Lal

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  • in reply to: Jhana as the path to enlightment? #20464
    Lal
    Keymaster

    Siebe said: “Those pannavimutti Arahants do they really not need jhana? In which sutta is this explained? ”

    Pannāvimutti – Arahanthood without Jhāna

    in reply to: Jhana as the path to enlightment? #20459
    Lal
    Keymaster

    It is likely that all Buddhas attain the Buddhahood via jhana. There is another sutta that describes how the previous Buddha, Kassapa Buddha, attained Buddhahood the same way.

    However, there is no need to go through jhanas, for those disciples with high level of wisdom (panna). They are called pannavimutti Arahants.
    – Still, no matter how high one’s level of panna is one cannot attain the Buddhahood by one’s own efforts, unless it is a Bodhisattva.

    Furthermore, even at the time of the Buddha (before the Enlightenment of the Buddha), there were yogis who were able to get to the highest jhanas (including possibly the five ascetics).
    – However, they could not attain Nibbana, because only a Buddha can attain Nibbana via his own efforts.
    – One who can get to any jhana, of course can attain Nibbana once he/she comprehends the Four Noble Truths.

    These are discussed in detail at the “Samādhi, Jhāna (Dhyāna), Magga Phala” section.

    in reply to: The "Deathless"? #20452
    Lal
    Keymaster

    I cannot comment on that. I don’t have time to read their 350 pages of “central teachings”.

    However, it is likely to be on key suttas, so could be fine (If the translations are good).

    I just don’t know what is in there.

    in reply to: The "Deathless"? #20450
    Lal
    Keymaster

    ” roughly 5,000 pages of the Sutta Piṭaka”

    That sounds about right.

    in reply to: Feelings: Sukha, Dukha, Somanassa, and Domanassa #20422
    Lal
    Keymaster

    Yes. Even the Buddha could taste “sweetness in sugar”, etc. Those “kama guna” are indeed associated with each bhava; see, “Kāma Guna, Kāma, Kāma Rāga, Kāmaccanda“.

    A “bad gati” would be to have CRAVING for them. When one attains Nibbana, one gets rid of lobha, dosa, moha. That is all one gets rid of.

    P.S. 8/10/23: 

    The “sweetness in sugar,” etc., comes from “kāma saññā” and NOT from “kāma guna.” I will explain that in upcoming posts. Thanks for pointing this out, LDF!

    in reply to: How can vedana paccaya phassa? #20420
    Lal
    Keymaster

    I see. But you don’t refer to that as “reverse order patticca samuppada (PS)”.

    The annamanna paccaya is at work only for the first several steps in PS.

    It does not come into play starting with: “salāyatana paccayā phassa” step.

    I guess I had not specifically mentioned that in the post on annamanna paccaya.
    Will add a statement to that post sometime today.

    in reply to: How can vedana paccaya phassa? #20417
    Lal
    Keymaster

    The reverse order of patticca samuppada is to how how the suffering ends when the root cause of avijja is removed.

    Avijja nirodha sankhara nirodha
    sankhara nirodha vinnana nirodha

    .

    Jati nirodha jara, marana, soka, parideva,… nirodha.

    in reply to: The Six Sextets #20405
    Lal
    Keymaster

    M 148 Chachakka Sutta (and “contact”) are also discussed in the post:
    Difference between Phassa and Samphassa“.

    in reply to: The "Deathless"? #20394
    Lal
    Keymaster

    Please provide a link to the sutta when you quote a sutta.

    If possible provide a link to the Pali version too.

    That will make it easier for others to take a look at the sutta and comment on the question.

    How to provide a link is described step-by-step here:
    How to Reply to a Forum Question

    in reply to: AN1.310 #20375
    Lal
    Keymaster

    “But can’t we say that seeing happiness in what is suffering, seeing attractiveness in what is repulsive, seeing self in what is not self (like the body seeing as ‘I am this body’) and seeing permanence in what is impermanent is in fact wrong view too?”

    Yes. In the end they are related to the 10 types of wrong views you listed.

    What do you think “seeing happiness in what is suffering” means? (or the other ones that you mentioned). Let us start with some examples you can think about.

    in reply to: AN1.310 #20373
    Lal
    Keymaster

    “careless attention” is used in there for the translation of “yoniso manasikara”.

    Here is the full sutta:
    Nāhaṃ, bhikkhave, aññaṃ ekadhammampi samanupassāmi yena anuppannā vā micchādiṭṭhi uppajjati uppannā vā micchādiṭṭhi pavaḍḍhati yathayidaṃ, bhikkhave, ayonisomanasikāro. Ayoniso, bhikkhave, manasi karoto anuppannā ceva micchādiṭṭhi uppajjati uppannā ca micchādiṭṭhi pavaḍḍhatī”ti.

    The basic idea stated in the sutta is:

    Bhikkhus, unarisen (new) wrong views arise and arisen wrong views become worse due to none other than ayoniso mansaikara“.

    The critical thing to realize is that ayoniso manasikara is much more deeper than than just “careless attention”.

    Ayoniso manasikara is of course the opposite of yoniso manasikara.

