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Hi Akvan,
But the Buddha’s key interest is to eradicate future suffering, rebirth suffering. No doubt we can validate Tilakkhana against our own life experiences and see how Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta unfold right in front of our very eyes. But if we don’t cultivate dispassion for worldly things, no matter how well we practise in this life, we are going to come back to Kama Loka to ‘enjoy’ sense pleasures over and over again. Each time we come back, for good or for bad, we need to grow old, fall sick, and die. We must see the urgency to adopt this transcendental view and the danger of clinging on to sense pleasures. Seeing rebirth is of utmost paramount importance if one is seriously keen to get out of sansara.
Hi Akvan,
Someone ever told me this…”During the Buddha’s time when the arahants were not following vinaya as they are beyond what the rules were set to address. When ppl couldn’t understand why the difference, the Buddha asked all monks, regardless of awakening, to adhere to vinaya.”
Not too sure whether there was a mass suicide from the arahants back then.
I just watched a Chinese documentary yesterday which talks about a 3 year-old kid who remembers his past life events. He was brutally murdered in a province of China. 10 years later, he is born into another family of another Chinese province. The gandhabba had spent a good 10 years of his human bhava seeking a suitable rebirth! Anyway, this 3 year-old kid has been telling his parents about memories from his past life. The parents of course, were shocked. The kid keeps insisting that he be brought to that village to visit his ex relatives. The parents only gave in until the kid was 5 years old. The kid with no prior knowledge of the provincial language that the other villagers are speaking, could utter conversations with them. Also, he could provide detailed instructions to his parents on how to navigate this his ‘old house’ where his former father resides. The moment the kid saw his former father, he addressed him such-and-such. Only his former father and relatives knew how the son addressed his former father. It is really amazing. Unfortunately, the media reporters did not believe in such a story. They think this is sheer coincidence.
Hi Lal,
I am trying to understand the whole picture. Please kindly advise if my understanding is correct.
“We get sense inputs (seeing, hearing, etc) due to kamma vipaka. These are analyzed by the first part of the citta vithi (see #15) labelled “kamma vipaka”.”
Since coming into contact with sense inputs at this stage is a neutral event, does it imply only Vipaka Vinnana is aroused at this stage?
“Then, based on our gati, a decision is made by the mind on how to react to that sense input at the vottapana (labelled “V”) citta in the middle of the citta vithi”.
This stage triggers our Kamma Vinnana to arise. If abhisankhara is performed, it is equivalent to saying samphassa ja vedana has been executed. If samphassa ja vedana has been executed, either somanassa or domanassa is present. Consequently, our strong actions cause kamma beeja to arise and gets deposited in the mano loka (contained inside kamma bhava) and awaits for the right conditions to be unleashed in the form of dhamma or kamma vipaka again for the person to ‘bear’. Abhisankhara, if performed frequently enough and becomes habitual, might even build up into a nimitta and gets manifested at the forefront of a dying person during his last moments of death.
“Now, javana citta run based on that decision. Those initial javana citta are therefore mano sankhara. They get started without our conscious thinking, just based on our gati.”
Citta activities are way too fast for us to discern, and I would think knowing the criticality of the vottapana stage is good enough from an academic perspective. From a Paticca Samuppāda standpoint, which I think is more practical for us to react to sense inputs, can we say to get rid of a bad habit, the most critical link to tackle is samphassa-paccaya-vedana & vedana-paccaya-tanha. i.e. we must place strong emphasis to watch over our feelings since it is impossible to cut off all forms of contacts. Afterall, vedananupassana is one of the Satipatthana we should constantly practise.
Hi Siebe,
I highlighted the issue of the Australian man who opted for assisted suicide in order to urge everyone not to attempt suicide as a means to end suffering. In doing so, we realised that our fellow Dhamma friend does not have firm belief in rebirth. If we can help to reverse that view, it would certainly be very meritorious for everyone of us. This salt of being judgemental is nothing compared to the vast amount of merit that will dilute the taste of saltiness in due time.
