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Good questions. Here is more relevant information.
1. The appearance of a Buddha is a natural process and no one has control over it. The present maha kappa just happens to have five Buddhas. Normally many maha kappas go by without a single Buddha.
Several suttas state how rare it is for a Buddha to be born, and for a human to be able to comprehend Dhamma. A good example is AN 5.143, a decent translation at: “At Sārandada“.
It describes five rare occurrences:– The appearance of a fully awakened Buddha.
– A person who explains the teaching and training proclaimed by a Buddha.
– A person who understands the teaching and training proclaimed by a Buddha.
– A person who practices in line with the teaching.
– A person who is grateful to those who help him/her.
2. Vedic brahmins were indeed “good recordkeepers”. They were really good at memorizing bits and pieces of Buddha Kassapa’s teachings and passing them down through generations.
– This is why there are so many “overlaps” with vedic teachings. However, they did not use Pali words in many cases and adopted Sanskrit names: karma for kamma, nirvana for Nibbana, atma for atta, etc.3. It is rare for any living being to “transfer” from one cakkavāla to another.
– But those with well-established miccha ditthi could be born in other cakkavāla.
– Even when Bahamas and Devas from closeby cakkavāla come to listen to desanas here (especially those by a Buddha), they go back to their own cakkavāla.The new series of posts on “Origin of Life” will get into some of these details. I have transferred other relevant posts to that subsection so that most of the relevant information will be there.
No. That word is reserved for a future Buddha, who has been given “niyata vivarana” by many Buddhas; see, “Pāramitā and Niyata Vivarana – Myths or Realities?“.
No. The Bodhisatta did attain all anariya jhanas soon after becoming a recluse. He learned how to attain anariya jhana from two yogis, Alara Kalama, and Uddaka Ramaputta.
But what the sutta explains is that those anariya jhana are not as good as Ariya jhana, simply because anariya jhana are attained by just SUPPRESSING kama raga/patigha, while Ariya jhanas are attained by REMOVING kama raga/patigha.
That statement is true regardless of who is cultivating jhana. But most people attaining anariya jhana may not realize that anariya jhana are not perfect.
Bodhisatta (bhodi+satta) means a living being (satta) working towards attaining the supreme attainment or the Buddhahood (Bodhi).
Yes. I had forgotten to add the phrase, “At a later time (the night of attaining the Buddhahood)” to the last bullet in #10. That phrase is in all other jhanas.
So, I just revised the last bullet in #10 as follows:
“At a later time (the night of attaining the Buddhahood), I was able to enter and stay in the vicinity of the second jhāna that was devoid of such defiled thoughts (vitakka) and with piti and sukha.The point here is that jhana factors in anariya jhana are not “pure” as in Ariya jhana.
Regarding #10, the second jhana is SUPPOSED TO BE free of vitakka/vicara. However, it is not completely free of vitakka/vicara in anariya jhana (where kama raga/patigha are only SUPPRESSED).
The Buddha had realized this “deficiency” before attaining the Buddhahood.
On the night of the Enlightenment, he attained Ariya jhana (where kama raga/patigha are REMOVED). Then he was able to have all vitakka/vicara removed.
I had pointed that out for all other jhana factors but somehow missed it for #10. Thanks for pointing that out.
Somehow I missed the original question from Saket. Thanks for bringing it up Lang.
I realize that I have not really done a comprehensive post on vicikicchā (and the related word, kaṅkhā).
Vicikicchā is perplexity, not knowing what actions are needed.
– Kaṅkhā is “not taking seriously Buddha’s teachings”, for example, about kamma leading to vipaka, or about the validity of the rebirth process, or about the anicca nature, etc).
– Both arise because of sakkaya ditthi. Silabbata paramasa also is due to sakkaya ditthi. One needs to get a good idea of what is meant by “me” or “self”. That is why I started the new series on the “Origin of Life”.There is a good sutta that can give an idea about vicikicchā and kaṅkhā.
“Vakkali Sutta (SN 22.87)“.
