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“Bhikkhu Bodhi argues that there is no mentioning of Buddha teaching Abhidhamma to the monks in the Suttas”
- That is correct. That is why Abhidhamma is not included in the Sutta Pitaka.
- The Buddha described the Abhidhamma theory (in detail) to the Devas over several days. Each day, he returned to the human realm to meet Ven. Sariputta and summarized that day’s desana. Ven. Sariputta and his lineage of bhikkhus expanded on that summary to end up with what we have in the Abhidhamma Pitaka today. Even after Ven. Sariputta’s Parinibbana, the project continued, and it was finalized only at the third Buddhist Council, as I remember. This account is on p. 11 of Bhikkhu Bodhi’s Abhidhamma book.
- The completed Abhdhamma Pitaka was recited at the Third Council, attended by only Arahants. That is enough evidence for me to support the authenticity. Of course, the other point is that NO ONE ELSE could develop such an elaborate and self-consistent theory on the human mind even if tried.
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“But you also state in the above referenced page: “The minute details on the structure of a citta vithi (a series of citta) of 17 thought moments, with each citta lasting sub-billionth of a second, can be seen only by a Buddha.” If you don’t mind me asking, how did you come to this conclusion?”
- Our minds are incapable of experiencing a citta vithi. It runs unimaginably fast: ” sub-billionth of a second.” We experience mental phenomena on the millisecond scale.
- That is why the Buddha ALWAYS referred to “khandhas” or “aggregates, ” encompassing millions of cittas. Scientists have done experiments to figure out the minimum time one needs to look at a picture to recognize it. That time is around ten milliseconds. (See Ref.1 of “Vision Is a Series of “Snapshots” – Movie Analogy.”) Within that time period, millions of cittas would have gone through our minds! The human mind is the ultimate quantum system. The “quantum” (or the smallest unit) is a citta. On the “material side,” the smallest unit (quantum) is a suddhāṭṭhaka: “The Origin of Matter – Suddhāṭṭhaka.”
- Detecting/experiencing a single citta or a suddhāṭṭhaka is possible only for a Buddha. Anyone else, including Arahants, cannot do that.
“I love Science but I have noticed that its biggest limitation is dealing with subjective experiences.”
- Yes. This is where “conducting controlled experiments” (the operating principle of modern science) no longer holds.
- Unlike “material phenomena,” “mental phenomena” are not repeatable nor reproducible.
- For example, the motion of a rocket or any projectile can be described by a set of mathematical equations, and such an experiment can be done anywhere by anyone and yield the same results. In contrast, mental phenomena are subjective experiences unique to each individual. Even the same person may not generate the same thoughts (or react to a given sensory input the same way) under different conditions.
- Yet, the Buddha provided a set of rules (types of citta vithi, how many cittas in a citta vithi, how a mind reacts under a given set of conditions, etc.) However, understanding how those rules can be applied takes a lot of learning. The suttas provide a “qualitative description,” and the Abhidhamma delivers a detailed and analytical solution.
- Some people say Abhidhamma is a “later addition.” That is the approach taken by those incapable of comprehending the deep Abhidhamma. Only a Buddha can provide such a detailed and self-consistent analysis of how the mind works. Of course, it is possible to grasp Buddha Dhamma without Abhidhamma. But Abhidhamma, once understood, provides a solid foundation for Buddha Dhamma. Any “murky issue” (that may come up while studying suttas and is up for debate) can be resolved by an Abhidhamma analysis.
I forgot to mention one key aspect above.
5. Those “javana cittas” that generate kammic energies are powered by raga (caving for sensory pleasures/greed), dosa (anger/hate when one does not get one’s desired sensory pleasures), and avijja (ignorance about how all that work).
- The ability for raga, dosa, and moha/avijja to arise in a mind are based on anusaya/samyojana. Those anusaya and samyojana can be removed by comprehending the Four Noble Truths/Paticca Samuppada/Tilakkhana.
- A Sotapanna‘s mind is devoid of ditthi and vicikiccha anusaya (two of seven types of anusaya) and three of the ten samyojana. In addition, an Anagami‘s mind is devoid of kama raga/patigha anusaya and kama raga/patigha samyojana.
