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“It seems very similar to satipatthana.”
- No, it is not. It is a very superficial analysis, even though there is nothing wrong with it.
- Satipatthana leads to Nibbana. Does that analysis lead to Nibbana?
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Yes. All external objects (rocks, trees, etc) are also made of suddhāṭṭhaka. Are they not?
- I would not say they are “contaminated.” In Buddha Dhamma, “contamination” refers to raga, dosa, and moha. Rocks or trees don’t generate thoughts.
- Everything in this world is made of suddhāṭṭhaka.
But this is a deeper point, which will become clear as one makes progress. Yet, if one understands that a suddhāṭṭhaka means eight components, it should be evident. In addition to apo, tejo, pathavi, and vayo, there are four more: vaṇṇa, gandha, rasa, and oja. The latter four arise due to cravings.
- I see that I forgot to mention the post where this is discussed: “The Origin of Matter – Suddhāṭṭhaka“
- Each living being “prepares” its future births. All living beings (collectively) prepare the world they live in.
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No. The only way to reduce the duration of a “human bhava” is to engage in an anantariya kamma.
- Harmful anantariya kammas, including killing one’s parents, killing an Arahant, etc. (five types), end one’s human bhava when the physical body dies. Upon the death of the physical body, one will be reborn in an apaya even if more kammic energy for the human bhava remains.
- Beneficial anantariya kammas are cultivating jhana and attaining magga phala. If a jhana is cultivated, one will be reborn in the corresponding Brahma realm. If a magga phala is attained, one may be reborn in a higher realm, depending on the magga phala. For example, an Anagami will be reborn in a Brahma realm reserved for them upon the death of the physical body.
The length of ” human bhava” depends on the kammic energy responsible for it.
- So, it should not depend on the lifetime of the “physical human body,” which only depends on the environmental conditions.
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Yes. The “Mahāpadāna Sutta (DN 14)“ provides the lifetimes of humans during the times of previous Buddhas, and those are correct.
- I have seen this issue in several places. Even the Tipitaka Commentaries may not be entirely accurate. Those were composed by Arahants, who are not as knowledgeable as a Buddha. In this case, they used the lifetime known to them. Also, we need to remember that these kinds of details are not connected to wisdom; they are just bits of information.
- Therefore, we must always prioritize the Sutta Pitaka over the other two Pitakas in the Tipitaka.
P.S. We also need to remember that this age limit refers to the lifetime of the physical human body. Human existence may last even for many hundreds of thousands of years, i.e., the lifetime of the “mental body” or “manomaya kaya” or “gandhabba” can be very long. During that time, one can be born with a physical human body numerous times.
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Yes. That moment is also called “sappabhāsa citta” (or “paccupaṭṭhita sati“) in some suttas (especially regarding the attainment of magga phala higher than the Sotapanna stage).
- We have not discussed it yet on this website.
Everything happens due to causes and conditions.
- We all have done innumerable good and bad kamma in our previous lives.
- Kammic energies associated with them “wear out” over very long times, over many maha kappas or eons.
- They can bring their vipaka when appropriate conditions materialize. Thus, we can avoid some vipaka by avoiding “bad conditions.” In your example, the probability of getting raped increases if a girl goes out at night alone to a “bad neighborhood.”
- Some kamma (anantarika kamma) will definitely bring vipaka, without exception.
- Some kamma materialize simply because one is born with a physical body (due to a past kamma) and is subjected to natural processes. For example, most people living in an area affected by a flood or an earthquake may be killed.
- The subject of kamma vipaka is one of the four “incomprehensible things” (capabilities of a Buddha, subject of jhana, kamma vipāka, and details of the world): “Acinteyya Sutta (AN 4.77).”
P.S. Also, see “What is Kamma? – Is Everything Determined by Kamma?”
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Regarding (2):
- Yes. That post is correct, Lang. Thank you for pointing that out.
- The Sotapanna Anugami stage happens at the Gotrabu moment when a puthujjana changes the lineage to the “Ariya” status.
- The “phala moment” may come later to reach the “full-pledged” Sotapanna stage.
P.S. The gotrabu stage in the jhanic process changes the lineage from the “kama loka” to the “rupa loka.”
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Waharaka Thero mentioned it in a discourse a long time ago. I searched for the sutta but could not find it in the Sutta Pitaka. It could be in the Vinaya Pitaka. It is not easy to search the Vinaya Pitaka.
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Yes. “upacāra samadhi” is needed to attain magga phala, and no jhānās are required. Furthermore, jhānic states are achieved in an entirely different way.
- See #13 through #16 of the post “Citta Vīthi – Processing of Sense Inputs.”
- “Google Translate” can translate the French post that Jittananto quoted, but I don’t know how accurate it would be.
P.S. Also, to reach magga phala, two more stages of Anuloma (A) and Gotrabu (G) must be accessed. For example, a Sotapanna Anugami may reach the upacāra samadhi and not go through the other two stages for a while (could be months or years) until attaining the Sotapanna phala.
