Nāmarūpa pariccheda ñana explains how the rebirth process can be ended.
December 12, 2017; revised January 27, 2022; rewritten December 10, 2022
What Does Pariccēda Mean?
1. Nāmarūpa can have a few different (but related) meanings depending on the context, i.e., where it is used. But the most important meaning is associated with the “nāmarūpa pariccheda ñana.”
- When one has the nāmarūpa pariccheda ñana, one understands how the mind is related to the matter, i.e., how viññāna acts as the critical link between mind and matter.
- Here, “pari” means “complete” or “comprehensive”; “uccēda” means to “cut off” or “irradicate.” Thus, nāmarūpa pariccheda ñana means the knowledge or understanding of how nāmarūpa are generated via kamma viññāṇa at the “viññāṇa paccayā nāmarūpa” step in Paṭicca Samuppāda (PS).
- The two previous posts in this series provided more related information. This post wraps up that discussion; see “Viññāṇa – What It Really Means” and “Kamma Viññāṇa – Link Between Mind and Matter.”
A Sotapanna Has Nāmarūpa Pariccēda Ñana
2. In the context of nāmarūpa pariccheda ñana, nāmarūpa refers to how living beings in different realms have rūpa corresponding to their mental attributes, i.e., nāma.
- For example, a dog also has consciousness (viññāna), feelings (vedanā), perception (saññā), and thinking (saṅkhāra) differently than a human. It does not have an upright body like a human because the kamma that led to “dog bhava” was done with a “crooked deed.” i.e., with lobha, dosa, and moha.
- Humans would have higher “mental qualities” and an upright physical body. A Brahma has an invisible trace of matter as a “body” and will have mental aspects different from a human or a dog.
- The same lifestream can be born with nāmarūpa associated with any of the 31 realms in this world. That takes place according to Paṭicca Samuppāda (PS.)
- When one understands how one’s thoughts, speech, and actions can lead to births in different realms, one has nāmarūpa pariccheda ñana, and one is a Sotapanna. With that understanding, a Sotapnna knows that the rebirth process can be ended; thus, the name nāmarūpa pariccheda ñana.
Different Types of Nāmarūpa
3. It is also important to note that nāmarūpa can be of several varieties:
- When written as two words (nāma rūpa), nāma refers to mental attributes, and rūpa relates to matter. There, nāma rūpa refers to mind AND matter.
- With viññāna, nāma COMBINES with rūpa and creates nāmarūpa — imprints for future rebirths — which eventually lead to fully-formed living beings. This happens at the “viññāna paccayā nāmarūpa” step in uppatti PS.
- Such nāmarūpa are very fine rūpa, which are below the suddhāṭṭhaka stage created by viññāna in uppatti PS and are part of dhammā. Thus, nāmarūpa are distinct from the more dense rūpa that we experience with the five physical senses; see, “What are rūpa? – Dhammā are rūpa too!“.
- We also talk about nāmarūpa, referring to visuals in our minds; these are also related to the fine rūpa. For example, an alcoholic will visualize scenes of a drinking party they plan to attend. That comes in Idappaccayatā PS; see, “Idappaccayatā Paṭicca Samuppāda“.
Kamma Viññāṇa Create Nāmarūpa
4. Here, it is significant to note that in PS, it is the “viññāna paccayā nāmarūpa” step that separates the previous steps involving the mind from those involving rūpa. Now we have “nāmarūpa paccayā saḷāyatana,” affecting internal rūpa (the sensory faculties.)
- Then salāyatana makes contact with external rūpa with samphassa (“defiled contact”): “salāyatana paccayā phassa.”
- That gives rise to samphassa-jā-vēdanā, a defiled vēdanā. It has gone beyond just a nāma, i.e., vēdanā (acknowledgment of an event.) It is associated with a nāmarūpa.
- If that vēdana leads to samphassa-jā-vēdanā, then the Akusala-Mula PS process proceeds with “taṇhā paccayā upādāna,” and we start generating vaci saṅkhāra with avijjā. Then Akusala-mula PS process re-starts at the “avijjā paccayā (abhi)saṅkhāra.” See “Taṇhā Paccayā Upādāna – Critical Step in Paṭicca Samuppāda” and “Difference Between Tanhā and Upādāna” for details.
- So, we can see that kamma viññāṇa plays a crucial role in bridging nāma with rūpa. It is imperative to read and understand the above two posts.
