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Four Noble Truths – Suffering and Its Elimination
I recently attempted to write an article summarizing Lokkuttara Samma Ditthi. However, today, while reading this post, I realized that everything I intended to write has already been articulated here. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this post. I sincerely hope that every being can read this post at least once. sadhu! sadhu! sadhu!
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As for the ownership and the value, I think it shows different approaches to the same subject, respectively. The anatta can be likened to a drug addict failing to produce any results. The drug addict ended up failing to do anything worthwhile (value), and he had nothing left (ownership). The “Sabbē dhammā anattā” conveys the fact that all the joy-seeking efforts within samsara are no different than drug addiction after all.
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Thank Jittananto!
Jittananto: Does that mean that it is useless to perform good deeds and transfer them to apaya beings like petas (hungry ghosts) in order to alleviate their suffering?
Me: No. If a peta receives transferred merit, it means that the conditions for the manifestation of that peta’s past kamma have been met. Therefore, in this case, the peta has received the vipaka of their own kamma.
Also, we can arrange the conditions for them to get a good vipaka by giving things or merits to others (such as petas). It is a good thing to do.
What I said should be understood only in the context of sila and bhavana. Because it gives us only the direction to go. One has a responsibility to correct oneselves. And that is the meaning of it.
Thank you
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I summarized what I thought about mundane samma ditthi.
This is the list of ten types mundane samma ditthi.
1. atthi dinnaṁ
2. atthi yiṭṭhaṁ
3. atthi hutaṁ
4. atthi sukatadukkaṭānaṁ kammānaṁ phalaṁ vipāko
5. atthi ayaṁ loko
6. atthi paro loko
7. atthi mātā
8. atthi pitā
9. atthi sattā opapātikā
10. atthi loke samaṇabrāhmaṇā sammaggatā sammāpaṭipannā, ye imañca lokaṁ parañca lokaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā pavedentīI have categorized it into three as follows:
### Kamma
The 1st, 2nd, and 4th entries deal with kamma.– atthi dinnaṁ
– atthi yiṭṭhaṁ
Punna kamma has three categories: dana, sila, and bhavana. The 1st and 2nd entries represent the two most fundamental moral principles for living beings: giving to others and being grateful for what one has received from others. These two principles generally encompass meritorious actions. (The 4th entry deals with sila and bhavana.)The law of kamma guarantees that good deeds will be rewarded, whether the reward comes immediately or later, when the appropriate conditions (paccaya) are met. This also applies to bad deeds.
Based on this, we can perform good deeds not based on immediate outcomes but on natural moral principles. This understanding allows us to refrain from reacting angrily to seemingly unjust situations, as they are the result of one’s own past bad kamma coming to fruition.
The law of kamma does not follow the typical cause-and-effect analysis derived from observing the sequence of events, which often leads to viewing revenge as justice. However, with mundane samma ditthi, we are not blinded by immediate appearances and can understand the essence of events based on natural moral principles. The notion of implementing justice is an illusion because, from a long-term perspective, justice is always guaranteed (but only with proper conditions).
– atthi sukatadukkaṭānaṁ kammānaṁ phalaṁ vipāko
The 4th entry states that fundamental moral principles are included in natural laws, and the future depends on the choices we make in the present. However, the realization of kamma involves a certain rule called paccaya, and until this condition is fulfilled, the result (vipaka) will not manifest. Thus, we have two types of choices at this stage: choosing what kind of kamma to perform and choosing how to change the conditions (paccaya).It also implies that no one can take responsibility for another person’s actions because no one can perform kamma on behalf of someone else or experience the results (vipaka) of another’s actions. This is the basis of sila and bhavana.
Attā hi attanō nāthō,
One is one’s own refuge,kō hi nāthō parō siyā?
