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Yes. The concept of a gandhabba (mental body) is necessary for at least two reasons:
1. Some babies die within a few months, and some even die in the womb within a few days of conception. If the ‘human existence’ is limited to the ‘birth with a physical body,’ does the ‘human existence’ end after such a short time for them?
2. In rebirth accounts, there is always a gap of several years (sometimes hundreds of years; see “Rebirth Account of Dorothy Eady“) between consecutive rebirths. See “Evidence for Rebirth.” What happens to the ‘person’ in between two consecutive lives with physical bodies?
- Without the concept of a gandhabba (mental body), it is not possible to explain the above observations.
3. Even while living inside a physical body, the gandhabba (mental body) can ‘pop out’ in some situations, especially during heart operations or close to the death of the physical body. See “Near-Death Experiences (NDE): Brain Is Not the Mind.”
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4. The following is an excerpt from another post: “Distorted Saññā Arises in Every Adult but Not in a Newborn.”
“2. A big “mental block” exists in many people’s minds to view the gandhabba as an alien entity. You are your “mental body,” and the physical body is secondary. Your thoughts (cittās) arise in your mental body. Once outside the physical body, the mental body can see, hear, and think independently; of course, it cannot taste, smell, or touch.
- It has been ingrained in our minds (primarily via modern science) that our physical body (or the brain) creates thoughts. But the physical body is just a “shell” that becomes useless once the mental body (gandhabba) emerges from it.
- As we have discussed, a human bhava (existence) may last many thousands of years. It is that “mental body” that lasts through that whole time.
- Your essence is not your physical body or the brain but your mental body (gandhabba). However, the physical body and the brain play significant roles while the mental body is inside the physical body.
Mutual Interactions Between Mental Body and Physical Body
3. The issue is understanding how the gandhabba (mental body) trapped inside the physical body receives sensory inputs from the external world. That must be understood before understanding how gandhabba recognizes things in the external world (saññā).
So, the first step is: How does the gandhabba receive information about the external world? How does it see someone standing in front of the physical body?
Facts:
- Gandbabba consists of only a hadaya vatthu (seat of the mind) and five pasada rupa (cakkhu, sota, ghāna, jivhā, kāya.)
- If the gandhabba is outside the physical body (as in an out-of-body experience, such as an OBE/NDE), it can see and hear by itself; see the chart in #5 below. Here, seeing and hearing happen via mechanisms we don’t understand.
- However, when the gandhabba is within the physical body, it is completely shielded from the external world; the body must function effectively to transmit sensory signals to the gandhabba. Take vision first. To see something, the physical eyes must work. That light signal must be transmitted to the brain via the optic nerves and processed there. The brain MUST pass that information to the gandhabba (by a mechanism we don’t fully understand).
- Sometimes, during accidents or due to other medical reasons, one of those three components (physical eyes, optical nerves, or brain function) may permanently or temporarily stop.
- If the brain function stops (temporarily), the patient cannot see, hear, or respond in any way.
4. That is what happened to the woman in the following video. She temporarily lost brain function.
Notes:
- In most cases, the patient is unaware of the external world until the brain recovers. However, in the above case, the patient’s gandhabba came out of her body and enabled her to see without the aid of her physical body.
- The woman’s gandhabba may have come out of the paralyzed body at some point. It was in the room when Dr. Greyson came and followed him to the other room, where her friend was. The gandhabba was watching and listening to the conversation between her friend and Dr. Greyson.
- Once medical treatment restored her brain function, she could recall the conversation and tell Dr. Greyson about it in great detail. She not only heard but also saw the full details. That is why she noticed the stain on Dr. Greyson’s tie!
- So, she was able to see with her gandhabba body. Can there be any doubts about that?
- The gandhabba coming out of the physical body is not a common occurrence. However, he mentioned (perhaps in another video) that approximately 10% of people have experienced such an OBE. It is more common when patients undergo heart operations because the hadaya vatthu in the mental body overlaps the heart in the physical body.”
Another “misleading saññā” related to my comment above on January 9, 2026, at 7:18 am is the ‘seemingly solidity of matter, ‘ as when one feels hitting a tabletop.
- The atoms in the table are mostly empty space. See “Saññā Vipallāsa – Distorted Perception.”
- The following video from the physicist Richard Feynman explains this well.
