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Yes. This is a somewhat complex subject.
1. One way to start is to consider how a given object (say, a red apple) is perceived (with sanna) by different species. An apple is the same object, but is perceived differently by a human and a lion, for example.
- A human perceives an apple to taste good. But lions do not eat apples; they do not perceive it to be desirable. The “rasa component” in an apple is the same regardless. The only difference is that the sense faculty of taste in a human is different from that of a lion. That “matching” happens via Paticca Samuppada. I have discussed how cows prefer the taste of grass, while humans do not. There is a “rasa component” in grass that matches the “taste faculty in a cow” to provide an attractive sensation.
- One’s sense faculties are designed according to the “gati” that led to that type of birth. A lion’s birth results from violent deeds, and that birth is designed to live by killing. The birth as a “hungry ghost” (peta or pretha) results from “stingy gati” or greediness. It is a complex subject, but that is the basic idea.
- All living beings and the environment in which they live arise through Paticca Samuppada.
2. The physical body of a given living being (human, lion, cow, etc.) incorporates details that we cannot even start to fathom.
- Let us consider ‘color.’ There are no colors embedded in any object. However, the “vanna” component in the object can cause it to appear in a certain way to a specific species. We see a red apple as red. But some animals do not see in colors. Bats do not “see” with eyes. They navigate by monitoring sound reflections. You can search and read about it.
- The color of an object (as seen by a human) depends on the light reflected by that object, and also the specific sensors in the eyes of a human. That is the “matching” that happens via Paticca Samuppada. A lion’s eyes may not have the same type of sensors. A bat does not have “eyes with color seeing ability.”
- The following video can help understand the basics of color vision.
- Let me stop here for now. Think about the above and then ask further questions as needed.
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Thank you, Jaro. Very interesting.
- I just scanned through it, and AI seems to have done a decent job of summarizing.
- We can discuss if anyone has questions.
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AI has the benefit of being able to analyze a large amount of text in a short time.
- However, I have always wondered whether it will be able to “think for itself” and come up with new ideas and discoveries.
- Not relevant to this topic: Will AI be able to make discoveries on its own? For example, consider Newton’s discovery of the laws of gravity or Einstein and others’ discovery of quantum mechanics. My belief is that it will not be. I think it is only a way to summarize large amounts of existing information and provide a summary very quickly. But we will see. I believe this is what they refer to as “general intelligence,” and they (Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Demis Hassabis, etc.) think it can be achieved within a few years.
There are many people and bhikkhus delivering thousands of discourses like this. It is not necessary to listen to every one of them.
- The purpose of this forum is to discuss the posts on this website. I would be happy to answer questions about what I write. Discussing and especially analyzing discourses by others is not a good idea. Those questions should be directed to the person who delivered that specific discourse.
- If anyone has a specific question about an external discourse, I can look into that and provide my input if appropriate. Otherwise, please refrain from posting random external discourses.
Here is another point to think about.
Stacy wrote: “Waharaka Thero redefined anicca not merely as “impermanence” but as the inability to maintain things to one’s liking, directly tied to taṇhā and the illusion of control.”
- One engages in immoral deeds (via the body, speech, and the mind) because one believes such actions can lead to happiness. That is believing in an “icca nature” instead of an “anicca (na icca) nature.” (Remember the adopted convention to write anichcha as anicca, i.e., to pronounce “c” as “ch” in writing Pali words. Many people in Sri Lanka do not realize this.)
- Those immoral deeds are done due to (abhi)sankhara.
- As I mentioned above, (abhi)sankhara arise in the mind due to avijja, i.e., not realizing that one will be unable to maintain things to one’s liking.
- Of course, there are things that “work out well in the short term.” For example, one selling drugs to make money may even live well until dying, but the consequences will be realized as rebirths as an animal or worse. Thus, in the long term, those efforts involving (abhi)sankhara (with raga, dosa, and moha) can only lead to suffering.