How can another be a refuge to one?### Manomaya Kaya
The 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th entries deal with manomaya kaya.– atthi ayaṁ loko
– atthi paro loko
5th and 6th discuss separate layers for the animal realm and human realm. If there weren’t, there would be no need to differentiate between ayam loko and paro loko. These separate layers imply that the manomaya kaya (mind-made body) can exist independently of the physical body after death. In other words, these entries is about the mechanism by which the manomaya kaya is separated from the physical body.– atthi mātā
– atthi pitā
7th and 8th highlight the special reasons for the existence of mother and father. This is related to the rarity and preciousness of a human manomaya kaya (gandabba) obtaining a physical body. Therefore, the kamma done towards parents is not equal to that done towards ordinary people. Understanding this is equivalent to understanding the mechanism by which the manomaya kaya obtains a physical body.– atthi sattā opapātikā
9th states that the general form of existence for all beings is the manomaya kaya. This has two major implications.First, the scope of life extends beyond mere cellular molecules to levels finer than atoms. Second, the manomaya kaya is the primary body, and the physical body is secondary.
### Purification of Mind
The 3rd and 10th entries deal with the purification of mind– atthi hutaṁ
3rd discusses the relationship between meritorious actions and the level of mind. The purer the recipient’s mind, the greater the merit. This implies that the degree of purity of mind is an important measure in Dhamma. Arahant is the most valuable being in this regard because they have eradicated all defilements. In other words, there is a certain correlation between morality and the level of mind.– atthi loke samaṇabrāhmaṇā sammaggatā sammāpaṭipannā, ye imañca lokaṁ parañca lokaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā pavedentī
10th primarily signifies the existence of monks and Brahmins who can see the rebirth process. This implies that the purer the mind, the better one can understand the world. In fact, iddhi can only be acquired in a state of mind free from akusala, even if temporarily, such as in jhana.In conclusion, someone with mundane samma dithi understands that these three topics are important.
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It gives me more joy than disappointment. It’s because I realized that there is still so much more to learn. Thank you for the answer, Ven. Lal. If you have time later, I would like to request a detailed explanation on this topic.
Phassa can be divided into neutral phassa and contaminated samphassa. Neutral phassa can only be experienced through indriya. With Abhidhamma, we can deal with this in finer level. Because Abhidhamma is a tool that explains all the details about everything. Let me give an example.
“When the eyes capture an image of a tree, that image is processed by the brain and then passed along to the cakkhu pasāda rūpa, which is in the mental body or manōmaya kāya. In the case of a human or an animal, manōmaya kāya is the same as gandhabba.”
The above sentence is quoted from #7 of Contact Between Āyatana Leads to Vipāka Viññāna. Let me connect the above process with a neutral phassa and explain it in more detail.
The definition of phassa is a contact between external rupa and internal rupa. Therefore, it is not actually the tree that comes into contact with the eye, but rather the information about the tree’s shape that enters the physical eye through light. This information is then converted by the brain into data that the pasada rupa can read. This data flows to the pasada rupa via kirana wave, and it is precisely this very subtle bundle of information, as an energy wave, that contacts the internal rupa as an external rupa. In other words, when considering the collision process between the external rupa and the internal rupa, we can see that the external rupa that collides with the pasada rupa is also just suddhatthaka. This implies that the phassa occurring through neutral indriya is an Abhidhammic process.
From these observations, we can understand that external rupa and external ayatana are fundamentally different. This is because external rupa belongs to rupa in the paramattha dhamma, while external ayatana belongs to nama. Therefore, the two cannot be interchanged.
I understand up to this point. If there are any mistakes in what I have written so far, I would appreciate it if you could point them out.
I cautiously speculate that phassa arising from indriya might not be discussed at all in Paticca Samuppada. This is because what was previously known as neutral PS, Abyakata PS, was actually explaining the minor kamma generation process known as purana kamma.
In fact, neutral phassa can only be explained in abhidhamma, not in PS. This is because all terms in PS are related to the contamination or purification of the mind. Since phassa of indriya is unrelated to both of them, it has little relevance to PS.
However, this does not mean that there are things in the world that PS does not explain. It simply means that neutral phassa through indriya is in a different subject from dukkha samudaya or dukkha nirodha. It’s more like just calculating, rather than contemplating.
The statement “sun is not a planet” is astronomically true. And “the sun is anicca” is a Dhammically true statement. Both are true and they’re talking about the sun, but astronomy is not Buddha Dhamma. The same logic applies here. (Of course, Abhidhamma IS Buddha Dhamma.) That’s the reason even if one is good at Abhidhamma, they may not have gotten any magga phala.
Ven. Lal, if it would not be too much trouble for you, could you create a post containing the detailed interpretation of the Ratana Sutta by Waharaka Thero, if such content exists?
