Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Yes. “Buddha could recall past lives and see many formations and destructions of star systems.”
- See an introduction in “Dhamma and Science – Introduction.”
It is only the mundane version of “samma samadhi.”
- Getting rid of 10 types of miccha ditthi (the focus in the sutta) helps avoid rebirth in an apaya in the short term.
- To reach “lokuttara Samma Samadhi,” one needs to comprehend the Four Noble Truths/PS/Tilakkhana.
1 user thanked author for this post.
Yes. The translation could be better. That is another example of translating “word-by-word” without understanding the meaning.
A better translation is: “Even if what this good teacher says is true, it’s a safe bet for me to not hurt any creature firm or frail.”
- I suggest reading the English translation starting @22.3 in this link; “Pāṭaliya Sutta (SN 42.13).”
1 user thanked author for this post.
Thank you, Pathfinder, for the information you uncovered.
- Another relevant sutta: “Ujjaya Sutta (AN 8.55)“
1 user thanked author for this post.
I think the Buddha pointed out a list of livelihoods (jobs) one must avoid; those include selling meat and alcohol, the slave trade, etc., as I remember. I don’t have the time to look into it today. If someone knows a sutta, please post.
- Singapore is mostly a “neutral” country, so the chances of you engaging in a war are small.
- However, moving to less controversial employment is wise, if possible. It would be difficult to avoid killing if a war starts.
Hopefully, the following description will give you a good idea. But feel free to ask questions.
1. Pancupadanakkhandha (PUK) accumulation occurs when a mind attaches to a sensory input (arammana.)
- For example, PUK accumulation does not occur while we are in sleep.
- Furthermore, the process never starts at the pancakkhandha state. Our minds attach to PUK and keep on adding to it.
2. The following figure shows the accumulation of PUK in kama loka (i.e., applicable to humans). The figure shows the expansion of vinnana, i.e., the build-up of vinnanakkhandha.
- It starts with a sensory input (arammana) leading to the registration of a rupa (six types: vanna rupa, sadda, gandha, rasa, pottabbha, dhamma) in mind. Those are NOT external rupa. Those mental rupas arise simultaneously with vedana, sanna, sankhara, and vinnana in mind.
- The chart below shows how a cakkhu viññāṇa starts with a rupa (visual) as a sensory input. A sensory event starts on the left at the “dhātu stage.” While the mind of an Arahant stops there, that of a puthujjana keeps evolving to the right, becoming increasingly defiled.
3. As we can see from the figure, a vinnana starts as a “bahidda vinnana” and immediately becomes an “ajjhatta vinnana” for a puthujjana.
- Rupa (that arises in mind), vedana, sanna, and sankhara associated with bahidda and ajjhatta vinnana also fall into those two categories. For example, the rupa also transitions from a bahidda rupa to an ajjhatta rupa.
- That is the beginning of the development of the 11 types.
4. Vinnana (and PUK) expand as the mind gets increasingly attached to the arammana. The expansion of vinnana (in two stages of purana kamma and nava kamma) is shown in the figure.
- That is a highly complex process. During both stages, the mind recalls similar previous events (atita vinnana) and also generates expectations of similar vinnana in the future (anagata vinnana). They have associated rupa (that arises in mind), vedana, sanna, and sankhara. Of course, paccuppanna vinnana arises at each moment.
- Those are the atita, anagata, and paccuppanna components of PUK.
5. So far, we have discussed five of the 11 components. To get an idea of the rest, we need to look at the “bigger picture,” including rupa and arupa loka relative to Nibbana (or the pabhassara mind). That figure is shown below.
6. Similar processes occur for rupa loka and arupa loka Brahmas (details not shown). While the mind of a being (say a human) in kama loka falls on “kama dhatu” and proceeds to the bahiddha vinnana stage, a rupa loka Brahma‘s mind would fall on “rupa dhatu” and proceed to the bahidda vinnana stage (and go through the subsequent similar steps).
- All five entities in PUK proceed the same way in rupa and arupa loka.
7. As we can see from the second figure, kama loka is the furthest from Nibbana. Rupa loka is next, and arupa loka is the closest to Nibbana.
- Thus, the five entities associated with the kama loka are labeled “dure” (far away), and the other two are closer (santike).
