The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

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Lal
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Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by Lal »

Together with the previous post, the following post (which I revised recently) will help set up the background for new series of posts started on Feb 28, 2022, with the post "Elephant in the Room" – Direct Translation of the Tipiṭaka".

Misinterpretation of Anicca and Anatta by Early European Scholars

Introduction

1. Degradation of Theravāda Buddha Dhamma occurred gradually over the past 1500 years, but two drastic distortions took place during that time:

- Key Pāli words anicca and anatta had been mistranslated to give the meanings of the Sanskrit words “anitya” and “anātma” in the Asian Buddhist countries even before the Buddhaghosa’s time of 1500 years ago. That happened due to Mahāyāna‘s influence on Theravāda Buddhism. Those changes have taken root with the influence of the early European scholars and the printing press in the late 1800s.
- Buddhaghosa’s introduction of Hindu meditation techniques in his Commentary Visuddhimagga, 1500 years ago.

2. To understand the current situation, one needs to understand the historical background in this section, “Historical Background,” at puredhamma.net but at least the post "Preservation of the Buddha Dhamma":viewtopic.php?p=630505#p630505

- As I explained in earlier posts in this section, worse distortions to Buddha Dhamma occurred via branching out of various sects based on Mahāyāna, Zen, and Tibetan (Vajrayāna). It started with the rise of Mahāyāna in India about 500 years after the Buddha, i.e., about 2000 years ago.
- Degradation of Theravāda Buddha Dhamma occurred gradually over the past 2000 years. Two drastic changes took place during that time: (i) misinterpretation of anicca and anatta as “anitya” and “anātma” due to Mahāyāna’s influence, and (ii) Buddhaghosa’s introduction of Hindu meditation techniques 1500 years ago.
- The subsequent adoption of that by the European scholars, when they translated BOTH Tipiṭaka and Visuddhimagga to English in the late 1800s, made those widespread.

Background for This Discussion

3. To set up the context for the present discussion, we also need to know the following facts:

- Pāli is a “phonetic language” (sounds give meanings in most cases, especially for keywords). It comes from Māgadhi (Maga Adhi or Noble Path) language that the Buddha spoke. Attempts to develop Pāli grammar took place about 1000 years ago.
- Furthermore, Pāli does not have its alphabet. The original Tipiṭaka, written 2000 years ago, is in Sinhala script. Details at “Historical Background.”

4. The root problem of writing a given Pāli word in English must have been a critical issue to address for those English, German, and French scholars who took on the daunting task of translating the Tipiṭaka in the late 1800s.

- Now there are two separate key issues: First, the “Tipiṭaka English” convention was adopted in the 1800s to preserve the Pāli sounds and keep the text short. See, “Tipiṭaka English” Convention Adopted by Early European Scholars – Part 1″ and "part2" at: viewtopic.php?p=544574#p544574Thus the Pāli word “අත්ත” is written as “atta” instead of “aththa” as one would write in “Standard English.” This was a good step.
- The second issue is even more important: The translation of key Pāli words to English. In this particular case, they translated the word “atta” (“අත්ත,”) as “self.” That translation is incorrect, but it was also a logical step at that time as I briefly explained above.
- Now let us see why those early translators like Rhys Davids, Eugene Burnouf, and Edward Muller chose that meaning.

Tipiṭaka Had Not Been Translated Until Recently

5. Going back to our main discussion. Tipiṭaka was not TRANSLATED to the Sinhala language until 2005. It had remained in the Pāli language (written with Sinhala script) since first written down in 29 BCE (2000 years ago). The practice of translating the suttas in the Tipiṭaka WORD-FOR-WORD to other languages probably started with the Europeans, as we discuss below.

- Before being written down 2000 years ago, the Tipiṭaka was transmitted orally for over 500 years. It is composed in a special, condensed way to make it easier to recite and remember.
- It is not POSSIBLE to just translate the Tipiṭaka word-for-word. That is discussed in detail in the previous post, “Sutta Interpretation – Uddēsa, Niddēsa, Paṭiniddēsa.”
- Instead of translating the Tipiṭaka to Sinhala, Arahants in Sri Lanka (including Ven. Mahinda) wrote Sinhala commentaries (called Sinhala Atthakathā) explaining the key concepts in the Tipiṭaka. During oral discourses, bhikkhus explained those concepts in detail.
- But all those Sinhala Atthakathā were lost, and we only have commentaries written after about 500 CE (including Visuddgimagga), and they have many errors. See, “Buddhaghosa and Visuddhimagga – Historical Background.“ Note that Buddhaghosa wrote Visuddhimagga in Pāli. As I pointed out in the previous post, “Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga – A Focused Analysis,”:viewtopic.php?p=642163#p642163

6. Buddhaghosa did use the words anicca and anatta in Visuddhimagga because the words “anitya” and “anātma” are NOT there in Pāli. But even those days, it is likely that the Sinhala texts used “anitya” (අනිත්‍ය) and “anātma” (අනාත්ම.) Note that the Sinhala words for anicca and anatta are අනිච්ච and අනත්ත. Even today, while the Pāli Tipiṭaka has the words anicca and anatta, the side-by-side Sinhala translation has අනිත්‍ය and අනාත්ම!

- Thus, when bhikkhu Nynamoli translated Visuddhimagga to English he also used the words “impermanence” and “no-self” corresponding to අනිත්‍ය (anitya) and අනාත්ම (anātma.)
- In my earlier versions of this post, I had written that European scholars mistranslated anicca and anatta because they assumed that those were the same as Sanskrit’s words anitya and anātma. But even Theravāda Buddhists had already made that transition by that time.

Confusion With Pāli and Sanskrit Texts

7. Those Europeans first came across Sanskrit vedic texts in India. Later on, they found the Pāli texts in Sri Lanka, Burma, and other countries. That time sequence is very important to note.

- By the time of the arrival of English, Buddhism in India had totally vanished. There were no Pāli texts in India except those inscribed on the “Pillars of Ashoka", (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillars_of_Ashoka) the stone columns made by Emperor Ashoka about 300 years after the Parinibbāna of the Buddha.
- Another important point is that Pāli was never a widely-used language in India. It appeared in India briefly while Buddhism flourished for a few centuries encompassing Emperor Ashoka’s reign.

The Book “The Search of the Buddha” by Charles Allen

8. To get an idea of how those European pioneers struggled to interpret the inscriptions on Ashoka pillars and later translate the Tipiṭaka itself, I highly recommend the book “The Search of the Buddha” by Charles Allen (2003). His family had been in India for generations serving in the British governments, and he was born in India.

- The book has a lot of information and pictures of many historical sites in India before their restoration. It is truly fascinating to read about the efforts of those who dedicated their lives to the effort of uncovering Buddha Dhamma. Even though not shown in that book, historical sites in Sri Lanka and other Buddhist countries were also dilapidated.
- The following video is in the Sinhala language. It provides an account of the restoration of Ruwanvalisāya, one of the largest stupās in Sri Lanka. That project took over 50 years and was completed with assistance from the British Governor in Sri Lanka at that time. You can see the status of Buddhist temples and stupās in the 1800s before their restoration:



- In all those Asian countries (Sri Lanka, India, Burma, Thailand, etc.) Buddhism itself was in much worse shape than today. Those European scholars were really responsible for the current revival of Buddhism.

9. Those European pioneers thought Sanskrit and Pāli were very much related. They are related, but not in a useful way. Sanskrit adapted many Pāli terms but made them “sound sophisticated.” But the true meanings were not as apparent.

- For example, pabhassara in Pāli Pāli became prabhāsvara in Sanskrit. While a knowledgeable person can discern the meaning of pabhassara from its Pāli roots (see, “Pabhassara Citta, Radiant Mind, and Bhavaṅga“:https://puredhamma.net/abhidhamma/pabha ... -bhavanga/), that is not true for the Sanskrit word prabhāsvara.
- Another example is Paṭicca Samuppāda (see, “Paṭicca Samuppāda – “Pati+ichcha”+”Sama+uppāda“: https://puredhamma.net/paticca-samuppad ... roduction/), which was adapted to Sanskrit as “Pratittyasamutpāda,” which does not convey any meaning.

Status of Buddhism in the 1800s

10. To complete the historical background relevant to this discussion, let me emphasize Buddhism’s “time evolution” starting in the 1700s.

- The invasions by the Portuguese, Dutch, and finally the British spanned over 4 centuries starting in 1498; see “Portuguese presence in Asia”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugues ... ce_in_Asia This led to a drastic decline of Buddha Dhamma in all Asian countries. However, that trend finally changed with the insight of some British civil servants in the 1800s. This is why I recommend the book by Charles Allen in #8 above.
- Due to the efforts of those civil servants and several scholars in European countries, a coordinated effort was undertaken to collect and interpret the vast historical documents found in the Asian countries. Those included not only Tipiṭaka documents but Mahāyāna and Vedic documents too. However, even Theravāda bhikkhus had already made the mistake of mistranslating anicca and anatta to be the same as Sanskrit anitya and anātma by that time.
- There were no true Buddhist scholars with deep insight at that time. We can get an idea about the status of Buddhism in Asian countries at that time by the status of Buddhist temples in the video of #8 above.

Academic Credentials Not Enough to Teach Buddha Dhamma

11. Those European scholars truly did their best to interpret the vast collection of historical documents. Those efforts are well-documented in Charles Allen’s book. Professor Rhys Davids was among those scholars, and most current interpretations are based on his work.

- Following the original translations by Rhys Davids, Eugene Burnouf, and others, contemporary Sinhala scholars like Malalasekara (a doctoral student of Rhys Davids) “learned” Buddhism from the Europeans and thus started using wrong interpretations.
- Other Sinhala scholars like Kalupahana and Jayathilake also learned “Buddhism” at universities in the United Kingdom (received Doctoral degrees on Buddhism) and wrote books in English and Sinhala.
- Of course, scholars in other Buddhist countries did the same in their languages, and the incorrect interpretations spread throughout the world.
- So, I hope I have provided enough information to contemplate why the opinions of “scholars” are likely to be wrong due to reasons beyond their control. Again, I admire and appreciate what Rhys Davids, Burnouf, Muller, and others did those days, and it was not their intention to distort Buddha Dhamma. It is not the fault of current scholars either.
- Just to emphasize: Buddha Dhamma needs to be learned from a true disciple of the Buddha who has attained at least the Sotapanna stage. Academic credentials mean NOTHING as far as teaching Buddha Dhamma is concerned. With all due respect to those European scholars, they DID NOT understand the key message of the Buddha. That message is that the rebirth process is filled with suffering, and the goal of a true Buddhist is to stop the rebirth process and attain Nibbāna. See, “Basic Framework of Buddha Dhamma.”:viewtopic.php?p=631591#p631591

Tipiṭaka was written on Ola Leaves

12. It is also important to note that mass printing was not available until recent years and became common only in the 1800s; see, “Printing press. “

- In the early days, Tipiṭaka was written on specially prepared leaves and needed to be re-written by hand every 100-200 years before they degraded. So, we must be grateful to the bhikkhus in Sri Lanka who did this dutifully over almost 2000 years. That served another important purpose. That process automatically took into account any changes to the Sinhala script over those two thousand years! See, “Preservation of the Buddha Dhamma.”
- Thus mass production of books became possible only with the new rotary printing presses in the middle of the 1800s. By the time those key concepts had been mistranslated, printing had become widespread.
- The Pāli Text Society was founded in 1881 by Rhys Davids and started printing those translations. So, it was unfortunate that those “distorted English translations” spread throughout the world.
- Luckily, we still have the original Pāli Tipiṭaka and three original commentaries.
- With the help of those three original Pāli commentaries, Waharaka Thero was able to “re-discover” the Buddha’s original teachings over the past 25 years or so.

The Buddha prohibited the translation of Tipiṭaka to Sanskrit

13. The Buddha had foreseen the problems of a direct translation of the Tipiṭaka. He warned not to TRANSLATE the Tipiṭaka to ANY LANGUAGE, and particularly to Sanskrit. There were two Brahmins by the names of Yameḷa and Kekuṭa who were experts on the Vedic Texts. They became bhikkhus and asked the Buddha whether they should translate the Pāli suttā to Sanskrit.

- The Buddha admonished them that Sanskrit was a language with musical overtones developed by the high-minded Brahmins. Thus, it was impossible to convey the true meanings of Maghadhi (Pāli) words in Sanskrit; see Chulavagga 5.33:https://tipitaka.fandom.com/wiki/Chulavagga_5.33
- In the Sutta Central English translation, the Pāli word for Sanskrit (Chandasa) is mistranslated as “metrical”; see, “15. Minor matters (Khuddaka),” (https://suttacentral.net/pli-tv-kd15/en/horner-brahmali) which is the translation of “1. Khuddakavatthu“(https://suttacentral.net/pli-tv-kd15/pl ... ript=latin). The relevant Pāli text is located close to the end, and starts as, “Tena kho pana samayena yameḷakekuṭā nāma…”.

Role of the Commentaries To Tipiṭaka

14. Therefore, the Tipiṭaka was not translated even to the Sinhala language for 2000 years in Sri Lanka. Instead, commentaries were written in Sinhala to expand and explain the Tipiṭaka.

- Unfortunately, ALL those have been lost except for three commentaries in Pāli included in the Tipiṭaka.
- With the above explanation, we can understand why those standards established in the late 1800s actually distorted Buddha Dhamma. Of course, it was not intentional.

Pāli Is a Unique Language

15. I cannot emphasize enough that Pāli is unlike any other modern language. Some meanings even come from how one pronounces words. Again to emphasize:

- Pāli does not have its own alphabet. Tipiṭaka was written in Pāli with Sinhala script.
- As the Buddha himself admonished, Sanskrit words cannot convey the meaning of Pāli words. That is because many Pāli words have been “Sanskritized,” and that leads to much confusion. For example, there is no corresponding word for anatta in Sanskrit. But the Sanskrit word “anātma” is regularly used as the translation of “anatta.” Anatta does not mean “no-self,” but “anātma” does have that meaning, as mentioned above.
- While a Pāli-English dictionary could be useful in some cases, there are cases where they give wrong interpretations (anicca, anatta, pabha, etc.); see, “Pāli Dictionaries – Are They Reliable?“.

San” Is a Unique Word in Pāli

16. A key Pāli word, the meaning of which has been hidden for thousands of years, is “san” (pronounced like son). See the posts and discussions at:viewtopic.php?p=497449#p497449, viewtopic.php?p=502770#p502770, viewtopic.php?p=503603#p503603

17. In the Dhammapada verse,

Aneka jāti sansāram
sandā vissan anibbisan
gahakaram gavesan to
dukkhā jāti punappunam


- There are four places above where “san” comes in. This verse captures the intense joy felt by the Buddha at the moment of attainment of Buddhahood.
- The word “san” appears very frequently in the Tipiṭaka. But it is often masked by the fact that in many places, it rhymes as “saṁ“ in many word combinations as in “saṁsāra, “sampādeta, “Samma“; see, “What is “San”? Meaning of Sansara (or Samsara)“ in #16 above.

Critical Role of the Printing Press in Widespread Circulation of the Incorrect Interpretations

18. The printing press became widely available only after the rotary press was invented in 1843: “Printing press. “https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/en ... ting_press As pointed out above, Rhys Davids started publishing the English translations of the Tipiṭaka in 1881. That led to the widespread circulation of the incorrect interpretations of those Early European scholars!

- Up to that time, the printed version of the Pāli Tipiṭaka was on specially prepared ola (palm) leaves; see, “Preservation of the Dhamma.” This was a laborious process, as detailed in that post. Fortunately, bhikkhus kept re-writing the Tipiṭaka material roughly every hundred years when the “old version” started degrading.
- The key point is that there were only versions of the original Tipiṭaka. It was not in wide circulation until the printing press was invented, just in time for the incorrect interpretations to be widely circulated. Rhys Davids started publishing the English translations of the Tipiṭaka in 1881.
- This is why there is no record of the correct interpretations of keywords like anicca and anatta in Sinhala. Those interpretations were in the original Sinhala commentaries (Sinhala Atthkathā.) It is safe to assume that the same holds in other Asian countries.
- The invention of the printing press was a key factor in spreading the incorrect interpretations that early European scholars came up with (unintentionally)!
auto
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Joined: Thu Dec 21, 2017 12:02 pm

Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by auto »

good work lal.
Atta doesn't mean ego, i agree. It is realness. And then can impute the self to it. Atta = puriso = loka. The sentient beings are unreal what we see, but they are vaca when there is delight(nandi). And when there is vaca then sanna and manasikara connected with the sensual pleasure is assailing or that is in case of 1st jhana when the vaca has ceased..thus when vaca is defiling then there are sentient beings at default existing.
https://suttacentral.net/sn3.23/en/sujato?layout=sidebyside&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin wrote:“When greed, hate, and delusion,
“Lobho doso ca moho ca,
have arisen inside oneself,
purisaṁ pāpacetasaṁ;
they harm a person of wicked heart,
Hiṁsanti attasambhūtā,
as a reed is destroyed by its own fruit.”
tacasāraṁva samphalan”ti.
vāca,
https://suttacentral.net/sn36.11/en/sujato?layout=sidebyside&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin wrote: But I have also explained the progressive cessation of conditions.
Atha kho pana, bhikkhu, mayā anupubbasaṅkhārānaṁ nirodho akkhāto.
For someone who has attained the first absorption, speech has ceased.
Paṭhamaṁ jhānaṁ samāpannassa vācā niruddhā hoti.
Lal
Posts: 949
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2016 11:39 am

Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by Lal »

Hello, auto.
- Yours seems to be just a comment, not a question.