Ditthi asava is defined in the Vibhanga as follows:
Vb17 215.1
Tattha katamo diṭṭhāsavo? “Sassato loko”ti vā, “asassato loko”ti vā, “antavā loko”ti vā, “anantavā loko”ti vā, “taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīran”ti vā, “aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīran”ti vā, “hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā”ti vā, “na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā”ti vā, “hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā”ti vā, “neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā”ti vā. Yā evarūpā diṭṭhi diṭṭhigataṁ …pe… vipariyāsaggāho—ayaṁ vuccati “diṭṭhāsavo”.
Sabbāpi micchādiṭṭhi diṭṭhāsavo.The above phrases are exactly the same thing as dasavatthukā antaggāhikā diṭṭhi.
Vb17 321.1
Tattha katamā dasavatthukā antaggāhikā diṭṭhi? Sassato lokoti vā, asassato lokoti vā, antavā lokoti vā, anantavā lokoti vā, taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīranti vā, aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīranti vā, hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā, na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā, hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā, neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā—ayaṁ dasavatthukā antaggāhikā diṭṭhi.These ten items can be classified into three categories as shown below.
Loka
- sassato loko
- asassato loko
- antavā loko
- anantavā loko
Jiva
- taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīran
- aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīran
Nibbana
- hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇa
- na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇa
- hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇa
- neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇa
Thus, ditthi asava can be considered as wrong views regarding loka, jiva, and nibbana.
Someone being a Sotapanna means that they have eradicated ditthi asava.
That is, they have correct views regarding loka, jiva, and nibbana.
–
The ten items of antaggahika ditthi are also statements about the abyakata topic.
“kiṁ nu kho, bho gotama, sassato loko”ti?
“Abyākataṁ kho etaṁ, vaccha, mayā: ‘sassato loko’ti …pe….
“Kiṁ pana, bho gotama, ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’”ti?
“Etampi kho, vaccha, abyākataṁ mayā: ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’”ti.
So what is the resolution of the abyakata issue for someone who is a sotapanna?
The answer is discussed in the Kiṁdiṭṭhika sutta. AN 10.93
This sutta involves Anāthapiṇḍika debating with those who hold abyakata views.
The noteworthy point is that the correct response to the ten antaggahika ditthi, such as sassato loko or asassato loko, appears in the following phrase.
14.1 “Yaṁ kho, bhante, kiñci bhūtaṁ saṅkhataṁ cetayitaṁ paṭiccasamuppannaṁ tadaniccaṁ. Yadaniccaṁ taṁ dukkhaṁ. ‘Yaṁ dukkhaṁ taṁ netaṁ mama, nesohamasmi, nameso attā’ti—evametaṁ yathābhūtaṁ sammappaññāya sudiṭṭhaṁ. Tassa ca uttari nissaraṇaṁ yathābhūtaṁ pajānāmī”ti.
From this tipitaka reference, it can be understood that the phrase “Yadaniccaṁ taṁ dukkhaṁ. ‘Yaṁ dukkhaṁ taṁ netaṁ mama, nesohamasmi, nameso attā’ti” is sufficient to convey correct understanding regarding loka, jiva, and nibbana.
Therefore, merely pointing out impermanence is not sufficient to explain anicca. Because you can’t learn about loka, jiva, and nibbana properly with just such an explanation. By the same logic, it is also incorrect to understand anatta as not-self.
Obsidian sitemap of Pure Dhamma
I just published the sitemap of Pure Dhamma.
You can see the graph of posts in the site.
I have not yet fully implemented all contents of the posts. I plan to continue studying and fill them in as I go.
However, instead of copying the text of puredhamma site directly, I will provide a link of the post at the top.
In this website, I would like to share the content of what I have studied.
I hope it can be of any help to others.
Thank you.
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I thought about it for a week. And I found out that I was wrong. It meant a lot to me, in a good way. I appreciate your correction.
1, 2: No, they are not.
3: Both cultivating jhāna and magga phala are purification of the mind (not involving akusala). Seeing adinava in raga leads to not having raga. We need to be aware that the absence of raga can help suppress and remove stress. Because some anariya yogis can also see adinava in kama raga and choose to attain jhana.
