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“To be honest, we can’t really control what other people do. So we should stop worrying about them and focus on ourselves.”
- That is true. There are two aspects to it, though.
1. One cannot fully help others until one frees oneself first. For example, if a group of people are trapped in a deep hole, one must first get out. Then, he can help others.
2. However, those who are like-minded and have the same goal can help each other. In the above example, others can lift someone and make him advance to help him get out.
- Soon after attaining Buddhahood, the Buddha started seeking those who helped him in his efforts (in his past lives). See “Animisa Locana Bodhi Poojawa – A Prelude to Acts of Gratitude.”
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Yes. For example, an Anagami likes to see bhikkhus and other disciples and discuss things with them, but does not want to watch adult movies or discuss tasty foods.
- Anariya yogis who still have kama raga anusaya/samyojana will still not generate sensual thoughts while trying to get into the jhana or while in the jhana.
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“So a person, having attained the Rupa jhana, would he have cravings to see beautiful sights and to hear melodious sounds?”
- Can such a person have kama sankappa or “sensual thoughts” (while in the jhana or when trying to get into the jhana)?
If you don’t agree with the traditional view of kammapatha, why do you need to ask questions about it?
- I assume you agree with the interpretation of Waharaka Thero.
- So, why worry about the “traditional view”?
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The following that you quoted from the post is incorrect:
“For example, feelings (vēdana) khandha can be any of the 11 categories. Here, near and far means recent or way back in the past. Internal is one’s own and external is feelings of the others.”
- I need to correct that. I will do that and post it here.
Sorry about the confusion. Even though I fixed another issue on that post recently, I probably missed this one. Thank you for pointing it out.
- This issue became clear to me only in 2023. So, there could be other (old) posts with similar errors related to ajjhatta and bahidda rupa, vedana, sanna, sankhara, and vinnana.
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Of course. There have been many incompatibilities (and some remain) between Buddha Dhamma and science.
- However, Buddha Dhamma has been proven correct with time: “Dhamma and Science – Introduction.“
- As science makes progress, more incompatibilities will be removed.
- One critical remaining incompatibility is scientists’ wrong view that thoughts arise in the brain. But that is gradually changing. See, for example, “Dr. Brian Weiss on the Patient Who Made Him Believe in Past Lives” and “NDE, Jesus and Hell” (especially the YouTube video there.)
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I missed the following question from Jittananto yesterday:
“In the suttas, we see Lord Buddha and other venerable arahants talking about their abilities in various fields. Why would this not be considered pride in this case?”
- The Buddha (and Arahants) always tried to inspire others by pointing out the possibilities (what could be achieved if one puts in the effort).
- That is not pride; it was done with compassion.
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Buddha Dhamma is based on a very different paradigm and cannot be assessed using “mundane theories.”
- That MUST be kept in mind all the time.
- If one tries to explain concepts in Buddha Dhamma using scientific or philosophical theories, one will NEVER be able to comprehend Buddha Dhamma.
- However, that does not mean one cannot use “common sense.”
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Yes. Good essay!
- Also, see the comment I just posted in the thread “Jhāna Cultivation.”
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1. To attain jhāna, one must transcend the kāma loka.
- We are trapped in kāma loka because we crave “close contact” (taste, smell, and body touch). However, we also use the other two sense faculties to fulfill such desires. For example, watching adult movies or talking about tasty food is done with kāma rāga.
- To attain a jhāna, one must overcome such desires.
2. That can be done in two ways:
(i) One must see (with wisdom) that the consequence of having such desires is to be trapped in kāma loka. Also, based on such temptations, we may do immoral deeds and be reborn in an apāya.
(ii) Kama rāga arises based on kāma saññā. To eliminate kāma rāga, one must overcome kāma saññā. If kāma saññā is inherent, we cannot overcome it. But kāma saññā is “mind-made” and can be overcome. See “Saṅgīti Sutta (DN 33.)“: “Paṭhamaṁ jhānaṁ samāpannassa kāmasaññā niruddhā hoti.” OR “For someone who has attained the first absorption, sensual perceptions have ceased.”
- That is why I call it a “distorted saññā.”
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Taryal asked: “Why didn’t they make it easier to understand though?”
- To explain things in one’s own words, one must understand the underlying concepts well.
- Instead, most current translators resort to translating Pali words to English (probably using dictionaries written by “scholars” who did not understand Buddha Dhamma.)
The Commentaries in the Tipitaka are helpful if one has such a good understanding.
- There are English translations of the Tipitaka Commentaries. However, they are still not useful because the translator does not know the true meaning of a Pali word, per the context.
- For example, in some instances, “phassa” does not mean simple “contact” but “samphassa,” which means “defiled contact.” Yet, the translator does not know that. See, for example, “6. Analysis of Dependent Origination,” an English translation of the Commentary on Paticca Samuppada in Vibhanga Pakarana, a Tipitaka Commentary.
Such verses are probably from several suttas delivered to bhikkhus, especially when cultivating Satipatthana after the Sotapanna stage.
See, for example, “Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (DN 22)“:
“Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu araññagato vā rukkhamūlagato vā suññāgāragato vā nisīdati pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidhāya parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā.”
- The translation in the link is not very good. But it conveys the point you pointed out.
It is not necessary to go to the wilderness to meditate. However, if someone has the time (like bhikkhus do), that is better since there are fewer distractions.
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All discourses mentioned above are from those who learned from Waharaka Thero.
- However, there can be some differences in understanding.
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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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