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What Lang pointed out is correct. Let me explain a bit more.
1. “nāmarūpa paccayā salāyatana” is a step in Paṭicca Samuppāda. That holds whenever “nāmarūpa” arises via the sequence: ““avijjā paccayā saṅkhāra; saṅkhāra paccayā viññāna; viññāna paccayā nāmarūpa.”
2. The verse, “Katamā cāvuso, jāti? Yā tesaṃ tesaṃ sattānaṃ tamhi tamhi sattanikāye jāti sañjāti okkanti abhinibbatti khandhānaṃ pātubhāvo āyatanānaṃ paṭilābho, ayaṃ vuccatāvuso: ‘jāti’.” is a general term to describe how a partcular “jāti” arises.
- As I mentioned in my first comment above, this verse is analyzed in “Jāti – Different Types of Births” starting at #4. Let me summarize by quoting from that post.
“5. For opapatika (instantaneous) births in the Deva and Brahma realms, jāti is the ONLY stage involved. A Brahma or a Deva is born instantaneously, complete with “all parts of the body.”
- It needs a bit of correction. Not only jāti but also sañjāti is involved in creating a Deva or a Brahma in an opapatika birth.
- The same two steps are also involved in the birth of a human (or animal) gandhabba at the cuti-patisandhi moment. That is an opapatika birth, too.
- Thus, all life forms are generated in the first two steps (via opapatika births).
The rest of the steps, “okkanti abhinibbatti khandhānaṃ pātubhāvo āyatanānaṃ paṭilābho” are involved in the birth of a human (or animal) with a physical body. Let us consider the process needed for a human to be born with a physical body. That is another type of jāti.
- The gandhabba must enter a matching womb (okkanti). That can take days, months, or years after the gandhabba was born at the cuti-patisandhi moment.
- The rest of the steps are in #6 of that post. I will quote them below.
(iii) When pulled into a womb, the gandhabba merges with a zygote, which is the okkanti state.
(iv) Then, that embryo grows in the womb in the abhinibbatti stage.
(v) When all body parts are formed, that is the khandhānaṃ pātubhāvo stage, and a baby then comes out of the womb. That last stage is what we commonly call a “birth.”
(vi) The sensory faculties start working as āyatana after the baby is born. This is the last āyatanānaṃ paṭilābho stage.
Now, the second point that Lang made is that the baby’s sensory faculties (indriya) cannot become āyatana until its brain is fully developed.
- I discussed this point in detail in the following (more recent) post, “Distorted Saññā Arises in Every Adult but Not in a Newborn“
- I may need to make a few more revisions to the post “Jāti – Different Types of Births” to provide more clarity by referring to the newer post “Distorted Saññā Arises in Every Adult but Not in a Newborn.“
- Let me know if there are more questions before I do that.
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Dosakkhayo has sent me the following figure to explain his question:
I understand the question now. It is a good question. I will explain it later today.
- If someone else can explain it, please do so. This is a good opportunity to test one’s understanding.
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Q1. It does.
Q2. Idappaccayata Paticca Samuppada is the SAME as Paticca Samuppada.
- Uppatti Paticca Samuppada is a special case of Idappaccayata Paticca Samuppada.
#13. “angry bhava” arises in this life, with Idappaccayata Paticca Samuppada.
- “uppatti bhava” arises in Uppatti Paticca Samuppada. But that is still a unique application of the Idappaccayata Paticca Samuppada at the cuti-patisandhi moment.
No. They are different.
- The “nāmarūpa paccayā salāyatana” is one of the steps in Paṭicca Samuppāda.
- The verse, “jāti sañjāti okkanti abhinibbatti khandhānaṃ pātubhāvo āyatanānaṃ paṭilābho, ayaṃ vuccatāvuso: ‘jāti’” describes the birth of a human or animal with a physical body. See #4 of “Jāti – Different Types of Births.”
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Hello Waisaka. Welcome to the forum!
Your English is good enough for me to understand. I revised some of your sentences to make them a bit more clear. I hope I did not change the meanings you wanted to express.
It seems that you were a meditator in your recent lives. That could be why calming your mind and entering Samadhi is easier.
_____
You wrote: “In the last few months, I have felt something unexplainable in my heart; I can’t explain it; it’s like upekkha but not upekkha. It’s like being unconditioned, like calm water with no ripples, no joy/sorrow…”
- That is very impressive. You are experiencing “niramisa sukha,” which is very different from “joyful experiences” due to mundane pleasures. See “Three Kinds of Happiness – What is Nirāmisa Sukha?“
- It is more like the relief you experience when a bad headache goes away. You feel a sense of calm.
________
You wrote: “So the essence of my question is, is the object of Nibbana accessed through the heart or mind?
