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The following comment is from y not
When I tried to add a link to his comment, the whole comment disappeared. But luckily I kept a copy of his comment. Thanks, y not!
Cubibobi,
Go to the discussion:
“AN 10.219 Karayakayasutta (The Body born of Deeds)“. The subject matter of the two suttas (and of the one i between) is the same.Metta
Sybe07: I deleted your comments. Quoting an incorrectly translated sutta is not the way to disprove anything.
Nothing happens without a cause. If you say that kamma is not that cause, what is it?
Again, not all past kamma bring vipaka. This is all explained in the post I quoted above. Also, that is the whole idea behind Paticca Samuppada.
Sybe07: “My opinion, based on the sutta’s SN36.21, AN5.104 and AN.10.60, is that the Buddha did not teach that any problem we face is caused by our own immoral deeds in the past.”
What you have wrong is the part in the bold.
1. There MUST be a previous kamma to bring vipaka. We have done infinite number of kamma in the past and it may not be possible to pinpoint the specific kamma. But NOTHING happens without a cause. Only a Buddha can get into such specifics for a given person.
2. But NOT all previous kamma can bring vipaka. There MUST BE the right conditions to bring vipaka.
This is discussed in, “What is Kamma? – Is Everything Determined by Kamma?”
Please read that post carefully. If you see something not correct, quote the bullet # and explain why that is not correct.
Sybe07 wrote: “They might inherit the problems.”
No. They DO NOT.
The following is a key aspect of Buddha Dhamma and that can avoid many unnecessary speculations about kamma/kamma vipaka.
Kamma are committed BY THE MIND.
– If one thinks, speaks, and acts with greed, anger, ignorance, those are the root causes.
– Kammic energy is PRODUCED in javana citta.If those children helped their father in his immoral activities (and thus generated defiled THOUGHTS) then they would create THEIR OWN kamma and the corresponding vipaka will come to them.
– That has nothing to do with the kamma/kamma vipaka that the father created for himself.One is responsible only for one’s own deeds.
The children are not responsible for their father’s actions unless they helped him in those particular activities.
Yes. The five khandhas (aggregates) can be thought of like a registry or a record.
Until the Arahant stage is reached, we all make wrong decisions and thus generate “wrong” sankhara, vinnana, etc.
– Those go to the five aggregates as records. So, you are right. We have corrupt registries.Even an Arahant has a corrupt registry in the sense of the records generated before attaining the Arahanthood.
– Only the NEW records (after Ararahnthood) will not be corrupt for an Arahant.Theruwan Saranai, Passambhayam!
You asked, “Anyway I just wanted to make a wish of learning more about this term passambhayam if someone could elaborate on it.”
Passambhayam means “calming down” or “cooling down.”
The verse in the Mahā Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta is, “Passambhayaṃ kāyasaṅkhāraṃ assasissāmī’ti sikkhati, ‘passambhayaṃ kāyasaṅkhāraṃ passasissāmī’ti sikkhati.”
That simply means, “One cools down one’s mind by cultivating good kāya saṅkhāra and stopping bad kāya saṅkhāra.”
kāya saṅkhāra are those saṅkhāra that control our bodily actions.
– So, bad kāya saṅkhāra lead to stealing, hitting, sexual misconduct, etc.
– Good kāya saṅkhāra lead to giving, physically helping others, etc.That is a very simple explanation. I have not yet directly discussed that verse. But posts on that sutta at, “Mahā Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta.”
Sankhāra discussed at, “Sankhāra – What It Really Means.”
– As discussed there ALL three types of saṅkhāra (mano, vaci, and kāya) arise in one’s mind.This section of the Mahā Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta is relevant to Anapanasati. It is Section 1.1 Kāyānupassanā ānāpāna pabba.
Many people, of course, incorrectly translate that verse has something to do with “breathing in and out.”
– There are several posts on Anapanasati at, “Bhāvanā (Meditation)” section.Yes. The post, “Kāma Guṇa – Origin of Attachment (Tanhā)” is good to read.
All vedana, including Sāmisa vēdanā, “samphassa-jā-vēdanā,” and nirāmisa vēdanā are included in the five types of vedana (sukha, dukkha, somanassa, domanassa, upekkha or neutral.)
It is good to understand how each of those different categories can arise.
Another important thing is the following:
– All vipaka vedana are sukha, dukkha, or upekkha.
– Somanassa and domanassa vedana are “mind-made” due to our gati. They are “samphassa-jā-vēdanā.” They do not arise in an Arahant.Johnny apparently ran into posting the following comment, and he emailed me.
Sāmisa vēdanā is also included, right?
Glad that I re-read your post on Kāma guṇa and realise there is this thing called Sāmisa vēdanā. Made me realise that an Arahant cannot become a piece of log and not find faeces smelly or rotten food distasteful to consume!
Yes, Johnny.
All types of vedana (sukha, dukkha, somanassa, domanassa, upekkha or neutral) are parts of Vedanakkhandha.Good comment, Siebe.
Yes. There were materialists then, just like today.But there were also yogis like Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta who did not have the ten types of miccha ditthi and were on the “mundane eightfold path.”
