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Hello Ravi,
Dukha (suffering) is different from Dukkha Sacca/Dukkha Ariya Sacca.
- But I don’t think there are two versions of Noble Truths.
Can you post the link to the sermon you listened to?
I thought of writing down a few points to think about.
1. For most people, “meditation” automatically brings up to the mind an image of someone sitting in the lotus position with eyes closed and in “deep meditation.”
2. That may be true for Vedic “breath meditation” (Prānāyāma) or even “being mindful for calming the mind”: “How to Meditate.”
- There is no question that those techniques will help calm the mind and bring some “peace of mind” to those living hectic lives.
- But “Buddhist meditation” goes much deeper.
3. The correct “Buddhist mediation” is not for such temporary relief. It is focused on ending ANY trace of suffering in the rebirth process, not just in this life.
- But one must first understand this “long-term suffering” that Buddha taught. Before fully understanding that (and becoming a Sotapanna Anugami), one cannot even start on the correct Buddhist meditation.
- I have started a new series of posts to emphasize this and explain the process: “Buddhism – In Charts.”
4. Only after one comprehends the “broader worldview of the Buddha” that one will realize that one needs to be engaged with “meditation” in every waking moment.
- Thus, the first step is to become a Sotapanna/Sotapanna Anugami by getting to the first step in the Noble Eightfold Path, i.e., Samma Ditthi.
- The first type of “Bhavana” or “meditation” in Buddha Dhamma to get to this stage mostly involve learning the “broader worldview of the Buddha” from an Ariya/Noble Person (listening or reading) and then contemplating those concepts and grasping those concepts. That involves learning Four Noble Truths, Paticca Samuppada, Tilkkhana, etc.
5. After that, one must follow that Path and complete the rest of the steps. That is the second type of “Bhavana” or “meditation” in Buddha Dhamma.
- That simply means “living according to the principles learned to overcome the rebirth process: Samma sankappa (right thoughts), Samma Vaca (right speech), Samma Kammanta (right actions), Samma Ajiva (right livelihood), Samma Vayama (right effort), Samma Sati (right focus), and Samma Samadhi (right mindset of an Arahant).
- One must try to think “right thoughts” and discard any “immoral thoughts,” for example. Does not that involve every waking moment? Same for speech, actions, and livelihood.
- That is not about getting jhanas, samapatti, etc., even though some people may get those too.
6. Note that the Buddha taught that one can AND should “meditate” in all four postures: sitting, standing, walking, and lying down.
- Of course, a part of that can involve formal meditation sessions in the sitting position where one contemplates Dhamma concepts AND cultivate the anicca, dukkha, and anatta nature of this world.
- The Budha taught Satipatthana/Anapanasati to formalize and streamline that process. Those steps involve contemplating the nature of one’s physical body, how to contemplate Tilakkhana (while reviewing Paticca Samuppada), etc. That involves formal meditation sessions. One only gets a taste of Paticca Samuppada at the Sotapanna stage.
7. Such a “formal meditation session” may be used even before getting to the Sotapanna stage, where one can contemplate and try to piece together Dhamma concepts.
- Also see “Sīla, Samādhi, Paññā to Paññā, Sīla, Samādhi” to learn more about the “transition process” to become a Sotapanna.
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Thanks for letting us know, TGS.
- Do you have issues only with the mobile phone or also with the desktop/laptop?
- I presume you don’t have issues with downloading other websites.
Does anyone else have any issues?
- It is working fine here and also loading faster than before the transition.
“If we start to like(or crave) something in the world, it will attract an event about that.”
Yes. That is the point.
- An Arahant does not crave anything in this world. That is why he will not be reborn in any of the 31 realms.
- If someone has cravings left for sensual pleasures, they will be born in one of the 11 realms in kama loka. An Anagami has removed all kama raga, and thus will not be reborn in kama loka.
- If someone is willing to engage in apayagami actions to enjoy sensual pleasures, then they can be born in an apaya (one of the four lowest realms).
- That is what Paticca Samuppada explains.
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1. There is no specific kasina meditation in Buddha Dhamma.
2. Those who follow the Visuddhimagga foolishly follow Vedic kasina meditations using “kasina objects” such as a water bowl, clay ball, etc.
3. Buddha Dhamma has only one “meditation”: Satipatthana (same as Anapanasati.)
4. In the “Mahārāhulovāda Sutta (MN 62)” the Buddha instructed Ven. Rahula to contemplate on the nature of pathavi, tejo, vayo, etc., as preparation for the cultivation of Satipatthana/Anapanasati.
- See #2, #3 of “Mahārāhulovāda Sutta and Ānāpānasati.”
5. One can get to jhanas by cultivating Satipatthana/Anapanasati. I have not cultivated jhana. The following description is from Waharaka Thero.
- If one cultivates the fourth jhana to the highest degree, one is getting close to transcending both the “kama loka” and “rupa loka” and approaching the “arupa loka.“
- That is when one loses all perception of a “physical body” or “any rupa” and a white environment is the only thing one is aware of. It is not a “white light” per se.
6. Someone who has gotten to that stage is able to discern the effect described in the sutta you quoted in #2 of your comment: “Someone perceives the meditation on universal earth above, below, across, undivided and limitless.”
7. The point is that there is no specific “kasina mediation” with kasina objects in Buddha Dhamma.
- The goal is to stop the rebirth process, not cultivate jhana or kasina.
- However, some people automatically get those on the way to Arahanthood. They may be able to experience the effects described in AN 10.25.
8. We have discussed some of this previously: “Kasina meditation?“
9. Incidentally, I came across a discourse by Waharaka Thero yesterday, where he stated that he got to the highest arupavacara samapatti (after sequentially going through the four jhanas) JUST ONCE. Of course, he may have gotten to jhanas (up to the fourth jhana), but he did not elaborate on his jhanic experiences. He always emphasized the need to get to magga phala.