Because I think Nibbana cannot be thought of, it can only be felt, is that true?”
- Yes. You are right. As you wrote, “Nibbana cannot be thought of, it can only be felt.”
- It is felt as a relief! It calms the mind.
______
I think you will be able to make significant progress.
- If you can learn English a bit more, reading the posts on this website will become easier. If you can spend part of your time reading simple English novels or even newspapers, that could help you learn English.
- While Google Translate is generally good, I don’t think it can correctly translate the Pali words written with English letters.
- To learn pronunciation, the following could be helpful:
That is correct. In one way of looking at the “big picture,” attachment to sensory inputs or arammana (with tanha and upadana) is the root cause of suffering.
- The amazing fact (that no one else has fully explained with Paticca Samuppada) is that our craving for “worldly pleasures” is based on a grand illusion; our perceptions (saññā) are inherently distorted. The Buddha called saññā a mirage in the “Pheṇapiṇḍūpama Sutta (SN 22.95),” and we discussed that in the post, “Sotapanna Stage and Distorted/Defiled Saññā.”
- Most sukha/dukkha (or, more precisely, somanassa/domanassa) vedana are “mind-made” based on “distorted saññā” built into our physical bodies (via Paticca Samuppada.)
The main points are as follows:
1. Everything in this world is made of “suddhāṭṭhaka” (sometimes written as suddhāshtaka).
- Suddhāṭṭhaka (“suddha” for “pure” or fundamental” + “aṭṭha” or “eight”) means a unit of matter consisting of eight fundamental entities: Four of these belong to the “bhūta” stage of pathavi, āpo, tejo, and vāyo arising due to avijjā. The other four of vaṇṇa, gandha, rasa, and oja arise due to taṇhā.
2. The latter four entities are the ones giving rise to the perception (saññā) or sense of “pleasure” in worldly things:
- Vaṇṇa, gandha, rasa, and oja, respectively, make some things give rise to attractive sights, smells, tastes, and “generative power.”
- The basic ideas are discussed in “The Origin of Matter – Suddhāṭṭhaka.“
3. The point mentioned in #2 gives rise to a “distorted saññā” of “tasty foods, beautiful sights, pleasing sounds, etc.
- Read again the post “Fooled by Distorted Saññā (Sañjānāti) – Origin of Attachment (Taṇhā),” and you may be able to get the idea.
- All matter (including our physical bodies) is based on suddhāṭṭhaka. That is how the “distorted saññā” is built into our physical bodies.
I will gradually discuss this profound point in detail in upcoming posts.
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Yes. It does.
- The usage of the word “self” must be understood.
The quoted sentence is in #13 of that post and is as follows:
“The question is not whether there is a “self” or not. Is it wise to think that it is worthwhile to have the perception of a “self” and do things only for the pleasure of the “self”? If born a dog, would it be the same self? But if one does lowly deeds that a dog does (say defecating in public, having sex with children, etc.), one could be born a dog. The wrong perception of a “self” can lead to immoral actions and suffering in future lives. “
- I made that comment referring to an “unchanging self” (like a soul) in that sentence.
- If there is an “unchanging self” (like a soul), one cannot attain Nibbana, i.e., stop the rebirth process.
- Instead, a given “lifestream” gets a rebirth based on the type of (abhi)sankhara cultivated with avijja. When avijja is removed from a mind (with the comprehension of the Buddha’s worldview or the Four Noble Truths), that Paticca Samuppada process stops, i.e., no more “upadana paccaya bhava” and “bhava paccaya jati.”
P.S. I revised the above-quoted paragraph as follows to make it more clear:
“The question is not whether there is a “self” or not. Is it wise to think that it is worthwhile to have the perception of a “self” and do things only for the pleasure of the “self”? If born a dog, would that dog have the same “self”? But if one does lowly deeds that a dog does (say defecating in public, having sex with children, etc.), one could be born a dog. The wrong perception of an “unchanging self” can lead to immoral actions and suffering in future lives.”
1. Yes. Repetition is there, but it seems to serve different purposes. Sometimes, similar suttas can be found in different Nikayas, for example, in Samyutta Nikaya and Anguttara Nikaya. Before the Tipitaka was written down, it was transmitted orally over roughly 500 years. Groups of bhikkhus memorized different Nikayas. When a Buddhist Council (Sangayana) was held, they all recited the whole Tipitaka to ensure the overlapping parts were consistent. From another angle, repetition makes it easier to memorize, and repeated recitals with understanding make it easier to absorb the concepts.
