A discourse on
PATICCASAMUPPADA
OR
The Doctrine of Dependent Origination
by
The Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw
of
Burma
Translated by U Aye Maung
Published by:
U Min Swe
Buddhasasana Nuggaha Organization
Rangoon, Burma.
(Prepared at BuddhaNet for free distribution)
** ** **
CONTENTS
1. Importance Of The Doctrine
2. Reflection Of The Bodhisatta
3. Anuloma Reasoning
4. Beyond Reasoning And Speculation
5. Dhamma Is Only For The Wise
6. Difficulty Of Understanding
7. What Is Avijja (Ignorance)?
8. Ignorance Of The Origin Of Dukkha
9. Ignorance Of The Third And Fourth Noble Truths
10. Right View, Etc.
11. Avijja Leads To Sankhara
12. Unwholesome Kammas
13. Rejection Of Good Kamma Means Bad Kamma
14. Ignorance And Illusion
15. Sankhara Causes Vinnana
16. How Sankhara Leads To New Vinnana
17. Sassata And Uccheda
18. Death-Bed Visions
19. The Story Of Mahadhammika Upasaka
20. Vinnana and Nama-Rupa
21. Upapata Rebirth
22. Sansedaja Beings
23. Vithi-Cittas
24. Manodvara Vithi
25. Follow-Up Vithi
26. From Vinnana Arises Nama-Rupa
21. The Story Of Cakkhupala Thera
28. The Thera's Verdict
29. Pure Thought And Happiness
30. Nama-Rupa And Salayatana
31. Rupa And Ayatana
32. Summary
33. The Buddha's Emphasis On Practice
34. The Abstruseness Of The Doctrine
35. Relation Between Manodvara And Vinnana, Etc.
36. Recapitulation
37. Vedana Leads To Tanha
38. Six Kinds Of Tanha
39. Tanha And Samsara
40. Extinction Of Craving
41. The Story Of Mahatissa Thera
42. Story Of A Parrot
43. Contemplation And Extinction
44. Cutting Off At The Foundation
45. Kilesa And Unmindfulness
46. Thoughts And Tactile Impressions
47. Three Kinds Of Craving (Tanha)
48. Tanha Causes Upadana
49. Bases Of Sensual Pleasure
50. Ditthupadana (Bigotry)
51. Right Views
52. Seeing The World Beyond
53. Parami And Kamma
54. Silabbatupadana (Clinging To False Practices)
55. The Story Of Korakhatiya
56. Other Silabbata Practices
57. Attavadupadana (Clinging To Belief In Soul)
58. Clinging Leads To Becoming
59. Kammabhava
60. Upapattibhava
61. Story Of Mendaka
62. Upadana And Kammabhava
63. Puppharatta Jataka
64. Right And Wrong Good Kamma
65. Kamma And Rebirth
66. Four Kinds Of Kamma
67. Story Of Ajatasattu
68. Habitual And Death-Bed Kammas
69. Birth And Suffering
70. Grief And Lamentation
71. Story Of Subrahma Deva
72. Kamupadana Means All Kinds Of Excessive Craving
73. Attachment To Belief As The Cause Of Rebirth
74. Superstition And Evil Rebirth
75. Fanaticism Or Religious Upadana
76. Silabbatupadana - Attachment To Wrong Practices
77. Attavadupadana - Attachment to Ego-Belief
78. Story of Ugga
79. Vipassana Practice and Upadana
80. Life-Cycle and Three Time Dimensions
81. Five Causes in the Past
82. Distinction between Sankhara and Kammabhava
83. Present Effect Due to Past Cause
84. Knowledge for Vipassana Practice
85. Removing the Present Causes
86. Arahat's Outlook On Life
87. Not Annihilation But Extinction Of Suffering
88. Story Of Yamaka
89. Bhikkhuni Vajira On The Nature Of Khandhas
90. Four Layers, Three Links And Twenty Factors
91. Three Cycles
92. Four Aspects Of Paticcasamuppada
93. The False View Of Sati
94. Distinctive Character Of Each Phenomenon
95. Absence Of Effort (Avyapara)
96. Relevancy Of Cause To Effect
97. Conclusion
98. Cutting Off The Cycle Of Defilements
99. Arahan And The Attributes Of The Buddha
100. Story Of Baka Brahma
101. Sammasambuddha
102. The Fame Of The Buddha
103. The Four Noble Truths In Brief
104. Sammasambuddha And Buddhahood
105. Summary
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Importance Of The Doctrine
The doctrine of Paticcasamuppada or Dependent Origination is very important in
Buddhism. The bodhisatta began with dependent origination when he reflected deeply on the
nature of existence and attained Enlightenment. He first pondered old age and death as did every
other bodhisatta when he was about to become the Buddha in his last existence. For it was only
after seeing the old, the sick and the dead that the bodhisatta saw the ascetic (//samana//) and
renounced the world in search of the ageless and the deathless Dhamma. He had seen the evils of
life in old age, sickness and death.