Kamma Viññāṇa Creates a Human Gandhabba
5. Kamma viññāṇa with kammic energy are created in javana citta. That kammic energy may start small but can grow with repeated generations of abhisaṅkhāra and grow to become a kamma bījā that can give rise to a new bhava. That kamma bījā then gives rise to a very subtle mental body (gandhabba), providing the “seed” for the dense physical body.
- That happens at the “upādāna paccayā bhava” step, giving rise to a gandhabba, which is a very tiny rūpa that is a “packet of energy.”
- Then, at the “bhava paccayā jāti” step, gandhabba enters a womb and starts a new physical body.
- Just like a tiny seed can grow into a massive tree by taking in water and nutrients from the soil, an unimaginably small gandhabba gives rise to the heavy human body by taking in food. The only difference is that while a gandhabba or a human has a mind, a seed or a tree does not.
A Human Body Arises from a Human Gandhabba
6. Our solid physical body starts with a gandhabba — smaller than the first cell made by the reunion of mother and father (zygote) — descending to a womb and taking hold of that zygote in the womb. We recall that the Buddha also called this event “a viññāna descending to the womb”; see below and also “Gandhabba State – Evidence from Tipiṭaka.” The posts in this series show us why the “gandhabba descending” can also be called “(kamma)viññāna descending.”
- The complex process of this single zygote growing into an adult human is discussed in “What does Buddha Dhamma (Buddhism) say about Birth Control?“.
- Therefore, the “seed” to bring up this physical body of several hundred pounds (tens of kg) was the kammic energy created in the paṭisandhi viññāna, which gave rise to a gandhabba consisting of just a few suddhāṭṭhaka.
A Gandhabba Is a Set of “Energized Suddhāṭṭhaka”
7. This primary mechanism of how a suddhāṭṭhaka — the smallest unit of matter (billion times smaller than an atom in modern science) — is created with the mind was discussed in the post, “The Origin of Matter – Suddhatthaka” in the Abhidhamma section. But in this subsection on nāmarūpa, we are talking about it with a more simple, fundamental analysis that everyone can understand (if they have grasped the fundamentals.)
- Furthermore, those with abhinnā powers can intensify the kammic energy in javana citta in jhānā (specifically in jhāna samāpatti) and create matter directly too. We can compare that to the difference between a regular lamp that puts out a bit of light and a laser with intense light that can cut through metal; see “Javana of a Citta – The Root of Mental Power.”
- When we dive deeper into Buddha Dhamma, we can see that some phenomena that seem “supernatural” (like creating a flower using mind energy) are indeed possible. But that ability to create matter requires purifying the mind to very high levels.
Gandhabba Descending to a Womb
8. The Buddha described how the paṭisandhi viññāna (which is the same as the gandhabba) “descends” to the womb of the mother and starts the process in the “Mahā Nidāna Sutta (DN 15)” where he has the following exchange with Ven. Ananda:
‘Viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpan’ti iti kho panetaṃ vuttaṃ, tadānanda, imināpetaṃ pariyāyena veditabbaṃ, yathā viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpaṃ. Viññāṇañca hi, ānanda, mātukucchismiṃ na okkamissatha, api nu kho nāmarūpaṃ mātukucchismiṃ samuccissathā”ti? “No hetaṃ, bhante”. “Viññāṇañca hi, ānanda, mātukucchismiṃ okkamitvā vokkamissatha, api nu kho nāmarūpaṃ itthattāya abhinibbattissathā”ti? “No hetaṃ, bhante”. “Viññāṇañca hi, ānanda, daharasseva sato vocchijjissatha kumārakassa vā kumārikāya vā, api nu kho nāmarūpaṃ vuddhiṃ virūḷhiṃ vepullaṃ āpajjissathā”ti? “No hetaṃ, bhante”. “Tasmātihānanda, eseva hetu etaṃ nidānaṃ esa samudayo esa paccayo nāmarūpassa—yadidaṃ viññāṇaṃ.
Here is the English translation:
“It was said: ‘With consciousness as condition, there is nāmarūpa (normally translated as mentality-materiality, which in this case is the gandhabba).’
How that is so, Ānanda, should be understood in this way: If consciousness (Viññāṇañca) were not to descend (na okkamissatha) into the mother’s womb, would that nāmarūpa take shape in the womb?”
“Certainly not, venerable sir.”
