43 of CMA book.I had made a basic error of assuming that all sensory events occur due to kamma vipaka.
– Of course, bad (and good) kamma (actions) are likely to bring vipaka in the future.However, bad (and good) sensory experiences can happen due to many reasons. Kamma vipaka is only one cause. I am not sure why I did not even think about that.
The Buddha explained that in, for example, “Sīvaka Sutta (SN 36.21)“.
– One English translation there: “36.21. Sivaka”As I mentioned above, a sensory event is initiated by a pañcadvāravajjana citta or a manōdvāravajjana citta.
– Those two are categorized as “functional citta” in Table 1.3, p. 43 of Bhikkhu Bodhi’s book (CMA) mentioned above. Those are NOT direct kusala/akusala vipaka.
– That is probably what Daniel referred to as well.So, all six processes (per MN 148 that Tobias listed in the first post on this thread) are initiated by those “two functional citta”.
– The sixth process that Tobias referred to, “manañca paṭicca dhammē ca uppajjāti manōviññāṇaṃ” initiated by a manōdvāravajjana citta.. It is not a good or bad kamma vipaka. It is a “functional citta” that can arise as needed.I guess there is nothing to be revised in the post that Tobias referred to: “Akusala Citta and Akusala Vipāka Citta”
– I have split the post into two sections (akusala citta and akusala vipaka citta) in that post.
– Please let me know if it needs any revision or if there are further questions.Thanks, Daniel.
I had forgotten about the types of vipaka citta that you mentioned in the second part of your comment.
– Need to think about how that would factor in.
– Again, my focus is to figure out how a vipaka brings in a sensory input.We may get a clue to this by looking at how a sensory event (a citta vithi) starts.
1. A pañcadvāra citta vithi starts when a pañcadvāravajjana citta disturbs the bhavanga state and makes it “come off the static “bhavaṅga state”. That takes three thought moments of AB (atita bhavaṅga), BC (bhavaṅga calana), BU (bhavaṅga upaccheda). Here “atita” (or “atheetha“) means “past,” “calana” (pronounced “chalana“) means “move” or “vibrate,” and “upaccheda” (or “upachchéda“) means “stop” or “break away.”
– That is explained in #4 of the post “Citta Vīthi – Processing of Sense Inputs”
– The same thing happens for a manōdvāra citta vīthi as explained further down in that post.
– By the way, I just revised that post too. I have addressed the issue of a “bhavaṅga citta” there too.2. The point here is that a new citta vithi based on a new arammana is NOT initiated by a cakkhu vinnana, sota vinnana, ..mano vinnana citta.
– It is initiated by a pañcadvāravajjana citta or a manōdvāra citta3. I am still not clear about the whole process. But the above is something to think about.