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Yash asked: “So this is what I am trying to ask. It only depends on the Upadana or “liking” for that act that generates kamma.”
- Yes. That is true. Most “strong kamma” occur after the “tanha paccaya upadana” stage (i.e., in the “nava kamma” stage), as we have discussed recently: “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation“
- In the “Nibbedhika Sutta (AN 6.63)“: “Cetanāhaṁ, bhikkhave, kammaṁ vadāmi. Cetayitvā kammaṁ karoti—kāyena vācāya manasā.” Here, it is essential to note that “cetanā” is “sancetanā” or “with raga, dosa, moha in mind.” With a defiled mind, one engages in defiled actions, speech, and thoughts.
P.S. Here, “. Cetayitvā kammaṁ karoti” means “one engages in kamma generation knowingly, consciously.” That happens after the “tanha paccaya upadana” stage or in the “nava kamma” stage.
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Yash asked: “If someone goes for fishing in order to enjoy that act, he would be accumulating apunna abhisankhara. But what if he is not enjoying it and just committing the act with a neutral mindset (while knowing about it)?”
- Whether one knows about kamma/vipaka does not matter. Any kamma done with greed, anger, or ignorance of kammic laws (wrong views) is an apunna abhisankhara.
- However, a kamma done with joy is more potent than one done with a neutral mindset (for someone with wrong views.)
Yash asked: “If someone is not feeling pleasure out of bad acts but has to do them in some extreme situation, won’t it generate any kamma?”
- If this person is a Sotapanna (without wrong views), it still is an apunna abhisankhara. However, it is much less potent than the same action done by someone with wrong views. That is because a Sotapanna would not do it unless necessary in some situations. Also, a Sotapanna would not do it with joy.
- However, an Arahant will not generate an apunna abhisankhara under any situation.
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Very good.
However, there is a deeper issue related to your following statement: “However, external objects composed of apo, tejo, pathavi, and vayo are neutral.”
All objects (living and inert) are made of suddhāṭṭhaka (meaning eight components). In addition to apo, tejo, pathavi, and vayo, there are four more: vaṇṇa, gandha, rasa, and oja.
- The former four components are made (in the mind) via avijja, and the latter four are made with tanha (P.S. craving for worldly things, which depends on one’s gati. Humans crave things different from those animals crave, etc.)
- That is the deeper explanation for the “distorted sanna” that is built into not only our manomaya kaya (a few suddhāṭṭhaka) and the physical body (innumerable suddhāṭṭhaka) but also into inert matter (sweetness of sugar, etc.).
I tried to explain that in my comment on August 12, 2024 at 6:46 am, in the following thread: “Scientists getting a glimpse of distorted saññā.”
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I do not want to spend the time looking into those issues.
- But I remember watching a YouTube video by Praveen Mohan where he showed dinosaur depictions in various temples.
- For humans to do that, they must have seen dinosaurs.
- I just did a search and found the following videos by him on this subject: (3) PraveenMohan – YouTube
However, I do not recommend spending time on these issues.
- Faith in Buddha Dhamma comes not from such investigations but from seeing the truth of the teachings!
I can try to explain that as follows:
1. Bahiddha rupa (with “distorted sanna“) is created by ANYONE’S mind (including Arahants.)
2. On the other hand, “ajjhatta rupa” is created at various levels by each individual, depending on how many samyojana they have.
- A puthujjana‘s mind with all ten samyojana will generate the “most attractive” ajjhatta rupa with ditthi, tanha (kama raga, patigha, rupa raga, arupa raga samyojana), and mana (mana, uddhacca, avijja samyojana).
- A Sotapanna‘s mind with seven samyojana (w/o the three ditthi samyojana) will generate less attractive ajjhatta rupa with tanha and mana.
- An Anagami‘s mind with five samyojana (w/o the three ditthi samyojana and kama raga, patigha samyojana) will generate even less attractive ajjhatta rupa with rupa raga, arupa raga, and mana (mana, uddhacca, avijja samyojana).
- An Arahant‘s mind with no samyojana will stop at the”bahiddha rupa” stage.
3. Note that the “distorted sanna” is NOT a “defiled sanna” because no raga, dosa, or moha is associated with it.
- However, that “distorted sanna” arose due to kamma generation in previous lives. Anyone born in the human realm will have it because it is built into the mental and physical human bodies via Paticca Samuppada.
- Since an Arahant‘s mind has fully comprehended that (that is how all ten samyojana were eliminated), it will not be “fooled by” the “distorted sanna.” Thus, it will not advance to the “ajjhatta rupa” stage.
4. Thus, “bahidda rupa” is also a rupa created by the mind (via Paticca Samuppada). Since it is vipaka, it cannot be stopped from arising; it is built into the mental and physical human bodies (at the beginning of the “human bhava“) via Paticca Samuppada per #3 above.
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