Embodied,
Of course Tilakkana is applicable to one’s current life. Tilakkhana is timeless. It is valid in the past, it is valid in the present, and it will continue to be valid in the future.
Are you seriously doubting rebirth? Do you think we are born purely by chance?
“Personally I accept rebirth as a plausible possibility but on the other hand, it should be possible to evolve within Buddha Dhamma without having an unwavering faith in rebirth.”
If there is no rebirth and law of kamma, then there won’t be any new causes and conditions to shape this world of 31 realms. Sansara will never end. And because sansara is never ending, there will always be causes and conditions to shape the world and sustain sansara itself. We ought to have unwavering faith in rebirth.
Tilakkhana would not hold if there is no rebirth and law of kamma. Another way to look at it is, if suicide could end one’s suffering, Tilakkhana would not be valid. The Australian man tried to beat Anicca and Anatta via his suicide attempt. He held a wrong view and made a very big mistake.
Also, committing suicide cannot end suffering. It can only bring more suffering. People who are suicidal hold a nihilistic outlook on life. They think once they are gone, suffering will end too. If that is the case, why bother cultivating the spiritual path? The Buddha must have wasted His time preaching Dhamma to the world if committing suicide can end suffering. Energy cannot be created nor be destroyed. It can only be converted from one form to another. This is the 1st law of thermodynamics. And a lifestream is a form of energy.
Hi Embodied,
The first precept a buddhist undertakes is to refrain from destroying the life of a living being (including their own). To be born as a human is very rare and one must have done much meritorious deeds in past lives. A human birth is the most ideal existence to practise Dhamma and attain magga phala. So, to prematurely terminate one’s life would certainly bring forth much unwholesome kamma vipaka. I heard of some sayings (don’t know how true) of people who commit suicide would have to go through the same process of dying until their vitality is truly exhausted.
Australian, 104, dies in assisted suicide in Switzerland
“My life has been rather poor for the last year or so. And I’m very happy to end it,”
“The British-born scientist said this week that he had been contemplating the idea of suicide for about 20 years, but only started thinking about it for himself after his quality of life deteriorated over the last year.”
Clearly,this man was having vibhava tanha. He must have generated a lot of unwholesome kamma just by thinking of how to end his life prematurely. Imagine those inner chatter in his head, telling him to end his life. According to the Buddha, the only being who takes his/her own life blamelessly is an Arahant. Many people value long life. But this man showed us long life can be torturing too, especially when one is plagued by health issues. If only this man had encountered Buddha Dhamma and attained at least the Sotāpanna stage, he would not have made this suicide decision. Died as a putthujana, future will be bleak.
Hi Lal,
“The way we first react (automatically) to situations is habitual and are based on our gati/asavas. The thoughts that are habitually and automatically generated are mano sankhara. We don’t have control over them DIRECTLY.”
Does the Avyākata Paticca Samuppāda cycle depict the mano sankhara process of how nature impart kamma vipaka onto us?
Hi Lal,
If a Sotāpanna attains the first Ariya jhana, he is essentially an Anagami already, right?
Your post Power of the Human Mind – Ariya Jhanas has mentioned…
“9. One gets to the first Ariya jhāna by removing (uccēda pahāna) kama raga, whereas one can get to the first anariya jhāna by suppressing (vikkhambana pahāna) kāma rāga. Therefore, one will be an Anāgami by the time one gets to the first Ariya jhāna.”
But what if the meditator has completely removed kama raga but not patigha? Does it qualify him as a Sakadagami?
Indulging in vanilla cookies is no different from smoking weeds. Vanilla cookies and weeds are just sense objects. We crave for the sensual pleasures from the gratification process.
If you have ever stored honey outside your fridge, chances are ants will enter the jar or container. When you open up the container, you could see that they are already dead inside. Either they are drown by honey or they eat themselves to death. I don’t know. Whatever it is, we can deduce a fact from this observation – Ants cannot withstand the temptation from honey.
Ants die for honey just like men die for money. Honey is to money, just like vanilla cookie is to weeds.
