[Jorg]

Hi LDF (LayDhammaFollower),
Do you know whether the author has talked about the namarupa formation in vinnana via javana citta?
You mention he doesn’t distinguish between phassa and samphassa, so I presume he doesn’t distinguish then between vinnana and kamma vinnana and/or sankhara and abhisankhara. Have you come across anything?

[Jorg]

Thank you for the reference. I checked several suttas and the main message comes down to:

“A perfected one has nothing more to do, and nothing that needs improvement.
Natthi, khvāvuso, arahato uttari karaṇīyaṁ, katassa vā paticayo;
Still, these things, when developed and cultivated, lead to blissful meditation in the present life, and also to mindfulness and situational awareness.”
api ca kho ime dhammā bhāvitā bahulīkatā diṭṭhadhammasukhavihārāya ceva saṁvattanti satisampajaññāya cā”ti.
(Disregard the “mindfulness and situational awareness” translation of “satisampajannaya.”)

One sutta refers to jhana in specific.
None of them (perhaps the commentaries, but there’s no translation there) state any duration of time.

I assume Buddha chose to go into nirodha samapatti as well. Then again, that’s not the same as Anapanasati.

[Jorg]

Dear Lal, the below statement you made on sep 14, 2020, would be a great addition to the recent post of Ānāpānasati Not About Breath – Icchā­naṅga­la Sutta

“That last point may raise questions. If the Buddha (or an Arahant) has already discarded the opposites of the Noble Path Factors, then why do they need to engage in Anapanasati?
– Because that provides relief to the mind.
– Even Arahants have “agitation of the mind” (NOT defilements) due to kamma vipaka. They also have bodily dukkha/sukha vedana due to kamma vipaka as everyone else.”

I did not realize that to such an extent. I’m glad it was previously raised and answered. Are there any more mentions of this in the Tipitaka that Buddha or Arahants went into seclusion? Or how often that happened?

[Jorg]

Thanks guys, that makes sense now.

[Jorg]

Nice chart.
I do wonder about something. All the arrows point to follow-up sections.
The lokas at the bottom right all have arrows pointing up and down. What’s the function of the down arrow then?
And why is there a big open square left of that?
I’m not familiar with charts such as these, so perhaps I’m missing the point here.

[Jorg]

Interesting, thanks Lal for your explanation.

[Jorg]

@dosakkhayo It’s all up to you. Anytime, no worries :)

[Jorg]

Regarding the (possibly new) website and classifications or separation of different components of Buddha Dhamma, there are many ways to do it. However, the following things came to mind:

1.)
Terms like “beginner”/”advanced” may appear straightforward, but people who are very eager may more easily skip some essentials. They are either drawn to “advanced” stuff or don’t want to identify as a “beginner.” This applies only to certain types of people but we all know this can be pretty common. Especially people with a higher intellect.

2.)
I just used the word “essentials.” I was thinking a word such as this could help in the organization of things.
First, I know it wouldn’t be easy to sequence things in a specific order because that depends on where one is on the path. However, foundational posts could technically be grouped together. Don’t take the following literally, just a quick example:
Essentials #1 would contain posts about the basics of dhamma, e.g., miccha ditthi, dasa akusala, etc.
Essentials #2 would contain introductions to tilakkhana, PS.
Essentials #3 … and so on.
Numbering posts individually would be too complicated (and time-consuming) so this would be a bit easier to implement I reckon.
I used numbers but words or letters could also be used. The point is that one should be/get familiar with certain sections before moving ahead. That could strengthen one’s foundation and increase one’s ability to comprehend deeper stuff as one moves along.
References could always be made between sections.
In the main menu of a section, an emphasis could be made not to proceed unless one is familiar with “section so and so.”

I could work it out some more if this sounds useful in any way. Cause this is just the first thing that came to mind. I realize that it requires effort considering the vastness and depth of the content, though I see it as realistic nonetheless.
If it doesn’t sound useful, I’ll try and change my perspective.

@dosakkhayo If you need any help, feel free to contact me at juirtleatmsndotcom

[Jorg]

My loading speed can be slowish at times. However, that could also be due to my usage of different VPN servers.
Right now, it’s looking fine.

Having another website sounds like a great idea. Even more so if there’s one site purely focused on foundations and/or core principles. These, of course, could also be divided more clearly if there’s more “space.”
I’d have to think about it a bit more. Maybe I could provide some more useful input then.