Every living being wants to avoid these evils of life but there is no end to these evils which
follow him in one existence after another. In view of this endless process of life, all living beings
appear to be in bondage and subject to suffering. Life is in fact an infinite process of births and
deaths. The fate of fowls and ducks is terrible indeed. Some are eaten up while still in the
eggs. If they emerge from the eggs they do not live long but are killed when they grow up a little.
They are born only to be killed for human consumption. If the fate of a living being is thus to be
repeatedly killed it is gloomy and frightful indeed.
But the fowls and ducks appear to be well content with their lot in life. They apparently
enjoy life, quacking, crowing, eating and fighting with one another. They may think that they
have a lot of time to live although in fact they have little time to be happy, their life being a
matter of days or months, with each of them coming into existence and then dying after a short
time.
The span of human life, too, is not very long for the man in his fifties or sixties the past
seems in retrospect as recent as yesterday. Sixty or seventy years on earth is a day in the life of a
deva which is, however, very short in the eyes of a Brahma who may live as long as the duration
of the worlds (//kappa//). But even the Brahma who outlives hundreds of worlds is insignificant
and his life is short in the context of samsaric eternity. Devas and Brahmas, too, have to age
and die eventually. Although they are not subject to sickness and marked dotage, age tells on
them invisibly in due course of time. So every living being has to face old age and death and
nobody can escape from these evils of life.
Reflection Of The Bodhisatta
Reflecting on the origin of old age, the bodhisatta traced back the chain of dependent
origination from the end to the beginning. Old age and death have their origin in rebirth which in
turn is due to //kammabhava// (condition or kamma for renewed existence). Kammabhava
stems from grasping or attachment (upadana) which is caused by craving (tanha). Craving arises
from feeling (vedana) which is produced by sense-bases (ayatana) such as eye, visual form, etc.
Sense-bases are the product of nama-rupa (consciousness and corporeality) which results
from //vinnana// (consciousness) which is again caused by //nama-rupa//.
The full Pali texts about Paticcasamuppada attribute vinnana to sankhara and sankhara to
(kamma-formations) avijja (ignorance). But the bodhisatta's reflection is confined to the
interdependence of //nama-rupa// and vinnana in the present life. In other words, he reflected on
the correlation between vinnana and nama-rupa, leaving out of account the former's relation
to past existence. We may assume, therefore, that for the yogis, reflection on the present life will
suffice to ensure the successful practice of vipassana.
Anuloma Reasoning
The bodhisatta reasoned about the correlation between vinnana and nama-rupa thus: This
vinnana has no cause other than nama-rupa. From nama-rupa there results vinnana; from vinnana
there arises nama-rupa. Hence, from the correlation between vinnana and nama-rupa there arises
birth, old age and death; there may be successive births or successive deaths.
Moreover vinnana causes nama-rupa; nama-rupa causes sense-bases (ayatana). From
sense-bases there arises contact; contact leads to feeling; feeling gives rise to craving; craving to
grasping; and grasping results in rebirth which in turn leads to old age, death, anxiety, grief and
other kinds of mental and physical sufferings.
Then the bodhisatta reflected on dependent origination negatively. If there were no
vinnana there could be no nama-rupa; if no nama-rupa, then no ayatana and so on. The negation
of the first link in the chain of causation leads to the extinction of suffering that has beset us
ceaselessly in the infinite series of samsaric existences. After this reflection on dependent
origination in its positive and negative aspects, the bodhisatta contemplated the nature of
the aggregates of grasping. Then he attained the successive insights and fruitions (magga-phala)
on the Ariyan holy path and finally became the all-Enlightened Buddha. Every bodhisatta attained
supreme Enlightenment after such contemplation. They did not learn what and how to
contemplate from others but owing to cumulative potential (parami) that they had acquired
through innumerable lifetimes, they contemplated as mentioned before and attained
Enlightenment.
Beyond Reasoning And Speculation
Then when it was time to preach, the Buddha thought thus: This dhamma which I know is
very profound. It is hard to understand; it is so sublime and so conducive to inner peace. It is not
accessible to intellect and logic (atakkavacaro). It is subtle and it is to be realized
only by the wise.