You may not have seen my request to post BOTH comments/questions on a separate thread:
"Questions/Comments on the Teachings of Waharaka Thero" viewtopic.php?t=42520

I would appreciate it if everyone can respect my request. That will keep this thread easier to read.
auto
Posts: 4583
Joined: Thu Dec 21, 2017 12:02 pm

Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by auto »

Lal wrote: Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:49 pm
Okay, sorry.
Lal
Posts: 949
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2016 11:39 am

Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by Lal »

Niddesa (Brief Description) of Paṭicca Samuppāda

Niddesa version (Brief Description) of Paṭicca Samuppāda provides a bit more clarity than the uddesa (utterance) version.  We discuss the niddesa version in this post.

Three "Elephants in the Room"

1. During the emergence of Mahāyāna (with Sanskrit literature) around 2000 years ago had distorted meanings of keywords like anicca and anatta. Misinterpretation of Ānāpānasati as "breath meditation" by Buddhaghosa got incorporated into Theravāda Buddhism about 1500 years ago.

- Buddha Dhamma (Buddhism) came out of yet another recent dark period of 300-400 years thanks to the efforts of some British civil servants and European scholars starting in the 1800s. However, they (unintentionally) made those earlier distortions permanent using the newly discovered printing press. Furthermore, they started the practice of translating the Pāli Tipiṭaka word-for-word to English.
- The adoption of wrong interpretations of keywords like anicca and anatta due to the influence of Mahāyāna would be ONE issue to tackle. Misinterpretation of Ānāpānasati as "breath meditation" is the SECOND. I have discussed those two issues in the past but will address them again in this series of posts.
- Before that, I need to address the more urgent THIRD issue that resulted from translating the Tipiṭaka word-by-word. Most of these contradictions can be seen even by a child without any knowledge of Pāli. That is what I will call the FIRST "Elephant in the Room." It is impossible to translate the Tipiṭaka word-for-word and convey the embedded deep concepts.

The First "Elephant in the Room"

2. The following verse (in the uddesa form) is from the "Dutiyabodhi Sutta (Ud 1.2)" (https://suttacentral.net/ud1.2/en/sujat ... ript=latin). The Pāli version of the corresponding verses are in Ref. 1:

"In the second part of the night, he reflected on dependent origination in reverse order:

When this doesn't exist, that is not; due to the cessation of this, that ceases. That is: When ignorance ceases, choices cease. When choices cease, consciousness ceases. When consciousness ceases, name and form cease. When name and form cease, the six sense fields cease. When the six sense fields cease, contact ceases. When contact ceases, feeling ceases. When feeling ceases, craving ceases. When craving ceases, grasping ceases. When grasping ceases, continued existence ceases. When continued existence ceases, rebirth ceases. When rebirth ceases, old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress cease. That is how this entire mass of suffering ceases."

- The second translation at Sutta Central is almost the same: "The Second Discourse about the Awakening Tree": https://suttacentral.net/ud1.2/en/anand ... ript=latin
- Such translations have existed for many years without anyone asking questions about their apparent incorrectness.

Insane Discussions in Discussion Forums

3. There is a recent ongoing discussion at Dhamma Wheel: "Do Arhats experience contact with their sixfold sense media? What about vedanā?" viewtopic.php?p=655293#p655293It is a clear example of the confusion caused by such translations. The participants are understandably confused by translations like in the sutta in #2 above.

- The translation in #2 plainly says that when ignorance (avijjā) is not there, choices (saṅkhāra), consciousness (viññāṇa), and the rest of the entities cease to exist.
- We all agree that the Buddha and Arahants do not have even a trace of avijjā (ignorance about the Four Noble Truths) left.
- Then, according to the translations in #2 above, they would not generate any more saṅkhāra and would not have consciousness (viññāṇa). That means they would essentially not be living! That is what confused those people in that discussion forum in the above link.
- On the contrary, we know that the Buddha lived for 45 years after Enlightenment. He experienced all six sensory faculties, used them optimally, and had the best mind. He could recall any event in the past as far as he desired. But he also felt all types of vedanā, including bodily dukkha vedanā (he had back problems and once was injured by Devadatta)

4. So, where is the problem? Is that sutta wrong?

- The sutta is perfectly fine. Such problems arise when translators start translating Pāli suttas word-for-word without paying attention (or not understanding) to the basic concepts in Buddha Dhamma.
- The critical point here is that many suttas are in the highly-condensed uddesa version. There are THREE levels of explanations as discussed in the recent post "Sutta Interpretation – Uddēsa, Niddēsa, Paṭiniddēsa."
- The niddēsa form provides a slightly expanded version. Then the paṭiniddēsa form provides details with examples. If someone tries to translate the uddesa version to English word-for-word, that leads to severe problems as we saw in #2 and #3 above.
- Many keywords have different usages depending on the context. For example, viññāṇa cannot be translated as "consciousness" for all cases because there are many types of viññāṇa (for instance, vipāka viññāṇa and kamma viññāṇa are two VERY different types.) One needs to know which kind of viññāṇa a given sutta discusses.

How Can One Learn Paṭicca Samuppāda by Reading These Translations?

5. There are "32 results for avijjā AND nirodhā AND saṅkhāranirodho" (https://suttacentral.net/search?query=a ... 1ranirodho) meaning there are at least 32 suttas with the INCORRECT verse of Ref. 1. Many of the suttas in this list are from the Saṁyutta Nikāya 12, discussing Paṭicca Samuppāda. I don't see how anyone can learn Paṭicca Samuppāda by reading those English translations!

- In all those instances, the standard verse in Paṭiloma (Backward) Paṭicca Samuppāda, "avijjā nirodhā saṅkhāranirodho, saṅkhāra nirodhā viññāṇa nirodho," is translated to English as "When ignorance ceases, choices cease. When choices cease, consciousness ceases..."
- Did the Buddha lose consciousness upon attaining the Buddhahood? Does an Arahant lose consciousness when reaching the Arahanthood? On the contrary, we know that the Buddha lived for 45 years after the Enlightenment, and many Arahants lived for long times after Arahanthood teaching Dhamma to others.
- The problem is worse because it does not matter who the translator is. All English translations I have seen have the exact direct, word-for-word translation.

The problem of Word-for-Word Translations Is Much Deeper

6. Of course, the problem is much more severe. Even the Anuloma (Forward) Paṭicca Samuppāda is incomprehensible with such word-by-word translations.

- The sutta in Ref. 2 (and all the suttas of the list in #5) states: "avijjā paccayā saṅkhārā, saṅkhāra paccayā viññāṇaṁ.." which they translate as "Ignorance is a condition for choices. Choices are a condition for consciousness.."
- There are MANY types of saṅkhāra. Some arise due to avijja, but Arahants who have no avijjā generate other types of saṅkhāra.

What Are "Choices" and "Volitional Formations"?

7. Another problem is translating saṅkhāra as "choices" and "volitional formations." No one has explained what those words mean. Here is an instance where that question came up and a "non-answer" was given: "Explaining sankhāra= "choices." https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/ex ... ices/10944Here is another discussion that ended without a resolution: "The way I analyzed Saṅkhāra." viewtopic.php?p=528857#p528857

- Mano saṅkhāra (defined as vedanā and saññā) arises with any sensory event. Thus any vipāka viññāṇa would have mano saṅkhāra.
- However, saṅkhāra in "avijjā paccayā saṅkhārā" are abhisaṅkhāra. We accumulate kamma based on our thoughts, speech, and actions based on abhisaṅkhāra. That is the niddesa explanation. Thus, kamma viññāṇa arise due to abhisaṅkhāra
- I have explained the above in detail in the paṭiniddesa version in many posts previously, but we will discuss them again here in upcoming posts.
- Only kamma viññāṇa cease to arise for an Arahant. They do experience vipāka viññāṇa.

8. Stated in another way, anyone (even without a basic understanding of Buddha Dhamma) can do word-for-word translations. It is just a matter of keeping a dictionary by the side and translating word-by-word. But that leads to utter confusion, as we saw above.

- Many standard dictionaries are those compiled by early European scholars like Rhys Davids. They had no understanding of Buddha's profound teachings. They learned Pāli (and Sanskrit) from the locals and then translated the Tipiṭaka word-for-word!
- Think about that. That is equivalent to saying that anyone who understands French and English can translate a textbook on medicine from Fench to English! Would that make sense?

Niddesa Version of Explanation

9. The steps in the Paṭiloma Paṭicca Samuppāda (in the sutta of #2 above) are in the "utterance (uddesa)" form. That is to recite the 11 steps. Those steps need explanations in either the niddēsa (brief descriptions) or the paṭiniddēsa (detailed explanations.)

We can begin to see some clarity in the niddesa version below, which is the next level of explanation. This version uses more specific types of saṅkhāra, viññāṇa, etc.

10. In the niddēsa version, the steps would be: ".. when avijjā ceases abhisaṅkhāra cease, when abhisaṅkhāra cease kamma viññāṇa cease, when kamma viññāṇa cease nāmarūpa cease, when nāmarūpa cease saḷāyatana cease, when saḷāyatana cease samphassa cease, when samphassa cease samphassa-jā-vedanā cease, when samphassa-jā-vedanā cease taṇhā cease, when taṇhā cease upādāna cease, when upādāna cease bhava cease, when bhava cease jāti cease, when jāti cease jarāmaraṇaṁ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā cease. That is the end of the whole mass of suffering.

- We are beginning to see some clarity on the question discussed at the Dhamma Wheel forum in #3 above.
- All those terms in blue WILL cease to exist for an Arahant. But the Arahant WILL experience vipāka viññāṇa (ordinary consciousness via the six senses) and normal feelings (vedana) that arise with such consciousness, for example.
- Of course, jāti refers to future births in the uppatti Paṭicca Samuppāda. All births (including the one that Arahant was born to) will undergo old age, decay, suffering, and eventual death. Thus even an Arahant will be subjected to them until the death of the physical body. But no more births and no more suffering after that!

11. Note that I have not translated key Pāli words to English in #10 above. In many cases, there are no equivalent English words!

- It is only kamma viññāṇa that would stop arising for a Buddha or an Arahant. Ordinary consciousness (vipāka viññāṇa) would be there until their death (Parinibbāna.) 
- Of course, the reader needs to know what is meant by kamma viññāṇa and vipāka viññāṇa. See, "Abhisaṅkhāra Lead to Kamma Viññāṇa."

Why Don't Others See the "Elephant in the Room"?

12. How is it that such apparent contradictions have gone unnoticed for so long? We may never fully understand that. But I think it is due to several factors.

- Many people who turn to Buddhism may accept certain concepts without bothering to even look for inconsistencies. Some may think Buddhism has some "mystical features" that they are not supposed to question.
- Another is people's high respect towards bhikkhus/scholars who have written "books" on Buddhism. While honoring bhikkhus is undoubtedly an exemplary aspect, the Buddha taught not to believe even his own words without asking questions to clarify any doubtful concept.
- But the main reason most English-speaking people do not "see the elephant" is the following. Most simply don't understand that words like saṅkhāra and viññāṇa cannot be just translated word-by-word as "formations" and "consciousness." They do not even have a basic idea of Paṭicca Samuppāda. I will be spending most time clarifying these basic concepts in this series. But we all need first to agree that there is a problem!
- Recent comments in discussion forums have led me to conclude the above. No matter how obvious the error that I point out, they say, "Oh, I just believe so and so." They will not even acknowledge that there is a problem. I say something like, "Person X  says 2 plus 3 is 6-  Is that not a contradiction?" They ignore that and start commenting about an entirely different issue.

Concept of Paṭicca Samuppāda in Simple Terms

13. It will be quite beneficial to understand the basic framework of Paṭicca Samuppāda.

- In the next post, I will explain that using simple examples. As the Buddha instructed, one needs to grasp the concepts. Memorization of words/verses is of no benefit.

References

1. Relevant verse from "Dutiyabodhi Sutta (Ud 1.2)":

"Atha kho bhagavā tassa sattāhassa accayena tamhā samādhimhā vuṭṭhahitvā rattiyā majjhimaṁ yāmaṁ paṭiccasamuppādaṁ paṭilomaṁ sādhukaṁ manasākāsi:

Iti imasmiṁ asati idaṁ na hoti, imassa nirodhā idaṁ nirujjhati, yadidaṁ—avijjā nirodhā saṅkhāranirodho, saṅkhāra nirodhā viññāṇa nirodho, viññāṇa nirodhā nāmarūpa nirodho, nāmarūpa nirodhā saḷāyatana nirodho, saḷāyatana nirodhā phassa nirodho, phassa nirodhā vedanā nirodho, vedanā nirodhā taṇhā nirodho, taṇhā nirodhā upādāna nirodho, upādāna nirodhā bhava nirodho, bhava nirodhā jāti nirodho, jāti nirodhā jarāmaraṇaṁ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā nirujjhanti. Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hotī”ti
.

2. Relevant verse from "Paṭhamabodhi Sutta (Ud 1.1)": 

"Atha kho bhagavā tassa sattāhassa accayena tamhā samādhimhā vuṭṭhahitvā rattiyā paṭhamaṁ yāmaṁ paṭiccasamuppādaṁ anulomaṁ sādhukaṁ manasākāsi:

Iti imasmiṁ sati idaṁ hoti, imassuppādā idaṁ uppajjati, yadidaṁ—avijjā paccayā saṅkhārā, saṅkhāra paccayā viññāṇaṁ, viññāṇa paccayā nāmarūpaṁ, nāmarūpa paccayā saḷāyatanaṁ, saḷāyatana paccayā phasso, phassa paccayā vedanā, vedanā paccayā taṇhā, taṇhā paccayā upādānaṁ, upādāna paccayā bhavo, bhava paccayā jāti, jāti paccayā jarāmaraṇaṁ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā sambhavanti. Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hotī”ti
."
Lal
Posts: 949
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2016 11:39 am

Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by Lal »

Idappaccayātā Paṭicca SamuppādaBhava and Jāti Within a Lifetime

Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda explains the accumulation of kammic energies within the current life. One is "born" in various temporary "existences" numerous times during a lifetime. Understanding that helps clarify how future rebirths arise.

Introduction

1. As I have explained in recent posts, keywords in the Tipiṭaka require detailed explanations. Many suttas (particularly those with deep insights) need detailed explanations. The practice of translating such suttas word-for-word to English has led to dangerous results, as I have explained in the new series of posts on Feb 28, 2022: viewtopic.php?p=668186#p668186

- In the "Mahānidāna Sutta (DN 15)," (https://suttacentral.net/dn15/en/sujato ... ript=latin) the Buddha advised Ven. Ananda to learn how life evolves moment-to-moment based on the causes and conditions AT a given moment.
- That may not be clear from the English translation in the above link. That again goes back to the problem of translating word-for-word without understanding the basic concepts.

2. Translation of the verse, "Atthi idappaccayā viññāṇan'ti iti puṭṭhena satā, ānanda, atthītissa vacanīyaṁ" in the above link is: "When asked, 'Is there a specific condition for consciousness?' you should answer, 'There is.'

- "Specific condition" is the English phrase used in that translation for "idappaccayā."
- However, "idappaccayā" comes from "ida" + "paccayā" meaning "based on the conditions at that time."
- Thus, the correct translation should be: "When asked, 'Is there a viññāṇa arising due to conditions at that time?' you should answer, 'There is.'

Idappaccayātā – At a Given Moment

3. Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda (IPS) is another essential teaching that remained hidden for hundreds of years. The word "Idappaccayātā" comes from "ida" for "here," and the closest English word for "paccayā" is "condition." Thus Idappaccayātā implies "based on this condition at this moment." 