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1. Jittananto initiated this thread by quoting a person (let’s call X) who criticized Waharaka Thero’s interpretation of anicca. At the end of the quote, person X says, “I invite anyone who is familiar with waharaka thero to point out any errors I have made in quoting/paraphrasing him, and forgive me for any errors or any offence from this post.”
- Perhaps Jittananto can invite him/her to join the discussion.
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2. Stacy has provided some key insights into problems in the X’s critique. I can also provide the following observations for X to consider and respond to.
- Of course, “impermanence” is a feature of anything in the material world. Modern science has proven that not only everything on Earth, but also all stars and planets in the entire universe, are impermanent. However, the Buddha pointed out that it is a result of the ‘anicca nature.’
- The impermanence associated with material things we like leads to suffering when they inevitably become damaged or broken. Impermanence associated with those we love leads to suffering when they get sick or die. We all are destined to get old and die, too! All this is suffering. But, again, impermanence is the result, not a root cause.
- We cannot eliminate the suffering associated with impermanence by just observing the fact that everything is impermanent.
- The Buddha explained that impermanent “things and living beings” arise due to living beings not comprehending the “anicca nature” and engaging in immoral deeds. The root cause is a mental process!
- The Buddha did not elaborate on the origin of the inert material things because that is not necessary to attain Nibbana. He explained in detail how each living being generates kammic energy to fuel their future lives. That is the Paticca Samuppada process. It is a fully mental process! It begins with avijja (ignorance) and culminates in bhava (kammic energy that can generate future lives), resulting in jati (future rebirths). Those kammic energies are generated through (abhi)sankhara caused by avijja. That is the bridge between mind and matter (mind energy leading to subtle matter in a manomaya kaya or gandhabba)!
- When one begins to understand the deeper aspects of the Paticca Samuppada process, one can also see how even the external world arises through Paticca Samuppada. Only a brief description (without getting into Paticca Samuppada) is given in the Aggañña Sutta. See “Aggañña Sutta Discussion – Introduction ” and “Buddhism and Evolution – Aggañña Sutta (DN 27).” Again, it is a waste of time to spend time on that process.
- But it is good to know that everything in this world is based on “mental power.” See “Manōpubbangamā dhammā..” which means “mind is the precursor to everything.”
P.S. Also, the reason for anything created via “mental energy” to be impermanent: Mental energy (or any energy) can last only a finite time.
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I may not have discussed the following point in the above-referred post, “Is Cakkhu Viññāṇa Free of Defilements?“
- The chart in #3 in that post shows kamma generation in two stages: “purāṇa kamma” (initial weak kamma) and “nava kamma” (new strong kamma).
- The beginning of the “purāṇa kamma” stage is where initial kamma generation takes place with “avijjā paccayā saṅkhāra; saṅkhāra paccayā viññāna.” These saṅkhāra are not potent, and they are called saṅkappa. This can be called the “vipāka viññāna” stage. That is why it is called “avyākata.”
- Potent kamma (that can bring vipaka in future lives) happens in the “nava kamma” stage with saṅkhāra. That happens after the “taṇhā paccayā upādāna” step (with strong kamma with speech and actions with the physical body: lying, stealing, etc.)
- More information in “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation.”
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1. I think you are under the impression that “Avyakata” implies “no defilements.” That is not correct.
- Even a “vipaka vinnana” that arises at the beginning of a sensory event is defiled.
- See “Is Cakkhu Viññāṇa Free of Defilements?“
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2. You wrote: “The Pāli saṃ- (Sanskrit: sam-) is a very old Indo‑Aryan prefix.”
- There is no root with “saṃ” in Pāli. It is only in Sanskrit.
- However, many words with the root “san” are sometimes pronounced as “saṃ” because they rhyme better that way. For example, “sammā,” which comes from “saṅ” + “mā,” which means “to become free of saṅ.”
- See “What is “San”? Meaning of Sansāra (or Saṃsāra).”
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3. You wrote: “khāra (to make) → saṅ‑khāra → “things made together, compounded, constructed”
- Not correct.
- See #5 through to the end in “What is “San”? Meaning of Sansāra (or Saṃsāra).” Many “san” words are discussed there.