- An Arahant‘s mind is devoid of all anusaya/samyojana.
- See “Conditions for the Four Stages of Nibbāna.”
This is an excellent question. You are engaged in the correct type of “insight mediation” (Vipassana.)
1. You wrote: “In Science, energy is defined as the capacity to do work.”
- It is the same definition in Buddha Dhamma.
- However, Buddha Dhamma addresses a special type of energy called “kammic energy.” It has the ability to create the most fundamental types of matter (hadaya vatthu and five pasada rupa). Those are the basic elements a living being is made of. Hadaya vatthu is the “seat of the mind” where all cittas (“thoughts”) arise, not in the brain as scientists believe. The five physical sensory units (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and the physical body) are tools that collect data on sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. Those signals are processed by the brain and passed onto the five pasada rupa associated with the hadaya vatthu (in the manomaya kaya or gandhabba).
- The above “picture” is put together by combining information from the Suttas and Abhidhamma.
- There are many posts on the subject scattered throughout this website. See, for example, “Manomaya Kaya (Gandhabba) and the Physical Body“, “Brain – Interface between Mind and Body“, and “Bhūta and Yathābhūta – What Do They Really Mean.”
2. Kammic energy is unbelievably tiny compared to the types of energy involved in moving a car or even lifting a finger.
- However, the critical constituents of a living being (whether it is a human, animal, Deva, or Brahma) can be created ONLY by kammic energy.
- That kammic energy is created by our thoughts (cittas), specifically in a special type of cittas called “javana cittas.”
- Javana cittas produce and release energies preserved in the “vinnana dhatu” as “dhammā” for very long times. Those are the kammic energies that bring kamma vipaka, including rebirth.
- See, for example, “What are Rūpa? – Dhammā are Rūpa too!“
- The first verse in the Dhammapada points out this fundamental aspect: the mind is the precursor to everything in this world. See “Manōpubbangamā dhammā..“
3. This is a fascinating and deep subject. I hope not only Taryal but also others will look deeply into it.
- This is why I say that the Buddha was the greatest scientist who ever lived! Nowadays, people are fascinated with quantum mechanics, but the Buddha described the most fundamental quantum system (the mind) 2600 years ago. Scientists’ discoveries match and confirm Buddha’s teachings: “Quantum Mechanics and Dhamma.” This section is mostly suitable for those with some physics background.
4. There are many relevant posts on the website. We can discuss more as we proceed.
Yes. That is the “previously unheard teachings” of a Buddha.
- You wrote, “This is one of the craziest concepts I have ever attempted to learn. It doesn’t surprise me that it is arguably the most misunderstood aspect of Gautam Buddha’s teachings. I still think this is not a 100% clear to me but I feel like I am getting closer. “
- That is exactly right. No average human can ever come up with that explanation (only a Buddha can discover nature’s hidden secrets). We can only see the truth of it (once explained by a true disciple of the Buddha who has understood that explanation.) Of course, each person must verify its truth by himself.
- One key issue with grasping that “worldview” is our built-in innate “distorted sanna” of an unchanging essence of a soul/atma.” Each birth/existence has that built-in “distorted sanna” (for liking certain worldly things) via Paticca Samuppada. That is why no scientist can ever figure out that “sweetness of sugar” is not real in the ultimate sense. Once one can see how that naturally gets built into our human bodies, one will have discovered the trick behind the greatest magic show.
I tried to explain that in the section “Sotapanna Stage via Understanding Perception (Saññā).”
- However, that analysis is too deep for many. I will discuss it in simpler terms (using a different approach) in the new series of posts starting with “Vipassanā – Buddhist Meditation.”
- Please feel free to ask questions as you proceed. We are all here to help.
- It could be a good idea to scan through and read some posts in the “Paṭicca Samuppāda” section. The key is to get started. Each person’s background is different, so asking questions is critical.
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I am glad to hear from you, Taryal.
1. Most of what you wrote is correct. However, the following is incorrect: “But I should also understand that what I perceive to be me/mine are the 5 aggregates which are not under my complete control. These evolve according to natural causes and not according to my desires.” It is correct that the five aggregates play a significant role. However, we have control over it, especially after comprehending the teachings of the Buddha. See the post in #3 below.
