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SIGNIFICANCE OF CONTACT (PHASSA) IN THERAVADA BUDDHISM
” Four nutriments (āhāra)
1)Physical food (kabalinkāhāra)
2)Contact (phassāhāra)
3)Volitional thoughts (mano sancetanāhāra)
4)Consciousness (viññānāhāra)
Feelings that arise dependent on contact would inevitably lead to suffering. Feelings that are considered as pleasant will lead to suffering when they cease to exist due to their very transient nature while the unpleasant feelings cause suffering by their very nature. Neutral feelings will lead to suffering due to their bland nature and boredom. Because contact conditions feeling that lead to suffering and because feeling also conditions craving (tanhā), clinging (upādāna), becoming (bhava) and re-birth (jāti), contact has a most significant role as a mental nutriment. (11)
In the Puttamansa sutta, the Buddha has advised the monks to reflect on the simile of a skinned cow when considering the nutriment of contact. When a skinned cow is standing near a wall it is bitten by the insects living on the wall, standing near a tree it is bitten by the insects living on the tree, standing in the water it is bitten by the insects living in the water, and standing in the open space it is bitten by insects living in the air. So, wherever the skinned cow stands it will be bitten by the insects causing suffering. Similarly, one is constantly in danger of being bombarded with sensory contact through the six sense doors which will inevitably lead to suffering. According to the Buddha, when the nutriment of contact is comprehended, it will lead to comprehension of the pleasant, unpleasant and neutral feelings resulting in the eradication of the fetters that keep beings bound to the cycle of birth and death (samsāra) with no re-birth.
Contact or sense impression (phassa) within the Buddhist teaching is the coming together of three factors: an internal sense door, an external sense object and the respective sense based consciousness. There are six types of contact based on the six sense doors. Contact plays a crucial role in producing mental defilements and suffering in unenlightened beings, as it is from contact that the mental processes such as feeling, perception and volitions arise. Hence, the Buddha has named it as a nutriment (āhāra) that sustains the life of living beings and support those who are to be born within the cycle of birth and death (samsāra). Through the development of wisdom by comprehending into the real nature of contact, the enlightened ones continue to experience contact through the six sense doors, but there is no arising of any mental defilements as they have given up any subjectivity with regard to their sense doors and sensory experiences. “
I found a text that contradicts the idea that “paccekabuddhas do not teach magga phala” The Lord Buddha was the father of a young Brahmin, in a past life. His son was ordained by paccekabuddhas and became one of them. The son even attained parinibbāna, shortly after his awakening.
In my personal opinion, such an outcome is only possible when the person has enough paramis, to become one of them. They just didn’t teach too many people. They do not establish a sasana like the sammasambuddhas. They ordain only if the persons are close to them, I think.
I leave it to Sir Lal to examine this information, to see if it is credible!!
The sources
Saṅkha’s StoryPaccekabuddhas Teach Awakening(from the Commentary to Dhammapada 290)
Dhammapada Verse 290 Attanopubbakamma Vatthu
“Matta sukhapariccaga
passe ce vipulam sukham
caje mattasukhirh dhiro
sampassam vipulam sukham “
Sorry sir i didn’t correctly explain my point.
Here’s what I mean: A human who seems normal may be on the verge of becoming a paccekabuddha. Like you said sir, about the paramis each of us pratice them at various level. To becomes a paccekabuddha one need to pratice for two incalculables (asankeyyas) and one hundred thousand kalpas the 10 paramis. This kind of person leaves from the puthujunas stage to the arahant stage, directly, without having to go through the other levels of the magga phala. I remember a sutta where Lord Gautama Buddha told several stories. Among these stories was that of people who became paccekabuddhas upon realizing their misdeeds. One of these people was lusting after someone’s wife. Realizing that he was generating unhealthy thoughts, he practiced anapanasati (the real not the mundane) unconsciously. This person saw his householder attributes disappear and became a paccekabuddha.
I will try to find this sutta !
(Here is my personal opinion I could be wrong of course: It seems that many of these paccekabuddhas and regulars arahants did not even know that they were going to attain Nibbāna. As you said sir Lal arahant Santati is an example. Nothing foreshadowed that he was going to become arahants!! A few days before meeting Lord Buddha, he was fully invested in kama ragā!!
