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“I focused here on what I understood as Dittha Dhamma Vedaniya Kamma, which is the Kamma which I think bears fruit in this life.”
- That is correct. Such “small kamma” can bring vipaka only during this life (“dittha dhamma vedaniya kamma.”)
- “Strong kamma,” like killing a human, can bring vipaka into lives well into the future. They are “aparapariya vedaniya kamma.”
1. I realized that I had not paid attention to the fact that “Sammā Samādhi” can be cultivated ONLY by Noble Persons (Ariyas).
- Thus, there are two categories of jhāna: Anariya jhānās can be attained by suppressing kāma rāga. In contrast, Ariya jhānās are attained by removing kāma rāga, i.e., kāma rāga samyojana and kāma rāga anusaya will be removed even in the first jhāna.
2. Thus, my previous post entitled “Jhāna – There Is No Separate Category of ‘Ariya Jhāna’” is not correct.
- Also, the new post “Jhāna and Magga phala – Very Different” I posted earlier today needs to be revised.
3. However, the following post I had written previously on this subject is correct. I have posted it as the current post: “Power of the Human Mind – Ariya Jhānā“
- I will revise the post “Jhāna and Magga phala – Very Different” and post it next week. In the meantime, please feel free to ask questions if I confused you. My apologies for the confusion.
- Still, this clarification is necessary because many people do not realize that kāma rāga samyojana must be removed to get to even the first Ariya jhāna.
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Thank you, Ravi, for sharing your experience.
- However, that incident is insignificant compared to serious kamma we may have committed in our previous lives (and even in this life.)
- We must remember that one can overcome any kamma vipaka (except for anantriya kamma) in this life itself.
- Angulimala killed almost a thousand people and attained the Sotapanna stage in a few minutes. He attained the Arahanthood within a couple of weeks. See “Account of Angulimāla – Many Insights to Buddha Dhamma.”
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Thank you! I will try to watch them when I have the time.
- The bottom line is that scientists have tried to probe the structure of “matter” to the smallest possible levels. They have found that at that sub-microscopic level, the distinction between “matter” and “energy” is blurred.
- It is impossible to “pin down” the fundamental nature of “matter,” as the Buddha pointed out 2600 years ago!
- See “Bhūta and Yathābhūta – What Do They Really Mean.”
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I have revised the chart in my above comment to make it a bit more clear that an anariya is not “free from dukkha“ after attaining jhana or samapatti; i.e., no realm in the 31 realms within this world can provide refuge from suffering.
- Release from dukkha is possible ONLY by fully comprehending the Four Noble Truths/Paticca Samuppada/Tilakkhana.
- That necessarily involves Vipassana or “cultivating panna (wisdom).” That means understanding the fundamental concepts.
- That understanding starts at the Sotapanna Anugami stage, grows through the Sotapanna, Sakadagami, and Anagami stages, and culminates in the Arahant stage.
P.S. Understanding “distorted saññā” can help get to the Sotapanna and higher stages of Nibbana.
- See “Sotapanna Stage via Understanding Perception (Saññā).”
- The main point is that most vedana (that we attach to) are “mind-made vedana” based on “distorted saññā.“ See, for example, “ Mūlapariyāya Sutta – The Root of All Things” and “Fooled by Distorted Saññā (Sañjānāti) – Origin of Attachment (Taṇhā)”
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Another (related) way to look at “dukkha” is to see that as long as one craves pancupadanakkhandha (i.e., perceived “pleasures” in this world, whether “sensual pleasures” or “jhanic/samapatti pleasures”), one is kept away from the “suffering-free pabhassara mind” and is not free from suffering.
1. An average human (puthujjana), unaware of Buddha’s teachings, is trapped in the birth/death Sansaric process, as shown in the bottom half of the above chart.
- Thus, a puthujjana is NEVER free of dukkha.
- In fact, since time spent in human or higher realms is relatively short, a puthujjana is subjected to suffering in the apayas most of the time.
2. Only an Ariya (at or above the Sotapanna Anugami) can progress toward uncovering the suffering-free pabhassara mind, as shown in the top half of the chart.
- Of course, that may or may not involve cultivating jhana. The above chart was compiled to show the futility of cultivating jhana without reaching the Sotapana stage.
3. It is beneficial to spend some time contemplating the chart. That could be a good Vipassana mediation session!
You wrote: “This forces us to answer:
- How can Dukkha be felt as Sukha, Dukha and AdukhamaSukha
- If so “Where” is it “Felt” or is it something which is “understood”/”wisdom”?
- Is everything Dukkha? If so “what” is overcome and “how”?”
The actual origin of sukha/dukha cannot be understood until one understands “saññā.” Our perception of the world is distorted, and I call it “distorted saññā.” Most vedana are “mind-made vedana” that arise based on that “distorted saññā.” Most immoral deeds (akusala kamma) are done based on that “distorted saññā.”
- You are new to the forum and may not have read the related posts.
- I suggest reading the recommended posts in #1 of “Sotapanna Stage and Distorted/Defiled Saññā.”
- This is a somewhat deep concept. Don’t rush into it. Take the time to read the suggested sections.
- Feel free to ask questions on this thread. When asking questions, please provide the specific post and the specific bullet numbers. That will help me understand the question better.
P.S. I know that even those who have been following the website may not have understood this point. Anyone is encouraged to ask questions. This may not be an easy concept to understand.
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I just posted the rewritten version: “Pāli Words – Writing and Pronunciation“
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““Can someone die and born on another planet where life is possible?”
