An anusotagāmi automatically attaches to pañcupādānakkhandha and is trapped in the rebirth process. That explains ‘dukkha samudaya’ or the ‘origin of suffering.’ A paṭisotagāmi understands that and also understands how to reverse that process, seeking ‘dukkha nirodha‘ or ‘cessation of suffering.’
August 30, 2025
In Brief, ‘pañcupādānakkhandha Is Suffering’
1. The Buddha summarized the First Noble Truth about suffering in the “Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56.11).”
“Idam kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhaṃ ariya saccam: jātipi dukkhā, jarāpi dukkhā, byādhipi dukkho, maraṇampi dukkhāṃ, appiyehi sampayogo dukkho, piyehi vippayogo dukkho, yampicchaṃ na labhati tampi dukkhāṃ—saṅkhittena pañcupādānakkhandhā dukkhā.”
Translated: Bhikkhus, What is the Noble Truth of Suffering? “Birth is suffering, getting old is suffering, getting sick is suffering, and dying is suffering. Having to associate with things one dislikes is suffering and separation from those one likes. If one does not get what one likes/craves/desires, that is suffering – in brief, the origin of suffering is the pancupādānakkhandha, i.e., suffering will be present as long as pancupādānakkhandha arises (via sensory inputs).
- Pancupādānakkhandha (upādāna or craving/desire for pancupādānakkhandha) represents all we crave in this world. See #2 of “Essence of Buddhism – In the First Sutta.”
Origin of Suffering = Origin of the World = Pancupādānakkhandha
2. The “Dukkhasamudaya Sutta (SN 35.106)” states that the origin of suffering is cakkhu viññāṇa arising dependent on the eye faculty (cakkhu) and the “mind-made rupa” (created by the mind based on an external rupa). It applies to all six types of viññāṇa arising based on the six sensory faculties.
- Any sesnory input leads to automatic generation of rupa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, and viññāṇa. These are abbreviated terms representing rupa upādānakkhandha through viññāṇa upādānakkhandha, i.e., pañca upādānakkhandha (pañcupādānakkhandha). Many people mistakenly believe that rupa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, and viññāṇa represent the pañcakkhandha.
- The next sutta in the series, “Lokasamudaya Sutta (SN 35.107)” states that the origin of the world is the same.
- In other words, the ‘origin of the world’ is the same as the ‘origin of suffering’, and both are due to sensory experiences, or more accurately, to the kamma accumulation that occurs when we become attached to sensory experiences.
- (Note: Kammic energies representing various parts of the ‘world’ first arise in the mind; then, at the appropriate time, they bring rebirths in those ‘parts of the world.’)
- Thus, sensory experiences, by themselves, do not lead to suffering (Arahants experience them too). It is only if we attach to them with rāga, dosa, or moha that we generate kammic energies that sustain the rebirth process.
Origin of Suffering = Origin of the World = Paṭicca Samuppāda
3. As we know, Paṭicca Samuppāda processes are also initiated by sensory inputs; see, for example, “Loka Sutta (SN 12.44).” Also see #3 of “Paṭicca Samuppāda – Introduction.”
- As we discuss below, the trigger for initiating a Paṭicca Samuppāda process (with ‘avijjā paccayā saṅkhāra‘) is the ‘(distorted) saññā‘; see #4 below.
- Even for a totally uninteresting sensory event, the process starts with ‘avijjā paccayā saṅkhāra,‘ but may not get to the “taṇhā paccayā upādāna‘ step unless the sensory input is ‘tempting enough.’
- Both the Paṭicca Samuppāda process and the growth of pañcupādānakkhandha describe the same process in two different ways. They describe what happens to a mind when it receives sensory input.
4. Both the Paṭicca Samuppāda process and the growth of pañcupādānakkhandha (based on a “seeing event’ in kāma loka) are depicted in the chart below.
Download/Print: “Overcoming Kāma Saññā -2“
- The above chart illustrates how the mind attaches to a ‘seeing event’ and automatically generates the pañcupādānakkhandha. It would be the same for any sensory event through one of the six senses, including the mind, and resulting in sota, ghāna, jivha, kāya, or mano viññāṇa.
- It is important to realize that the mind of anyone born in kāma loka (for simplicity, let us consider a human), the mind starts at the ‘kāma dhatu‘ stage with ‘kāma saññā‘ automatically arising. Note that ‘kāma saññā‘ can be categorized into six types: rupa saññā for sights, through dhamma saññā for memories, corresponding to the six ayatana, from cakkhu (eye) through mano (mind).
- The progression of “mind contamination” based on the six types of rupa is discussed in many suttās in SN 14. It is succinctly stated for a visual event in the “Saññānānatta Sutta (SN 14.7).”