– Not so good English translation: “Vakkali“.Here is the relevant portion of the sutta:
“Tena hāvuso, mama vacanena bhagavato pāde sirasā vandatha: ‘vakkali, bhante, bhikkhu ābādhiko dukkhito bāḷhagilāno. So bhagavato pāde sirasā vandatī’ti.
Translated: “Well then, friends, pay homage to the Blessed One in my name with your head at his feet and say: ‘Venerable sir, the bhikkhu Vakkali is sick, afflicted, gravely ill; he pays homage to the Blessed One with his head at his feet.’Evañca vadetha: ‘rūpaṃ aniccaṃ. Tāhaṃ, bhante, na kaṅkhāmi. Yadaniccaṃ taṃ dukkhanti na vicikicchāmi. Yadaniccaṃ dukkhaṃ vipari¬ṇāma¬dhammaṃ, natthi me tattha chando vā rāgo vā pemaṃ vāti na vicikicchāmi.
Translated: Then say: ‘Form (rupa) is aniccā (cannot be maintained to one’s satisfaction): I do not reject that out-of-hand (na kaṅkhāmi), venerable sir, I have no perplexity (vicikicchāmi) about the fact that whatever is aniccā, leads to suffering. I do not doubt that in regard to what is aniccā is suffering and subject to change (yad aniccaṃ dukkhaṃ vipariṇāmadhammaṃ), I have no more desire, lust, or affection and I have no perplexity about that (na vicikicchāmi).Vedanā aniccā. Tāhaṃ, bhante, na kaṅkhāmi. Yadaniccaṃ taṃ dukkhanti na vicikicchāmi. Yadaniccaṃ dukkhaṃ vipari¬ṇāma¬dhammaṃ, natthi me tattha chando vā rāgo vā pemaṃ vāti na vicikicchāmi.
Translated: ‘Vedana aniccā (cannot be maintained to one’s satisfaction): I do not reject that out-of-hand (na kaṅkhāmi), venerable sir, I have no perplexity (vicikicchāmi) about the fact that whatever is aniccā, leads to suffering. I do not doubt that in regard to what is aniccā is suffering and subject to change (yad aniccaṃ dukkhaṃ vipariṇāmadhammaṃ), I have no more desire, lust, or affection and I have no perplexity about that (na vicikicchāmi).Saññā … saṅkhārā aniccā. Tāhaṃ, bhante, na kaṅkhāmi. Yadaniccaṃ taṃ dukkhanti na vicikicchāmi. Yadaniccaṃ dukkhaṃ vipariṇāmadhammaṃ, natthi me tattha chando vā rāgo vā pemaṃ vāti na vicikicchāmi. Viññāṇaṃ aniccaṃ. Tāhaṃ, bhante, na kaṅkhāmi. Yadaniccaṃ taṃ dukkhanti na vicikicchāmi. Yadaniccaṃ dukkhaṃ vipariṇāmadhammaṃ, natthi me tattha chando vā rāgo vā pemaṃ vāti na vicikicchāmī’”ti.
Translated:Same as above for sanna, sankhara, and viññāṇa.When one gets rid of sakkaya ditthi, one loses cravings for the five aggregates. As we can see from above, that also leads to the removal of vicikicchā (and kaṅkhā), and also silabbata paramasa (that one cannot attain Nibbana just by living a moral life; one needs to understand the anicca nature).
I will try to make a new post (or re-write an existing post) when I have time. Please feel free to ask questions.
Thanks, Tobias.
I revised the whole post and #13 was revised as follows:
– One must keep the attention (sati) on “good things” and remove attention away (asati) from “bad things” too while keeping the “sati mindset.”
– By the way, there is no “asati” cetasika or a “bad mental factor”; it has only the ordinary meaning. Asati means keeping the mind away from any ārammana or any “thought object.”
– Asati means “not being focused on a given thought object”. There is ONLY one meaning for asati.Let me know if it is still unclear.
P.S. It is critical to understand sati/asati. Also, see, “Imasmim Sati Idam Hoti – What Does It Really Mean?“.
“Imasmim sati idam hōti, imassa uppādā idam uppajjati; imasmim asati idam na hōti, imassa nirōdhā idam nirujjhatī ti”. This is a famous phrase that appears in most suttas that describe Paticca Samuppāda (Dependent Origination).