- Yes. It is possible, but the likelihood decreases in the following order: (i) Most rebirths are within the same cakkavāla. As explained in the post “31 Realms Associated with the Earth” our cakkavāla is based on the Earth. (ii) There is a small possibility that rebirth happens in a different cakkavāla within the “cūḷanikā lokadhātu” cluster containing our cakkavāla. (iii) The possibility of rebirth in a different “cūḷanikā lokadhātu” within the “majjhimikā lokadhātu” is even smaller. (iv) The possibility of rebirth in a different “majjhimikā lokadhātu” within the “mahāsahassī lokadhātu” is even smaller.
“And if a Brahma from “Earth 1” goes to “Earth 2” to meet a Buddha there and dies, on which planet will it be born?:
- There can be only one Buddha in a “mahāsahassī lokadhātu” at a given period. Thus, until Buddha Maitreya appears, Buddha Gotama’s Sasana is the only Buddha Sasana within our “mahāsahassī lokadhātu.”
- The chance of rebirth in a different “mahāsahassī lokadhātu” is almost zero.
- Note that there can be uncountable “mahāsahassī lokadhātu” in the universe. Within them, there could be many Buddhas living right now. The universe is unfathomably large, as scientists are finding out now.
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It is also important to understand the following:
“There is a difference between suffering (the feeling or vedanā) and the ability to understand the causes of it (paññā or wisdom.) The latter can lead to future suffering, and that is what the First Noble Truth explains.
- Pāli word for suffering is dukha. On the other hand, dukkha (with two “k”) is dukha + kha or the “removal of dukha” in the sense that there is dukha in the world, but it can be overcome. Thus, in most places in the Tipiṭaka, dukkha conveys “suffering” but implies that it can be overcome.
- Dukha (suffering) is the opposite of sukha (pleasure). That is in several suttās. For example, in the “Bhāra Sutta (SN 22.22)“:
“Bhārā have pañcakkhandhā,
bhārahāro ca puggalo;
Bhārādānaṃ dukhaṃ loke,
bhāranikkhepanaṃ sukhaṃ”.Translated: “The five aggregates are burdens,
The burden-carrier is the person;
Carrying the burden is suffering in the world,
Laying the burden down is blissful“.- Of course, the word dukkha appears in most suttā because that is what Buddha Dhamma is all about, i.e., the removal of suffering.”
The above is extracted from the post “Does the First Noble Truth Describe only Suffering?“
“Can someone die and born on another planet where life is possible?”
- Yes. That is possible, but the other planet must be in the same “cluster” as the Earth.
“And if a Brahma from “Earth 1” goes to “Earth 2” to meet a Buddha there and dies, on which planet will it be born?:
- To answer both questions correctly, one must first understand the broad picture. I suggest reading the following post/discussions and asking questions afterward: “31 Realms Associated with the Earth.”
- Related discussions: “Rarity of Buddha Ministry?” and toward the end in the discussion on “Permanent effect of magga citta.”
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Indeed!
- To make it much worse, we use this dense body to chase after “mind-made pleasures” based on “distorted sanna.” Those “pleasures” are not even real.
- “Fooled by Distorted Saññā (Sañjānāti) – Origin of Attachment (Taṇhā)“
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Good.
- Also, it is critical to note that bhava and jati take place at every Paticca Samuppada cycle within a lifetime.
- See “Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda – Bhava and Jāti Within a Lifetime” and other posts in “Paṭicca Samuppāda During a Lifetime.”
1. Paṭisambhidā comes from “paṭi” + “san” + “bhidā.” Here, “bhidā” (or “bhi”) indicates “to dissect into parts.”
- Thus, it means “the knowledge (or the ability to explain in detail) of how “san” (raga, dosa, moha) binds a mind to the sansaric process or “the world of 31 realms.”
2. Paṭisambhidā Ñāna is a special status attained by very few Arahants. It encompasses four components:
(i) attha paṭisambhidā ñāṇa, (ii) dhamma paṭisambhidā ñāṇa, (iii) nirutti paṭisambhidā ñāṇa, (iv) paṭibhāna paṭisambhidā ñāṇa
I have not read Seng Kiat’s reference. It is also described in “Paṭisambhidāmagga” (a Tipitaka Commentary): “Paṭisambhidāñāṇa niddesa.”
- Those four ñāṇa are developed in that order. When one has some idea about what is for one’s benefit or “atta/attha” (Nibbana) and what is unfruitful or “anatta/anattha“, one would have a bit of attha paṭisambhidā ñāṇa.
- When one starts comprehending dhamma/adhamma and also Paticca Samuppada, one starts cultivating dhamma paṭisambhidā ñāṇa.
- When one can start seeing the meanings of crucial Pali words (pada nirutti), one starts developing nirutti paṭisambhidā ñāṇa.
- If one can explain in detail the meanings of such words and related concepts, one would have paṭibhāna paṭisambhidā ñāṇa’
3. Therefore, all Ariyas have the first two to some extent. Only a Buddha would have all four perfect. Arahant Mahā Kotthita was only second to the Buddha in that aspect.
4. Someone with that ñāṇa has a complete understanding of (i) what is attha/anattha: “Attha Sutta (AN 10.181),” (ii) what are dhamma/adhamma: “Dhamma Sutta (AN 10. 138)“, (iii) pada nirutti (how meanings of keywords come about, and (iv) can fully explain concepts in detail with examples, analogies, etc.
- Regarding “pada nirutti,” see #1 of “Kilesa – Relationship to Akusala, Kusala, and Puñña Kamma.”
- I will try to write a post on it in the future. Many other concepts need priority; knowing about Paṭisambhidā Ñāna is not critical.
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