It says: “Rūpa dhātuṁ, bhikkhave, paṭicca uppajjati rūpa saññā, rūpa saññaṁ paṭicca uppajjati rūpa saṅkappo, rūpa saṅkappaṁ paṭicca uppajjati rūpacchando, rūpacchandaṁ paṭicca uppajjati rūpapariḷāho, rūpapariḷāhaṁ paṭicca uppajjati rūpapariyesanā”
- Translation: “Rūpa dhātu gives rise to a (distorted) perception of that sight (rūpa saññā.) That perception gives rise to thoughts about it (rūpa saṅkappa). Thoughts give rise to the desire for such sights (rūpacchanda.) The desire for sights gives rise to the passion for sights (rūpa pariḷāha). The passion for sights gives rise to pursuing/investigating sights (rūpa pariyesanā). In the last one, “pariyesanā” means “investigations;” when one becomes interested in something, one investigates how to use it optimally.
- Note: Rūpa dhātu in the above refers to sights in kāma loka (and not to rupa dhatu for rupa loka). The sutta goes on to repeat the same verses for sadda dhatu through dhamma dhatu, covering all six senses present in kāma loka.
- See #7 of “Is Cakkhu Viññāṇa Free of Defilements?” More details in “Contamination of a Human Mind – Detailed Analysis.” Please let me know in the forum if these old posts need to be revised for more clarity.
Paṭisotagāmi in Kama Loka – Overcoming the Kāma Saññā
5. In the post “Paṭisotagāmi – Moving Toward Satipaṭṭhāna Bhumi and Nibbāna,” we discussed the necessary steps to stop the ‘growth of the pañcupādānakkhandha and to move the mind toward the ‘kāma dhatu‘ stage (see chart above). Please read that post (starting with #3) to review.
- That paṭisotagāmi process is also shown in the above chart.
- I will discuss the steps for a paṭisotagāmi to reach the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi in detail in upcoming posts. First, it is beneficial to gain a general understanding of the Buddha’s worldview.
- In particular, it is important to understand the critical role of the ‘distorted saññā‘ (‘kāma saññā‘ for a human) that forces a mind to act with avijjā at the very beginning of the sensory interaction, i.e., at the ‘kāma dhatu‘ stage; see the chart above.
6. Thus, the same ‘kāma saññā‘ arises for an Arahant as for a puthujjana. Here, ‘kāma‘ does not mean ‘sexual’ but refers to the types of saññā associated with the kāma loka (in our example, in humans). For example, an Arahant or a puthujjana would see a beautiful woman as such and honey to be sweet, or a rose to ‘smell good.’ All those are ‘saññā‘ that can trigger attachment to the respective sensory inputs.
- Whether a given mind would attach to that saññā (and the strength of the attachment) depends on the number of unbroken saṁyojana. There are ten saṁyojana that bind a mind to the world, and all of them are broken for an Arahant. Thus, the mind of an Arahant will not attach to any sensory input, and thus, will not ‘move into kāma loka‘ represented by the ‘pink box.’
- On the other hand, the mind of a puthujjana will be attached via all ten saṁyojana and ‘move into kāma loka.‘
- Another point is that Step 1 will happen for any sensory event in kāma loka for anyone below the Anāgāmi stage. That step depends only on the unbroken saṁyojana. However, those events that are not enticing do not progress into Step 2.
7. The above chart explains how the mind of a puthujjana in kāma loka ALWAYS moves to the right and AWAY from the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi and Nibbana.
- The above chart was discussed in “Growth of Pañcupādānakkhandha – ‘Anusotagāmi’” and “Paṭisotagāmi – Moving Toward Satipaṭṭhāna Bhumi and Nibbāna.”
- Now, we can generalize the process for ‘all three lokas‘ within the world, i.e., kāma loka, rupa loka, and arupa loka.
Full Picture for the Whole World
8. The following chart includes rupa loka and arupa loka to generalize to the ‘whole world.’ The First Noble Truth is also depicted in the chart, as we discuss below.
Download/Print: “Distorted Saññā, Loka, and Nibbāna – 2“
- The above chart presents the full picture with kāma loka, rupa loka, and arupa loka.
- Just like a human attaches to the kāma saññā in kāma loka, (an anariya) rupa loka Brahma would attach to the ‘jhāna saññā,‘ and (an anariya) arupa loka Brahma would attach to the ‘arupa samāpatti saññā.‘ Of course, a human below the Arahant stage in a rupa loka jhāna or an arupa loka samāpatti will also attach to those corresponding ‘distorted saññā.’ Since an Arahant has eliminated all ten saṁyojana, their minds will not attach to any ‘distorted saññā.‘
- Just like a human in the kāma loka can become a paṭisotagāmi and reverse the growth of the pañcupādānakkhandha to overcome the kāma saññā and jump over to the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi, a rupa loka Brahma (or a human yogi in a jhāna) can become a paṭisotagāmi and reverse the growth of the pañcupādānakkhandha to overcome the rupa (jhāna) saññā and jump over to the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi.