Yes. You are correct that pañca nīvaraṇa are NOT removed at the Sotapanna stage. Thank you!
- I have revised that post.
I am glad to see that HugoZyl is seriously contemplating this critical point.
HugoZyl asked: “The question is what did the most holy Buddha mean when He referred to sense pleasures as ‘a pit of burning coals’?”
- No, it is not #1. It is actually the truth.
- All other points #2 through #4 hold.
However, just saying “sense pleasures as ‘a pit of burning coals’” and trying to avoid sensual pleasures is not going to work. In fact, forcefully avoiding sensual pleasures will generate dosa and paṭigha and may even lead to depression.
- One must ‘see with wisdom’ the truth of the statement.
The following are only a few suttās where the Buddha made that statement: “Dukkhadhamma Sutta (SN 35.244),” “Khīṇāsavabala Sutta (AN 10.90),” “Alagaddūpama Sutta (MN 22),” “Dasuttara Sutta (DN 34).”
- This point must be carefully investigated and understood.
- Yes. Understanding that colors are not in external objects (or in sunlight) is a starting point. That is explained in the post “Colors Are Mind-Made (Due to Kāma Saññā).”
I will gradually address the issue of saññā as a mirage in the new series of posts in the “Buddha Dhamma” section. It is good to review the basics of Buddha’s teachings and gradually move on to advanced topics. Without the basics, it could be a struggle.
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Yes. As both Hojan and HugoZyl pointed out, it is possible to attain magga phala up to the Anāgāmi stage while being a ‘lay person.’
- The advantage in being a bhikkhu/bhikkhuni is that one can devote more time to practice, since one would not have responsibilities and disturbances associated with ‘householder life.’ However, there may be other personal issues that prevent one from becoming a bhikkhu/bhikkhuni.
- For householders, the Buddha recommended allocating a day or two per month to the practice. Those days are called ‘uposatha days’, where one can devote the whole day to following the life of a bhikkhu.
- Attaining a magga phala requires the mind to get to samādhi and remain there for a while.
- I discussed that in the post “First Stage of Ānāpānasati – Seeing the Anicca Nature of ‘Kāya’” in the following section:
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Attaining the Sotapanna Phala
12. Even though most people attained the Sotapanna stage while listening to a single discourse by the Buddha, attaining the Sotapanna phala moment can happen anytime, anywhere, while contemplating. Of course, one must have learned the necessary Dhamma concepts (especially the ‘anicca nature’ of the world) from a Noble Person (an Ariya).
- The “Vimuttāyatana Sutta (AN 5.26)” describes five ways of attaining magga phala: (i) while learning Dhamma from a Noble teacher, (ii) while the person himself teaches Dhamma to others, (iii) and (iv) while the person is contemplating in detail Dhamma concepts learned from a Noble teacher. and (v) while fully immersed in a meditation subject (samādhi nimitta). Note that (ii) and (v) hold only for a Noble Person attaining higher magga phala. The other three also hold for puthujjana striving for the Sotapanna stage.
- Therefore, what matters is grasping the relevant Dhamma concepts and breaking the respective saṁyojana.
- We can look at two accounts from the Tipiṭaka to verify the above. Venerable Koṇḍañña attained the Sotapanna phala moment while contemplating the Dhamma he learnt from the first discourse delivered by the Buddha. Another is that of Ven. Cittahattha attained the Sotapanna phala moment while walking to the monastery to become a bhikkhu for the seventh time; along the way, he reflected on the Dhamma he had learned and realized the Sotapanna phala. See “Four Conditions for Attaining Sotāpanna Magga/Phala.”
Setting Aside a Day for the Effort
13. Therefore, one could, in principle, attain the Sotapanna stage within an intensely focused effort within even a day.
- As we have discussed, it requires: (i) learning about the ‘anicca nature’ of the world from a Buddha or a true disciple of the Buddha (a Noble Person) and then (ii) fully comprehending it with wisdom.
- Those two steps are called ‘jānato‘ (come to know about) and ‘passato‘ (seeing the truth of that with ‘dhamma cakkhu‘ or ‘with wisdom’).
- See “‘Jānato Passato’ and Ājāniya – Critical Words to Remember.”
Uposatha Sutta
14. This is why it is customary in the Buddhist countries to allocate a day (usually the Full Moon Day each month) to focus on this objective. They usually observe the ‘eight precepts’ or even the ‘ten precepts.’