2. Yes. This is what I referred to in #1 above. Once one understands the Paticca Samuppada (PS) process, we will know how to manage it.
3. Again, mostly correct except for “What makes an arahant unique is that their perception won’t be defiled since they won’t attach to any sensory input.” The corrected version is explained in #9 of the new post of today “Vipassanā – Buddhist Meditation” Please read that. It is called “distorted perception” and not “defiled perception.” An Arahant would not have anything defiled.
4. Yes. An Arahant has a heightened awareness. That is because that mind is not defiled. As one progresses on the Noble Path, one’s awareness will increase. It is also true that even an unenlightened individual can use anariya jhana to increase their awareness because, at least while in jhana, their minds are devoid of kama raga. However, an anariya yogi would not know what Nibbana is until it is explained in detail by a Noble Person; of course, it could be easier for them to grasp those concepts once explained.
5. You seem to have read the relevant literature. The literature on Out-of-Body Experiences (OBE) is similar to those on Near Death Experiences (NDE). See “Manomaya Kaya and Out-of-Body Experience (OBE)” and “Mental Body (Gandhabba) – Personal Accounts.” This website has many other posts on gandhabba, manomaya kaya, OBE, and NDE. You can use the search box on the top right to look for relevant posts using those keywords.
I am glad you are interested in these issues at a young age. This is the best time to look into Buddha’s teachings. I wish I had started much earlier.
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Yes, Yash.
- Well before getting to the Arahant stage, one can see that there is no “unchanging self” (a soul in Christianity /or “atma” in Hinduism). Our experiences arise based on root causes (and conditions for triggering them).
- When the root causes (greed, hate, and ignorance) disappear, no external sensory input, under no circumstance, can trigger generating attachment/repulsion to that sensory input. The key is the following: When one understands this at the Paticca Samuppada level, ignorance disappears, and that will make greed and hate disappear, too.
- It is impossible to stop greed/hate from arising without eliminating ignorance (avijja) by comprehending Paticca Samuppada. That happens in stages, and avijja is entirely dispelled at the Arahant stage.
In the above, why does “attachment/repulsion to that sensory input” play a critical role?
- When we attach to a sensory input, we act with greed, anger, and/or ignorance and engage in immoral (or unwise) deeds. This is the same as engaging in “bad kamma” or “generating abhisankhara,” which leads to generating “kammic energies” that can bring “kamma vipaka,” including rebirth.
- Paticca Samuppada describes that process.
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Yash: “The arahant would perceive the world based on distorted Sanna, but not a self, right?”
- That is correct.
- Furthermore, the rise of “distorted sanna” can also be explained by Paticca Samuppada. Each rebirth occurs with “distorted sanna” built-in by kammic energy!
- I tried to explain that in the section “Sotapanna Stage via Understanding Perception (Saññā).”
- However, that analysis is too deep for many. I will discuss that in simpler terms in a new series of posts.
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P.S. An Arahant also gets the “distorted sanna” because it is “built-in” to human birth. But Arahant’s mind will not be “fooled by it.” See, for example, “Fooled by Distorted Saññā (Sañjānāti) – Origin of Attachment (Taṇhā).”
- Each realm has a different “distorted sanna” according to Paticca Samuppada. That is why our minds generate the “sweetness of sugar,” we like that taste, but a pig would not get that sanna. A pig feels a “built-in sanna of a good taste” for rotten food!
- It is critical to understand sanna: “Saññā – What It Really Means.”
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Hello taryal,
1. You wrote: ‘The 5 aggregates are discrete, inconstant and illusory, i.e. they give the illusion of an “experiencer”. When one wakes up to this reality, they become enlightened.”
- That is not what the Buddha taught. Those who say those things are the ones who mistranslate “anatta” as “no-self” and further interpret that to mean there is no “experiencer.”