“If, after descending (okkamitvā) into the womb, consciousness were to depart (vokkamissatha), would that nāmarūpa be generated into this present state of being?”
(Note: this happens in the case of a natural termination of pregnancy (i.e., a miscarriage), where the gandhabba comes out of the womb on its own because it is not a suitable match).
“Certainly not, venerable sir.”
“If the consciousness of a young boy or girl (kumārakassa vā kumārikāya vā) were to come out, would that nāmarūpa grow up, develop, and reach maturity?”
“Certainly not, venerable sir.”
“Therefore, Ānanda, this is the cause, source, origin, and condition (eseva hetu etaṃ nidānaṃ esa samudayo) for nāmarūpa, namely, defiled consciousness/kamma viññāna (yadidaṃ viññāṇaṃ).
9. Therefore, it is pretty clear that the kammic energy of the paṭisandhi viññāna “descends” to the womb and gives rise to the physical body. gandhabba is another term for paṭisandhi viññāna descending to the womb; it is also called “manōmaya kaya.” Note that the sex of the baby is already defined at the gandhabba stage.
- Sometimes, the gandhabba in a human body can come out in a stressful situation; see “Out-of-Body Experience (OBE) and Manōmaya Kāya.” The Buddha compared a gandhabba coming out of a physical body to a sword being pulled out of the sheath. See “Sāmaññaphala Sutta (DN 2).”
Paṭisandhi Does Not Happen in a Womb
10. The erroneous concept of a paṭisandhi taking place in a womb is nowhere in the Tipiṭaka. Note that in the above verse in #8, the term okkanti is used to describe the descent of the paṭisandhi viññāna to the womb, and the word “paṭisandhi” is not there. Paṭisandhi took place in the previous life, at the end of that bhava; see “Cuti-Paṭisandhi – An Abhidhamma Description.”
- Furthermore, if paṭisandhi occurred in the womb, a human bhava would last only until death. Then, since human bhava is so rare, rebirth accounts cannot be accounted for (children recall their previous human lives only several years before). See “How the Buddha Described the Chance of Rebirth in the Human Realm.“
- Some criticize the concept of a gandhabba, saying it is a Mahāyāna concept about an “antarā bhava.” Of course, there is no antarā bhava, i.e., no gap exists between two adjacent “bhava.” Cuti (end of one bhava) is followed by grasping the next bhava in the next thought moment; see “Cuti-Paṭisandhi – An Abhidhamma Description.”
11. A human gandhabba may be born with a human body many times before the kammic energy for the human bhava runs out, and they are born in another existence (as a deva, animal, etc.); see, “Bhava and Jāti – States of Existence and Births Therein.”
- During that whole time, the human gandhabba lives moving from one body to another and spending the time “in-between successive human bodies” in para loka; see “Hidden World of the Gandhabba: Netherworld (Para Lōka).”
- I keep repeating things because these are essential points. The “Search” box on the top right is an excellent resource for finding relevant posts if there are still questions. The Pure Dhamma – Sitemap is another good resource.
Manō Pubbangamā Dhammā – Paṭisandhi viññāna (Gandhabba) Created by Mind
12. This connection between mind and matter (nāma and rūpa) — combined via viññāna to create nāmarūpa — is what the Buddha meant when he said that “manō pubbangamā dhammā,” i.e., “the mind is the precursor to all dhamma.”
- When one understands that point, one is said to have the “nāmarūpa pariccheda ñana.”
- We have all the significant components essentially in place now, and there may be some who can see the “whole picture” at least vaguely. But more minor pieces still need to be added to clarify the picture.
- However, the picture will not be clear if a critical piece is not understood. Please do not hesitate to comment if you have questions. Even if it is clear to me, I may not be conveying it optimally, and I can improve it with your input.
Grasping Concepts Is Critical
13. I must emphasize that one could be a Sōtapanna and may not even know about the term “nāmarūpa pariccheda ñana.”
- What is needed for the Sōtapanna stage is a grasp of Paṭicca Samuppāda. That also means comprehending Tilakkhana, the anicca nature of this world. Thus, a Sotapanna may not have even heard about the term “nāmarūpa pariccheda ñana” but would KNOW the concept.
- The details discussed in this subsection dispel doubts about Buddha Dhamma’s consistency and illustrate that it can explain mental phenomena at profound levels. Furthermore, it can give confidence to those who doubt the validity of critical concepts in Buddha Dhamma (laws of kamma, rebirth, gandhabba, etc.).