– That is why they were able to cultivate jhana.Of course, they were not aware of the anicca, dukkha, anatta nature of the world, and that is why they could not get to Nibbana.
– Upon Enlightenment, the Buddha thought about teaching his new-found Dhamma to those two yogis, but they had just died.Yes. Thanks. I just revised that sentence as follows:
These factors are really mental factors (cetasika) and citta that incorporate them.
Thanks, Tobias!
Of course, citta is not a cetasika. So, I changed the heading of the first column to be “Parameter Involved”.
“But what is the difference between the two or better asked how can sanna work without manasikara?”
As you said, Tobias, both sanna and manasikara cetasika are in ALL citta.
– They help each other. More precisely, sanna cannot identify an object without manasikara cetasika “pulling in” memories from the past.When the word “parrot” is heard, the manasikara cetasika pulls in memories with that word. Then the sanna cetasika identifies that and a picture of a parrot comes to the mind.
– Of course, the cetana cetasika is responsible for “pulling it all together” with one’s gati and generating vedana, vinnana, etc.
– We also need to realize that sanna is more than just “identification.” The perception as a “good or bad thing” is also included in sanna. For example, an average human, upon seeing a beautiful object automatically generates a “sukha sanna” or a “nicca sanna.”Also, see, “The Amazing Mind – Critical Role of Nāmagotta (Memories).”
So, it is a bit complex, but we need to contemplate those subtle aspects. You are on the right track. That is vipassana meditation.
I have been posting the recent posts from puredhamma.net on Dhamma Wheel discussion forum for some time. Regarding the recent post (the topic of this thread), the following question was asked:
“How to confirm the existence of gandhabba from the individual experience?”
The following is my answer, which could be helpful to some.
This is a good question in the sense that it goes to the heart of Buddha Dhamma.
As I explained in the recent three posts, Buddha’s teachings are not known to humans in the absence of a Buddha Sasana (or “Ministry of the Buddha” in Western terminology.) Many aspects are not amenable to the “experience of an average human.”
The core teachings of the Buddha can be summarized into a few “axioms” in the terminology of science. An axiom in science is a “fundamental truth” that is taken to be “self-evident.”
– However, in Buddha Dhamma, the following “axioms” are NOT self-evident, because only a Buddha can discover them.The following, among a few others, fall into that category.
1. The laws of kamma.
2. Existence of gandhabba and para loka.
3. Existence of the 31 realms.
4. The rebirth process.An average human can never figure out those on his/her own. Even when explained by a Buddha, not all can understand them either.
– There is another critical factor involved in that “understanding process.” It HAS TO BE understood in a systematic way. One cannot just jump in and grasp those concepts right away.As we know, one cannot learn higher mathematics like calculus without learning basic arithmetic first, then algebra, and so on. Buddha Dhamma describes the laws of nature. Nature’s laws are much more complex than advanced mathematics.
– There is an additional factor involved too. The ability to understand becomes easier when one starts “cleansing one’s mind.” That does not just mean following some precepts (even though they are an important part).
– One has to start on the mundane path, live a simple life (away from both too much sensory pleasures and also hardships). That makes a mind less stressful and less agitated.
– As one lives a moral life and keeps learning (and seeing the self-consistencies) one’s faith in the teachings will grow.For example, some people are very uncomfortable with the concept of rebirth and the idea that one could be born an animal or worse.
– So, one needs to make an attempt to see whether there is truth to the rebirth accounts of so many children from all over the world.
– Even if ONE rebirth account is true, that allows laws of kamma to work over multiple lives. One reason that many people don’t believe in the laws of kamma is that they can see murderers not getting justice, drug-dealers living luxurious lives, etc. But those actions do not go unpunished in the rebirth process.That is just one example. The bottom line is that do not expect to confirm those “axioms” in Buddha Dhamma by “personal experience” in the sense of being able to “see” a gandhabba.
– However, personal experiences DO play a major role in the sense that one can start experiencing the benefits of the practice IF one does not restrict practice just to following a set of precepts.
– Real “mediation” is contemplation. One has to learn Dhamma concepts and contemplate on them. There is no “blind faith” involved. Blind faith WILL NOT work.
– Even a change in lifestyle to a simpler life (away from too much drinking, partying, gambling, etc) will indicate the benefits of a simple life. That is a good start.Now, I am NOT directing the above comments to you on a personal basis. I have no idea about the status of any single person at the forum. Those are general comments.
– Furthermore, it is not possible to say all I need to say about this important issue in a post like this. But if you read my posts over the past couple of years at this forum, it may be possible to get a better idea.
– By the way, your previous question on “bhava” and jati” falls under the same category. One has to logically follow the teachings of the Buddha to see the truth in them. It is a big jigsaw puzzle that needs to be assembled with a lot of effort and determination.
– However, once some traction is gained, the “joy of Dhamma” will keep one fully engaged. Then one will realize that activities like watching movies are a waste of time and fishing, for example, is an immoral activity. One will not need to force oneself away from such activities. Again, you may be already fully engaged. That is a general comment, just like all my posts. They are meant for a general audience.