A completely ordinary person can become a paccekabuddha. Most of the time, it happens following shocking or mundane events. A person can become paccekabuddha, realizing the futility of performing unwholesome acts to satisfy one’s desires. The Jātaka I just sent talks about the story of the paccekabuddha Darimukha. Venerable Darimukha was Lord Gautama Buddha’s best friend when he was a bodhisatta. Venerable Darimukha became paccekabuddha, upon seeing a flower wither. It is said that all paccekabuddhas attain the 8 jhanas, all abhinnas and Nirodha Samapatti. They can do it, while being secular. However, after achieving enlightenment, the signs of house master disappear, instantly. A bowl and a renouncer’s robe appear to them. Paccekabuddhas appear in the same kappa as sammasambuddhas. They never meet. It is wrong to say that paccekabuddhas do not teach. They teach the mundane eightfold path. The laws of kammas and how to develop kamma kusulas and jhanas. Venerable Darimukha taught our bodhisatta the futility of chasing sensual pleasures. After his teaching, our Bodhisatta became an ascetic with jhanas and took rebirth in the brahma worlds. Arahant Maha Kassapa is another example of the teaching of the paccekabuddhas. Arahant maha Kassapa, before being reborn for the last time, was a brahma. Before his life as a brahma, he was a king who took care of 500 paccekabuddhas. He had observed their way of life and their nobility. All 500 paccekabuddhas reached parinibbãna at the same time. The future Arahant Maha Kassapa, renounced her throne and became an ascetic. He took rebirth in the brahma world. In his last life, as a human, Arahant Maha Kassapa had an aversion to sensual pleasures, long before he meet Lord Buddha and became monk. Among the arahants, he was the one who practiced the 13 dhutaṅgas, perfectly. He was very austere. The paccekabuddhas meet in the holy mountain isigili. Lord Buddha recited the names of these paccekabuddhas. They get together and discuss how they became awakened. The teachings of the paccekabuddhas do not give direct results in this life. However, those who benefit from their sermons and take good care of themselves develop kusalas kammas. These kusala kammas will help them to easily attain magga phala when a sammasambuddha appears. There is the story of a dog who followed a paccekabuddha.The dog took rebirth as a deva and then human during the time of Lord Gautama Buddha. He became sotāpanna by listening to a discourse from Lord Buddha
PRIVATE OR SOLITARY BUDDHA (PACCEKA BUDDHA) IN THERAVADA BUDDHISM
“According to Buddhist literature, an aspirant to become a Pacceka Buddha is supposed to perfect these ten qualities over an extensive period described as two incalculables (asankeyyas) and one hundred thousand eons or kalpas (consisting of innumerable numbers of years). An aspirant to become a Samma Sambuddha has to perfect these qualities to a higher degree and for a longer period of time while an aspirant to become an Arahant has to perfect them to a lesser degree and for a lesser period of time.”
Arahant Maha Kassapa’s past lifes
Maha Kassapa Father of the Sangha
“Two lives before her present existence, Bhadda was queen of Benares and used to support several Paccekabuddhas. Deeply moved by their sudden death, she renounced her worldly life as a queen and lived a meditative life in the Himalayas. By the power of her renunciation and her meditative attainments, she was reborn in a Brahma-world, and so was Kassapa. After the end of the long life-span in the Brahma-world, both were reborn in the human world, in a brahman family, and were named Pipphali Kassapa and Bhadda Kapilani.
From these accounts we gather that in their former existences both had lived a life of purity in the Brahma-worlds and that both had repeatedly been ascetic renunciates. Hence, in their final existence, it was not difficult for them to keep to a life of celibacy, to give up all possessions, and to follow the Buddha’s teaching up to its culmination in Arahatship.”
One become a anagami and die. He had the mind state of an anagami brahma, since he destroys kāma ragā and Dosā. In the first pure abode he die and reborn in the next, until the last one. He had 5 jati (There are 5 pures abodes Brahma aviha,atappa, sudassa,sudassi and akanittha), in the same brahma anagami bhava.
In one of your posts, you also emphasized that devas and Brahmas who reach the arahant stage automatically enter Parinibbānna. Their bodies are too thin to live as arahants.
In the point 14.
“Thus, the fine body (trija kaya) of the gandhabba cannot “bear” the energy associated with an Arahant. See “gandhabba (Manomaya Kaya).”
In the same way, the invisible, subtle “bodies” of a Deva or a Brahma also cannot sustain the mind of an Arahant. Thus, if a Deva or a Brahma attains the Arahanthood, they will immediately attain Parinibbāna. In other words, there are no living Arahants in Deva or Brahma realms.”
Nibbāna “Exists”, but Not in This World
To draw another parallel. In the suttas, there are stories where Lord Buddha and other arahants transfer merit to apaya beings like petas (hungry ghosts). As a result of these transfers of merit, they die and are reborn as devas.
AN INTRODUCTION TO PETAVATTHU: STORIES OF HUNGRY GHOSTS
ARAHANT IN THERAVADA BUDDHISM.
“it is reported that because the lay life could not properly support the life of an Arahant, one who becomes an Arahant as a lay person should ordain as a monk on the same day or pass away”
Sir Lal, are the people who say that suicide is bad and leads to apayas telling the truth? A person may commit suicide because of a strong emotion such as anger and grief.
However, puthujunas who lay down their lives for the sake of others do punna kamma.
Ariyas can do this without consequence. Anathapindaka’s daughter was a sakadāgāmi. She committed suicide by starving herself to death. She had not found a husband. After her death, she took birth again, in the Tusita paradise.
Christian said: “The only explanation is that frog attained jhana. It’s pretty interesting if jhana would be possible for animals :) “
I do not think so. However, they can have pitī which is a factors of Jhanas.
There was a story of a disciple who was a dog who followed a paccekabuddha in one of his past lives. When the paccekabuddha reached parinibbānna, the dog died of grief. After his death, he took rebirth, as a Deva. After his existence as a Deva, he was reborn, as a human. He met Lord Gautama Buddha and became an sotāpanna.
His story as sotāpanna
His story as dog.
In both cases of the dog and the frog, we can see that they experienced extreme and contradictory emotions. However, the two ended up in a happy rebirth.
Here is another example of a bhikkhu named Isidore who can see his past lifes. He says that when he was an animal, he had a feeling of devotion, towards the monks.
“The vision of his past and future lives“
(Lal’s note: You can read the Engish version by right-clicking inside the web page and selecting “Translate to English.” )
“The devotion of animals
When in his meditation he walked through his life as a sow, Isidore saw that his animal spirit could feel a sense of admiration and even devotion towards noble beings, such as monks. This is not difficult to imagine since we can see, for example, the differences in behavior of a dog towards a human, depending on the latter’s intentions.”