All over the world, philosophers have racked their brains about freedom from old age,
sickness and death. so forth. Such knowledge is not vague and speculative; it is vivid and
empirical.
It is said on the authority of scriptures that nama-rupas are in a constant flux and that we
should watch their arising and passing away. But for the beginner this is easier said than done.
The beginner has to exert strenuous effort to overcome hindrances (nivarana). Even freedom from
nivarana helps him only to distinguish between nama and rupa. It does not ensure
insight into their arising and passing away. This insight is attained only after concentration has
been developed and perception has become keen with the practice of mindfulness. Constant
mindfulness of arising and vanishing leads to insight into anicca, dukkha and anatta of all
phenomena. But as merely the beginning of lower vipassana, this insight is a far cry from the path
and its fruition. Hence the description of the dhamma as something beyond logic and speculation.
Dhamma Is Only For The Wise
The dhamma is subtle (nipuno); it is to be realized only by the wise (panditavedaniyo). Here
the wise means only those who have wisdom (panna) relating to vipassana and the path and its
goal. The dhamma has nothing to do with the secular knowledge //per se// possessed by world
philosophers, religious founders, writers or great scientists who can split atoms. But it can be
realized by any one irrespective of sex, age or education; anyone who contemplates nama-rupa at
the moment of their arising, passes through vipassana insights progressively and attains the
Ariyan path and its goal.
Taking stock of the nature of all living beings, the Buddha found that most of them were
mired in sensual pleasure. There were of course a few exceptions like the five companions of
Siddhattha in the forest retreat or the two brahmins who were later to become the two chief
disciples of the Buddha. But the majority of mankind regard the enjoyment of pleasure as the
summum bonum of life. They are like children who delight in playing with their toys the whole
day. The child's toys and games make no sense to adults but grown-up people too derive
pleasure from the toys of the sensual world, that is, from the company of their children and
grand-children.
Such sensual pleasure has no appeal for Buddhas and Arahats. It is highly esteemed by
ordinary men and devas because they have no sense of higher values such as jhana, vipassana and
Nibbana.
A person who is thus fond of sensual pleasure may be likened to a peasant living in
out-of-the-way rural areas. To the urbanites those places are wholly devoid of the amenities of
life, what with poor food, poor clothes, dirty dwellings, muddy footpaths and so forth. But the
villagers are happy and they never think of leaving their native place. Likewise, common people
and devas delight in their sensual objects. Whatever the teaching of the Buddha and the Arahats,
they love pleasure and spend all their time indulging in it. They feel ill at ease in the absence of
sensual objects. They are so much pleased with their families, attendants and possessions that they
cannot think of anything higher than sensual pleasure. Because of their deep rooted love
of pleasure, it is hard for them to understand or appreciate the subtle, profound Paticcasamuppada
and Nibbana.
Difficulty Of Understanding
The Buddha-dhamma makes little appeal to the masses since it is diametrically opposed to
their sensual desire. People do not like even an ordinary sermon, let alone a discourse on Nibbana,
if it has no sensual touch. They do not seem interested in our teaching and no wonder, since it is
devoid of melodious recitation, sentimental stories, hilarious jokes and other attractions. It
is acceptable only to those who have practised //vipassana// or who seek the dhamma on which
they can rely for methods of meditation and extinction of defilements.
But it is a mistake to deprecate, as some do, the sermons containing stories, jokes, etc., as
sutta sermons. Suttas differ basically from popular sermons in that they are profound, as witness
Anattalakkhana sutta, Satipatthana sutta and so forth. The doctrine of Dependent Origination too
belongs to Sutta Pitaka. It is to be labelled Abhidhamma only because it is preached in the fashion
of Abhidhamma Pitaka.
Since our teaching is unadulterated dhamma, some people confuse it with Abhidhamma
and cannot follow it, much less grasp the Path and Nibbana which it emphasizes.
Paticcasamuppada is hard to understand because it concerns the correlations between causes and
effects. There is no ego entity that exists independently of the law of causation. It was hard to
accept this fact before the Buddha proclaimed the dhamma.
The commentaries also point out the abstruse character of the doctrine. According to them
there are four dhammas which defy understanding, viz., the four noble truths, the nature of a
living being, the nature of rebirth and dependent origination.
It is hard to understand and accept the truth of suffering, the truth about its cause, the truth
about its cessation and the truth about the way to its extinction. It is hard to appreciate these
truths, still harder to teach them to other people.
Secondly, it is hard to understand that a living being is a nama-rupa process without any
separate self, that the nama-rupa complex is subject to the law of kamma that determines a man's
future life according to his good or bad deeds.