- They spend the day listening to discourses and engaging in Vipassanā.
- In the days of the Buddha, this was called ‘uposatha.’ It can also be done to attain higher magga phala for a Sotapanna.
- The Buddha explained to Visākhā how to practice the correct version of ‘uposatha‘ in the “Uposatha Sutta (AN 3.70).” Apparently, there were two other wrong versions practiced at the time.
- Note that ‘uposatha‘ is translated as ‘Sabbath’ in the English translation. In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath is a day set aside for rest and worship. That does not convey the meaning of Buddhist ‘uposatha.’
- The correct version of the ‘uposatha‘ description starts at marker 4.1.
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Even though I was discussing attaining the Sotapanna stage, the process can also be used to cultivate Satipaṭṭhāna, as mentioned at the beginning of my comment.
- However, it may not happen in a few sittings. Furthermore, one needs to grasp the fundamentals necessary and also live a moral life, i.e., cultivate sila.
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AniccaSeeker wrote: “I’ve also been learning about Waharaka Temple in Sri Lanka and I’m curious whether they support or host a bhikkhunī community (fully ordained nuns), or if there are only monks there.”
- I don’t know. I visited the temple briefly once (after Waharaka Thero’s passing) and did not see any bhikkhunīs during that short visit.
- I hope someone more familiar with the temple can respond.
That is a Noble thought you have. I believe Dhamma will guide you in that: “Dhammo have rakkhati dhammacāri“
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Tetsuo wrote: “As a result, the mind is beginning to observe for itself the arbitrariness of attachment, in the sense that it clearly depends on conditions rather than being something intrinsic.”
- This is a critical observation and is the basis of Paṭicca Samuppāda.
- The mind’s response to a sensory input always depends on the ‘state of the mind.’ This is the ‘conditional aspect’ (‘paccayā‘) in Paṭicca Samuppāda. For example, the ‘vedanā paccayā taṇhā‘ step depends on the strength of the vedanā experienced. The strength of the vedanā (which is ‘samphassa-jā-vedanā‘) can be different, for example, if one is drunk. This is why people tend to commit more immoral deeds while drunk. Also, one can be ‘drunk’ not only with alcohol, but also with money, power, etc. One would generally commit fewer immoral deeds when living a simple, moral life; the temptations are less.
- The most critical step in Paṭicca Samuppāda is ‘avijjā paccayā saṅkhāra,’ where the Paṭicca Samuppāda process is triggered. The trigger for avijjā to arise is the ‘kāma saññā‘ for us in the kāma loka. That step is blocked for an Arahant (for all sensory inputs) because an Arahant has ‘seen with wisdom’ that the ‘kāma saññā‘ (colors, tastes, smells, etc.) are ‘mind-made’ and are mirages.
- This is what I tried to explain in “What Does ‘Paccayā’ Mean in Paṭicca Samuppāda?”
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Yes. I will address how to make a step-by-step progression on the Path. It is critically important to ‘get the basics.’
- The website has expanded to the extent that it is difficult to navigate.
- Furthermore, I was totally focused on the issue of the (distorted) saññā. So, it is time to simplify things a bit and try to ‘connect the dots.’
- Any ideas on which topics to address will be welcome.
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Regarding the issue of ‘anicca saññā,‘ it is essential to understand that our pleasurable experiences are mind-made. It is easiest to understand that with colors. It is easy to see that ‘color’ is a product of the mind (see “The Illusion of Perception (Saññā) – It Is Scientific Consensus“). However, later in the new series, I will try to simplify the issue further.
- The more I think about it, we are fortunate to live in an era in which this issue is fully confirmed by science. The Buddha did not address it in detail in the suttas because there was no easy way to explain the concept in that time; people lacked the necessary (scientific) background. That was compensated with saddhā (faith). When the Buddha stated that saññā is a mirage, most people readily accepted that. That is the starting point to see the ‘anicca nature’ and to contemplate ‘anicca saññā.‘
Over the past three years or so, I wrote posts at an advanced level to present the deepest material, per my understanding.
- I will start a new series of posts to outline the necessary background material. I hope that will be useful to HugoZyl and everyone in general.
Thank you for sharing your experience, HugoZyl.
- Each person follows the Path in their own way.
