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I had a bit of time this morning, so I listened to a little bit more of the above discourse. But I could not proceed beyond about 12 minutes.
I ran into the same issue that I mentioned above again. Around 9:55 Bhikkhu Thanissaro says “your consciousness gets MIXED UP with the consciousnesses of those parasites in your body”.
This shows a clear lack of understanding of how consciousness arises.
Our consciousness (and thoughts) arise in the hadaya vatthu (seat of the mind) located in our mental body (gandhabba).
– In the same way, the consciousness of a parasite arises in its hadaya vatthu.
– There is no way that they can “get mixed up.”
– A parasite in our physical body is no different from millions of external microscopic/macroscopic beings our bodies come to contact with.Of course, various external factors can indirectly INFLUENCE our consciousness.
– For example, if parasites in our gut cause digestion problems, that will affect our mindset, because we need to worry about that problem.
– But that is not any different from our mental state being affected by someone saying something harsh or causes bodily harm to us.This is why we need to be careful. That discourse seems harmless, and even sounds a “bit deep”. But it is based on a false premise. No one with even a bit of Abhidhamma knowledge will say such a thing.
– By the way, I had previously listened to a discourse by the same bhikkhu on Anapana meditation and that is also completely wrong. He describes that as a “16-step breath meditation”. But those 16 steps are NOT what the Buddha described in the Anapanasati Sutta.Please do not post any discourses by that bhikkhu in this forum. While some may have useful information, I don’t have time to listen to them to make sure.
I listened to the first part of it. That discourse does not seem to be relevant.
– What is the relevance of the consciousness of other (parasite beings) living in our bodies to our efforts to attain Nibbana? How are such living beings different from other living beings who live around us? Just because they live in our bodies does not make any difference.These are distractions. I will leave it. But please do not bring these irrelevant things to the discussion here.
The cells in our body are NOT different living beings. They are part of our physical body.
But there are small/microscopic living beings mostly in our gut, and even on the skin!
– So, it is possible that some of those living beings can cause problems. However, most in the gut actually help us in various ways. I am sure if you find more information on that by doing a Google search. But please don’t post them here.Pabhassara citta is the first stage in the 9 stages. So, it does not even get to the second stage of “mano”.
Even for an Arahant, a citta evolves to the third stage of “manasan.”
– But if the Arahant is in Arahant-phala Samapatti, that is when the Arahant experiences the pabhassara citta.All citta (except for an Arahant) go through nine stages. That happens within a billionth of a second. That applies to kamma vinnana or vipaka vinnana.
– Note that what we call vinnana is really the ninth stage, vinnanakkhandha. That is why we are able to recognize people, things, inatantly.“Citta, Manō, Viññāna – Nine Stages of a Thought”
Also, see, “Amazingly Fast Time Evolution of a Thought (Citta)”
For an Arahant, it goes through only the first three stages: citta, mano, manasan. (Because there is no attachment to anything there is no hadayan).
– But it does get into the final stage of vinnanakkhandha (an Arahant also remembers). I have not discussed such details there.We remember things instantaneously because all citta evolve to the vinnanakkhandha stage.
“Upon attainment of arahandhood, that human being will live his life till the end of his remaining current human jati or after 7 days, parinibana?”
That holds ONLY for a layperson who has attained the Arahanthood.
– But a bhikku with Arahanthood will live to the end of his natural life. We know that Ven. Ananda lived for 120 years, even though he attained Arahanthood at a young age. The Buddha himself was an Arahant and lived for 45 years after the Buddhahood/Arahanthood.If a layperson attains Arahanthood, he/she MUST become a bhikkhu/bhikkhuni within 7 days. That is because a layperson cannot “bear” the Arahanthood for more than 7 days.
“What does Buddho mean? Is it a plural of Buddha, and is there a mention of such breathing technique in the Tripitika?”
– Buddho is actually singular. It refers to the Buddha.
– Not everything is in the Tipitaka. Various meditation techniques can be used as long as they are consistent with the Tipitaka.
“I tried it this morning during my meditation (1hour duration) and it seemed to help.”
– Yes. It is fine to use that to calm the mind.
– Buddha comes from “bhava” + uddha” OR “stopping suffering-filled rebirth”.
– Also see:
“A Buddhist or a Bhauddhaya?”That is right.
In some rare cases, the mental state of the mother could be different from her “normal state”. For example, in the case of rape. In that case, a gandhabba matching that particular “state of mind” can take hold of the zygote. But there could be other cases, where the change could be good or bad.
– In cases like that, that gandhabba may be pulled out by kammic energy at a later time. That could result in a miscarriage.Of course, these cases are complex, involving many factors.
P.S. It is important to note that the mental state of the mother at the time of gandhabba entering the womb that relevant.
– For example, in a rape situation, a mother’s mental state is likely to be “bad”.
– However, if the gandhabba enters the womb a day or two later, what is relevant is the mental state of the mother at that time.Raj wrote: “..because when in meditation, one is stopping vaci shankhara from arising..”
Why would one want to stop ALL vaci sankhara during meditation? It is important to realize that “talking to oneself” also involves vaci sankhara. Meditation involves a lot of “good vaci sankhara.”
You want to stop “bad sankhara” due to “avijja paccaya sankhara”. Those sankhara are associated with immoral thoughts/speech, and actions. Those arise in Akusala-mula PS.
– But you need to cultivate “good sankhara” in “kusala-mula paccaya sankhara” in Kusala-mula PS. Kusala kamma involve “good sankhara.”I am not sure whether you have read the posts I suggested.
A “Chula Sotapanna” is the same as “Sotapanna Anugami”, someone who is beginning to understand Tilakkhana/Paticca Samuppada/Four Noble Truths. When that understanding gets to a certain level, one becomes a Sotapanna.
I had briefly addressed this sutta in the forum per a similar request by Christian, Tobias.
See whether that addresses your question. It is an important sutta.
“Is the body or the gandhabba which is constantly changing or is it both?”
– It is both. Of course, moment-to-moment changes are not discernible.
“And is the PS process happening continuously as we are changing continuously 24/7 or does it cease to happen sometimes (especially when we are in a deep sleep)?”
– All moment-to-moment changes are not necessarily due to Paticca Samuppada (PS).
– Such changes can happen in real-time due to PS processes (Idapaccaya PS), but such changes ALWAYS happen because both our physical bodies and gandhabba are saṅkhata. Everything in this world is a saṅkhata that is constantly undergoing changes and destroyed at some time.Only akusala-mula PS processes have “avijja paccaya sankhara”.
– If you start doing vipassana that is not an akusala.
– You have skipped the step “sankhara paccaya vinnana” in your analysis.Try to understand how akusala kamma are initiated by the mind via sankhara;
“Saṅkhāra – What It Really Means”Also understand the difference between Kusala-mula and Akusala-mula PS processes in the PS section.
Thanks, Lang. I forgot to mention the following to Raj.
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