2. It is true that Buddha Dhamma is not a religion in the traditional sense. It is a worldview that shows the world’s working in great detail, showing how suffering arises and how one can be free of that suffering. The Buddha described that worldview in great detail in Abhidhamma. It is the Grand Unified Theory that Einstein pursued until his death, and scientists today are still pursuing it. But they will never get there by focusing on material phenomena. The fundamental unit of matter is not an atom or a quark but a suddhatthaka (a billion times smaller than an atom) created by the mind! See “The Origin of Matter – Suddhāṭṭhaka.” While scientists will still make more progress (in mundane ways, coming up with new gadgets, etc.), they will never be able to discover anything about the mind.
- I hope to live long enough to explain the Abhidhamma theory in English. Hopefully, that will pique the interest of more scientists and philosophers and eventually show the world how precious Buddha Dhamma is. I feel bad for all those bright minds wasting their time pursuing material phenomena. Human birth is rare. To be born human within a Buddha Sasana is even more rare. Most people do not know they are wasting an opportunity they may never again get for billions (may be trillions) of years.
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Jorg sent me his revised document to be posted:
“What is True Ānāpānasati & Satipaṭṭhāna (Vipassana)?“
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“Sex” is not explicitly mentioned in the Tipitaka regarding Devas. However, there are accounts of male Devas with many female Devas. For example, the king of one Deva realm, Sakka, has many female Devas.
- Kama raga includes craving all five types of sensory pleasures. All beings in the 11 realms of kama loka have kama raga.
Yes. Deva births are opapatika births. Female Devas don’t get pregnant and deliver babies.
It can be analyzed in the following way.
1. All our thoughts, speech, and actions are based on sensory inputs (arammana.)
- Based on those sensory inputs, we engage in unwise actions that accumulate kamma leading to future vipaka, including rebirths in this “suffering-filled world.”
2. We are born human because we like specific sensory inputs (sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and bodily pleasures). Some of them are shared with other realms, especially in kama loka. For example, animals and Devas also crave sex.
3. As explained in Abhidhamma, all sensory contacts (except bodily contacts like injuries) are “neutral,” i.e., sights, sounds, etc, cannot lead to sukha/dukkha vedana.
- However, that initial sensory contact comes with a “built-in distorted sanna” like the sweetness of sugar or the beauty of a woman. That is how a human body is made by kamma vipaka. Thus, an Arahant gets the same “distorted sanna.“ That is the beginning of our attachments to sensory inputs. Of course, there are more details. Being unaware of this mechanism is ignorance (moha/avijja.)
- Let us focus on the “beauty of a woman” for a man. As long as one has “kama raga anusaya/samyojana,” one will attach to that sanna depending on one’s preferences. That is the root cause of greed.
4. Now, suppose man X falls in love with that woman. The more he meets the woman, the desire to “have her” gets stronger with the cultivation of mano and vaci abhisankhara.
- But she falls for another man (Y), and X gets angry and decides to kill Y. The root cause for that anger (dosa) was the desire for the woman (greed). Thus, greed and anger go together. Dosa is a more robust version of patigha. In general, kama raga and patigha go together.
5. Both lobha and dosa arise (as we saw above) because X has not heard (janato) and understood (passato) the above explanation by the Buddha. That is ignorance (moha or avijja.)
- Regarding janato/passato, see “Jānato Passato” and Ājāniya – Critical Words to Remember.“
6. Thus, the order is: moha/avijja, lobha/raga, dosa/patigha. Ignorance of Buddha’s teachings is the root cause.
- The mechanism of the arising of “distorted sanna” (and how that leads to “samphassa-ja-vedana” or “mind-made vedana” which in turn leads to attachment/craving) was addressed in “Sotapanna Stage via Understanding Perception (Saññā).”
- I will explain it further in upcoming posts.
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Arrogance exists because of the perception of “me” and “mine.”
- So, it disappears completely only at the Arahant stage when the “asmi mana” (or “mana“) anusaya/samyojana is removed.
- However, it decreases as one advances on the path at the Sotapanna, Sakadagami, and Anagami stages.
‘ahaṅkāramamaṅkāramānānusaya’ = ahaṅkāra mamaṅkāra māna anusaya
- “Ahankāra” (aham kāra) and “mamankāra” (mama kāra) originate with “me” (aham) or “mine” (mama.)
- That perception (saññā) will be there as long as māna anusaya is there.
- P.S. But the wrong view (ditthi) about a “me” or “mine” goes away with the removal of sakkaya ditthi at the Sotapanna stage.
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We cannot help it that others think of us that way. Such issues arise because of their wrong views, i.e., they have not yet heard or understood Buddha Dhamma.
- The only thing we can do is avoid arguing with them. Arguing will certainly anger them and be detrimental to them.
- So, my advice is to politely refuse to engage in social activities you do not wish to participate in. It is best to give an excuse that you have other commitments.
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