- Therefore, Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda describes how "pati icca" leads to "sama uppāda" moment by moment based on the conditions present at that moment; see, "Paṭicca Samuppāda – "Pati+ichcha" +" Sama+uppāda." I just realized that I have not posted this post here. I will do that in the next few days.
- The additional "p" in "idappacayatā" comes from the combination of "ida" and "paccayā." This is similar to “dammacakka” and “pavattana” combined to yield “dhammacakkappavattana” in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.
- The following verse in "Avijjā Sutta (AN 10.61)" (https://suttacentral.net/an10.61/en/suj ... ript=latin) provides more insight:
"The first point of ignorance, bhikkhus, cannot be seen. Ignorance can arise at any time when the conditions are right." (Pāli verse: "Purimā, bhikkhave, koṭi na paññāyati avijjāya: 'ito pubbe avijjā nāhosi, atha pacchā samabhavī’ti. Evañcetaṃ, bhikkhave, vuccati, atha ca pana paññāyati: 'idappaccayā avijjā’ti.”)
- In the same way, EACH TERM in Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda arises at any given moment.

4. The standard Uppatti (or Upapatti) Paṭicca Samuppāda discusses how avijjā leads to future existences (bhava) and births (jāti). That is the only Paṭicca Samuppāda that most people are aware of these days. But that version shows the cumulative effects of numerous Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda cycles!

- As the Buddha explained to Ven. Ananda in the Mahānidāna Sutta in #1 above, it is beneficial to understand the operation of Paṭicca Samuppāda DURING a lifetime, moment-to-moment.
- Before that, we first need to realize that there are TWO main categories of viññāṇa, and only one comes to play in Paṭicca Samuppāda.

Numerous Types of Viññāṇa Arise in a Day!

5. We have numerous types of viññāṇa arising in a day! They are manily of TWO main categories: vipāka viññāṇa and kamma viññāṇa.

- Each sensory input (seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, recalling) is a vipāka viññāṇa. They are cakkhu, sota, ghana, jivha, kāya, and mano viññāṇa. We don't pay much attention to many of such vipāka viññāṇa.
- But we "attach" to some of vipāka viññāṇa we start generating kamma viññāṇa, which can be of two types: vaci and kāya viññāṇa. Even though mano viññāṇa also falls in this category, only vaci and kāya viññāṇa lead to a significant generation of kammic energies.
- Only kamma viññāṇa generating kammic energies are involved in the "saṅkhāra paccayā viññāṇa" step in any type of Paṭicca Samuppāda. See, "Abhisaṅkhāra Lead to Kamma Viññāṇa" and following posts at viewtopic.php?p=659709#p659709

Viññāṇa in Paṭicca Samuppāda Are Kamma Viññāṇa

6. All initial steps in Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda working in realtime (moment-to-moment) provide the basis for the working of other types of Paṭicca Samuppāda. 

- Accumulation of kamma bhava (kammic energy for future existences) happens over numerous such Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda cycles taking place over a lifetime and even over many lifetimes. Then birth in such an existence (uppatti bhava) can occur in the future.
- A given person has a specific set of gati (pronounced "gathi") over a given time, and their thoughts/speech/actions lead to the accumulation of kammic energies (bhava) related to those gati.
- For example, person X with violent gati tends to think, speak, and act violently, engaging in harsh speech and violent actions. X will regularly generate kammic energies through such thoughts, speech, and actions. Such kammic energies lead to appropriate bhava, such as that of a vicious animal like a tiger, leading to rebirth (jāti) as such an animal in the future. That is the basic principle of Uppatti Paṭicca Samuppāda. That Uppatti Paṭicca Samuppāda is the standard Paṭicca Samuppāda in most textbooks today.
- Uppatti Paṭicca Samuppāda is a result of numerous Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda

7. Therefore, it is critical is to realize the importance of understanding the working of Paṭicca Samuppāda during a lifetime, i.e., Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda.

- We also need to see that X will NOT always think, speak, act that way. There will be times when X is interacting with his family. During such times he will think loving thoughts and speak and act with caring thoughts. Those involve "good" mano, vaci, and kāya saṅkhāra.
- It is easy to see how X will change from a "bad person" (in #6 above) to a "good person" when the conditions change.
- If X sees one of his enemies on the road, he will get into a "bad state of mind." He will start Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda cycles first with generating evil thoughts (mano and vaci abhisaṅkhāra) and thus "bad kammic energies." 
- But when X goes home, he will see his family and start generating opposite types of mano, vaci,, and kāya saṅkhāra. They may even engage in "good activities" like participating in a volunteer project or providing meals to the hungry. During such activities, "good" Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda cycles will operate.

Triggering of Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda 

8. The starting of an Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda cycle ALWAYS starts with sensory input (ārammaṇa). The example given in #7 above began with X seeing his enemy, say Y.

- Let us take another example, where X gets into a similar Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda (IPS) cycle triggered by an ārammaṇa coming through the ears.
- Suppose X is at home and is having a pleasant conversation with his wife. During the conversation, the wife mentions Y. Just hearing Y's name could trigger X to recall some bad memories of Y. Thus, X may start telling his wife about his interactions with Y.
- Just hearing Y's name made X's mind go through numerous IPS cycles within a short time. Let us look into that.

9. Hearing of Y's name was a sota viññāṇa. X heard Y's name because his wife was talking about something, and she may have mentioned Y's name, saying that "I saw Y while ..."

- That was enough for X's mind to have a flashback at prior experiences with Y. Now, if strong feelings about Y emerge, X may start describing to his wife how bad a person Y is.
- While having that conversation with his wife, X will recall his experiences with Y and start getting agitated. If his wife encourages that, he will get "worked up." The two of them may even begin discussing how to hurt Y. If that happens, both will go through many IPS cycles accumulating more kammic energies!
- Even though they are not doing any physical harm to Y, just the generation of vaci abhisaṅkhāra will generate kammic energy! See, "Correct Meaning of Vacī Sankhāra."viewtopic.php?p=632424#p632424

Abhisankhara Versus Sankhara

10. Sankhara that arise via "avijjā paccayā saṅkhāra" are abhisaṅkhāra; see the previous post, "Niddesa (Brief Description) of Paṭicca Samuppāda."

- Abhisaṅkhāra are saṅkhāra with lobha, dosa, moha (avijjā).
- For example, an Arahant speaks with vaci saṅkhāra. Such vaci saṅkhāra DO NOT have cetana with lobha, dosa, moha.
- Cetanā WITH lobha, dosa, moha are sañcetanā ("san" + "cetana"). Thus, abhisaṅkhāra have sañcetanā ("san" + "cetanā") or "defiled intention." An Arahant would not generate abhisaṅkhāra via sañcetanā; they only generate cetanā.

11. Now let us go back to our discussion in #9. While X and his wife engage in IPS, they automatically go through all the steps in Paṭicca Samuppāda. As we see, while they discuss how to hurt Y, abhisaṅkhāra arise via avijja! They do not realize that such abhisaṅkhāra will lead to future suffering.

- As they make plans, a future expectation of "hurting Y" is established, and that is the "kamma viññāṇa" arising via "saṅkhāra paccayā viññāṇa" or more precisely "abhisaṅkhāra paccayā kamma viññāṇa" in the niddesa version.
- Their plan to hurt Y may involve telling some lies about Y to the friends of Y. They may talk about specific friends of Y, and "mental images of friends of Y" come to the minds of the two of them. In IPS, those are the "nāmarupa" in "viññāṇa paccayā nāmarupa". In an extreme case, they may plan to hurt Y physically, and any weapons used will be discussed with images of such weapons going through their minds. Those are also types of "nāmarupa" in IPS. Note that "nāmarupa" in Uppatti Paticca Samuppada (UPS) has a different meaning; see, "Viññāna Paccayā Nāmarūpa."viewtopic.php?p=622962#p622962
- Later on, when they implement their plan, they will also use other sensory faculties. For example, if they go and purchase a weapon, that involves all six faculties. That is "nāmarupa paccayā salāyatana."

Bhava in This Life and for Future Lives

12. Since they will be using the sensory faculties with an angry mindset, all sensory contacts become "samphassa" ("san" + "phassa") or defiled contacts with dosa (anger/hate.) Then they lead to "samphassa-jā-vedanā" or angry feelings based on hate. See, "Vedanā (Feelings) Arise in Two Ways."viewtopic.php?p=619299#p619299

- That, in turn, leads to "getting attached" to that effort even more. That attachment (via anger) is also taṇhā. See, "Tanhā – The Origin of Suffering."viewtopic.php?p=533516#p533516
- Once attached to an ārammaṇa, a mind stays on it, keeping it close. That is the "taṇhā paccayā upādāna" step. In the above example, X and his wife will now focus on ways to hurt Y. Their minds will go through numerous cycles of the above steps generating more kammic energy.  That is the "upādāna paccayā bhava" step.

13. That kammic energy will produce two effects.

(1) Part of it will fuel an "angry bhava" in this life. Both of them have created "angry bhava" and are now "born in an "angry state." Thus, "bhava paccayā jāti" has already taken place. That is jāti in IPS.
(2) The rest of the kammic energy created will be preserved in viññāṇa dhātu as "fuel for future bhava." Such kammic energies can bring future births in matching existences. That is jāti in UPS.

- Both types of "jāti" will lead to more suffering. That is the last step in PS in both IPS and UPS cycles.

That is a brief description of Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda. It may be a good idea to go back and read the previous post "Niddesa (Brief Description) of Paṭicca Samuppāda." viewtopic.php?p=668399#p668399 That will help solidify the understanding.

Better Not to Translate the Pāli Terms

14. Paṭicca Samuppāda is not an exotic process. While it can go to great depths, the basic principles are simple. However, one needs to truly understand the meanings of the 11 terms: avijjā, saṅkhāra, viññāṇa, nāmarupa, salāyatana, phassa, vedanā, taṇhā, upādāna, bhava, and jāti.

- It is a big mistake to try to translate those terms word-for-word. There can be variations in the meaning of a word based on the situation.
- The Sinhala language DOES NOT even have its own words for those 11 terms. The same words (අවිජ්ජා, සංඛාර, වින්ඥාන, නාමරූප, සලායතන, ඵස්ස, වේදනා, තන්හා, උපාදාන, භව, ජාති) are used in the Sinhala language. That has been a blessing because it leads to less confusion even among those who may not fully understand the concepts.
- That is why I have tried to use the original Pāli words as much as possible in my posts. In discussing Paṭicca Samuppāda, it is almost impossible to use English words to convey the actual concepts. That is why I try to use the Pāli words wherever possible.
Lal
Posts: 949
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2016 11:39 am

Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by Lal »

The following is the post that I promised in the post two days ago.

Paṭicca Samuppāda - "Pati+ichcha" + "Sama+uppāda"

"Yō Paṭiccasamuppādam passati,
so Dhammam passati.
Yō Dhammam passati,
so Paṭiccasamuppādam passati
."

"One who sees Paṭiccasamuppāda
sees the (Buddha) Dhamma.
One who sees the (Buddha) Dhamma
sees Paṭiccasamuppāda."

(Mahā­hatthi­pa­dopa­ma Sutta (MN 28); at the end)

- Paṭicca Samuppāda explains how we accumulate kammic energy to "power up" future births. That sustains the rebirth process and will bring rebirths mostly in the apāyās. Thus, Paṭicca Samuppāda explains how future suffering arises.
- Whenever we get attached to sensory inputs (ārammaṇa) and think, speak, act with lobha, dosa, moha, we will accumulate such kammic energy. We will discuss that in upcoming posts.
- Therefore, it is critical to understand Paṭicca Samuppāda.

Here is the pronunciation of Paṭicca Samuppāda:
https://puredhamma.net/wp-content/uploa ... uppada.mp3

- Paṭicca samuppāda, translated into English as "Dependent Origination," does not convey the phrase's accurate, complete meaning. It is better to keep the same name and understand what it means.
- The closest English translation is "Willful attachment leading to the existence of similar kind."

"Pati+ichcha" + "Sama+uppāda"

1. Paṭicca = paṭi + icca;  here, "paṭi" is bonding, and "icca" (pronounced "ichcha"; see #12 below) is liking.

- Thus Paṭicca is "bonding to something willingly" or "getting attached to something through a liking for it."
- This bonding depends on one's gati (habits and likings), which in turn are due to deep-seated āsavas (cravings).
- There are many posts on the website on this key Pāli term: "gati." One can get a list of relevant posts by typing "gati" in the "Search" box at the top right. Note that "gati" is pronounced as "gathi."

2. Samuppāda = "sama" (same or similar) + "uppāda" (generation), i.e.,  an existence (bhava) of similar quality or kind.

- Thus samuppāda means leading to existence or experience corresponding to defilements that made one attach to the situation (ārammaṇa) in the first place.
- Everything in this world arises due to six root causes: lōbha, dōsa, mōha and alobha, adosa, amoha; see, "Six Root Causes – Loka Samudaya (Arising of Suffering) and Loka Nirodhaya (Nibbāna)." viewtopic.php?p=626012#p626012
- Different types of Paṭicca Samuppāda cycles operate based on which kind of causes are involved; see, "Paṭicca Samuppāda Cycles."

Connection to Gati - Simple Example

3. For example, when we generate potent hateful thoughts about a person, we could be in the mindset of an animal. At that moment, we may even behave like an animal, hitting and clawing at that person if things get out of hand. Even if we may not act physically, we will have that "animal-like" mindset.

- At that moment, we generate a gati (character) corresponding to "bhava," or existence similar to an animal. That, in turn, leads to grasping a corresponding "bhava." Then "bhava paccayā jāti" leads to a similar "jāti" or birth, i.e., to act like an animal.
- We generated a corresponding "bhava" in our minds because we got "bonded" to that situation via hateful thoughtful thoughts; we developed a corresponding "bhava" in our minds. Results (effects) correspond to causes: cause and effect. If we keep creating the same kind of "bhava," that leads to forming "gati" or habits. They are all interconnected. 
- Strong feelings under such conditions create subtle energies called "kammic energy." That energy can build up to create a subtle "manomaya kāya" (gandhabba kāya) corresponding to a new existence (bhava.) 

4. Now, if we keep getting into fights with that person (or with others), we will be building up that "bhava," and this could lead to the formation of a very potent kamma seed; see, "Kamma, Saṅkhāra, and Abhisaṅkhāra."viewtopic.php?p=535678#p535678

- Furthermore, it becomes a "gati" as well (see, "Gati (Habits/Character) Determine Births – Saṃsappanīya Sutta": viewtopic.php?p=553844#p553844). Then it is easier to get into such situations, and a vicious cycle starts leading to that gati taking hold.
- Here, it is critical to understand that "uppāda" or "birth" is according to the "bonding with liking" (pati icca) for CAUSES, not the birth itself. For example, no one wants to be born a dog. But one cannot avoid being born a dog if one willingly does "lowly things" appropriate for dogs and thus cultivates "gati suitable for a dog."

5. Now, we combine the two terms: "Paṭicca Samuppāda" means "attachment to something leading to the generation of the corresponding "bhava" (and thus jāti).

- The establishment of a bhava, in turn, leads to a corresponding jāti or birth: “when one gets attached, it sets up the likelihood of a new birth of similar characteristics.”
- For example, when someone acts with greed out of habit, they are prone to behave that way during a lifetime. Furthermore, it could be manifested more powerfully in a future birth by being born a  Peta (hungry ghost).

Two Types of Paṭicca Samuppāda

6. Therefore, the establishment of an "existence" (bhava) could be two ways:

- Even during the current lifetime, a similar situation can arise. For example, "gati" formed via above mentioned "fights" with other people will tend to draw oneself to a similar outcome even with the slightest provocation. That is a "pavutti bhava" (and jāti) that lasts for a short time during current life; see the previous post, "Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda – Bhava and Jāti Within a Lifetime."
- If this hateful "gati" becomes profoundly ingrained and becomes a potent kamma seed, that could come to the mind at the dying moment. That could lead to a hateful "uppatti bhava" in the next existence, as an animal or even in the niraya (hell); see, "Akusala-Mūla Uppatti Paṭicca Samuppāda."viewtopic.php?p=621920#p621920 and "Bhava – Kammic Energy That Can Power an Existence" viewtopic.php?p=612915#p612915

A Uppatti Bhava Can Lead to Many Births (Jāti)

7. Here, one should also be able to make a distinction between "bhava" (existence) and "jāti" (birth). For example, a uppatti bhava may give rise to many births until the kammic energy in that kamma seed wears out; see, "Bhava and Jāti – States of Existence and Births Therein."viewtopic.php?p=490794#p490794

- That is why, even though the human bhava is RARE, one may be reborn a human many times at a stretch. Only those born human in a previous life (or a few lives) may be able to remember those lives; see, "Evidence for Rebirth."https://puredhamma.net/dhamma/evidence-for-rebirth/
- Different types of Paṭicca samuppāda cycles discussed at: "Paṭicca Samuppāda Cycles."https://puredhamma.net/paticca-samuppad ... da-cycles/

We Attach via Taṇhā and Avijjā

8. By perceiving illusory happiness, we willingly get attached to pleasurable things. We also get attached to stuff via hate, and the root cause is an attachment to something related.