    A given person with no comprehension of Dhamma/adhamma (what is moral/what is not) can pay his/her utmost attention and still have those problems: arising of new wrong views and the growth of existing wrong views.

    Yoniso manasikara explained at: “Four Conditions for Attaining Sōtapanna Magga/Phala“.

    One should always be mindful of not doing dasa akusala, and learn correct Buddha Dhamma. That is the closest to acting with yoniso manasikara. As one makes progress, one will have better yoniso manasikara.

    in reply to: Four Conditions for Attaining Sōtapanna Magga/Phala #20354
    Lal
    Keymaster

    Siebe said: “Can we really know the conditions for such breaktrough moments?”

    That is true. There are many things that we cannot really explain with our limited understanding. Only a Buddha can “see” these things in full detail. For example, we will never figure out why there are only 17 citta in citta vithi. That is just how Nature works. Even the Buddha just DISCOVERED such laws.
    – Another factor is that full understanding of a certain issue may come from a different angle, while comprehending a different subject.
    – In any case, it is not bad to try to examine a given concept in depth. It is called “vimanasa”.

    However, I think I have given a reasonable explanation to the key question about why listening can be more powerful than reading the same words (and the words uttered by an Ariya can have a stronger effect than the same words uttered by a normal person, even with recordings).
    – We cannot find explanations for each and every issue in Abhidhamma. It is not possible to write everything down. In fact, the Tipitaka was transmitted orally for several centuries before it was written down. I am amazed that it has just enough information, and most of the time we can fill in the blanks.
    – If we fill-in-the-blanks with wrong stuff, that will become obvious sooner or later, when compared with another issue. If so, we need to take care of that, and that is how we make progress.
    – That is what is meant by “self-consistency”. Everything in the Tipitaka is self-consistent.

    in reply to: Feelings: Sukha, Dukha, Somanassa, and Domanassa #20353
    Lal
    Keymaster

    @Tobias:
    You are right. I have revised #11 on that post as follows:

    “11.Now let us consider the consequences of sankhāra in this life, that we mentioned in #6 above. Suppose a teenager starts associating with bad friends and start drinking alcohol. Initially, he does not even like the taste of it, i.e., he may be generating a dōmanassa vēdanā due to the taste of alcohol. But with the insistence of those friends he continues drinking.”

    “Then he makes a habit (gati) of it, begins to perceive the taste as a sōmanassa vēdanā, and starts making sankhāra about drinking. Even while in the middle of some other task, he starts thinking about the next party where he can drink, and what types of drinks there will be and so on.
    Now “sankhāra paccayā viññāna” step in the paticca samuppāda leads to making a “new viññāna for drinking”. The more he thinks about such parties and generate those sōmanassa vēdanā, the more viññāna, nāma rupa, etc that he makes for such “drinking events”.
    And the stronger that “viññāna for drinking” gets, the more he will be thinking about it (making more sankhāra). Then the habit is strengthened; see, “How Habits are Formed and Broken – A Scientific View”.

    I may have made similar mistakes in other posts. Thanks for finding them for me.

    You said: “Obviously, an Arahant also tastes the sweetness of sugar. Does that count as a “sukha vedana”? May be this needs to be decided at how a “sukha vedana” is defined.

    Is “sukha vedana” defined as “a bodily sensation”? If so, sweetness of sugar would not count as a sukha vedana.”

    I am on travel, and don’t have access to my resources. But the more I think, I believe that “sukha/dukha vedana” are felt just by the body (kaya).

    As discussed in the Kama Guna post, “sweetness of sugar” is a characteristic of the human bhava. Until an Arahant’s physical human body dies, he/she will feel that somanassa vedana.

    It comes via “jivhanca paticca rasanca uppaddati jivha vinnanam“, “tinnan sangati phasso“, “phassa paccaya vedana“.

    The somanassa vedana is indeed produced by “samphassa with gati”. The gati in this case are not just with the Arahant, but anyone in human bhava. “Sweetness in sugar” is a “human gati”; see the post on Kama Guna. For the Arahant, that gathi will also go away at Parinibbana; it is there only as long as that last human body is alive.

    However, the next step: “vedana paccaya tanha” does not arise in the Arahant. That is the difference.

    See: “Difference between Phassa and Samphassa

    We can discuss more if needed. This is an important point.

    Lal
    Keymaster

    Sorry. I did not catch that in #1 when I revised it today.

    Just revised it to: “Attaining magga phala — including Arahantship — do not have such set requirements (at least I have not seen).”

    in reply to: Do You Only Live Once? The Evidence for Rebirth #20332
    Lal
    Keymaster

    Hi Akvan,
    “Does this mean that a human with niyatha miccha ditti may be born again as a human after his death, if he has not expended his kamma for a human bhava.”

    Yes. If it is not an anantariya kamma he will be born human to the end of the human bhava.

    “However, if it means that a person with niyatha miccha ditti is born in the lower realms after his kamma for the human bhava is expended, then these stories do make complete sense.”

    That is indeed the case.

Viewing 15 posts - 3,466 through 3,480 (of 4,169 total)