- H described being aware of the “infinite space” at the first arupavacara samapatti (Ākāsānancāyatana), then the infinite vinnana ( Viññāṇañcāyatana), up to Nevasaññānāsaññāyatana during that episode.
- However, I have not heard him mention experiencing kasina as described in AN 10.25.
10. We also know that one needs to get to the Sotapanna stage before being able to cultivate the Noble version of the Satipatthana/Anapanasati. It is best to focus on that unless one is confident that one has already attained it.
- Even after that, the focus should be on getting to the higher stages of magga phala.
- Jhana, samapatti, etc., are nice to have but not necessary. We all have attained the anariya versions of Jhana and samapatti uncountable times in our deep past. Jhanas correspond to the mental states of rupavacara Brahmas, and arupavacara samapatti correspond to those of arupavacara Brahmas. We have been born in all those realms uncountable times! What is the point? Of course, some people may get those on the way, and that is a bonus.
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Yes. It is good to understand how unimaginably small a suddhāṭṭhaka is. I have not seen a direct reference to the “size” of a suddhāṭṭhaka in the Tipiṭaka. But we can get a good idea the following way.
1. Any “rupa” (experienced with the five physical senses) is above the suddhāṭṭhaka stage. A suddhāṭṭhaka is the smallest “rupa.”
- Thus, a “rupa” can be light, sound, food particles, particles that carry odors (scents), or physical touch experienced by the body.
2. The easiest way is to look at particles of light or photons.
- A photon in the visible range is about 2 eV in energy units.
- In comparison, the “mass” of a proton (roughly the mass of the smallest atom) is about 938 MeV or roughly a billion eV.
- Thus, a photon in the visible range is about a billion times smaller than an atom.
- My quoted number of ” a billion times smaller” is an understatement because there are even smaller rupa!
3. Such unimaginably small energies can be created by javana citta in our minds, especially when “energized” by lobha, dosa, or moha.
- As we have discussed, a hadaya vatthu (seat of the mind) or a pasada rupa (like cakkhu, sota,..kaya responsible for the detection of the five types of external rupa) is a single suddhāṭṭhaka each.
- For example, a cakkhu pasada rupa that detects light is a single suddhāṭṭhaka. A hadaya vatthu (seat of the mind) is a single suddhāṭṭhaka.
4. Our physical bodies (that are hugely bigger) are just inert shells “powered by” such an unimaginably tiny set of hadaya vatthu and pasada rupa.
- One analogy is to consider a huge oak tree and a seed that gives rise to it. That tiny seed gets all the “material” from the earth and grows into a huge tree.
- In the same way, a tiny gandhabba (with a set of hadaya vatthu and pasada rupa) grows into a physical body by taking in food, first from the mother and then by eating.
P.S. Of course, the Buddha could not give such an analogy those days since people knew nothing about atoms and photons. We are fortunate to be able to make such comparisons these days.
The basic explanation is as follows.
The samyojana of “Silabbata Paramasa” is of two types.
- “sīlassa sīlabbataparāmāsa” is the lower type. Someone with this type seeks rebirth in Deva or Brahma realms by following mundane moral guidance (five or higher precepts) or cultivating anariya jhanas. For example, they may even abstain from sensual pleasures to cultivate jhana.
- “suddhassa sīlabbataparāmāsa” is the higher type (less bondage to the rebirth process). Here, one is abstaining from immoral conduct because they realize those can only result in bad outcomes; they may abstain from enjoying sensual pleasures because they can see that those can lead to immoral conduct. Thus they avoid immoral deeds or abstain from sensual pleasures, not for the sake of seeking rebirths in Deva/Brahma realms. They are purified (suddha) to a greater extent. However, (probably since they may not have heard the correct version of Buddha Dhamma), they do not comprehend the 4NT/Paticca Samuppada/Tilakkhana and thus cannot proceed to Nibbana.
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It turns out that the YouTube videos in posts did not get transferred.
Thanks to Seng Kiat’s “Netlify App,” a complete copy of the website was there.
- I have re-installed videos in some posts, but I am unsure which posts I have missed (probably many).
- If you see a post with video(s) missing, please list the post’s name here or email me at [email protected].
It has nothing to do with intelligence. It is a “built-in” sense they have.
That is how birds migrate when the season changes. They don’t think about it.
Ants build “mega cities” underground without having a “blueprint” for it:
Also see the end of the post “How Character (Gati) Leads to Bhava and Jāti“
OK. Please see “Formatting a Post“
The following post is by Dosakkhayo:
Let me show you this youtube video.
Although this video is about calculus, I’m not showing you this to study calculus. Instead, I would like to show you how to teach advanced knowledge.
At 0:53, it said: “My goal is for you to come away feeling like they could have invented calculus yourself.”
I believe we should teach Dhamma just that way. Extract the core idea of a given concept, show them how the core ideas connect, and only give them detailed information once it gets needed.
We might find a solution to too many Pali word problems here, “extracting the core idea of a given concept”.
For example, I can teach the importance of removing ditthasava.
Imagine you are in a maze and blindfolded.
You can move but can’t see. In this state, you can walk but will be bumped against a wall.
Now the blindfold is removed. It’s easier than before, but the wall is still too high to seek a way to go out.
What if you have a bird’s-eye view of the maze?“Maze solving with dead-end filling algorithm“
Then the only way left is to exit. Like this video.
But if you don’t get a bird’s-eye view of the maze, you must meet a dead-end alley.
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I have explained so far without Pali, but we got the point about the inside logic of the importance of vipassana meditation and the meaning of getting Buddha’s worldview.