- For example, we get "attached" to a person with hate if that person is blocking our access to something that we like. We keep thinking about how bad he is, etc.
- Thus attachment is possible with greed or hate. That is what "taṇhā" (in Sinhala, "තැනට හාවීම" or "get fused or attached to" in English) means; see, "Tanhā – How We Attach Via Greed, Hate, and Ignorance" and "Tanhā – The Origin of Suffering"viewtopic.php?p=533516#p533516
- Therefore, it is essential to realize that "taṇhā" does not mean just greed. It could also be due to hate or dislike.

Unimaginable Suffering in Some existences (Among the 31 Realms)

9. Ultimately, both desire and hatred arise due to ignorance (avijjā.) Ignorance of not knowing the unfruitful nature of "this world" of 31 realms, i.e., "anicca, dukkha, anatta."

- We think that living is pleasurable, but lives in some realms are filled with unimaginable suffering. Human birth is rare.
- There is unimaginable suffering in the lower four realms (see "How the Buddha Described the Chance of Rebirth in the Human Realm").

We Create Our Future Lives!

10. There is no one, or no external force, keeping us bound to "this world" of 31 realms; see, "The Grand Unified Theory of Dhamma."   Just like an octopus grabbing its prey with all eight legs, we willingly cling to things in "this world" of 31 realms filled with suffering.

- Unless we see the true unfruitful and even dreadful (in the lower four realms) nature of 'this world" by comprehending "anicca, dukkha, anatta," we will not let go of it.

Use Pāli Words Without Translating to Other Languages

11. The Buddha advised NOT TO translate keywords in Pāli (and even verses in deep suttas) to other languages. In most cases, there are no equivalent words in other languages.

- The translation of Paṭicca Samuppāda to Sanskrit as Pratittyasamutpāda is an excellent example of this problem. See the explanation of Pratittyasamutpāda (the Sanskrit word for Paṭicca Samuppāda) on Wikipedia: "Pratītyasamutpāda":https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prat%C4%A ... tp%C4%81da

- I think you will agree that it is confusing at best, with multiple possible meanings.
- Even though "Dependent Origination" is better, it still does not convey the whole meaning.
- On the other hand, for someone knowledgeable in Pāli or Sinhala, the meaning is evident in the name itself: paṭi + icca sama+ uppāda. Once the roots are explained, anyone can understand in any language!

Pronunciation of Pāli Words

12. It is highly beneficial to learn how to pronounce Pāli words. When the European scholars started writing the Pāli Tipiṭaka with the English alphabet, they came up with a unique system that I call theTipiṭaka English” Convention. It has helped keep the 'word length" short.

- For example, even though written as "gati," its pronunciation is "gathi." Similarly, "icca" is for "ichcha." If written as pronounced, "dhammacakkappavattana" would be "dhammachakkappavaththana."
- See “Tipiṭaka English” Convention Adopted by Early European Scholars – Part 1" and “Tipiṭaka English” Convention Adopted by Early European Scholars – Part 2" for details. (viewtopic.php?p=544574#p544574)
- A pronunciation guide at "Pāli Glossary – (A-K)" () and “Pāli Glossary – (L-Z). “:https://puredhamma.net/tables-and-summa ... ssary-a-k/
- Don't be discouraged. Start getting used to the method of learning the meanings/pronunciations gradually. Learn the common keywords first.
Lal
Posts: 949
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2016 11:39 am

Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by Lal »

Change of Mindset Due to an Ārammaṇa

Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda starts with an ārammaṇa or a sensory input.

Numerous Changes of Mindset in a Day

1. Think about how many times our "mood" or "mindest" changes in a day.

- Consider person X eating a meal and experiencing a good mindset; he enjoyed the food. That mindset arose due to an ārammaṇa, which was the taste of the food.
- Suppose halfway through the meal, X saw a long hair on the plate. For some people like X, that new ārammaṇa of "seeing the hair on the plate" is enough to ruin the meal and get into an angry mindset. Suppose X was eating at a restaurant, and he called the waiter and angrily complained.
- The waiter apologized and promised to bring X a fresh meal. Soon as X heard that, he again became happy. X finished his meal and came out of the restaurant with a happy and content mindset.
- While walking, X saw one of his worst enemies, Y. The sight of Y brought in a new "strong ārammaṇa" changed X's mood again. He started thinking about the problems that person had caused and he got angrier by the minute.

2. As you see, our mindset and related thoughts change many times during the day. The examples that we discussed above can be explained via Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda, which we discussed in the previous post.

- Each of the mindsets discussed above resulted from a new ārammaṇa coming through one of the six senses.
- In chronological order, those mindsets were triggered by tasting food (jivhā viññāṇa), seeing the hair (cakkhu viññāṇa), waiter saying that he will get a fresh serving (sota viññāṇa), and seeing Y (cakkhu viññāṇa).
- All those triggers were vipāka viññāṇa or different types of "consciousness." They happened to be that way. The meal could have been not tasty; if you didn't see the hair, that would have avoided you getting into an angry mindset, etc.

Pāli Word for "Mindset" Is "Bhavaṅga"

3. The word "bhavaṇga" comes from "bhava" + "aṇga" where "bhava" means "existence" and"aṇga" means "part of." Thus, "bhavaṇga" means "part of existence at that time," which is the "mindset at that time."

- There is also a "natural bhavaṇga" that we are born with. If the mind is not focused on a "strong ārammaṇa" the mind falls back to that "natural bhavaṇga." Thus, we can say that our mind is in the "natural bhavaṇga" state while we sleep.
- However, once we wake up and start getting bombarded with all kinds of ārammaṇa coming through the six senses, our "mindset" or "temporary bhavaṇga" can change many times a day, as we saw above.
- I will be using "mindset" and "temporary bhavaṇga" interchangeably so that you will get used to the meaning.
- Now you can start seeing the difference between Upapatti PS and Idappaccayātā PS. In the former, "bhava" refers to "human existence," while in the latter, "a temporary bhava" is the mindset (or existence) lasting a relatively short time.

Only "Strong Ārammaṇa" Can Bring in a "Temporary Bhavaṇga"

4. During a day, we get bombarded with an uncountable number of ārammaṇa, i.e., sensory inputs comping through the six senses. Yet, we don't pay attention to most of them, i.e., they are "weak ārammaṇa" not strong enough to "grab our attention." In such cases, there is no change in the "bhavaṇga" or "mindset."

- So, what kind of ārammaṇa "grabs our attention" and changes the "bhavaṇga" state?
- That would be one we "really like," "really dislike," or "something unusual or something we cannot understand." In the latter case, we could get into a "confused state of mind." A "strong ārammaṇa" is usually associated with "lobha," "dosa," and "moha."
- Let us examine the examples in #1 to clarify.

5. Taste of food was a "strong ārammaṇa" that changed the mindset from the "natural bhavaṇga" state to a good "temporary bhavaṇga" state. Here, the ārammaṇa was associated with lobha (attachment via liking.)

- Then another "strong ārammaṇa" of "seeing the hair" flipped the mindset to an angry "temporary bhavaṇga" state. That ārammaṇa was associated with dosa (attachment via dislike.)
- Hearing the waiter promising to bring a new meal was new "strong ārammaṇa" made a good "temporary bhavaṇga" again. That ārammaṇa was associated with lobha (attachment via liking.)
- Seeing Y on the road was enough for X to get into a bad state of mind (with dosa) again.

6. To summarize: Our minds usually are in the "natural bhavaṇga" state that comes with human existence. It can change to a different "temporary bhavaṇga" by a 'strong ārammaṇa." Depending on how strong that ārammaṇa is, the "temporary bhavaṇga" can stay for minutes to hours to many days.

- In the examples discussed above, "temporary bhavaṇga" states lasted only for short limes, less than an hour. In the Abhidhamma language, such ārammaṇa are categorized as "mahantārammaṇa" ("mahanta + ārammaṇa" or "strong ārammaṇa.")
- However, a very strong ārammaṇa can keep that "temporary bhavaṇga" state for many days. For example, upon hearing the death of a parent, one may get into a "sad mindset" that can last even weeks. They are "very strong ārammaṇa" or "atimahantārammaṇa" ("ati + mahanta + ārammaṇa".)

How Does an Ārammaṇa Change the Mindset (Bhavaṇga)?

7. It is CRITICALLY important to understand how the mindset (temporary bhavaṇga) changes due to an ārammaṇa.

- As we discussed, a new ārammaṇa comes via a new sensory input coming through the six senses. Thus, it is one of the following: cakkhu, sota, ghāna, jivhā, kāya, or mano viññāṇa. They are ALL vipāka viññāṇa. They provide sensory input. We see, hear, taste, smell, touch, or recall a memory. That, by itself, cannot change our mindset.
- For example, an Arahant will also see attractive things or taste a delicious meal. But no matter how delicious that meal is, it will NOT change the mindset of an Arahant.
- But the person in our example in #1 above got "attached" to the tasty meal. That is normal for an average human, and so are the other "mood swings" that the person went through in #1. But it is essential to understand how each of those swings in the mindset took place.

8. Delicious taste from the meal was a vipāka viññāṇa, specifically a jivhā viññāṇa. The pleasant taste experienced was a natural vipāka vedanā associated with that vipāka viññāṇa. If an Arahant had eaten the same meal, he would have experienced its delicious taste. But what happens immediately after taking the first few bites would be very different for X and the Arahant.

- X got attached to the taste of the meal. In the Dhamma language, he started generating vaci abhisaṅkhāra that naturally would arise for an average human. He started thinking about how delicious the meal is AND how he might come back to the restaurant to have the same meal. Those thoughts were lobha-based (i.e., greedy) vaci abhisaṅkhāra. They were a strong version of saṅkhāra, i.e., abhisaṅkhāra. Thus, they arose via "avijjā paccayā abhisaṅkhāra" in Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda.
- That immediately led to the second effect of "deciding to come back to the restaurant in the future to have the same meal." That expectation is a kamma viññāṇa. That kamma viññāṇa or the "expectation" was the result of abhisaṅkhāra, i.e., "(abhi)saṅkhāra paccayā viññāṇa."

9. Those abhisaṅkhāra and kamma viññāṇa arose in powerful javana citta that ran through X's mind while he was enjoying the meal. His mindset (temporary bhavaṇga) also changed to a "happy state."

- So, here is the time sequence: (i) experience of a delicious taste (vipāka viññāṇa), (ii) arising of "happy but greedy thoughts" or vaci abhisaṅkhāra in javana citta, (iii) arising of a future expectation of having the same meal (creation of a kamma viññāṇa), and (iv) registration of that experience as a "temporary bhavaṇga" state.
- Note: Javana cittā are a special type of citta that makes a kamma viññāṇa more than just "consciousness." A kamma viññāṇa has an expectation/desire.  Abhisaṅkhāra (with strong feelings) arise in javana citta and make javana citta become kamma viññāṇa
- As we know, vipāka viññāṇa are of six types: cakkhu, sota, ghāna, jivhā, kāya, and mano viññāṇa.
- On the other hand, kamma viññāṇa are ALWAYS mano viññāṇa. We create kamma viññāṇa with javana citta. Such kamma viññāṇa arises via "(abhi)saṅkhāra paccayā viññāṇa" in any type of Paṭicca Samuppāda.

No Change in Mindset (and No Javana Citta) in an Arahant

10. Now, let us see what would happen to an Arahant if he had the same meal.

- The Arahant would have tasted the meal to be delicious too. Thus, the vipāka viññāṇa (jivhā viññāṇa) was the same.
- But since an Arahant would not generate any lobha, dosa, moha thoughts, vaci abhisaṅkhāra that arose in X will not occur in the Arahant. Thus, such powerful javana citta would not have arisen in the Arahant.
- Thus, the Arahant will not generate any future expectation to taste it again, i.e., no kamma viññāṇa
- Furthermore, the Arahant would not generate a "happy mindset" "temporary bhavaṇga" state. An Arahant will always have a neutral mindset.

11. Thus, abhisaṅkhāra in javana citta, establishing a new expectation (kamma viññāṇa), and change in the bhavaṇga (mindset) will occur ONLY IF one attaches to a strong ārammaṇa.

- Those are the drastic differences between X and an Arahant due to eating the same meal.
- In the next post, we will discuss why such javana citta with lobha, dosa, moha would not arise in an Arahant.
- It is critical to realize that an Arahant does not need to control the arising of such defiled thoughts. It happens automatically. The root causes for arising of such thoughts had been removed from the mind of an Arahant.
Lal
Posts: 949
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2016 11:39 am

Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by Lal »

Khandhā in Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda

We never experience a single unit of cognition, but only the cumulative effect of millions/billions of such units. That is why instead of rupa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, viññāṇa some suttas refer to "heaps of them" called khandhas, i.e., rupakkhandha, vedanākkhandha, saññākkhandha, saṅkhārakkhandha, and viññāṇakkhandha.

Five Aggregates in Different Contexts

1. As we know the five aggregates (pañcakkhandhā) are rupakkhandha, vedanākkhandha, saññākkhandha, saṅkhārakkhandha, and viññāṇakkhandha. As is the case with many Pali words, we need to understand the meaning of a "khandha" or a "collection/aggregate" in the context of where it is used.

- As we discussed, Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda explains how our actions at the PRESENT moment can impact our future.
- The Buddha described our "mental aspects" with four entities: vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, and viññāṇa. Those mental entities arise when internal rupā make contact with external rupā. Thus, rupa is the fifth category in the five aggregates of rupa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, and viññāṇa.
- But why do we talk about the "aggregates" (or "khanda") of those entities?
- The reason is that we NEVER experience a single such entity even at a given moment. Thus, we only EXPERIENCE the effect of numerous such entities (khanda) even in Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda

We Experience Not a Citta but Viññāṇakkhandha

2. There is no English word for "citta." A "thought" may have billions of cittā. Furthermore, each citta evolves into viññāṇa and we experience the effect of billions of them called viññāṇakkhandha. Let us discuss that in detail.

- We NEVER experience a "pure citta." Instead, we only experience the cumulative effect of billions of viññāṇa that arise within a fraction of a second. That is why many suttas refer to "collections of viññāṇa" or "viññāṇakkhandha."
- The same is true for vedanā, saññā, and saṅkhāra. We never experience single units of them, but only "aggregates" of them, i.e., vedanākkhandha, saññākkhandha, and saṅkhārakkhandha.
- Even though a sensory event may be initiated by a rasa rupa (taste) we may be smelling it at the same time (gandha rupa). The appearance of food (vanna rupa) will affect our thinking too. Furthermore, the next bite may taste a bit different, even though it is also a rasa rupa. Thus, we always experience multiple rupa (rupakkhandha) within a short time.
- It is critical to understand the concepts in this post. It will become invaluable when we start discussing the concepts of "sakkāya diṭṭhi" and "anatta."

3. When a new sensory input (ārammaṇa) makes contact (phassa) with the mind, that triggers a series of citta or a "citta vithi." Billions of such citta vithi can run through the mind in a split second! Note that citta pronounced "chiththa"; see Ref. 1 below on "writing in Tipiṭaka English" and pronunciation.

- Citta, viññāṇa, and viññāṇakkhandha are DIFFERENT STAGES of the same entity. It may be hard to believe but it is true.
- As we have discussed it is NOT correct to translate viññāṇa as "consciousness" in general. As we saw, viññāṇa are mainly of two types (vipāka viññāṇa and kamma viññāṇa) OR six types (cakkhu, sota, ghāna, jivhā, kāya, and mano viññāṇa.)
- All six types in the second category fall in the vipāka viññāṇa category. Kamma viññāṇa are ALWAYS mano viññāṇa. Thus, mano viññāṇa can be either vipāka viññāṇa or kamma viññāṇa. Explanation of what happens in a citta vithi will help clarify that.
- However, clarification of how a citta evolves is the first step.  That will take the mystery out of these related words. So let us do that first.

A Citta Evolves into Viññāṇa and Viññāṇakkhandha Within Fraction of a Second!

4. A citta is the elementary unit of cognition in Buddha Dhamma. There are THREE critical things to remember about citta:
     (i) A single citta NEVER arises by itself. It arises in a series of citta or citta vithi.
     (ii) A citta arises and perishes in an unimaginable small time. The Buddha said there can be billions of citta vithi arising within the "blink of an eye." See Ref. 2.
     (iii) During that unimaginably small time interval, a javana citta evolves through nine stages of evolution (Ref. 3): citta, manō, mānasan, hadayaṃ, pandaran,  manō manāyatanam, mana indriyam (or manindriyam), viññāna, viññānakkhandha. While you may not be familiar with many of those intermediate stages, you have probably come across those highlighted in blue.