- I don’t know how much you read on the website or which sections you read. If there are specific questions, I can try to answer.
Thank you for sharing that life experience, Tetsuo. Those are insightful comments. Also, welcome to the forum!
- Let me add the following.
Saññā is a largely unknown concept, particularly in the Western world. It is an ‘innate feeling’ that arises spontaneously.
- Some saññā are necessary for our survival: we feel the urge to use the bathroom or to eat when we are hungry. Color is a saññā, and it helps us avoid collisions at junctions or deciding whether a fruit is ripe for eating. Migrating birds would not survive without the saññā that enables them to leave their current location at a specific time and fly in a particular direction (they have built-in tiny magnets) to reach a safe destination. There are many such examples.
- Some saññā are the root cause for keeping us bound to the cycle of rebirth: Mind-pleasing sensations are initially generated via saññā. All our cravings and attachments begin with that critical step. As we have discussed, ‘color sanna‘ is the easiest to understand, since modern science has fully confirmed that colors are not in external objects or in light itself. That is why the Buddha called it a mirage; the same applies to tastes, aromas, and the like. Use your favorite AI (ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, etc.) to verify that to your satisfaction.
Therefore, we must use the first type to live a healthy and long life (so that we can attain a magga phala). Simultaneously, we must contemplate the ‘unfruitful, dangerous, anicca nature’ of attaching to the second type to reach a magga phala.
- Keep in mind, as Tetsuo pointed out, ‘restraining the senses through willpower’ is unwise and could backfire, leading to depression. When one begins to see the drawbacks of attachment to ‘mind-made sensory pleasures’, such cravings will subside over time. P.S. The first task is to comprehend the fact that our attachments are rooted in kāma saññā; that is the same as Sammā Diṭṭhi with yoniso manasikāra, i.e., understanding the ‘genesis’ (‘yoni‘) of ‘san‘ (raga, dosa, moha) accumulation.
In his comment on December 12, 2025 at 4:46 pm (Reply #55914), Lang asked: “And I have asked the question “so what”, in this sense: “We know that saññā presents us a “world of pleasures” that keep us attached, yet they are illusion. Still, what can we do about it in terms of practice? How do we contemplate?”
- I did not provide an answer to the last part of Lang’s comment yesterday: “Still, what can we do about it in terms of practice? How do we contemplate?”
- We have not yet discussed in detail how to cultivate Satipaṭṭhāna.
- I am still in the process of explaining the necessary background material. Over the past 2-3 years, I have tried to explain the concept of saññā. Then, in the “Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta – New Series” section, I provided background on Satipaṭṭhāna. Then, I realized that it would be necessary to explain the concept of pañcupādānakkhandha: “Five Aggregates (Pañcakkhandha)– New Series”
- What everyone needs to contemplate first is how the pañcupādānakkhandha arises in response to sensory input. That is equivalent to initiating a Paṭicca Samuppāda process.
- All of those steps are required to attain Sotapanna status. Only then can one practice Satipaṭṭhāna. To cultivate Satipaṭṭhāna, one must enter Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi, which is free of all ‘loka saññā.’ The point is: avijjā cannot be triggered while the mind is in Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi. Thus, ‘real contemplation’ can happen only when the mind is in Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi.
- So, what one must contemplate right now is not to cultivate Satipaṭṭhāna, but to contemplate the background material and understand how raga, dosa, moha are automatically triggered by the viparita or distorted saññā that is built into us.
- The ‘anicca nature’ becomes clear (and becomes a Sandiṭṭhiko is a Sotapanna) when one truly comprehends how raga, dosa, moha are automatically triggered by the viparita or distorted saññā. See Sandiṭṭhiko – What Does It Mean?
- This is also known as establishing ‘yoniso mansikāra‘ (understanding the root cause for defilements to arise automatically), a requirement for attaining Sotapanna status.
In his comment on December 12, 2025 at 4:46 pm (Reply #55914), Lang asked: “And I have asked the question “so what”, in this sense: “We know that saññā presents us a “world of pleasures” that keep us attached, yet they are illusion. Still, what can we do about it in terms of practice? How do we contemplate?”
