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Kama raga will keep one bound to kama loka, that is to say with a heavy body, sickness, aging, physical ailments, the need to work … A gathi suitable for kama loka or lower realms can be cultivated or newly established. As long as a being acts without good comprehension of the tilakkhana, avijja and tanha are strong. Thus the lifestream is still in danger to fall down to the apayas.
Also with kama raga one is “closer to the apayas” compared to a brahma. One will make “mistakes” and accumulate more akusala kamma, just to have sense pleasures. It is not easy to figure out which kamma one accumulates while doing “normal” deeds in kama loka. Just maintaining of enjoyments can prepare e.g. a peta bhava.
The coarseness of the rupa for sense pleasure is also an indicator what type of gathi is cultivated. We are here in kamaloka realm #5 to experience coarse rupa. The other side of the coin is a heavy body, sickness, etc. Getting rid of kama rage will send one to higher realms with less dense bodies and more refined experiences.
A Sotapanna still has kama raga, sex is a part of it. It should be appropriate (not outside the marriage or often changing partners if not married).
Anyway the Sotapanna can see with the Dhamma eye and follows the path, starting with samma ditthi. Sooner or later he/she will see the dangers even in kama raga and also lose interest in more and more sense pleasures … Sakadagami stage follows inevitably. This is at least my experience.
All these great teachers seem not to realise the true meanings of anicca, dukkha, anatta. For that reason they cannot grasp the message of the Buddha and they make things complicated.
(By the way I remember that Lal said, an Arahant hardly smiles/laughs. But these monks do smile on many photos.)
Hi Embodied, one has to be always aware of the thought stream and should note any part of the pancakkhandha that pops up (seeing, smelling,..touching, feeling,.. ).
If akusala vinnana arises, stop and note it as something that comes automatically due to one’s gathi/asavas. Stop the wheeling process and do not go deeper into that vinnana. Observe it with sati (~ moral mindfulness and understanding of the tilakkhana) and finally discard it. That is not easy at the beginning, especially if one gets offended by someone. With time the gathi changes and one monitors automatically every “event”.Lal wrote: “Is it possible that you were actually out there in space, with the gandhabba body?”
Indeed it felt so real. But I cannot confirm an OBE. This was just one experience. Maybe it happens again and I can investigate more what happens.
Hello Rhys,
I want to encourage you to learn the pure Dhamma as presented here on the website. When you reach a certain level of knowledge and understanding you will start feeling niramisa sukha, the cooling down. As you proceed on the path dhamma will guide you and there is no way back. One feels the validity of the Dhamma and pieces fall into place. If one works diligently with an open mind, the stream entry is guaranteed.Tobias
I can also report a “seeing event” like Lal had with the “whirlpool”. At night I woke up and suddenly found myself in outer space surrounded by flower blossoms and turning around. That was such a beautiful moment, full of love and silence. The “seeing” was very clear, much better than dreaming. Then the scene changed to seeing stars at the firmament and they also started rotating fast. I could focus on the scene and thus see more details how they turn. This evolved again to another turning green cloud of stars, which I could focus again and the observation of crystal clear movements was possible.
I guess such an event can happen due to cleansing the mind. There was never such an event in my life before learning Dhamma.How can a being get a birth in a good realm when the “main gathi” includes aggression or anger or “creating conflicts” like the asura devas?
As we still maintain a housholder life there is the struggle with the “ignorant surrounding”. The people close to us cannot see the futility of this life or the whole existence. Sometimes this fact is very annoying and the pull to seclusion becomes stronger. Everyone with samma ditthi can see others craving and suffering. When in metta bhavana the wish comes to the mind, to take all the helpless beings with me across the stream to the far shore.
Hi Mahendran,
I think I can answer a few questions:
If the conditions are not good enough the gandhabba does not enter or will leave the womb.
The matching criterion is the matching gathi of both parents.
Bhava means there is kammic energy for a certain existence, e.g. as an animal. The bhava lasts until that energy is spent.
The gandhabba contains the kammic or bhava energy, wether the gandhabba is inside a physical body or not. Thus kammic energy is always needed to sustain the bhava. Even if the gandhabba cannot find a womb and has to stay in paralowa the kammic energy would run out within a certain time span.
Yes, while doing Dhammavicaya one will have a break to breathe out and relax. Vicaya is the investigation and requires effort and thus a moment of silence inbetween helps to reach a balance between work and silence. All together it is the “washing out” of defilements.
Formal (sitting) meditation could be:
– homage to the Buddha (namaskaraya), recite the 3 Refuges (tisarana) and the Panca Sila
– bojjanga meditation (contemplation about a Dhamma concept and the tilakkhana with reference to real life situations)
– adinava meditation to reduce lobha/raga (see the disadvantages of acting with dasa akusala and indulging in sense pleasures)
– metta meditation to reduce dosa/patigha
– ask all beings for forgiveness and forgive all debts other beings have with you. Think about the akusala sankhara you have done in sansara with understanding of the 3 akusala root causes (lobha, dosa, moha).One cannot do all above mentioned points in one session. I normally do the homage to the Buddha and recite the tisarana, then I continue with bojjanga and metta bhavana.
When one really grasps the tilakkhana and the bigger picture which the Buddha gave, then the last point (asking for forgiveness and forgiving all debts other beings have with you) becomes very powerful. One can see the total futility of akusala deeds and one’s panna grows. Also one can “feel” the connection to all beings via the mind plane.
When not in formal meditation always do anapana and satipattana throughout the day.
Hi Lal,
the “intention” in case of a kusala kamma also involves the dasa akusala (except for Ariyas). Although the goal of the sankhara is a kusala deed. Maybe you could mention this in the post.Also could you explain this from the Abhidhamma angle in terms of cetasika/citta?
Thank you!Hate ceases with understanding of the true nature of this world. If it would be love, it would be related to some kind of attachment via kilesa.
Anyway, if A just brings a kamma beeja (related to bad kamma done to B) to fruition with his death, then why should B establish new kamma with his kaya sankhara of killing A? Said in another way: Why should B get indebted to A now? This is my core question.