- There have always been two wrong views on two extremes: (i) One with uccheda ditthi believes that there is no rebirth, and with the death of the physical body, nothing remains or continues. (ii) The other extreme is to have “sassata ditthi“, i.e., to believe that there is a “permanent soul/aathma” associated with a person. Those are the only two views about existence in the absence of a Buddha.
- The Buddha rejected both. A “person” exists as long as that “lifestream” is sustained via Paticca Samuppada (i.e., until the root causes of greed, hate, and ignorance exist in mind.) Conditions brought about by sensory inputs trigger those root causes. At the end of the Noble Path is Arahanthood. An Arahant has no greed, hate, and ignorance left in mind. At the death of the Arahant, he/she attains Nibbana and will not be reborn anywhere in this world of 31 realms. See “What Reincarnates? – Concept of a Lifestream”.
2. This question is not applicable per #1 above. Any human has free will.
3. You wrote: “An arahant will lose the perception of self upon becoming enlightened.”
- This is obviously wrong. Didn’t the Buddha (and many Arahants) live for many years and function as anyone else? One cannot live without perception (sanna.)
4. You wrote: “It seems like an arahant’s mindset won’t be discernible to us till we become enlightened ourselves.”
- An Arahant‘s mind is not hard to comprehend. It is like any other mind, but without a trace of greed, hate, and ignorance.
5. You asked: “It is said that an enlightened mind can only be sustained by a dense human body. If so, how was Buddha able to travel to higher realms? I believe he used his mental body to do so. After leaving his physical body, should he not have instantly attained Parinibbana?”
- There is a subtle “manomaya kaya” that sustains the physical body. Until the death of the physical body, that manomaya kaya is intrinsically connected to that physical body. But it is possible for the manomaya kaya to “come out of the physical body” temporarily. The Buddha traveled to Brahma realms with the manomaya kaya. While his manomaya kaya was in the Brahma realm, his physical body was on Earth, but they remained connected. That is exactly what happens in NDE situations described in the link below. Those experiencing NDE have their manomaya kayas move out of their physical bodies.
- Even these days, many people can experience NDE. See, for example, “Near-Death Experiences (NDE): Brain Is Not the Mind.”
Buddha Dhamma is deep. It takes an effort to understand “previously unheard teachings,” as the Buddha stated.
Yash: “So this Panca Nivarana Suppression can act as a hindrance towards one path if one is ignorant of the Buddha Dhamma. One may suppress it to the extent that one may get to the 1st jhana, and his belief would become unshakable about the methods he used.”
- That is quite true. It is possible to get into jhanas by focusing on the breath (provided one abstains from immoral deeds and abstains from sensual thoughts for a long enough time.)
- Then they misinterpret that as getting close to Nibbana. Many yogis attained the highest jhanas and even cultivated supernormal powers even before the Buddha. They were not even close to Nibbana! They all were and still are puthujjana residing in Brahma realms right now.
- Buddhist meditation requires a solid understanding of Paticca Samuppada, Tilakkhana, etc.
- I will start a new series on that.
Gad: You are right. #3 is the first one to tackle. Until one gets rid of that, one is a puthujjana.
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It is good to contemplate such situations. But think through possible scenarios. In particular, you may have gone through such situations in the past. What happened in those situations?
- It would be better to discuss such actual experiences. From a philosophical standpoint, we can make up all kinds of situations, but those may not match/describe what happens in real life.
Think about what happened in an actual case where someone started verbally abusing you. There are many possibilities. (i) One could look away, (ii) One could walk away, (iii) One could try to explain to that person you have done nothing wrong, (iv) One could get confrontational, and the situation can escalate.
It would provide more clarity if you could describe what happened in such cases (even hypothetical cases).
For example, consider the case (i) above.
- X starts verbally abusing Y. Y looks away, but X keeps it up and becomes even more annoying. Doesn’t Y’s mind likely generate anger? At some point, Y may “blow up” and be likely to respond.
- But that is likely only in the case of an average human. If Y is an Arahant, no anger will arise, and he can sit there all day and “take that abuse” without generating any anger.
- If Y is a Sotapanna, anger may arise, and he will think about how to “diffuse the situation.” He may try to explain to X that his accusations do not have a basis. But if X disagrees and continues, Y may walk away from that situation.