In the third place, it is hard to see how rebirth takes place as a result of defilement and
kamma without the transfer of nama-rupa from a previous life.
Lastly, it is equally hard to understand Paticcasamuppada. It involves the above three
abstruse dhammas. Its negative aspect concerns the first two noble truths as well as the nature of
a living being and rebirth while its positive aspect involves the other two truths. Hence, it is most
difficult to grasp or teach the doctrine. It may be easy to explain it to one who has attained the
path and Nibbana or one who has studied the Pitaka but it will mean little to one who has
neither the illumination nor scriptural knowledge.
The writer of the commentary on the doctrine was qualified to explain it because he might
have attained the lower stages of the path or he might have a thorough knowledge of the Pitaka.
He refers to its difficulty probably in order that its exposition might be seriously studied by
posterity. He likens the difficulty to the plight of a man who has jumped into the sea and cannot
get to the bottom. He admits that he has written the exegesis on the basis of the Pitaka and the old
commentaries handed down by oral tradition. The same may be said of our teaching. Since it is
hard to explain the doctrine, the yogi should pay special attention to it. If he follows the
teaching superficially, he will understand nothing and without a fair knowledge of the doctrine, he
is bound to suffer in the wilderness of samsaric existence.
The substance of the Paticcasamuppada teaching is as
follows.
From ignorance there arises sankhara (effort or kamma-formation). From kamma-formation
there arises consciousness of the new existence. Consciousness gives rise to
psycho-physical phenomena or nama-rupa. Nama-rupa leads to ayatana (six bases). From ayatana
arises the phassa (impression). Phassa causes feeling; feeling leads to craving. From craving there
results clinging (upadana). Because of clinging there is the process of becoming (kamma-bhava),
from the process of becoming there arises rebirth (jati) and rebirth leads to old age, death,
sorrow, grief and lamentation. Thus arises the whole mass of suffering.
What is Avijja (Ignorance)?
According to the Buddha, avijja is ignorance of the four Noble Truths, viz., the truths
about suffering, its cause, its cessation and the way to its cessation. In a positive sense avijja
implies misconception or illusion. It makes us mistake what is false and illusory for truth and
reality. It leads us astray and so it is labelled //miccha-patipatti-avijja//.
Avijja, therefore, differs from ordinary ignorance. Ignorance of the name of a man or a
village does not necessarily mean misinformation whereas the avijja of Paticcasamuppada means
something more than ignorance. It is misleading like the ignorance of a man who has lost all
sense of direction and who, therefore, thinks that the east is west or that the north is south. The
man who does not know the truth of suffering has an optimistic view of life that is full of dukkha
(pain and evil).
It is a mistake to seek the truth of dukkha in the book for it is to be found in one's own
body. Seeing, hearing, in short, all nama-rupa arising from the six senses are dukkha. For this
phenomenal existence is impermanent, undesirable and unpleasant. It may end at any time and so
all is pain and suffering. But this dukkha is not realized by living beings who look upon their
existence as blissful and good.
So they seek pleasant sense-objects, good sights, good sounds, good food, etc. Their effort
to secure what they believe to be the good things of life is due to their illusion (avijja) about their
existence. Avijja is here like the green eye-glass that makes a horse eat the dry grass which it
mistakes for green grass. Living beings are mired in sensual pleasure because they see every
thing through rose-coloured glasses. They harbour illusions about the nature of sense-objects and
nama-rupa.
A blind man may be easily deceived by another man who offers him a worthless longyi,
saying that it is an expensive, high quality longyi. The blind man will believe him and he will like
the longyi very much. He will be disillusioned only when he recovers his sight and then he will
throw it away at once. Likewise, as a victim of avijja, a man enjoys life, being blind to its
anicca, dukkha and anatta. He becomes disenchanted when introspection of nama-rupa makes him
aware of the unwholesome nature of his existence.
Introspection of nama-rupa or vipassana contemplation has nothing to do with bookish
knowledge. It means thorough watching and ceaseless contemplation of all psycho-physical
phenomena that comprise both the sense-objects and the corresponding consciousness. The
practice leads to full awareness of their nature. As concentration develops, the yogi realizes their
arising and instant vanishing, thereby gaining an insight into their anicca, dukkha and anatta.
Avijja makes us blind to reality because we are unmindful. Unmindfulness give rise to the
illusion of man, woman, hand, leg, etc., in the conventional sense of the terms. We do not know
that seeing, for instance, is merely the nama-rupa or psycho-physical process, that the
phenomenon arises and vanishes, that it is impermanent, unsatisfactory and unsubstantial.
