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“I’m not sure what source is (AN-a 9:21).”
It is ” Tiṭhāna Sutta (AN 9.21)”
English trnslation there: “21. In Three Particulars”
– Note that Jambudipa” is incorrectly translated as, “India” there.No. I don’t recall where I got that information. But I am sure it exists in the Tipitaka because it is either something I heard from Waharaka Thero or I saw it somewhere in the Tipitaka.
– If someone knows, please post.Anyway, it is not worthwhile to spend time on these aspects to great extent. Of course, these have the benefit of enhancing saddha. But there is the issue of time too!
– Time is better spent on learning Dhamma concepts.From the above link by Lang, the informative rebirth account is at:
Thanks, Daniel.
I am not sure whether I referred to a relevant sutta there. The following sutta describes that there are a thousand world-systems of which ours (Earth-based life) in just one. Furthermore, there are an uncountable number of such “clusters.”
“Paṭhamakosala Sutta (AN 10.29)”
– “..sahassaṁ jambudīpānaṁ sahassaṁ aparagoyānānaṁ sahassaṁ uttarakurūnaṁ sahassaṁ pubbavidehānaṁ” refer to those 4 human abodes within ours. Of course, we can see only the jambudīpā or this Earth. This also confirms that jambudīpā is NOT India or Sri Lanka. It includes all countries where humans live (those we can see).
– A reasonable translation there: “Kosala (1)”Different Buddhas are born in different clusters. This is why the Buddha said this kind of analysis is unthinkable for average humans. See, “Acinteyya Sutta (AN 4.77)“.
– A reasonable translation there: “Unconjecturable“I think your questions of a “self” will be answered in the upcoming posts in the new section:
“Basic Framework of Buddha Dhamma“All types of bhava start with a hadaya vatthu and a set of pasada rupa.
– That set can be called “manomaya kaya.” So, any living being has a manomaya kaya.Brahmas and Devas are born with that manomaya kaya AND a “physical body.” They live their whole lives in that state. Those “physical bodies” of Brahmas and Devas are, of course, at a much less density compared to “human bodies.”
Humans and animals are born only with the manomaya kaya at the patisandhi moment. They start making “physical bodies” after getting into a womb.
– However, such manomaya kaya can become a bit dense due to inhaling the aroma of plants, flowers, etc. Thus the name gandhabba (gandha + abba).The other 3 realms in the apayas can be complex. For example, a hell-being is said to born with a full physical body. They get “killed” often due to torture, but are reborn instantaneously until that kammic energy is exhausted.
You wrote: ” I wanted to write another post on the topic of Ven. Ledi Sayadaw, but it seems that the topic is closed.”
– Which three is that? If you post the link I can re-open it.That was an old post and I just revised it.
Thanks to DanielSt for bringing it up.
– Please read the post and ask any unanswered questions.Revised post: “Hidden World of the Gandhabba: Netherworld (Paralōka)“
Theravada Buddhism was brought to Burma and Thailand from Sri Lanka in the first century CE. See, #17 of “Preservation of the Buddha Dhamma”
So. Yes. The Europeans found copies of the Tipitaka in several countries.
– But they also found Mahayana documents AND Vedic documents too, especially in India.They had no idea how to sort out all those things.
Furthermore, Buddhism had declined in all those countries. In fact, there was a revival of Buddhism AFTER the Europeans got interested.
– You should read the book “The Search of the Buddha” by Charles Allen (2003).
– That book is mentioned in #7 of the post, “Misinterpretation of Anicca and Anatta by Early European Scholars.”
– Those days, most Asian “scholars” went to universities in European countries to study Buddhism! It was European scholars in those universities (including Prof. and Mrs. Rhys Davids) who made the critical decisions on how to interpret verses in the Tipitaka!; see #11 of that post.By the way, I am working on your other question on Tirokuddha.
It turns out that I have a copy of the book that DanielSt referred to. I must have read it some years back. I just glanced through it.
In Part Three of the section “The Sammaditthi Dipanai,” there is a discussion on the concept of “attā.”
– I read through the first few pages of that section and it is quite clear that his teachings were very much influenced by the Europeans.
– At the beginning of the book there is a Biography of Ledi Sayadaw. Towards the end, it says, “In 1912 he was awarded a title by the British government.”The “conversion” of Buddhist concepts started much earlier than 1912.
– For example, I refer to a book by James D’Alwis, that detailed the “Tipitaka English” convention, published in 1870:
“Tipiṭaka English” Convention Adopted by Early European Scholars – Part 1“For me, this would require a lot of effort to understand how Ven, Sayadaw explained anicca and anatta. I simply do not have time to go through his teachings.
The new series of posts that I started recently is on this subject. It will take a while to go through this series, but you will be able to make a better comparison:
“Buddha Dhamma – Noble Truths, Paṭicca Samuppāda, Tilakkhana”More on Pali resources:
“It looks like for ariya jhana, the higher the jhana, the more things cease.”
– Actually, that holds true for anariya jhana as well.
– However, it is not possible to enter Nirodha Samapatti, i.e., the last step is not possible with anariya jhana. That is because defilements are only SUPPRESSED in anariya jhana, whereas an Arahant has eliminated all defilements.“We’ve also learned that Nirodha Samapatti can last a maximum of 7 days. From this I speculate that the physical body on its own can stay alive for 7 days without the Jīvitindriya cetasika?”
– That is correct. The physical body is kept alive by the jivindriya rupa, not the jivitindriya cetasika.“Is Abidhamma different from commentaries? ”
Yes. Abhidhamma is different from the Commentaries.
– Tipitaka means “three baskets”: Sutta Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka, and Abhidhamma Pitaka.Yes. Patisambhidamagga, Petakopadesa, and Nettippakarana are the 3 original commentaries.
“What about Milindapanha , since it is in the Khuddaka Nikaya too?”
– Milindapanha is not a Commentary. It has recorded conversations between an Arahant (Nagesena) and a Greek King (Milinda) who controlled a part of India at that time (a descendant of Alexander the Great). He was a Buddhist and asked a good set of questions.More historical information at:
“Historical Background“To get into “Saññāvedayitanirodha” or “Nirodha Samapatti” one needs to go sequentially through all the jhana. By the way, these MUST be Ariya jhana, since only someone at the Arahant stage can get into it. It is basically experiencing “full Nibbana” during a lifetime.
In the English translation above, it would be better to say: “vaci sankhara cease first, then kaya sankhara, and finally mano sankhara cease.”
– Therefore, no citta can arise in Nirodha Samapatti.
– I think vaci sankhara cease in the second or third jhana. Kaya sankhara cease in the fourth jhana. All sankhara cease to exist with the ceasing of mano sankhara (with vedana and sanna) when entering Nirodha Samapatti at the highest jhana (nevasanna na sannayatana)When getting into that Samapatti, the Arahant would determine the duration of the Samapatti.
At the end of that time interval, the 3 types of sankhara arise in the reverse order.
– So, the translation would be, “mano sankhara arise first, then kaya sankhara, and finally vaci sankhara arise.”