- By the time the viññānakkhandha is reached, the mind has incorporated ALL relevant information for that ārammaṇa from past experiences as well as one's expectations for the future. We never perceive ANY of the intermediate states, but only the viññānakkhandha stage. That is why most suttas only refer to viññānakkhandha.
- Only a Buddha can "see" such fast processes. We are aware only of the CUMULATIVE EFFECT of billions of citta vithi that go through within a second, i.e., we are aware ONLY of viññānakkhandha

Influence of Bhavaṇga (Mental State) Preceding an Ārammaṇa on a Citta Vithi

5. In the previous post, we discussed how our mindset can change (to a temporary bhavaṇga state) due to an ārammaṇa. See, "Change of Mindset Due to an Ārammaṇa."

- That "change in the mindset" happens with a special type of citta called javana citta; see #9 of that post.
- Then that citta vithi will alter the mindset (bhavaṇga) and that new mindset (new bhavaṇga) will affect the next citta vithi
- Thus, one may end up with a drastically different mindset within a fraction of a second. That is why we can even see an angry person getting angrier very quickly. Once this process is understood, we will get a good idea of how to control anger. The same is true for kāma rāga too.
- It may appear that I keep jumping from one subject to another. But all these pieces are very much inter-related. It may take a few more posts to "see the whole picture." 

A Citta Arises with Seven Cetasika (Mental Factors) and Add More As It Evolves

6. A citta ALWAYS arises with a number of cetasika (mental factors) that define the "quality" of the citta. In the first citta stage, there are only 7 cetasika that arise with the citta: phassa, vedanā,saññā, cetanā, manasikāra, ekaggatā, and jivitindriya. It is a "pure citta" or a "pabhassara citta." See Ref. 4.

- As the citta evolves through the next stages, the mind KEEPS ADDING more cetasika and the citta becomes increasingly contaminated. By the viññāna stage, it is fully contaminated; see Ref. 3. That "contamination" happens within an unbelievably small time. We CANNOT consciously control that. It happens according to our gati (character/habits).
- That contamination takes place via incorporating more cetasika (greed, anger, etc) and those "added cetasika" are collectively called "saṅkhāra." For example, apuñña abhisaṅkhāra involves cetasika like lobha and dosa, while puñña abhisaṅkhāra adds cetasika like alobha and adosa.
- Now, let us see what is meant by viññānakkhandha in different contexts.

We Experience the Cumulative Effect of Numerous Units of Viññāṇa

7. As we saw in #4 above, millions of citta (or citta vithi) can arise within a fraction of a second! A citta vithi starts with a vipāka viññāṇa and ends up with kamma viññāṇa (in javana citta).

- Furthermore, the mind can analyze different ārammaṇa coming through any of the six senses within a fraction of a second. Thus, during a fraction of a second, the mind experiences a "heap/collection" of different types of vipāka viññāṇa (cakkhu viññāṇa through mano viññāṇa.) It will also experience kamma viññāṇa (mano viññāṇa) in javana citta that arise in citta vithi.
- A "khandha" ("කන්ද" in Sinhala) means "a collection/aggregate" or a "heap."
- Thus, we ALWAYS experience viññāṇakkhandha or a "heap" of many types of viññāṇa. We never experience a single cakkhu viññāṇa or a mano viññāṇa, for example.
- The same is true for other aggregates of rupakkhandha, vedanākkhandha, saññākkhandha, and saṅkhārakkhandha.

Other Khandhas - Vedanakkhandha, Sannakkhandha, Sankharakkhandha

8. Now we can see that ALL FOUR mental aggregates (vedanākkhandha, saññākkhandha, saṅkhārakkhandha, and viññāṇakkhandha) arise when an ārammaṇa comes to the mind. As we saw in #2 above, any ārammaṇa will also initiate contacts with multiple rupa and we experience the cumulative effect of rupakkhandha.

- In #6 above, we saw that vedanā, saññā, and cetana arise with the first stage of a citta. As the citta evolves through those 9 stages to become a viññāṇakkhandha, vedanā and saññā also evolve to become vedanākkhandha and saññākkhandha! 
- For example, when we watch a movie, we will recognize many types of sights and sounds, i.e., different saññā (due to different types of rupa), within short times; we may also experience different types of vedanā.
- Thus, it is important to realize that we NEVER experience a citta but are aware of one type of viññāna.
- An ārammaṇa brings in a vipāka viññāṇa and based on that we either initiate a new kamma viññāṇa or strengthen an existing kamma viññāṇa.

9. Also note that mano saṅkhāra are defined as "vedanā and saññā," and thus, mano saṅkhāra are also part of even a pure citta.

- As a citta evolves into viññāṇa, it incorporates other types of cetasika.  That gives rise to vaci and kāya saṅkhāra. Thus, different types of vaci and kāya saṅkhāra are incorporated by the time a citta evolves into the viññāṇa stage. (Don't worry if you don't understand that part yet.)
- We can clearly see the unbelievable rapidity (and complexity) of the evolution of a citta to viññānakkhandha and, at the same time, also giving rise to vedanākkhandha, saññākkhandha, and saṅkhārakkhandha.

Summary

10. We discussed the formation/arising of the five aggregates (pañcakkhandhā) in Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda, i.e., within a relatively short time.

- At a given moment, we only experience things that took place over a fraction of a second. That is a LONG TIME in terms of the lifetime of a citta!
- Thus, we experience only the cumulative effect of billions of citta. By that time all those cittas would have evolved into different types of viññāṇa, and thus we experience an aggregate/collection of viññāṇa or viññānakkhandha.
- Not only that, but we also experience the cumulative effect of a variety of rupa, vedanā, saññā, and saṅkhāra (as rupakkhandha, vedanākkhandha, saññākkhandha, and saṅkhārakkhandha.)
- As the citta evolves the cetana cetasika incorporates one's gati (character/habits) RELEVANT TO that specific ārammaṇa. Thus, the evolution of the five aggregates will depend on the person. That happens automatically, without us even being aware of it. We will discuss that in the next post.

11. The above analysis may appear complex at first, but it will immensely help in clarifying many "knotty issues" that I see discussed over many years at discussion forums. It is a good idea to periodically review the posts in the current section starting with "Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda – Bhava and Jāti Within a Lifetime" on  Mar 14, 2022:viewtopic.php?p=669925#p669925
- It could be a good idea to print the posts in this new series and keep them for reference while reading upcoming posts. If there are questions/comments, please use the questions/comments thread.

References

1. It is highly beneficial to learn how to pronounce Pāli words. When the European scholars started writing the Pāli Tipiṭaka with the English alphabet, they came up with a unique system that I call the “Tipiṭaka English” Convention. It has helped keep the ‘word length” short.

- For example, even though written as “gati,” its pronunciation is “gathi.” Similarly, “icca” is for “ichcha.” If written as pronounced, “dhammacakkappavattana” would be “dhammachakkappavaththana.”
- See “Tipiṭaka English” Convention Adopted by Early European Scholars – Part 1” and “Tipiṭaka English” Convention Adopted by Early European Scholars – Part 2” for details.viewtopic.php?p=544574#p544574
- A pronunciation guide at “Pāli Glossary – (A-K)” and “Pāli Glossary – (L-Z). “https://puredhamma.net/tables-and-summa ... ssary-a-k/
- Don’t be discouraged. Start getting used to the method of learning the meanings/pronunciations gradually. Learn the common keywords first.

2. Buddha said it is hard to find any phenomena in this world that change faster than the mind: “Aṅguttara Nikāya (1.48)“:https://suttacentral.net/an1.41-50/en/s ... ript=latin

The short sutta says: Nāhaṃ, bhikkhave, aññaṃ ekadhammampi samanupassāmi yaṃ evaṃ lahuparivattaṃ yathayidaṃ cittaṃ. Yāvañcidaṃ, bhikkhave, upamāpi na sukarā yāva lahuparivattaṃ cittan”ti.”

Translated: “I consider, bhikkhus, that there is no phenomenon that comes and goes so quickly as citta. It is not easy to find an analogy (a simile) to show how quickly citta changes.”

3. "Citta, Manō, Viññāna – Nine Stages of a Thought."https://puredhamma.net/living-dhamma/dh ... a-thought/

4. A "pure citta" or a "pabhassara citta" recognizes an ārammaṇa as sight, sound, etc. but does not recognize it. See "Pabhassara Citta, Radiant Mind, and Bhavaṅga." (https://puredhamma.net/abhidhamma/pabha ... -bhavanga/) One is only aware that one is living. That is the experience of an Arahant in "Arahant-phala Samapatti."
Lal
Posts: 949
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2016 11:39 am

Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by Lal »

Seeing Is a Series of "Snapshots"

Even though we perceive seeing to be continuous, it results from a series of discrete sensory events or "snapshots." That is the real meaning of the verse, "diṭṭhe diṭṭhamattaṁ bhavissati." The other sensory experiences work the same way.

Mind and Cittā

1. A mind is not active all the time. For example, when in deep sleep we are not even aware that we are alive. The mind becomes active when an ārammaṇa comes in via one of the six sense faculties. An ārammaṇa triggers cittā (plural of citta) to arise -- and the mind to become active. That is why some consider the mind synonymous with cittā, but that is not correct.

- It takes numerous citta vithi for us to be aware of that ārammaṇa AND identify what that ārammaṇa is. For example, when we hear a glass falling and breaking, it only takes a split second for the mind to register that sound and for us to become aware of it. But numerous citta vithi run during that split second.
- A citta can take only one ārammaṇa at a time. In fact, all cittā in a citta vithi take the same ārammaṇa. We CANNOT see and hear at the same time. When a new ārammaṇa comes in, a new citta vithi focused on that starts. But since the mind is so fast, it appears to us that we are seeing and hearing at the same time.
- Thus the mind can take in many ārammaṇa within a second BECAUSE it is so fast! That means the mind can jump from one ārammaṇa to another and back in a split second.

2. Buddha said it is hard to find any phenomena in this world that change faster than the mind: "Aṅguttara Nikāya (1.48) ":https://suttacentral.net/an1.41-50/en/s ... ript=latin

- The short sutta says: “Nāhaṃ, bhikkhave, aññaṃ ekadhammampi samanupassāmi yaṃ evaṃ lahuparivattaṃ yathayidaṃ cittaṃ. Yāvañcidaṃ, bhikkhave, upamāpi na sukarā yāva lahuparivattaṃ cittan”ti.”
Translated: "I consider, bhikkhus, that there is no phenomenon that comes and goes so quickly as citta. It is not easy to find an analogy (a simile) to show how quickly citta changes."
- Also see the previous post, "Khandhā in Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda."

Arammanā Come in via the Six Sense Faculties

3. To "experience an ārammaṇa," the mind (more precisely, the seat of the mind or hadaya vatthu) must make contact with an external rupa. The phassa cetasika in a citta makes that "contact."

- There are five types of external rupa above the suddhāṭṭhaka stage (vaṇṇa, sadda, gandha, rasa, and phoṭṭhabba rupa.) When one such rupa contacts the corresponding pasāda rupa (cakkhu, sota, ghāna, jivhā, or kāya pasāda), that leads to contact (phassa) with the hadaya vatthu simultaneously.
- Then there are rupā below the suddhāṭṭhaka level (i.e., dhammā), which directly make contact (phassa) with hadaya vatthu.
- Those six types of ārammaṇa lead to cakkhu, sota, ghāna, jivhā, kāya, and mano viññāṇaThey are all vipāka viññāṇa.

We Can Experience Many Ārammaṇa in a Short Time

4. Our experiences are the cumulative effect of billions of "momentary experiences" coming to the mind via cittā (more precisely citta vithi) arising each second. It will be much easier to proceed once one understands that.

- In the previous two posts, we discussed that the mind is "at rest" in a bhavaṅga state when not focused on an ārammaṇa, i.e., when not exposed to sensory input. That is the case when we are sleeping. Even while we are awake, the mind could be in a bhavaṅga state if there is no active ārammaṇa. That happens, for example, when we feel drowsy.
- Furthermore, since the flow of citta vithi is so fast, the mind could be in a bhavaṅga state between citta vithi for a short time.
- When a robust sensory input comes in, the mind comes off that bhavaṅga state and starts focusing on that ārammaṇa with citta vithi. However, the mind can switch back and forth among several ārammaṇa within a short time. Let us take an example to illustrate that.

5. Suppose you are having a meal with a friend. Let us see how many ārammaṇa run through your mind within a few minutes.

- Your friend is talking, and you are listening. That is an ārammaṇa coming through sotadvāra or the ears. You see the meal in front of you, and that ārammaṇa comes through cakkhudvāra (eyes). You take a bite and taste the food (jivhādvāra or tongue). You also see your friend (another cakkhudvāra ārammaṇa). If someone drops a glass at a nearby table, you will hear it breaking (sotadvāra.)
- As you can see, the mind can switch very fast among all such ārammaṇa coming in rapidly!

The Amazing Mind

6. It is even more impressive that the mind can recognize ALL those ārammaṇa without the slightest pause. That may sound trivial at first but think about it carefully.

- Suppose your friend (X) is talking about a mutual friend, Y. As X talks, you can relate to everything about Y. The mind can recall your past experiences with Y and relate to your friend's account.
- While that is happening, you can see and identify all types of foods on your plate. You are chewing food and experiencing its taste.
You are looking at the friend, too, and can relate to his words and hand motions.
- When you hear the glass breaking at a nearby table, you know what happened without even seeing someone dropping the glass.
- How does the mind do ALL THAT in a split second? It is a real problem for scientists who believe that the mind IS the brain, as we discuss below.

Even Processing a Single Ārammaṇa Is a Complex Process

7. It gets even more complex. Even recognizing a single ārammaṇa involves many things taking place rapidly.

- Let us think about recognizing the food on the plate. When the waiter brought in the food, you looked at the plate and immediately identified the food; let's say that it is a pizza.
- You may say that is trivial. But suppose your friend came from a remote village in a distant country and had never seen or tasted a pizza. He would not know what it was.
- You knew that it was a pizza because you had seen and tasted pizza many times. But how did the mind recall such past experiences and recognize the pizza in such a short time? Not only that, but you know how it will taste before you take a bite.

The "Binding Problem" in Neuroscience

8. Think about all the sensory experiences mind was able to process within a couple of minutes in #5 and #6.

- Modern science is grappling with the issue involving just one such sensory experience right now. Neuroscientists are trying to figure out how the brain identifies a given object, say, a car coming towards you on the road. When you see a vehicle, you recognize its color, shape, and rough distance from you to the vehicle. If you are crossing the road, you may run to avoid the car hitting you if you think it is coming too fast.
- Neuroscientists are trying to figure out how the brain gets all that done in a split second. That is the "binding problem" in neuroscience. It is a sub-category in the general problem of mind tackling several sensory inputs (like in #5 and #6 above), blending all that into a smooth sensory experience. See the Wikipedia article, "Multisensory integration."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multisensory_integration
- They will never figure that out. It is the hadaya vatthu (seat of the mind in Buddha Dhamma) that recalls past events VERY FAST. However, the brain DOES play a crucial role in processing incoming sensory data. Then it passes that information to hadaya vatthu. I have discussed that in a bit technical post: "Brain – Interface between Mind and Body." I will post that here as well.

Relation to  Perception of "I" or 'Me"

9. This fantastic ability of the mind (more correctly hadaya vatthu) to process and identify multiple sensory inputs in a split second leads to the perception of a "person" experiencing all those sensory inputs.

- But the Buddha explained that all sensory experiences result from an EXTREMELY FAST automatic progression of discrete events that runs through a mind; see below.

Seeing Is a Series of "Snapshots"

10. To get the basic idea, let us focus on a series of events involving just vision.

- A video camera captures many static pictures (snapshots) of a scene when making a movie. Then those snapshots are projected to a screen at a specific rate. If the playback speed is too slow, we can see individual pictures, but above a particular "projection rate," it looks like actual motion. Here is a video that illustrates this well:



- A movie projector projects static pictures to the screen at a rate of about 30 frames a second, and we see the movie as a continuous progression of events.
- More details in "Vision Is a Series of "Snapshots" – Movie Analogy." I will post this in a couple of days.

11. In the same way, our minds do not experience the continuous motion of objects. The mind receives only discrete snapshots of the object (at certain time intervals) from the brain. Therefore, in reality, we see only a "movie" put together by the mind based on a number of "snapshots" per second.  That is why the Buddha called viññaṇa a magician.

- That is what the Buddha explained to Bāhiya in the "Bāhiya Sutta (Ud 1.10)" (https://suttacentral.net/ud1.10/en/suja ... ript=latin) with the verse, "diṭṭhe diṭṭhamattaṁ bhavissati, sute sutamattaṁ bhavissati,.." 
- That verse is incorrectly translated as: "In the seen will be merely the seen; in the heard will be merely the heard.."
- However, it explains exactly what we discussed above. Seeing is just like taking a series of snapshots. What we PERCEIVE as a person walking is really a series of such snapshots "made into a movie" by the mind. The same holds for hearing, tasting, etc.
- We will discuss that in detail in upcoming posts. Understanding that will help get rid of sakkāya diṭṭhi.