Yes. All other vedanas are mental. But there are two types of “mental vedanā.”
- We experience five types of sensory experiences via the physical body (let us ignore the sensory inputs that come directly to the mind via dhammā). They are sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and body touches.
- That last category is “kāyika vedanā.” The other four (sights, sounds, smells, tastes) do not generate vedanā via the nervous system. Yet we experience joy with them too, and strictly speaking, those are due to sanna (that is what I call “distorted sanna“). They are called “cetasika vedanā“. Both kāyika vedanā and cetasika vedanā also arise in Arahants.
- Now, all those vedanā arise automatically. As I mentioned, Arahants also experience them.
- In response to them, we generate samphassa-jā-vedanā (additional mind-made vedanā) and continue to attach to them as we enjoy the sensory experience. They can be due to kāyika vedanā or cetasika vedanā. Those are the vedanā you referred to in your first post as kāyasamphassajaṃ and manosamphassajaṃ.
- Now, Arahants do not generate the second type of samphassa-jā-vedanā. To generate those, one must attach to the first type of vedanā with ignorance. Arahants fully understand that kāyika vedanā will be there until death, i.e., until their physical bodies die. They also understand that cetasika vedanā are due to “distorted sanna.”
- See “Vedanā (Feelings) Arise in Two Ways.” This is an old post, but I hope it will still be helpful.
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Zapper wrote: “Also, I forgot to make my point clear.
By bodily reactions, I mean, for example, if someone sees an agreeable visual form, the physical body (Kāya) reacts to it.”________
I am glad that you did. It is essential to settle that first.
- That is incorrect. “kāyika dukkha” means dukkha vedana associated with bodily injuries, sicknesses, etc. It is a vedana felt by the physical body. It is experienced via the nervous system in the physical body.
Yes. Both “Dhammā loke piyarūpaṃ sātarūpaṃ, etthesā taṇhā uppajjamānā uppajjati, ettha nivisamānā nivisati” AND “Dhammasaññā loke piyarūpaṃ sātarūpaṃ, etthesā taṇhā uppajjamānā uppajjati, ettha nivisamānā nivisati” refer to Dhammā (and not the teachings).
- Even the same words can be used to refer to different concepts. In the above case, it happens because it would not rhyme well if the second verse is written as “Dhammāsaññā loke piyarūpaṃ sātarūpaṃ, etthesā taṇhā uppajjamānā uppajjati, ettha nivisamānā nivisati.“
- However, once we understand the relevant concepts, we should be able to determine which meaning to use. A good example is “Kāya” discussed in the current post “Kāya Can be Pañcupādānakkhandha or Physical Body.”
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The post is “Dasa Samyōjana – Bonds in Rebirth Process.”
- If you use the “Search” box on the top right, you can find relevant posts in many cases. I typed “dasa samyojana,” and that is how I found it.
1. I have taken a quick look at the paper.
- It is an interesting paper from a scientific and philosophical perspective, as the above reviewer concluded.
2. The main issue with Buddha’s teachings is the following.
- There is no way to incorporate “stopping rebirth at the Arahant stage of Nibbana” in this framework.
- According to the proposed model of “Quantum Immortality,” life will continue indefinitely.
- Another issue is that even a “human gandhabba” has a finite lifetime. It will die after many thousands or possibly millions of years to “grasp another existence” as a Deva, Brahma, animal, or other form.
3. Thus, my main objections are primarily with the proposed theory of “Quantum Immortality” based on the “Many-Worlds interpretation of Quantum Mechanics.” It is not compatible with the concept of Nibbana in Buddha’s teachings.
- The above reviewer points out two of several proposed quantum mechanical theories: the Many-Worlds and Bohmian interpretations of Quantum Mechanics.
- The following video provides a brief explanation of the several proposed interpretations of Quantum Mechanics.
Thank you!
I have made the following link for others to download the PDF file:
“Quantum Immortality – Dipabhasadhamma“
I will go over it in the coming day or two.
- In the meantime, I hope others will comment too.