- The practice of a Noble Person is based on that issue. One truly becomes a ‘sanditthiko‘ (one who has seen how ‘san‘ or ‘raga, dosa, moha‘ arise in the mind due to sanna) after comprehending this issue. See “Sandiṭṭhiko – What Does It Mean?“
- One cannot see the ‘anicca nature’ clearly until one understands that “mind-made rupa‘ does not correctly represent the ‘external rupa‘ out there in the world. That “mind-made rupa‘ means ‘rupa upadanakkhandha,’ and in almost all suttas is stated merely as ‘rupa.‘
- Eye-catching, colorful things don’t exist in the external world; the mind adds colors. Tasty foods are not in the external world; the mind adds tastes. The same applies to all other ‘mind-pleasing aspects.’
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In the same post, Lang wrote:
“My previous understanding, one based on vedana, gives me firmer ground to stand on in terms of contemplation. Let me recap:
A “world of pleasures” to me means sukha vedana and somanassa vedana, and they are real! Real in the sense that I can feel them, albeit they are effects of an illusion, and “real” enough to maybe lead to tanha, upadana, bhava, etc.
They are also real in the sense that they give me a firm ground for contemplation: that vedana, however much “sukha” and “somanassa” they are, are anicca, dukkha, anatta, since all past vedana have turned out to be just that.
I hope this adds a little more clarity to what I was trying to say.”
Let us look at a couple of statements in there:
1. “A ‘world of pleasures’ to me means sukha vedana and somanassa vedana, and they are real!“
- They are ‘real’ only in the sense that our bodies and the external environment have been ‘prepared’ (via Paticca Samuppada) to provide the corresponding ‘pleasing sanna.’ They arise at the very beginning of a sensory event (‘Rūpa dhātuṁ, bhikkhave, paṭicca uppajjati rūpa saññā‘). See #2 of Taṇhā – Saññā Leading to Mind-Made Vedanā
- Even an Arahant would feel them, but their minds do not attach to them, because they have ‘seen with wisdom’ that those are mirages.
- Those are not really vedana. This ‘sanna‘ is the only way that a ‘pleasing sensation’ can be generated via Paticca Samuppada. The Buddha called it a mirage: “Fooled by Distorted Saññā (Sañjānāti) – Origin of Attachment (Taṇhā).”
- Then ‘samphassa-jā-vedanā‘ (the stronger mind-made vedana leading to firm attachment to the sensory input, i.e., tanha) arises in a puthujjana (or anyone below the Anagami stage) later in the ‘purna kamma‘ stage; see #12 in Taṇhā – Saññā Leading to Mind-Made Vedanā.
2. The second part highlighted above in Lang’s comment: ‘They are also real in the sense that they give me a firm ground for contemplation: that vedana, however much “sukha” and “somanassa’ they are, are anicca, dukkha, anatta, since all past vedana have turned out to be just that.’
- That statement is correct only if one can truly grasp #1 above. Furthermore, ‘They are also real’ must be removed from that statement to read as: ‘They give me a firm ground for contemplation: that vedana, however much “sukha” and “somanassa’ they are, are anicca, dukkha, anatta, since all past vedana have turned out to be just that.’
- We are all trapped in this cycle of rebirth because of that built-in ‘sanna.’ They are definitely not ‘real’ in ‘ultimate reality’ or ‘paramattha dhamma.’ There are no colorful, tasty, .. things in the external world.
- This is what Buddha’s teachings are based on! The first step in Paticca Samuppada is due to that sanna, i.e., avijja arises because of that sanna: What Does “Paccayā” Mean in Paṭicca Samuppāda?
Here is another video that explains ‘colors do not exist in the world.’
- At 13 minutes: “No colors in the world, it is a shared illusion.”
- Then he says, “Colors are made up in the neurons in the brain.” That part is wrong according to the Buddha’s teachings. Colors are generated in the mind based on the information received from the brain. That is how the Paticca Samuppada process generates a “pleasurable world.”
- That initial ‘pleasure sensation’ (in the first step of the ‘purana kamma‘ stage) is only a saññā and is not there in the world. That initial ‘pleasure sensation’ is real (built into a human body) and is experienced even by an Arahant.
- However, the ‘samphassa-jā-vedanā’ that arises in the second step of the ‘purana kamma‘ stage is not generated in an Arahant. That can be stopped from arising with the elimination of samyojana.
P.S. I have revised the new post (“Taṇhā – Saññā Leading to Mind-Made Vedanā“) to emphasize that point.