Summary

12. First thing is to understand that it is WRONG to translate citta as either a "thought" or "mind." A "thought-moment" may be better. A mind appears fast because numerous cittā run through the mind very fast.

- A citta is the smallest unit of cognition. There could be billions of cittā arising in a mind in a second. Only a Buddha can "see" or "experience" a citta! We only experience the cumulative effect of millions of cittā that run through the mind in a split second.
- As we have discussed, a citta evolves to the viññāṇa stage. We experience the effect of "bundles" or "aggregates" of such viññāṇa. That is the reason for using "viññānakkhandha" instead of viññāṇa in many instances in Buddha Dhamma.

13. The "movie analogy" in #9 above explains the basic idea of how the mind sees the external world "seemingly without any gaps" even though only a series of 'snapshots" come into the mind.

- The following post will discuss how the mind tackles several DIFFERENT sensory inputs (sights, sound, taste, etc.) that we discussed in #5 and #6 above.
- Before that, I will post a couple of the previous writeups mentioned above in a few days. That will keep all relevant material together.
Lal
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Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2016 11:39 am

Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by Lal »

It is important to understand that the mind can capture only one sensory input at a time. This helps one understand that there is no "person" involved in Paṭicca Samuppāda in an ULTIMATE SENSE. I wrote the following post some time back and it describes the concept discussed in the previous post a bit differently.

Vision Is a Series of “Snapshots” – Movie Analogy

Vision – How Do We See an Object?

1. Vision or “seeing” appears to us as continuous. We see people moving around, vehicles moving, animals running around, etc. However, in reality, “seeing” happens due to a series of “snapshots” that our physical eyes take. Please bear with me as I set the stage with the following Pāli terms. It is unnecessary to know these Pāli terms in detail, but try to get the basic idea.

- A key idea behind Buddha Dhamma is that we experience only one citta (incorrectly translated as a thought) at a time and that citta focuses on ONE ārammana. In other words, while the mind is registering a visual event, it cannot hear, smell, taste, or feel a touch. The keyword ārammana was introduced in the post, “Vipāka Vēdanā and “Samphassa jā Vēdanā” in a Sensory Event.”viewtopic.php?p=528858#p528858
- “Seeing” does not happen continuously since the mind can process only one cakkhudvāra citta vithi (with 17 cittā) at a time. The mind processes that cakkhudvāra citta vithi with three more manōdvāra citta vithi. At the end of those citta vithi, the mind has captured a ‘snapshot” of the object and recognized it. Those four citta vithi define one “snapshot” of a moving object.
- Our “seeing of a moving external object” involves many “snapshots” within seconds. Our perception of a moving object results from many such “snapshots.” We do not see the individual “snapshots.”

Movie Analogy – Series of Snapshots

2. We can simplify and understand the above process using an analogy. What I stated above is — in principle — what happens when we watch a movie.

- A video camera captures many static pictures (snapshots) of a scene to make a movie. Then those snapshots are projected to a screen at a specific rate. If the playback speed is too slow, we can see individual pictures, but above a certain “projection rate,” it looks like natural motion. Here is a video that illustrates this well:



- A movie projector projects static pictures to the screen at a rate of about 30 frames a second, and we see the movie as a continuous progression of events. If the projection rate is low, we can see it frame by frame or as individual “snapshots.” When projected at 30 frames a second, we do not perceive those static pictures. Then we perceive a continuous progression without any gaps.
More details in the post, “Citta and Cetasika – How Viññāṇa (Consciousness) Arises.”https://puredhamma.net/abhidhamma/citta ... ss-arises/
- That is why the Buddha said that the mind (or viññāṇa) is a magician. We perceive a streamlined world, even though the reality is that our sensory faculties detect only a series of “snapshots,” It is the mind that conceals the reality and gives us a perception of a continuous progression of events.
- It is critical to understand this point. It helps get rid of sakkāya diṭṭhi; see “Chachakka Sutta – Six Types of Vipāka Viññāna.”

Mind and the Brain – Two Different Entities

3. In an early post on this series, I pointed out that cakkhāyatana is cakkhu pasāda rūpa, not the physical eyes. See #12 of “Buddhist Worldview – Introduction.”

- That cakkhu pasāda rūpa (or simply cakkhu) is part of the gandhabba, our “mental body.” The gandhabba has the seat of the mind (hadaya vatthu) surrounded by the five pasāda rūpa corresponding to vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.
- When our physical eyes capture an image of an external object, that image goes to the visual cortex in the brain. The signal is processed there and then transmitted to the cakkhu pasāda rūpa, making contact with the hadaya vatthu. That contact (phassa) leads to the arising of cakkhu viññāna at the hadaya vatthu. More details in “Brain – Interface between Mind and Body.” I will post this here soon.
- By the way, that is the step, “cakkhuñca paṭicca rūpe ca uppajjāti cakkhuviññāṇaṃ” discussed in #7 in the post, “Contact Between Āyatana Leads to Vipāka Viññāna.”viewtopic.php?p=526452#p526452

4. Therefore, the brain works like a computer. It converts the image from the eyes to a form “processable” by hadaya vatthu (seat of the mind.) Therefore, vision involves a somewhat complex process.

- Similar processes take place for the other four sensory events. For example, when the physical ears capture a sound, that signal goes to the auditory cortex in the brain for processing. That signal then goes to the sōta pasāda rūpa, which makes contact with hadaya vatthu to transfer. That gives rise to sōta viññāna via, “sōtañca paṭicca sadde ca uppajjāti sotaviññāṇaṃ.”

Reviewing the Whole Series Could Be Helpful

5. It may need some effort to understand this sequence of events. But it is necessary to comprehend the overall process before we get to the next post.

- It is good to print all the posts in the “Worldview of the Buddha” subsection and go over them carefully. viewtopic.php?p=525809#p525809
- It is not necessary to understand the DETAILS of #6 and #7 below. But it is good to get the general ideas involved. I am providing this information to illustrate the following. New findings in science are not only compatible with Buddha Dhamma but also help explain critical concepts in Buddha Dhamma.

The Brain Processes Visual Signals at About 30 Frames per Second

6. A recent study has reported that the minimum time to recognize a static picture is about 13 milliseconds (Ref. 1). That means we should be able to see such snapshots projected at 77 frames per second at the highest rate. However, that is probably “pushing it” and not comfortable for the brain to handle. That is why movies use a projection rate of about 30 frames per second, as mentioned in #2 above.

- Interestingly, the time for neural information to reach the brain takes about 15 to 30 milliseconds (References 49, 50 in Ref. 2). Therefore, a projection rate of 30 to 50 frames is compatible with that measurement too.
- A millisecond is a thousandth of a second.

Same Analysis Holds For Other Four Physical Senses

7. A similar set of rules are valid for hearing as well. Another recent study (Ref. 2) found that sounds could be recognized at rates up to 30 sounds per second. That corresponds to a “sound packet” of a duration of about 33 milliseconds that can be detected and recognized.

- However, people speak at a much slower rate of 150 words per minute. That is about two words per second, much less than 30 possible words per second that would be possible according to the above study. So, there is no problem with hearing what other people speak, even if someone talks faster than the average rate.
- Currently, no studies are available from science for the other three sensory events (taste, smell, and body touches). But the same process holds for those as well.

Aside – Cognition (Saññā) Requires More Than Detection

The following points (#8, #9) are “asides”. It is not necessary information but could help those familiar with Abhidhamma.

8. We must remember that “experiencing a sensory input” is much more complex than just receiving that sensory input. For example, the mind needs to see an object or hear a sound, recognize what it is, and generate a vēdanā.

- For example, upon hearing the sound “apple,” the mind needs to know what an “apple” is. Someone who does not speak English would not know what is meant by the word “apple.” But those who speak English AND have had an experience eating apples would have MEMORIES of those. - Therefore, the mind needs to compare the received sensory with memories to recognize it!
- The mind does that very fast with the help of the manasikāra cētasika. As you may know, manasikāra is one of the seven universal cētasika that arises with each citta. Thus, the mind can recognize a sensory input instantaneously as soon as it receives a “data packet.”
- More details in, “Citta and Cetasika – How Viññāṇa (Consciousness) Arises.”

Aside – Process In Abhidhamma Language

9. Actual “seeing” or vision takes place at hadaya vatthu. Same for the other four types of sensory events. For example, consider a “packet of data” sent from the physical eye to the brain. The brain processes that information and transmits it to the cakkhu pasāda. As you may remember, the five pasāda rupā (cakkhu, sōta, ghāna, jivhā, kāya) surround the hadaya vatthu. Now the cakkhu pasāda makes contact with the hadaya vatthu by hitting it. That causes the hadaya vatthu to vibrate 17 times, like a gong struck by an iron rod vibrating for a certain fixed number of times.

- The 17 vibrations of the hadaya vatthu correspond to the 17 cittā in a citta vithi. Such a citta vithi is a pañcadvāra citta vithi because one of the five physical senses or pancadvāra (“pañca” or five + “dvāra” or “door”) initiates it.
- Imagine a blade clamped at one edge and hit on the un-clamped side. The blade will vibrate. It vibrates for a certain FIXED number of times. For a given material, that is a fixed number.
- The same thing happens when a pasāda rūpa makes contact with the hadaya vatthu. It vibrates 17 times, with each vibration leading to the arising of a citta. That is the origin of a citta vithi with 17 cittā. Those 17 vibrations are a form of energy called a hadaya rūpa.

10. The misconception that any rūpa has a lifetime of 17 thought moments arose because of not understanding the difference between a rūpa (the image of an external object) and a hadaya rūpa (which is just the 17 vibrations of the hadaya vatthu).

- In other words, this information packet is received and processed by the hadaya vatthu within those 17 cittā. The information is complete by the fourth citta (fourth vibration of the hadaya vatthu), and then the rest of the citta in that citta vithi deal with this information. Three more citta vithi run by the hadaya vatthu itself completes the process. The additional citta vithi, initiated by the mind, are manōdvāra citta vithi. Here, manōdvāra means the “mind-door.”
- Details of #9 and #10 at “Does any Object (Rupa) Last only 17 Thought Moments?.”https://puredhamma.net/paticca-samuppad ... t-moments/

The mind is Fast, and the Brain is Slow

11. Thus, we can see a vast difference in time between the two processes involved. The physical body acquiring data takes time of the order of 10 milliseconds. The mind processes that information within a billionth of a second (using one pañcadvāra citta vithi and three manōdvāra citta vithi.)

- Even if the five senses keep sending data continuously, the mind is “just sitting there” most of the time. Let us examine this in more detail: - Suppose the brain keeps sending data from the eye non-stop. Since each “packet” takes, say, ten milliseconds, then in a second, there will be 100 “data packets” of vision coming in. If the brain is going at full speed, it can send at most 500 (=100×5) “data packets” from all five physical senses in a second. Then the mind will be spending less than a millionth of a second in processing all that data. During a movie that lasts two hours, the mind will be active, probably less than a second.

12. During those “gaps,” the hadaya vatthu also interacts (both ways) with the mana indriya in the brain. In particular, it gives instructions to the brain (via mana indriya)on how to control the physical body in response to sensory inputs.

- Thus, for the most part, the mind (or, more precisely, the hadaya vatthu) is sitting there idly. That “idle state” of the mind is the “bhavānga” state.
- A key point here is that the mind spends only a VERY SHORT TIME experiencing the SENSORY INPUTS. There is no “self” watching a movie. The mind gives the illusion that a “self” is watching the movie. Details are in the next post, “Chachakka Sutta – No “Self” in Initial Sensory Experience.”
- The above is a very brief discussion. Of course, there are more details, but one can hopefully get the basic idea. Please ask questions if something is not clear. It is critical to understand this post.

Summary

13. The critical point embedded in the Chachakka Sutta (MN 148) (https://suttacentral.net/mn148/en/sujat ... ript=latin) is that there is no “self” experiencing the external world. It is just a series of events and the mind MAKES IT APPEAR that a "person" is watching a movie. We discussed the initial steps in sensory events addressed by that sutta.

- The key message in the sutta is that the mind DOES NOT experience the external world CONTINUOUSLY. Instead, the mind is active only for very brief periods when receiving inputs from the five pasāda rūpa. As mentioned above, the brain is “on” much longer than the mind. Once the brain processes information packets, the mind absorbs that information within a “blink of an eye.”
- On the other hand, the brain has a heavy workload while watching a movie. It has to process audio and video inputs at a rapid rate for the movie’s duration. One could get a headache if one watches two movies at a stretch. But even during that time, the mind is mainly in the bhavānga state. There is no “self” watching the movie. It is just a series of events taking place. The mind is “putting all those “events” together and giving the appearance of a continuous progression of events. Thus one has the perception that “I am watching a movie.”
- Details are in the next post, “Chachakka Sutta – No “Self” in Initial Sensory Experience.”viewtopic.php?p=530971#p530971
- Later on, we will discuss why it is also incorrect to say that there is “no-self.” As long as Paṭicca Samuppāda is not understood, there is a "self" or a "person" going through the rebirth process and experiencing much suffering!

REFERENCES

M. C. Potter et al., “Detecting Meaning in RSVP at 13 ms per Picture”, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, vol. 13, pp. 90-101 (2014).https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle ... sAllowed=y

V. Isnard et al., “The time course of auditory recognition measured with rapid sequences of short natural sounds,” Scientific Reports, vol. 9, pp. 1-10 (2019).https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... ral_sounds
Lal
Posts: 949
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2016 11:39 am

Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by Lal »

With the background material from previous several posts, now we can start looking at how the Five Aggregates accumulate moment-by-moment. First, we look at the Aggregate of Forms (Rupakkhandha).

Aggregate of Forms - Collection of "Mental Impressions" of Forms

The aggregate of forms (rupakkhandha) is not a collection of forms or rupa. It includes mental impressions of rupa that one has experienced. Here we discuss how that accumulation of "mental impressions of rupa" takes place.

Rupa and Rupakkhandha

1. Rupā (normally translated as "forms") are those in the external world: visuals of people, tress, etc., sounds, tastes, odors, and other objects that we touch. Rupā (plural of rupa) are made of the four great elements: pathavi, āpo, tejo, vāyo.

- On the other hand, rupakkhandha (normally translated as the "aggregate of forms") consists of a person's MENTAL IMPRESSIONS of such rupa. In a day, we see, hear, taste, smell and touch many things and ALL those impressions are added to a person's rupakkhandha each second.
- These days, only a handful of people have understood that. It is very important to understand what rupakkhandha is.
- I have set the background with two previous posts referred to below. You may want to read them as needed.

Rupakkhandha Grows With Each Ārammaṇa

2. The concept of rupakkhandha (form aggregate) is easily explained with an example. It starts with an ārammaṇa coming to the mind via one of the six senses.

- As we discussed in recent posts, the mind can stay on ONLY ONE ārammaṇa at any given time. However, the mind can jump back and forth among all six senses very fast.
- How quickly the mind can jump among different senses is limited ONLY by how fast the brain can process information coming through the five physical senses (eyes, ears, tongue, nose, and body).
- In the posts, "Seeing Is a Series of 'Snapshots'” and "Vision Is a Series of 'Snapshots' – Movie Analogy" we discussed some examples. Let us discuss that further to clarify what happens in terms of a series of "snapshots" the mind receives RANDOMLY from the six senses. The following is the example in #5 of the post "Seeing Is a Series of 'Snapshots'”. We can further simplify by focusing on just three ārammaṇa.

Example of Accumulation of Rupakkhandha

3. Suppose you are having a meal with a friend. Let us see how many citta vithi run through your mind within a few minutes due to different ārammaṇa.

- Your friend is talking, and you are listening. That is an ārammaṇa coming through sotadvāra or the ears. You see him too, and that ārammaṇa comes through cakkhudvāra (eyes). You take a bite and taste the food (jivhādvāra or tongue).
- You can experience all of those without any pause. It FEELS as if you are experiencing all three simultaneously. But that is only an illusion arising from the fact that the mind is THE FASTEST entity in this world. We discussed that in those two posts.
- As you can see, the mind can switch very fast among all discrete data sets from all ārammaṇa coming in rapidly!

It takes Four Citta Vitthi to Process One "Data Set" from One Ārammaṇa

4. As we have discussed, the mind receives ONLY ONE snapshot (let us call it a "data set") at one moment through sotadvāra, cakkhudvāra, or jivhādvāra, in the above example. The brain may process those sensory signals ("data sets") in parallel. But when they come to the mind, the mind processes only one "data set" at a time. But since the mind is unimaginably fast, it appears that the mind processes them simultaneously.