- Similarly, an arupa loka Brahma (or a human yogi in an arupa samāpatti) can become a paṭisotagāmi and reverse the growth of the pañcupādānakkhandha to overcome the arupa (samāpatti) saññā and jump over to the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi.
- The same Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi is common to all and can be accessed from kāma, rupa, or arupa loka. One can attain a magga phala only from the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi.
- We discussed the above chart in “Loka and Nibbāna (Aloka) – Complete Overview.”
Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi is easier to access from Jhana/Samapatti
9. The ‘nava kamma‘ stage is mostly absent in rupa and arupa loka, since those dasa akusala committed via the body and speech do not get to materialize there (Brahmās do not have dense bodies, and also the mindset to commit stealing, lying, etc. is temporarily shut off for those realms).
- Therefore, the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi is easier to access from the rupa loka or arupa loka; the “Jhāna Sutta (AN 9.36)” clarifies that one can reach magga phala from any of the jhānic states, i.e., in principle, it is easier to be a paṭisotagāmi if one has cultivated jhāna.
- However, many people who attain jhānās struggle to perceive the anicca nature of the jhānic states, since the jhānic experience is orders of magnitude better than any sensual pleasure. Also, some erroneously believe it is Nibbāna. We will discuss that in upcoming posts.
- One key point is that jhānās are not necessary to attain magga phala. There are numerous examples in the Tipiṭaka, such as those of Angulimala, Yasa kulaputta, and Ālavaka, among others.
- Many suttās describe how to proceed through all the jhānās and samāpattis in a sequential order and attain Arahanthood from the highest; they also possess many supernormal powers. See, for example, “Subha Sutta (DN 10).” Such an Arahant is an Ubhatovimutti Arahant. Arahants with and without jhāna are discussed in “Samādhi, Jhāna, and Sammā Samādhi.”
Summary
10. The following is a critical factor that keeps a living being trapped in the rebirth process.
- “Lokiya saññā” or ‘distorted saññā‘ associated with the world (kāma saññā in kāma loka, rupa jhāna saññā in rupa loka, and arupa samāpatti saññā in arupa loka) makes a mind automatically attach to the respective loka or realm.
- That is how avijjā is triggered automatically with any sensory input and initiates a pañcupādānakkhandha process with the mind attaching to ‘kāma saññā‘ as discussed in #4 above (and simultaneously a Paṭicca Samuppāda process, i.e., a Paṭicca Samuppāda process inevitably starts with “avijjā paccayā saṅkhāra” even if many of them do not advance to the “taṇhā paccayā upādāna” step to accumulate ‘new strong kammic energies’).
- Thus, the role of the ‘distorted saññā‘ is a critical factor in triggering avijjā for any and all sensory inputs. This is not known, nor is it understood by most people these days. See “Fooled by Distorted Saññā (Sañjānāti) – Origin of Attachment (Taṇhā),” “Saññā Nidānā hi Papañca Saṅkhā – Immoral Thoughts Based on ‘Distorted Saññā’,” and “Mūlapariyāya Sutta – The Root of All Things.”
11. Thus, it is critical to overcome that ‘distorted saññā‘ (and enter the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi) for a mind to be able to grasp the deeper teachings of the Buddha and to attain higher magga phala, especially the Anāgāmi and Arahant stages.
- Even if the above details are not known, one’s mind will enter the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi at the time of attaining the Sotapanna phala moment. This can occur while listening to a lengthy discourse or while engaging in deep contemplation (insight meditation or Vipassanā).
- The Sotapanna phala moment requires only grasping the futility of pursuing sensory pleasures. Yet, the charts above could make it easier to see that.
- However, for higher magga phala, especially the Anāgāmi and Arahant stages, deep contemplation for longer times in the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi is required. That is because getting rid of kāma rāga, rupa rāga, and arupa rāga requires eliminating kāma saññā, rupa saññā (jhānic saññā), and arupa saññā (saññā associated with arupa samāpatti). Those saññā are hard to overcome!
- Satipaṭṭhāna Bhavana is tailored for a Sotapanna Anugāmi, Sotapanna, or a Sakadāgāmi to attain the Anāgāmi and Arahant stages. However, knowing the details of Satipaṭṭhāna can also be helpful in attaining lower magga phala.