Unless we focus our mind on a certain defiled thought object (ārammana), we will not generate bad sankhara and thus bad kamma. In fact, this is why all living beings are able to cultivate jhana and get to the brahma realms when the Earth is destroyed at the end of this aeon. All “mind-pleasing objects” will get gradually destroyed. Nothing to get attached to!
– So, this is important in order to understand the Agganna Sutta, and the current series of posts on the “Origin of Life“.
– Of course, this only SUPPRESSES defilements; they remain as anusaya. That is why all those beings get back their “bad gati” when the Earth is re-formed and “mind-pleasing objects” re-appear on the Earth.“So why cannot it work the other way around as well? When the Buddha or an Arahant visits a deva world, the same courtesies and formalities take place. Is that consistent with the participants in the conversation being in only their manomayakaya body? For if the latter were the case, why bother to go there at all? The ‘contact’ can be made telepathically across space to that deva world. Or can it?”
I am not sure what the question is.
– I am saying that it may not be practical to visit brahma (deva) realms with a physical body (no oxygen, etc). Why does there have to be a physical body if the manomaya kaya is sufficient?
– As I keep saying, we cannot perceive those realms the same we perceive things on the surface of the Earth. Those realms are located far away from the surface of the Earth.1. Fear and sadness have different levels.
– For example, fear experienced in the apayas (4 realms below the human realm), is at a higher intensity than experienced in the human realm.
– It is probably correct to say that fear is very minimal in the realms above the human realm, except when getting close to the end of a lifetime there.2. Fear and sadness can be there in the human realm, even at higher levels if one is regularly engaged in highly-immoral activities that would lead to births in the apayas. We sometimes say, “this person is like an animal” when we see that one has committed crimes like killing or rape of children.
– Obviously, when one attains the Sotapanna stage, one would not be able to do such actions, and thus one’s mind would not get to that level of fear and sadness.3. Fear and sadness will completely go away only when one attains the Arahanthood. That is when one attains total equanimity. One’s mind will not be perturbed by anything (akuppā in Pali, as in akuppā cetovimutti).
Lang asked: “Are dreams mano viññāna?”
They are mano viññāna, but they arise from kamma vipaka. Just like all cakkhu, sota, ghana, jivha, kaya mano viññāna arise due to kamma vipaka.
Dreams cannot make kamma. Only mano viññāna done via sankhara are responsible for kamma generation; see, “Viññāna – What It Really Means“.
– I emphasized this under another topic today.In the language of Abhidhamma, we do not generate javana citta while we dream. Kammā are done with javana citta.
– Another way to see this is: when we see dreams we cannot make decisions.
– Yet another way to see it is, “avijja paccaya sankhara” followed by “sankhara paccaya viññāna” does not take place in dreams.“For surely devas do not greet and have a conversation with a manomayakaya.”
I cannot be certain, but it is probably with the manomaya kaya that visited the deva (or brahma) realms. It is not possible for a physical body to survive there.
– As I keep saying, we are stretching our imagination to “make sense” of such phenomena that we are not used to.
– Communications can be done with just the manomaya kaya, and identification too. Each brahma and deva are individual living beings.I had explained this briefly in #10 of the post.
But your reference from the Tipitaka is a good one. I have revised #10 to include it as follows:
– One with even more developed abilities may be able to reduce one’s physical body to the suddhāshtaka level, go through the “solid object” and then “reassemble” at the other end. That sounds like science fiction (“teleportation”), but that is precisely how it may be done in the future with further progress in science. Of course, one with such abhiññā powers would be able to do that right now.
– P.S. An account from the Tipitaka regarding “teleportation”: Ven. Ananda attained the Arahanthood only the day before the first Buddhist Council held 3 months after the Parinibbana of the Buddha. Only Arahants were allowed to participate. Everyone was waiting for the arrival of Ven. Ananda. In order to remove any doubts of those who were present that he had indeed attained the Arahanthood — complete with all iddhi powers — Ven. Ananda is said to have entered the room through the keyhole in the door. So, this is an example of teleportation.– I also added the following to #8:
P.S. If it is possible to take out all that empty space in our bodies (which of course is not possible), all the matter in the bodies of 9 billion humans in the world today can be fit inside a sugar cube!(Regarding posting under “General Information and Updates”: In the future, just send me an email and I can open a new topic with the link).