The other situation also has many possible outcomes.
- If you can describe a specific situation (how the situation develops), we can discuss that.
- If someone hits you and even you don’t respond, doesn’t anger arise? How long can you take that abuse (which is worse than verbal abuse)?
All three activities you mentioned do not involve abhisankhara, which can lead to “bad vipaka.”
- “Bad/immoral kammas” involve greed, hate, and/or ignorance of their effects.
- Some may involve a little bit of ignorance (because of possible health effects), but they are not too significant.
Yes, niramisa sukha is felt on the way to Nibbana.
- However, a living Arahant may feel “dukkha vedana” due to the physical body born with. Such vedana can arise from injuries or sicknesses.
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The above comment applies not only to jhana cultivation but also to meditation in general.
- I forgot to emphasize that above.
Pathfinder: “Actually, this brings up another query I have: “Is there happiness in Nibbāna?”
Nibbana does not have anything that is associated with “this world of 31 realms.” Trees, water, mountains, or even thoughts or feelings (like happiness) are absent in Nibbana.
- It may be hard to grasp this initially. But the Buddha, with Paticca Samuppada, thoroughly explained that if any of those entities are present, they must come into existence due to root causes (greed, hate, ignorance) and conditions.
- Anything that comes into existence via root causes (greed, hate, ignorance) and conditions is impermanent (that is why any existence, including Deva or Brahma births, will not lead to “permanent removal of suffering”); but it is also more than impermanence (all such existence are of the anicca nature).
- “Nibbana sukha” is NOT a feeling. It is the absence of suffering. The closest analogy is the following: Suppose someone has had a chronic headache from birth. One day, it is cured, and he feels a great relief. That relief was not a new vedana but the absence of “dukkha vedana.”
See “Nibbāna “Exists”, but Not in This World”
- More posts in “Nibbāna.”
Buddhist meditation does not involve anything that has to do with this world. For example, breath or a kasina object like a clay ball for a water bowl is used by anariya yogis.
- Buddhist (Ariya) meditation is based on a Dhamma concept like Paticca Samuppada, the anicca nature of this world, etc.
- The following was extracted from the recent post “Jānato Passato” and Ājāniya – Critical Words to Remember.”
8. Cultivation of jhāna could be an important part of progresing on the Noble Path, especially if one is a bhikkhu. While the term “Ariya jhāna” does not appear in the Tipiṭaka, the Buddha clearly distinguished between jhānās cultivated by Ariyās and anāriyās. For example, when a bhikkhu named Sandha visited the Buddha, he was rebuked not to meditate like a mule (khaḷuṅka) but like a horse trained for battle (Ājānīya.) See “Sandha Sutta (AN 11.9).”
- It is good to read that whole sutta.
- @marker 2.16, the sutta describes how an anariya yogi cultivates a jhāna: “They meditate (with the mind focused on) earth, water, fire, and air. They meditate (with the mind focused on) the dimension of infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, or neither perception nor non-perception.”
- Note that “breath meditation” (or anariya “kasina meditation” using a clay ball or fire) belongs to that category; it focuses the mind on the “air element.”
- How does an Ariya meditate? That is described @marker 3.13: “They don’t meditate (with the mind focused on) earth, water, fire, and air. They don’t meditate (with the mind focused on) the dimension of infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, or neither perception nor non-perception. They don’t meditate (with the mind focused on) this world or the other world. They don’t meditate (with the mind focused on) what is seen, heard, thought, known, attained, sought, or explored by the mind.”
- We will discuss that further in the next post.
9. Several suttās compare the quality of Ariya and anariya jhānās to that between a well-trained horse and a lazy mule.
- In the “Bhaddāli Sutta (MN 65),” the Buddha describes the training of an ajānīya horse to have ten qualities, compared to an Ariya cultivating ten qualities. A similar description is in the “Gaṇakamoggallāna Sutta (MN 107).”
- Also, note that “jāna(to)” and “jhāna” are very different. Furthermore, it is a god idea to understand how to pronounce (and write with the “Tipiṭaka English” convention); see “Pāli Words – Writing and Pronunciation.”
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