@dosakkhayo Your writing is pretty solid. The suggestions Lal gave are pretty good regarding writing.
If you still wish to improve further, perhaps I could be of service. Also, if you ever need a conversational partner, we’re practically in the same time zone. In case, just let me know in the chat and we’ll figure something out.

[Jorg]

My logic was as follows:
When one has the view that iccha is a source of joy and happiness (muda), one has the wrong view.
Or:
One perceives it’s worth fulfilling iccha, because that leads to “muda,” not to suffering. Hence a wrong view.

[Jorg]

Thanks for the input.

And thanks @LayDhammaFollower for the suggestion. That can actually be useful for certain scenarios that don’t contain deep concepts.

[Jorg]

It’s without the “h” as in “Manussā mudā modamānā ure putte naccentā apārutagharā maññe viharissantī’ti.” Kūṭadantasutta

Some additional info:
The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary says the following:
Mudā, (f.) (fr. mud, see modati) joy, pleasure D. II, 214 (v. l. pamudā)

BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionary & Sutta Central translate it as:
(f.) gladness.

[Jorg]

Thanks Lal for your input. I haven’t been able to find any other explanation so I guess this might be a potential fit.

The fact that there’s the perception of “me” and “mine” leads to iccha, and iccha in turn strengthens this perception. It’s like a vicious circle preventing one from seeing the truth.

Edit: right after finishing this post, I came across “Mudā” which is translated as “gladness,” “pleasure,” and “joy.”
I don’t know the basis of the combining of words, but iccha is believed to bring joy and pleasure, so it makes sense from that angle at least.
“Mutti” is a bit stronger as it is connected to the ultimate release, but if the nicca perception is strong that might even be the “view” one has. I may be stretching this last one, though:)

[Jorg]

As I was just going through the Vipassanākathā sutta and saw asāraka was actually categorized as: “Asārakatoti, anattānupassanā.” Then I noticed a mention was already made that it should fall under anicca.

This thread is many years old but I found an interesting point brought up by Siebe. I think more people could bring up this point once they hear the true meaning of tilakkhana (anatta in this specific context) and see the items of contemplation listed under dukkhanupassana which appear to be the same.

I’m referring to these three related ones:
– Without protection (atāṇa) as contemplation of dukkha.
– Without shelter (aleṇa) as contemplation of dukkha.
– Without refuge (asaraṇa) as contemplation of dukkha. (Another translation I came across was “helpless”)

Anatta is often described as “without refuge” as well, so I can understand why that point was made.

I don’t have the knowledge of Pali where I can distinguish between any nuances. The English words seem the same, but there must be more to them. I think Lal is in a better position to comment.

If I simply go by the definitions given, then I could give my thoughts as follows:
The suffering one undergoes is inevitable as long as one has a nicca perception (doesn’t comprehend anicca). One can’t hide, run away from the suffering, and is confronted with it no matter what. One will face the vipaka within this or a future life, and is destined to be reborn in lower realms with the worst kinds of suffering. One CANNOT escape it. (atana, alena, asarana).
Experiencing this over and over, throughout samsara, makes one completely and utterly helpless (anatta) FOREVER (until one develops the anicca sañña).
If we ought to make any distinction, it is that anatta emphasizes the atana, alena, asarana described above. Dukkha is inevitable, but anatta “rubs it in,” so to speak; one ends up in complete desperation unable to escape from the horrors one inevitably faces (in the apayas) and it won’t EVER stop (until one gets on the noble eightfold path).
It’s like you can’t escape from going to jail versus you can never ever leave jail.
Once you go to the apayas, it’s extremely difficult to get out. Hence, we need to make haste developing the anicca, anatta sañña of this essenceless world.

Again, if I miss any nuances from the translations given, I’d love to hear them.

[Jorg]

I hadn’t heard of Chinese Agama before so I did a little check.
I found a website where Agama is accessible. http://www.ahanjing.top
Interestingly, it’s linked to Accesstoinsight.org as an English reference（that’s a sign already).
My Chinese is far from good, but it’s good enough to see that, for example, the Chinese translations on sutta central are translated according to anicca = impermanence, anatta = no-self, etc.

I don’t know how to scan through the Agama, besides clicking randomly. But I did find a lot of “impermanence” and “no-self” references (a bit too many to my liking). And I did find passages saying all the aggregates were “impermanent,” not surprisingly.
Aggregates: 色，受，想，行，识
Impermanence: 无常
“No-self:” “无我”

Note that the Chinese on sutta central is traditional Chinese and the website I referred is simplified (for anyone interested).

[Author]

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