“Here, this viññāna is kamma viññāna, and also viññāna as in “viññāna paccayā nāmarūpa”, correct?”
That is correct, Lang.
Also, cakkhu, sota, ghana, jivha, kaya viññāna do not generate kamma. They are vipaka viññāna.
– Mano viññāna can be both vipaka viññāna AND kamma viññāna.
– It is only mano viññāna that generate kamma.
– So, it is only mano viññāna that contribute to “viññāna paccayā nāmarūpa”.
– I mention this here because many people may have missed this important point.See, “Viññāna – What It Really Means“.
Lang: Your above question is related to the answer that I just posted on the other topic in respnse to your question there: “Regrets“.
Kammic energy created at some time in the past with a “viññāna” has now led to a gandhabba (with pasada rupa and hadaya vatthu) for a new existence.
– That kammic energy (E), corresponding to that viññāna, led to the creation of gandhabba with a VERY, VERY small mass (m). Those two are related via, E = mc^2.
– (For those who are not familiar with this notation, c^2 = c x c, c^3 = c x c x c, etc). Speed of light c is a large number (3 x 10^8 meters per second, so, the energy created is VERY small (at the suddhashtaka level).These are subtle but important points. Don’t hesitate to ask questions if not clear. One needs to spend some time and think about these issues. One always needs to make connections to other posts. That is how understanding gets established.
P.S. Citta vithi generated with the new existence can generate new kammic energies (via more viññāna). Those can lead to more future existences. This is how the rebirth process continues.
No. Mindest is not viññāna.
Viññāna is an expectation generated based on thinking about something. If the expectation is bad, then it is a “bad viññāna” and it generates kammic energy (a kamma seed) that can bring vipaka in the future.
– For example, if someone comes and hits you, you may form a viññāna to “get back at him”. You may even hit back right there. Either way, you generated a “bad viññāna” and that can bring “bad vipaka” in the future.Mindset is really what is called bhavanga, which means “part of existence” or “state of mind”: “bhava” + “anga”, where “anga” means a “part”.
– Bhavanga usually means a “state of mind” for the whole “human bhava” for a human.
– But that can be temporarily changed for a time period if a significant event can change the “state of mind”. For example, in the above example, when someone comes and hits you, you get into an “angry state of mind”. Even after that person leaves, you may be in that “angry state” for a while. So, if another person comes and says something to aggravate you, you may generate another “bad viññāna” and hit him too.So, viññāna and bhavanga (state of mind) are not the same, but related.
– See, “Viññāna – Consciousness Together With Future Expectations” and “State of Mind in the Absence of Citta Vithi – Bhavanga“, and posts referred therein.Welcome to the forum, Chris!
It is not bad to cultivate jhana, but one must be careful not to get addicted to “jhanic pleasures”. As I mentioned above, “Jhanic states correspond to the mental states in the brahma realms. The first four jhanas correspond to the rupavacara brahma realms and the higher jhanas correspond to the arupavacara brahma realms.”
The end result of cultivating jhana is having a rebirth in a brahma realm. Just like the human realm, those brahma realms are also temporary.
– However, if one cultivates jhana, AND THEN contemplate on the unsatisfactory nature of them, THEN one can make progress towards Nibbana (nirvana is the Sanskrit word).Also, you may want to read the post, “Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta – Wrong Interpretations“.
– Anicca is not “impermanence” and anatta is not “no-self”.
– What one should focus on is the unsatisfactory nature of even the higher realms (human, deva, brahma). All those are not permanent and have finite lifetimes. Then, one maybe even reborn in lower realms, including the animal realm), and that is where real suffering is.
– Some people automatically attain jhana while contemplating the anicca, dukkha, anatta nature. For some others, it is virtually impossible to attain jhana even with practice. It is mainly a samsaric habit. Those who had cultivated jhana in recent past lives can easily get to jhana; see, “Samādhi, Jhāna (Dhyāna), Magga Phala“.