- In the same way, the five entities associated with the kama loka are labeled coarse (olārika), and the other two are finer (sukuma).
- In the same way, the five entities associated with the kama loka are labeled inferior (hīna), and the other two superior (paṇīta).
8. That is a brief description of the 11 types of PUK.
Note: The top figure is from “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation” and the second figure from “Vipariṇāma – Two Meanings.”
2 users thanked author for this post.
I decided to start explaining saññā vipallāsa (or “distorted/false saññā” ) from another perspective in a series of posts. Hopefully, that would help convey the basic idea before we use an Abhidhamma analysis to get into details.
- That should help explain the connection to suddhāṭṭhaka (pure octad) formation, giving rise to a “distorted/false saññā” of a sweet taste in honey or sugar, for example.
- The first post on that series was posted today: “Attaining Nibbāna Requires Understanding Buddha’s Worldview.”
1 user thanked author for this post.
@Saurabh:
To become a Sotapanna, it is essential to understand Paticca Samuppada. You may want to peruse this section: “Paṭicca Samuppāda in Plain English“
- Another approach is to get an idea about anicca, dukkha, anatta (Tilakkhana). You could start here: “Anicca – True Meaning.” The following section has audio files I recorded some time back: “Three Marks of Existence – English Discourses“
- OR, you may already have an idea of where to start.
- The key is to start from a point with some definite traction. You can feel that instinctively when you encounter the right “area.” Once you get some traction, there is no stopping!
1. I started thinking about what I wrote above. It may not be possible to write a post like that immediately. A bit more background is necessary.
- We are discussing an issue at the heart of Buddha’s teachings.
- It may not be possible with even a couple of posts. This is about trying to explain the complex world with a brand-new approach.
- Imagine someone trying to explain nuclear physics with a few lectures or posts. That requires learning the background material first.
2. I have learned Abhidhamma from my school days. I think Seng Kiat has done the same. I don’t know of anyone else with such a background on this forum. There could be none. If anyone has such a background, I would appreciate knowing who it is and their opinions on these recent posts on suddhatthaka and also saññā vipallāsa.
- It is good to get feedback from those who are at least familiar with Abhidhamma.
3. For others, I recommend reading through the posts I suggested above. Seng Kiat has also provided a helpful reference (I have not read that). I offered a couple more in “Abhidhamma – Introduction.”
- Reading the “Abhidhamma” section could be a helpful first step.
4. However, it is a good idea to continue this discussion by asking specific questions about the posts I referred to or other suggested references.
- Those questions should not be on the endpoint (e.g., how the “sweetness of sugar” gets embedded in sugar).
- That requires a lengthy explanation, which can be given only to someone familiar with the basic concepts of Abhidhamma.
- Many of my old posts assumed that background, and I now realize that many people found them too difficult to comprehend.
1 user thanked author for this post.
Hello Hugo,
No. I don’t get mad at any comment or commenter. I try to respond in detail to questions that can help the questioner and the wider audience. I try to avoid issues that do not benefit anyone (in my opinion).
- I think Waisaka made some wise comments above.
You wrote: “Question 12: Have you ever seen a video of Ramana Maharshi? He looks like an Arahant, doesn’t he? No will, no desire, no motivation… no clothes! Yet, the people who stood around him would feel their minds calming and being able to realize the nature of reality. My simple mind cannot imagine anything more “Arahant” than that.”
- I can only say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
- That is a commonly used phrase. It means one should not judge the worth or value of something or someone solely by their outward appearance.
P.S. To judge the usefulness of a book, one must read the book. In the same way, one must listen (or read) what someone says to understand its value.
- For example, consider a beautifully decorated bowl. We don’t know what is inside until we open its lid and examine the content. If it contains feces (or urine), it is worthless. On the other hand, a rusted bowl is valuable if it contains a gem.
Yes. Now, we are getting to the “heart of the issue.”
- I planned to write such a post in a week or two, but I will try to write a draft and post it in a day or two.
- In the meantime, those interested should read up on the posts I referred to in my comment above on October 9, 2024, at 6:34 am.
- This is “previously unheard Dhamma,” as the Buddha stated repeatedly. Not easy to understand, mainly because we are primed to think in mundane ways with saññā vipallāsa. Also, read “Cognition Modes – Sañjānāti, Vijānāti, Pajānāti, Abhijānāti.”