The difference between suppressing and removing lies in whether one understands the following things: (i) Without any exceptions, all sukha that comes from raga depends on sankhata. (ii) All sukha that depends on sankhata is never free from the three types of dukkha. (iii) Pursuing sukha by having raga is nothing more than shoveling sand against the tide.
(i)~(iii) are about an extension of the scope of seeing adinava to ALL of samsara. Magga phala require this point. On the other hand, jhāna only require seeing adinava in kamaloka. For that very reason, anariya jhāna can be broken.
4. : I never experienced jhana. But as far as I know, those are indistinguishable.
5. Can one develop supernormal powers (iddhi) by cultivating jhāna?
: I don’t think it’s possible to have iddhi if one only cultivates jhāna, but I think it is possible if one makes an additional and valid effort.
+) I’d like to share my experience somewhat related to.
When I see people feeling happy from worldly things, sometimes I think like this: ‘Those people seem to be happy, even so, they are bound to dukkha. Therefore, it is meaningless. Rather then, I will have a life without burden.’ When that happens, I feel the coolness instantly. The feeling starts near the neck or heart and spreads throughout the body. I naturally close my eyes with a comfortable and good feeling. When I want to feel this feeling, I think about metta or anicca, and then I can feel it. Sometimes I feel it while talking about Dhamma with my friend. But it lasts about five seconds and then disappears. It’s hard to sustain, so I’m just feeling what comes naturally rather than trying to keep it for a long time.Could you explain the feeling I felt, please?There are three fetters: sakkaya ditthi, silabbata paramasa, and vicikicca.
Each of those are not knowing how to deal with correctly raga, dosa, and moha.
Sakkaya ditthi is the false belief that the consequent pleasure from having raga can be meaningful in some way.
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
“Everything will be Okay.”
These words are good example of sakkaya ditthi.
–
There are three groups in the 10 punna kamma: Dana, Sila, and Bhavana.
Sila group helps to remove dosa and cultivate adosa.
But Anariya hasn’t removed silabbata paramasa yet, i.e. they couldn’t see the essence of morality, their sila is not permanent.
Instead, Ariya saw the essence of morality so silabbata paramasa is gone.
Then what is the essence of morality?
How I treat a living being determines how nature treats me as a living being.
AND, there is no right reason to harm other beings.
Because nothing is more precious than life.
One may think like this. “I can swear at him because he broke my stuff, because my stuff is precious.”
But, nothing is more precious than life.
The point is that as long as someone has sakkaya ditthi, one day they put something else on life.
–
What should I know more broadly? What more information should I collect?
These questions have nothing to do with understanding the nature of the suffering.
One should purify one’s mind. What we should do and need to do is that. And it alone is enough to attain Nibbana.
Until one really comes to this conclusion, one still has vicikicca.
–
Think about 10 samyojanas.
Those can be chunked in three categories.
Raga categories
- sakkaya ditthi
- kama raga
- rupa raga
- arupa raga
- mana
Dosa categories
- silabbata paramasa
- patigha
- uddacca
Moha categories
- vicikicca
- avijja
And we can also see that the first item of each list means not knowing how to do ragakkhayo dosakkhayo mohakkhayo, and the rest items mean not doing enough.
That’s why sotapanna knows the map to the nibbana. Ragakkhayo dosakkhayo and mohakkhayo cover all of the bhavana!
So we should deal with raga by asubha, dosa by metta, moha by panna.
Kāma Rāga Dominates Rupa Rāga and Arupa Rāga
The six types of kāma guṇa are iṭṭhā kantā manāpā piyarūpā kāmūpasaṁhitā rajanīyā.
They apply to manoviññeyyā dhammā, too.
“santi, bhikkhave, manoviññeyyā dhammā iṭṭhā kantā manāpā piyarūpā kāmūpasaṁhitā rajanīyā.”
–
The above is something you can read and know from the post.
After reading that, I wondered: Do jhanic and samapatti sukha also have the six types of kāma guṇa? Because rupa or arupa brahmas do experience manoviññeyyā dhammā. I guess it probably does.
I think it would be Bv 1.
“Cattāro te asaṅkheyyā,
(3) cakkavāḷā canantakā;
(4) Buddhañāṇaṁ appameyyaṁ,
na sakkā ete vijānituṁ.
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