- In our example of #3 above, let us say the mind (more correctly the seat of the mind or hadaya vatthu) processes them in the following sequence: sotadvāra, cakkhudvāra, jivhādvāra. Each one involves a citta vithi (with 17 cittā.)
- We also need to keep in mind that each of them is fully absorbed by the mind with three more manōdvāra citta vithi. I mentioned that in #1 of the post, "Vision Is a Series of “Snapshots” – Movie Analogy."
- Therefore, citta vithi go through the mind in the following order: 1 sotadvāra/3 manōdvāra, 1 cakkhudvāra/3 manōdvāra, 1 jivhādvāra/3 manōdvāra.
- As the brain keeps sending more "data sets," such citta vithi keep flowing through the mind.

Hundreds of "Data Sets" Processed by the Mind in a Second

5. To keep it simple, let us assume that no other ārammaṇa comes to mind for several minutes. Furthermore, let us assume that subsequent citta vithi flow through the mind in the same order. Thus, we have 1 sotadvāra/3 manōdvāra, 1 cakkhudvāra/3 manōdvāra, 1 jivhādvāra/3 manōdvāra, 1 sotadvāra/3 manōdvāra,1 cakkhudvāra/3 manōdvāra, 1 jivhādvāra/3 manōdvāra, ...

- The series in bold is the second series of citta vithi. In the second post mentioned above (see #11), we estimated that the brain can process about 100 data packets on vision per second. Each of those will trigger 1 cakkhudvāra/3 manōdvāra citta vithi
- Therefore, in a second roughly 300 of the following set will go through the mind: 1 sotadvāra/3 manōdvāra,1 cakkhudvāra/3 manōdvāra, 1 jivhādvāra/3 manōdvāra.

Mind Can Sort Out "Data Sets" from Different Senses

6.  In other words, the mind will get a "sound bite" of your friend's words (possibly one word) followed by a "snapshot" of your friend. That is immediately followed by a bit of taste of the food. It is critical to think through exactly what takes place.

- The point is that the mind can handle ONLY ONE sensory input at a time. The brain keeps sending 100 packets of "data" (per second) on each of the three senses involved in our example: sound, taste, and vision. The mind is much faster than the brain and it processes all of them without any problem.
- But the intriguing thing is that the mind DOES NOT receive "data" continuously from one sense. Rather it gets bits of data on sound, vision, and taste. Then that sequence is repeated. Thus here is the sequence of "bits of data" that comes to the mind: sound/vision/taste, sound/vision/taste, sound/vision/taste,...

7. But the mind has the amazing ability to sort out and connect data from each sense faculty separately. 

- Thus, in the above example, the mind will have formed THREE separate chains of data: sound, sound, sound,...
vision, vision, vision,...taste, taste, taste, ...

- In other words, the mind is capable of putting the "bits of data" on sound coming at different times together as one series and thus understanding the meaning of your friend's words. For example, it may hear the friend say "my dad", "came to", "see me", and "yesterday." But they did not come in one after the other. Adjacent sets of words were separated by bits of data on vision and taste. But the mind was able to put it all together as "my dad came to see me yesterday."

8. In the same way, it may get the taste of a bit of meat in one packet, and a bit of cheese in another, with data on vision and sound coming in between. But the mind combines all that to give YOU the taste of the pizza.

- Same for vision. The mind combined many "snapshots" of your friend in several seconds and see him taking and eating. That part of the vision is exactly the same as projecting static pictures in a movie that we discussed in those two previous posts.
- All sensory data for the three senses got added to the rupakkhandha in the above example.

What Is in the Aggregate of Forms (Rupakkhandha)?

9. The five types of aggregates (khandhas) are explained in the "Khandha Sutta (SN 22. 48)." (https://suttacentral.net/sn22.48/en/suj ... ript=latin) There, the rupakkhandha (form aggregate) is, "Yaṁ kiñci, bhikkhave, rūpaṁ atītānāgatapaccuppannaṁ ajjhattaṁ vā bahiddhā vā oḷārikaṁ vā sukhumaṁ vā hīnaṁ vā paṇītaṁ vā yaṁ dūre santike vā, ayaṁ vuccati rūpakkhandho."

Translated: "Any kind of rupa—past, future, or present; internal or external; coarse or fine; inferior or superior; far or near: all of them belong to the aggregate of form or rupakkhandha."

- The key point here has not been explained in current English translations. All rupā that belong to rupakkhandha are the "mental impressions" of external rupā. In other words, they are NOT made of pathavi, āpo, tejo, vāyo, or suddhāṭṭhaka.
- But, of course, those "mental impressions" arose DUE TO external rupa made of pathavi, āpo, tejo, vāyo, or suddhāṭṭhaka.

10. One easy way to see that is to see that the Buddha included all past rupa in rupakkhandha. That means any rupa that one saw, heard, tasted, smelled, touched, or thought about is included. Since our past goes back to infinite time, a VAST MAJORITY of rupa in the rupakkhandha are such past rupa.

- For example, suppose YOU saw a tree yesterday. The "mental impression" of that tree is in YOUR rupakkhandha. You can recall how it looked if you took a good look at it. Even if that tree was cut down just after you looked at it, that mental impression is still there. It is in YOUR rupakkhandha.
- However, since I did not see that tree, MY rupakkhandha does not have an impression of that tree.
- Each person has their own rupakkhandha.

Present (Paccuppanna) Rupa Are Just a Fraction!

11. As we discussed, the present (paccuppanna) moment lasts only a split second. If we say the word "kaya" by the time "ya" sound comes, the "ka" sound has gone to the past.

- Thus each rupa experienced in a fraction of a second immediately goes becomes a "past rupa." The "present moment" is gone in a flash! 
- Future (anāgata) rupa are mental impressions of rupa that one hopes to experience in the future.
- The other types of rupa are sub-categories of the past, present, and future rupa. Internal (ajjhattarūpa are those that are part of oneself: all body parts, including the ones inside the body. External (bahiddharūpa are, of course, anything outside of one’s body. Coarse (olārikarūpa are what we call “solid matter,” and fine/subtle (sukhumarūpa are “energy” (heat, sound, dhammā, etc.)
- As we can see, rupakkhandha grows immensely even in a day. But we attach to only a tiny fraction of it. That fraction is rūpupādānakkhandha (commonly translated as "aggregate of form connected with grasping."

What is in the Rūpupādānakkhandha ("Aggregate of Forms Grasped")?

12. Rūpupādānakkhandha (rupa + upādāna + khandha) is the collection of forms that "one is attached to" or "one has grasped"; The Buddha stated that in the same Khandha Sutta that defined rupakkhandha in #9 above; see Ref. 1.

- As we have seen rūpakkhandha includes ALL rupa that we have ever experienced. That is huge! infinite!
- We don't even remember most of our past rupa. We are attached to only a tiny fraction of rupa in our rupakkhandha. Those are mostly from this life. However, attachment to those has been influenced by rupa experienced in past lives.

13. For example, person X may have "fallen in love" with an attractive person that he saw yesterday. It is possible that out of all persons/things X saw yesterday, only that visual rupa got "added" to his rūpupādānakkhandha.

- X may have heard many sounds yesterday. Out of those, he may NOT have added any "sound rupa" to his rūpupādānakkhandha even though many "sound rupa" would have been added to his rupakkhandha.
- Just think about such examples to clarify the difference between rūpakkhandha and rūpupādānakkhandha.
- Remember that rupa are six types: They include Rupa rupa (or vaṇṇa rupa) that one sees. Similarly, sadda rupa, gandha rupa, rasa rupa, phoṭṭhabba rupa, and dhamma rupa (dhammā) are sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and memories.

Reference

1. In the "Khandha Sutta (SN 22. 48)" (https://suttacentral.net/sn22.48/en/suj ... ript=latin) rūpupādānakkhandha is, "Yaṁ kiñci, bhikkhave, rūpaṁ atītānāgatapaccuppannaṁ …pe… yaṁ dūre santike vā sāsavaṁ upādāniyaṁ, ayaṁ vuccati rūpupādānakkhandho."

Translated: "Any kind of form—past, future, or present; internal or external; coarse or fine; inferior or superior; far or near, which leads to āsava (craving) and upādāna (the mind cannot let go of) is called the rūpupādānakkhandha ("aggregate of form connected with grasping".)
Lal
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Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by Lal »

I need to post a couple of relevant posts, so I thought of posting this a bit early.

Rupakkhandha in Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda

Only a tiny fraction of rupakkhandha plays a direct role in what happens at a given moment, i.e., in Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda.

Summary of Rupakkhandha (Form Aggregate)

1. If you have not read the previous three posts on the form aggregate (rupakkhandha), it is a good idea to read them first at "Paṭicca Samuppāda During a Lifetime," starting with "Khandhā in Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda." It is critically important to understand the basic ideas.

- As discussed in those three posts, the form aggregate is MOSTLY our mental impressions of forms (rupa) that we experienced in the past, including all previous lives.
- Of course, we can recall only a fraction of past rupa that we experienced. However, the cultivation of jhāna allows one to remember even previous lives. The Buddha could recall anything from his past lives as far as he wanted.
- Recent findings confirm that moment-by-moment records of ALL rupā experienced remain intact.  Some people can recall past events in astonishing detail.

Memory Recall - Recent Findings

2. That AMAZING ability first came to light with Jill Price, who contacted a team of scientists in the early 2000s about her ability to recall anything from 1974 onwards. Here is a video of her with Diane Sawyer on an ABC News program in 2008:



- I discussed that video in detail in the post "Where Are Memories "Stored"? – Connection to Pañcakkhandha."
- Discussions with a few more people with that ability are in "Autobiographical Memory – Preserved in Nāma Loka."
- Therefore, it is important to realize that -- in the strict sense -- rupakkhandha includes any rupa that one has ever experienced.
- This fact is a foundation of Buddha Dhamma. It is a fact that RECORDS of ALL past experiences are preserved as "nāmagotta" in viññāṇa dhatu. Thanks to the accounts of Jill Price and others that fact is now undeniable.

Memories (Nāmagotta) Preserved in Viññāṇa Dhātu

3. The "past component of pañcakkhandha" is preserved as "nāmagotta" in the viññāṇa dhātu. Jill Price and a few other people can recall memories in such detail only because those memories (nāmagotta) have been in the viññāṇa dhātu. See "Where Are Memories Stored? – Viññāṇa Dhātu."viewtopic.php?p=667574#p667574

- In the same way, some children can recall memories from their recent past lives. See "Evidence for Rebirth." https://puredhamma.net/dhamma/evidence-for-rebirth/Some yogis can remember many past lives. A Buddha can recall any past life as he wishes. For example, Buddha Gotama described the lives of several previous Buddhas (spanning many billions of years) in detail in several suttas. See, for example, "Mahāpadāna Sutta (DN 14)."https://suttacentral.net/dn14/en/sujato ... ript=latin
- Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to include "all past rupa" in the rupakkhandha in a general sense.
- However, when one is trying to avoid generating "bad saṅkhāra" at the present moment, we DO NOT need to focus on the whole rupakkhandha. We just need to pay attention to the rupa that we are experiencing at that time. Such rupā belong to "a much smaller "collection of rupā" or rupakkhandha." Let us discuss that now.

Rupakkhandha at the Present Moment Is the Most Important

4. Only those rupakkhandha that arise close to the current moment play a direct role in Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda, i.e., play a role in "what happens at the present moment."

- Even though the "past rupakkhandha" going back to the "beginningless rebirth process" makes up the bulk of the rupakkhandha of a person, most of us cannot even recall most of the "past rupakkhandha" from yesterday. 
- That is why the Buddha advised Ven. Ananda to first understand the Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda. We discussed that at the beginning of this series a few posts ago.  See "Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda – Bhava and Jāti Within a Lifetime" that was posted recently.
- But that does not imply that those memory records have no value at all. They do influence our present actions through our saṁsāric habits.

5. The Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda explains the accumulation of kammic energies at the present moment. It is based on rupakkhandha that arises at the present moment. Of course, they arise and go to the past momentarily. So, rupā or rupakkhandha involved in Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda are MOSTLY those that one is experiencing at the present time and moving to the past as soon as they arise.

- That "present time" could vary from minutes to hours depending on how long one's mind is focused on an ārammaṇa.
- Note that rupakkhandha is only one of five aggregates (khandhās) associated with an experience.
- Before we start discussing the other four aggregates, it is a good idea to understand the usage of the term "rupakkhandha" in this context.

Why Do We Call Rupa Experienced at a given Moment “Rupakkhandha”?

6. Even over a short time of a few seconds, a mind DOES NOT capture the full impression of a "rupa" in one instant. Rather, such a sight, sound, etc., are captured with MANY "snapshots." Read #6 through #8 in the recent post, "Aggregate of Forms – Collection of 'Mental Impressions' of Forms." It could a good idea to review that first. These concepts are new to most people.

- That is the basis of Buddha saying there is no "person" seeing, hearing, etc. It is just a series of events that happens via Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda. But we need to discuss that in more detail.
- First, let us review some facts about "rupā." It is unfortunate that sometimes people use "rupā" just for "visual objects." But those are "rupa rupā" or "vaṇṇa rupā." Here, vaṇṇa ("varna" in Sanskrit) means "color."
- We see "vaṇṇa rupa" with eyes, "sadda rupa" with ears, "rasa rupa" with tongue, "gandha rupa" with the nose, and "phoṭṭhabba rupa" with touches. We also recall memories with "dhammā" or "dhamma rupa" with the mind. Of course, it is the mind that experiences the other five rupā that come through the eyes, ears, tongue, nose, and body.
- Those six types of rupā make contact with the mind very rapidly and in "packets." For example, we don't see or hear continuously. Only one sense faculty makes contact with the mind at one moment, and that contact is of short duration, about one-hundredth of a second!

7. We discussed in the last post how the mind is able to sort out those different sensory inputs and make a coherent picture of our world. See "Aggregate of Forms – Collection of 'Mental Impressions' of Forms." Let us discuss one more simple example to illustrate this point. It is critical to get this basic idea.

Suppose you are eating an apple and you are alone. Your mind is totally focused on the apple. Still, many inputs come in providing you with information on touch, taste, sight, smell, and even sounds.

- You are holding the apple and that sensation comes through kāyadvāra or touch. The taste of apple comes through jivhādvāra or tongue, and you hear the chewing sound (sotadvāra or the ears.) Of course, you see the apple too via cakkhudvāra (eyes). You may also smell the apple coming via ghānadvāra (nose.)
- Of course, the mind put together all those sensory inputs as "enjoying the apple." Therefore, the manodvāra is involved too. The other five sensory inputs come to the MIND via those "doors" (dvāra)
- You can experience all of those without any pause. It is an all-inclusive cohesive experience. It FEELS as if you are experiencing all those sensations simultaneously. But that is only an illusion arising from the fact that the mind is THE FASTEST entity in this world. We discussed that in the previous three posts too.

Where Does the "Experience" Take Place?

8. Think about what happens within those few minutes while you are eating the apple. You see the apple in your hand and feel its texture. You can taste the apple and also smell its aroma. You also hear the chewing sound. Those are the five sensory experiences through the five physical senses.

- While you are doing all that, the brain is processing all that data to a form that can be "understood" by the mind. The brain DOES NOT understand anything; it is just like a computer. This is a critical point that needs to be understood.
- There are separate regions in the brain that process data from those five senses. The brain processes such data into a form that can be understood by the mind. This is a fully kammic process that scientists will never be able to figure out.
- It is worthwhile to think about what must happen, for example, to 'see' that apple.

How do we "see" an apple?

9. Scientists have traced the electrical/chemical signals from the back of the eye (retina) to the visual cortex in the brain. But they have no idea what the visual cortex is doing or how it transforms those electrical/chemical signals into "light" and the "form resembling an apple." 

- That is the "hard problem of consciousness" in simple terms. Google "hard problem of consciousness" and you can read about the struggles of scientists and philosophers trying to make a breakthrough.
- That problem arises only because they are trying to explain consciousness to "arise from matter" specifically in the brain.
The Buddha explained that it is the other way around. It is the mind that gives rise to matter. That is a deep issue I have discussed briefly in "The Origin of Matter – Suddhāṭṭhaka." (viewtopic.php?p=598234#p598234) However, it is not prudent to go that deep UNTIL understanding the Idappaccayātā Paṭicca Samuppāda.
- By the way, some scientists and philosophers are beginning to realize that it would be impossible to explain consciousness to ARISE in the brain. The brain only has a secondary role; see, "How Do We See? – Role of the Gandhabba" and "Will Quantum Mechanics Be Able to Explain Consciousness?" I will post them in a few days.

10. The point is that after light falls on the back of the eye, light DOES NOT play any role in vision. Then how do we see an image of that apple? How do we see light? It is totally dark inside the skull!