P.S. Don’t hesitate to ask questions on those posts.
1 user thanked author for this post.
Interesting video on scientific worldview:
I can’t entirely agree with everything he says, but I agree with many of his points, especially about the “Big Bang” and the mind (that brain is not the mind).
Pure octads (suddhatthaka) are made in two ways:
1. Some are released to the external world as made by the mind. This contributes to the “aura” that surrounds our bodies.
2. The rest of kammic energy created by javana cittas does not reach the suddhatthaka stage and accumulates in vinnana dhatu as dhammā. See “What are rūpa? – Dhamma are rūpa too!”
- Those accumulated dhammās (discussed in the link above) generate suddhatthaka needed to make hadaya vatthu and pasada rupa for a new existence at cuti-patisandhi moments.
__________
Those two types of kammic energies are discussed only in Abhidhamma. The first category is sahajātā (in the present life), and the second is nānākkhaṇikā (for rebirth).
- I have discussed that briefly in “Two Types of Kamma Viññāṇa.” See #1 and Ref.1 there.
- Understanding the details is not necessary, but it may help some to grasp the basic ideas involved.
__________
The creation of kammic energy in javana cittas is discussed in “Javana of a Citta – The Root of Mental Power.”
- Buddha Dhamma is fully self-consistent. However, it takes an effort to probe to such deep levels. One can go deeper as needed, and I am finding new things regularly. But if one can develop enough saddha (faith based on one’s understanding) to proceed with the practice, it is unnecessary to probe deeper. Too many details can disturb a mind (or even a waste of time.) It depends on the person.
- My problem is that without presenting the basic framework, it is not possible to “connect the dots.” But then details like this pop up, and I need to go into details.
It is difficult to imagine how the mind can create “dense” matter. There are two factors to consider.
1. The matter is not as dense as we perceive (again, it is a “distorted sanna“); it is an illusion created by the mind. Our vision is restricted to a very narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum. You can do a Google search for “wavelength band in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum.”
- Any material object is made of atoms. An atom is mostly empty. The nucleus at the center is contains most of the mass and the “electron cloud” around (with very little mass) takes most of the volume. If the atom is of the size of a stadium, the nucleus can be compared to a grain of sand in the middle of the stadium.
- However, our eyes utilize a small wavelength range (which encompasses relatively long wavelengths compared to the size of an atom), so we cannot discern that fact.
2. Kammic energies created by a mind are tiny. Yet, it is the seed of the matter.
- We can consider the following analogy: A mighty oak tree originates in a tiny seed. That oak tree cannot exist without a seed, which germinates and extracts all that mass from the soil!
- Think about how complex that process is, i.e., oak seed giving rise to an oak tree!
- The video does not show the latter stages of growing into a giant oak tree over many years.
- As we can see, all necessary “materials for the tree” come from the soil. The seed only has the blueprint for the tree!
- The same is true for a gandhabba getting into a womb and giving rise to a full-grown human! That gandhabba has the blueprint for the body, even though the DNA of the mother and father also contributes. All the “mass/weight” of a human comes from food.
3 users thanked author for this post.
Yes. It is difficult to understand these concepts because we are used to evaluating everything based on the “laws of nature” we have learned from daily experiences and solidified by modern science. Modern science is based on the study of matter. It attempts to address consciousness (or life) as an emergent property, as I pointed out at the beginning of that post, “Buddhist Theory of Matter – Fundamentals.”
- Buddha taught that the fundamental nature is precisely the opposite. Mind is the precursor, and matter is an emergent property. See “Manōpubbangamā dhammā..”
- That is why the Buddha hesitated to even start teaching his “new-found Dhamma” because he realized it would not be easy. See, for example, “Brahmāyācana Sutta (SN 6.1).”
Also, clarifying some of these concepts may require asking questions. It is impossible to explain everything in a post where I focus on what I feel to be the optimum approach. However, some or even many people may not be able to understand that approach. So, keep asking questions, and I will do my best to explain.
- “Matter” (or at least the seeds of matter or suddhatthaka) is created by our thoughts, specifically javana citta with raga, dosa, and moha.