- The same is true for the other senses. Scientists have found that sounds create vibrations in the air and deep inside our ears there are sensors that detect those vibrations. How can the brain "hear" those sounds? It cannot. The brain itself was formed by kammic energy. Its role is to transform those "vibration signals" into a form that can be understood by the mind (more precisely the "seat of the mind" or "hadaya vatthu".)
- It is a good idea to read the post "How Do We See? – Role of the Gandhabba." There is no need to get into details discussed in that post. Don't forget to read Ref. 4 per #6 in the post. It is the gandhabba (with the hadaya vatthu) that sees, hears, tastes, smells, feels, and thinks! Yet that gandhabba lasts only for the duration of human existence. After that, it could transform into an animal gandhabba, Deva, or even a "hell-being". There is no real essence even in that human gandhabba. It is a temporary existence!

"Eating an Apple" Experience Involves Many Types of Rupakkhandha

11. It is utterly useless to read the "word-by-word" translations of suttas. The Buddha explained things that we experience in real life. Even though the world is complex, we can simplify things by looking at the details of sensory experience. It may appear complex at first, but once the basic idea sinks in, it will become much easier.

- Let us summarize our discussion on the experience of eating an apple.
- We experience different types of rupa within those few minutes. They are vaṇṇa rupa, sadda rupa, gandha rupa, rasa rupa, and phoṭṭhabba rupa. In plain English sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
- Even the sight of the apple is not captured in one instant. The sight of the apple comes in "brief snapshots" each one lasting only a billionth of a second. Remember that even though the brain may take one-thousandth of a second to process a "data packet on the vision" the mind (more precisely hadaya vatthu) processes that in a billionth of a second.
- Thus, "seeing of the apple" is due to a collection of many such "snapshots." That is a "rupakkhandha" on VISION over a short time.

Rupakkhandha Includes All Types of Rupa

12. However, we also hear the chewing of the apple, the taste, its smell, and also feel the texture of the apple in the hand. Thus, five types of rupakkhandha go through the mind in that short time. 

- In other words, the relevant rupakkhandha is the aggregate of all those rupakkhandha formed by the five senses.
- The mind is able to put all of those together and provide a seamless experience of a "person eating an apple" by looking at the overall rupakkhandha accumulated over several minutes.
- But in reality, it is just a collection of many DISCRETE events taking place at a very fast rate. This is why it is important to understand the basic concept explained in the video in the recent post  “Vision Is a Series of “Snapshots” – Movie Analogy.”
- Here is another analogy. In the old days, people made metal chains by connecting many small metal loops by hand. All one does is connect two loops at a time. You see a "chain" only after you connect many such loops and look at the result of that activity.

Next Post

13. Experiencing a sensory input involves not only the rupakkhandha but also associated "mental aspects". In the next post, we will discuss that.

- As we will see, the other four khandhās (vēdanākkhandha, saññākkhandha, saṅkhārakkhandha, and viññāṇakkhandha) work the same as the rupakkhandha. That is why we discussed rupakkhandha in detail.
Lal
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Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by Lal »

I forgot to add the links to the previous posts in #2 above:

Where Are Memories “Stored”? – Connection to Pañcakkhandha: viewtopic.php?p=615934#p615934

Our Two Worlds – Rupa Loka and Nāma Loka: viewtopic.php?p=584449#p584449

Those are important posts that discuss the fact that it is impossible to "store memories" in such detail in the brain, and that they are preserved in viññāṇa dhātu. Also, see the post referred to in #3.
Lal
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Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2016 11:39 am

Re: The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

Post by Lal »

The following is one of the posts I relevant to the previous post.

How Do We See? – Role of the Gandhabba

The question “How do we see?” remains unanswered by science. The short post by the National Eye Institute, “How the Eyes Work,” (https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye ... you%20see.) concludes: “These electrical/chemical signals travel from the retina through the optic nerve to the brain. Then the brain turns the signals into the images you see.” That does not explain the important part, the EXPERIENCE.

How Do We See?

1. Let us systematically see what happens when we “see” a tree. Please don’t just read through, but stop and think about each point. There is a lot of information condensed in this post (valid for most posts, but especially this one).

- Light reflected off the tree falls on our eyes and forms an image of that tree on the retina. As you can imagine, that image is tiny. That image then goes to the brain through a nerve in terms of a chemical/electrical signal.
- Scientists are stuck on what happens next: How does the brain “SEE” the tree using that chemical/electrical signal?
Furthermore, we “see” that tree in great detail: leaves, individual flowers, fruits, etc. How is that possible? The images that land on the back of the eyes are TINY.
- Someone who has thought a lot about this issue is Jeff Hawkins, who is actively engaged in artificial intelligence (AI). In his book, “On Intelligence,” he discusses current scientific knowledge on vision and other sensory inputs (Ref. 1.)

Jeff Hawkins’s Book “On Intelligence”

2. Starting on p. 55 of his book, Hawkins discusses how the image that falls on the back of the eye gets to the brain: “But let’s take a closer look. Visual information from the outside world is sent to your brain via a million fibers in your optic nerve. .”,

- “You can visualize these inputs as a bundle of electrical wires or a bundle of optical fibers..” he writes, “The inputs to the brain are like those fibers, but they are called axons, and they carry neural signals called “action potentials” or “spikes,” which are partly chemical and partly electrical..”.
- As discussed in that book, visual signals and all sense inputs (sounds, taste, smell, and body touch) to the brain are of the same type. You hear a sound, see the light, and feel pressure, but there isn’t any fundamental difference between these different types of neural signals inside your brain. An action potential is an action potential.
- Scientists have not figured out how the brain distinguishes those different types of signals. Moreover, they have no idea how the mind “sees the light” or an image of that tree. Same for the other senses.
- They will never figure that out because it is NOT the brain that “SEES.” It is the “hadaya vatthu” (seat of the mind”) on the “mental body” (gandhabba) that feels the “seeing sensation.” Of course, "gandhabba" is an "energy body" trapped inside the physical body. It can come out sometimes, especially during heart operations (Google "Near-Death Experiences".)

How Are Electrical/Chemical Signals Sensed or Experienced?

3. To quote more from that book (p. 56): “Your perceptions and knowledge about the world are built from these patterns. There is no light inside your head. It is dark in there. There is no sound entering your brain either; it is quiet inside. The brain is the only part of your body that has no senses itself. A surgeon could stick a finger into your brain, and you would not feel it. All the information that enters your mind comes in as spatial and temporal patterns on the axons”.

- It is a mystery to science how those chemical and electrical signals coming to the brain are sensed as vision, sound, taste, smell, and touch by the mind.

All Existing Scientific Theories Are Speculations

4. Scientists are trying to solve this puzzle by looking for answers in the brain. They have come to the end of the line here.

- Jeff Hawkins wrote that book in 2004. He posted the video in Ref. 2 (which discusses the brain) in 2006. He and many other scientists have done much work since that time. Yet they have made NO PROGRESS on the vital issue of “how those sensory events are EXPERIENCED.”
- There are, of course, many THEORIES on that connection. For example, some have suggested that consciousness (EXPERIENCE) arises in microtubules in nerve cells in the brain; see Ref. 3. However, there are microtubules (even though different in structure) in plants. But plants, of course, cannot think.
- No matter how much they try, scientists WILL NOT be able to find a way to say that mental phenomena can arise in inert matter.
- Before discussing Buddha’s description, let us review some relevant findings from recent scientific studies.

Tiny Oak Seed Has the Blueprint for an Oak Tree

5. A tiny oak seed has the blueprint for the giant oak tree. That seed extracts necessary “materials” from the soil and “builds” that tree! Think about how complex that process is, i.e., oak seed giving rise to an oak tree!



- The video does not show the latter stages of growing into a giant oak tree over many years.
- As we can see, all necessary “materials for the tree” come from the soil. The seed only has the blueprint for the tree!

Gandhabba Has the “Blueprint” or the “Master Plan” for a Human Body

6. A baby’s growth inside a womb (and then outside the womb) is not different from a seed growing into a tree.

- The zygote (formed by an egg from the mother and sperm from the father) is not different from a seed.
- The MAJOR difference is that a human can THINK and a tree cannot.
- The THINKING part in a human comes from the gandhabba! We discussed these details in the posts “Buddhist Explanations of Conception, Abortion, and Contraception” (viewtopic.php?p=540534#p540534) and “Cloning and Gandhabba.” (viewtopic.php?p=540956#p540956)
- If you want to skip those two posts, you can read the Pāli and English translations of “Mahātaṇhāsaṅkhaya Sutta (MN 38)” (https://suttacentral.net/mn38/en/sujato ... ript=latin) See Ref. 4 for the quote.
- Let us discuss another piece of evidence from recent scientific findings.

Vision Is Not Continuous

7. Vision or “seeing” appears to us as continuous. We see people moving around, vehicles moving, animals running around, etc. However, “seeing” happens due to a series of “snapshots” that our physical eyes take. Those chemical and electrical signals mentioned above come in packets of about 10-millisecond duration.

- As an example, let us take the case of seeing a tree. The eyes send a series of “data packets” (chemical and electrical signals per #2, #3 above) to the brain. It is NOT a continuous stream of data that arrives via the optic nerve at the brain. The signal comes in “packets.” Similar “data packets” come in from the other four physical senses. They are processed (in parallel) by the brain.
- Recent scientific studies show that a human needs at least 10-20 milliseconds (1000 milliseconds = 1 second) to look at the picture to recognize it. Similarly, a “sound packet” of about 30 milliseconds can be detected and identified. Thus, the brain processes sensory data in packets of about 10-30 milliseconds.
- Some of those processing may happen in parallel in different regions in the brain. Further details in “Vision Is a Series of “Snapshots” – Movie Analogy.” It is essential to read this post if one needs to understand Buddha’s explanation fully.
- However, scientists have no idea how those “data packets” lead to seeing, hearing, etc. (actual sensory experiences)!
- Now we can start discussing Buddha’s explanation.

Sense Experience Happens in the “Mental Body” (Gandhabba)

8. Actual “seeing” (and hearing, smelling, etc.) goes on at the hadaya vatthu located in the gandhabbā or the mental body. That is the critical point.

- In the case of “seeing a tree,” the brain processes the data received from the eyes to a level that scientists CAN NOT probe. They are reduced (or “broken down”) to the suddhāṭṭhaka level below the elementary particle level reached by scientists. At that stage, that signal gets transmitted through the mental body of the gandhabba to hadaya vatthu. That is where the sensory experience takes place!
- As discussed in #7, the brain takes about 10-30 milliseconds to PROCESS data from each sense door. When we are watching a movie, for example, the brain needs to work non-stop to analyze visual and sound data for the movie’s duration. That strains the brain, so it is impossible to watch more than one movie at a time without ending up with a headache.
- The brain consumes about 25% of the energy intake for the whole body!
- Such details could not be transmitted in the Tipiṭaka. Furthermore, during the Buddha’s days, people knew nothing about the brain. The Buddha could not provide this kind of detail at that time.

Science Will Never be Able to Create “Artificial Life” or “Artificial Intelligence”

9. That is also why science will NEVER be able to succeed in AI (Artificial Intelligence.) Note that AI is different from making efficient robots, which are purely mechanical. They can’t THINK!

- Note that “artificial insemination” is not creating a new life. Scientists use DNA from humans (or animals) to form a zygote. That is not any different from a zygote produced in a womb. See “Cloning and Gandhabba.”
- The bottom line is the following: Without a human gandhabba, sensory experience is not possible. The physical body is just a shell.
- That gandhabba can be created ONLY by kammic energy, based on a previous strong kamma (deed.) The laws of kamma work automatically. It is a natural process, like an oak seed giving rise to an oak tree.

The difference Between a “Live Human” and a “Dead Body” Is Gandhabba

10. The gandhabbā is like a delicate mesh (or an “energy field”) overlapping the physical body, with the hadaya vatthu located close to the physical heart. That is what gives life to the physical body.

- At the physical body’s death, fine gandhabbā comes out of the physical body like a ghost. It is so fine that we cannot see it. But we all know that a body can be alive one second and become inert (like a piece of wood) at death.
- Have you touched a dead body (human or animal)? You can immediately sense the difference between a dead body and a live person/animal by touching.
- At death, as soon as the gandhabba comes out permanently from that body, the body starts to get cold. The “life force” is no longer there! That life force is the gandhabba or the “mental body”!

Transfer of Data from the Brain to Pasāda Rūpa/Hadaya Vatthu

11. Another critical point is that in the “energy body” of the gandhabbā, there are five “pasāda rūpa” located around the hadaya vatthu: cakkhu, sōta, ghāna, jivhā, and kāya, that correspond to seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touch. Those ‘sensing units” overlap the physical heart, far away from the brain. Scientists will never be able to solve the problem just by analyzing brain processes!

- We have discussed related essential concepts in the sub-section, “Brain and the Gandhabba.” As I remind you frequently, it takes a real effort to understand these concepts. With this post, we are going back to continue that discussion.
- The brain is like a sophisticated computer that analyzes those chemical and electrical signals discussed above in #2 and #3.
- It converts those chemical/electrical signals to a form that the “hadaya vatthu” can “understand.” That is where the “magic of seeing sensation” takes place.
- That transfer of “information” from the brain to pasāda rūpa around the hadaya vatthu happens in the “energy-body” of the gandhabba that overlaps the physical body.

Only a Buddha Can Figure Out the Complex Connection Between Mind and Matter

12. That is what the Buddha taught 2500 years ago. Until scientists accept that mind and matter are two different entities, they will not proceed too far from where they are now. Of course, I have tried to express those ideas in terms of current terminology as much as possible.

- The ultimate realities of this world are citta, cetasika, and rupa. Thoughts encompass citta and cetasika. They are in a separate category from rupa. Citta and cetasika CANNOT arise out of rupa! Stop and contemplate on that. That is why Abhidhamma is important.
- Someone who has studied Paṭicca Samuppāda (PS) may realize that it starts with saṅkhāra (ALL mental) generated due to avijjā. The PS cycle ends with the jāti (birth) of an entity with the matter.
- The “connection” between mind and matter is “defiled consciousness” (or kamma viññaṇa), and viññaṇa arises ONLY in a hadaya vatthu (seat of the mind) in a gandhabba created ONLY by kammic energy.

13. That is a fascinating account amenable to inquiring minds. It is NECESSARY to live a moral life and be willing to “listen to reason.” As the Buddha warned, not everyone can understand the profound Dhamma. It takes effort and faith (built on one’s own experiences.)

- In upcoming posts, we will discuss the deep connection between mind and matter in detail. But you can find the key points in “The Origin of Matter – Suddhāṭṭhaka.” viewtopic.php?p=598234#p598234
- Of course, many details in this post are not available in that form in the Tipiṭaka. That holds for many of my posts on gandhabba.
- However, those descriptions are fully compatible with the Tipiṭaka.

References

1. Jeff Hawkins, “On Intelligence” (2004).

2. Jeff Hawkins: “How brain science will change computing.”



3. “Can Quantum Physics Explain Consciousness? One Scientist Thinks It Might.”https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sc ... s-it-might
- I will post the second post that I promised in a couple of days to counter that: "Will Quantum Mechanics Be Able to Explain Consciousness?"

4. Here is the English translation of the critical passage at Sutta Central: “Mendicants, when three things come together an embryo is conceived. (Tiṇṇaṁ kho pana, bhikkhave, sannipātā gabbhassāvakkanti hoti.)

In a case where the mother and father come together, but the mother is not in the fertile part of her menstrual cycle, and the spirit being reborn is not present, the embryo is not conceived. (Idha mātāpitaro ca sannipatitā honti, mātā ca na utunī hoti, gandhabbo ca na paccupaṭṭhito hoti, neva tāva gabbhassāvakkanti hoti.)

In a case where the mother and father come together, the mother is in the fertile part of her menstrual cycle, but the spirit being reborn is not present, the embryo is not conceived. (Idha mātāpitaro ca sannipatitā honti, mātā ca utunī hoti, gandhabbo ca na paccupaṭṭhito hoti, neva tāva gabbhassāvakkanti hoti.)

But when these three things come together—the mother and father come together, the mother is in the fertile part of her menstrual cycle, and the spirit being reborn is present—an embryo is conceived. (Yato ca kho, bhikkhave, mātāpitaro ca sannipatitā honti, mātā ca utunī hoti, gandhabbo ca paccupaṭṭhito hoti—evaṁ tiṇṇaṁ sannipātā gabbhassāvakkanti hoti.)

Note that the translator has translated “gandhabbo” as “spirit.” It is not a “spirit” in the sense of a “ghost”. It is the “mental body” or the essence of the human being born! How come people don’t ask that translator what that “spirit is”? This is why Buddha Dhamma has been hidden for all these years.
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