Some people who never contemplate die without knowing anything about nama-rupa. The
real nature of nama-rupa process is realized by the mindful person. But the insight does not occur
in the beginning when concentration is not yet developed. Illusion or the natural way of
consciousness precedes contemplation and so the beginner does not gain a clear insight into the
nature of nama-rupa. It is only through steadfast practice that concentration and perception
develop and lead to insight-knowledge.
If, for example, while practising mindfulness, the yogi feels itchy, he is barely aware of
being itchy. He does not think of the hand, the leg, or any other part of the body that is itchy nor
does the idea of self as the subject of itchiness, "I feel itchy" occur to him. There arises only the
continuous sensation of itchiness. The sensation does not remain permanent but passes away as
he notes it. The watching consciousness promptly notes every psycho-physical phenomenon,
leaving no room for the illusion of hand, leg and so on.
Illusion dominates the unmindful person and makes him blind to the unsatisfactory nature
(dukkha) of all sense-objects. It replaces dukkha with sukha. Indeed avijja means both ignorance
of what is real and mis-conception that distorts reality.
Because he does not know the truth of dukkha, man seeks pleasant sense-objects. Thus
ignorance leads to effort and activity (sankhara). According to the scriptures, because of avijja
there arises sankhara but, there are two links, viz., tanha and upadana between them.
Ignorance gives rise to craving (tanha) which later on develops into attachment (upadana).
Craving and attachment stem from the desire for pleasure and are explicitly mentioned in the
middle part of the doctrine of Paticcasamuppada. When the past is fully described, reference
is made to avijja, tanha, upadana, kamma and sankhara.
Ignorance Of The Origin Of Dukkha
People do not know that craving is the origin (samudaya) of suffering. On the contrary
they believe that it is attachment that makes them happy, that without attachment life would be
dreary. So they ceaselessly seek pleasant sense-objects, food, clothing, companions and so forth.
In the absence of these objects of attachment they usually feel ill at ease and find life
monotonous.
For common people life without attachment would be indeed wholly devoid of pleasure. It
is tanha that hides the unpleasantness of life and makes it pleasant. But for the Arahat who has
done away with tanha, it is impossible to enjoy life. He is always bent on Nibbana, the cessation of
conditioned suffering.
Tanha cannot exert much pressure even on the yogis (meditators) when they become
absorbed in the practice of vipassana. So some yogis do not enjoy life as much as they did before.
On their return from meditation retreat they get bored at home and feel ill at ease in the
company of their families. To other people the yogi may appear to be conceited but in fact his
behaviour is a sign of loss of interest in the workaday world. But if he cannot as yet overcome the
sensual desire, his boredom is temporary and he usually gets re-adjusted to his home life in due
course. His family need not worry over his mood or behaviour for it is not easy for a man to
become thoroughly sick of his home life. So the yogi should examine himself and see how much
he is really disenchanted with life. If his desire for pleasure lingers, he must consider himself still in
the grip of tanha.
Without tanha we would feel discomfited. In conjunction with avijja, tanha makes us blind
to dukkha and creates the illusion of sukha. So we frantically seek sources of pleasure. Consider,
for example, men's fondness for movies and dramatic performances. These entertainments cost
time and money but tanha makes them irresistible although to the person who has no craving for
them they are sources of suffering.
A more obvious example is smoking. The smoker delights in inhaling the tobacco smoke
but to the non-smoker it is a kind of self-inflicted suffering. The non-smoker is free from all the
troubles that beset the smoker. He leads a relatively care-free and happy life because he has no
craving for tobacco. Tanha as the source of dukkha is also evident in the habit of betel-chewing.
Many people enjoy it although in fact it is a troublesome habit.
Like the smoker and the betel-chewer, people seek to gratify their craving and this
tanha-inspired effort is the mainspring of rebirth that leads to old age, sickness and death.
Suffering and desire as its cause are evident in everyday life but it is hard to see these truths
for they are profound and one can realize them not through reflection but only through the
practice of vipassana.
Ignorance Of The Third And Fourth Noble Truths
Avijja also means ignorance of the cessation of dukkha and the way to it. These two truths
are also profound and hard to understand for the truth about cessation of dukkha concerns
Nibbana which is to be realized only on the Ariyan holy path, and the truth about the way is
certainly known only to the yogi who has attained the path. No wonder that many people are
ignorant of these truths.
Ignorance of the end of suffering is widespread and so world religions describe the supreme
goal in many ways. Some say that suffering will come to an end automatically in due course of
time. Some regard sensual pleasure as the highest good and reject the idea of a future life.
This variety of beliefs is due to ignorance of the real Nibbana. Even among Buddhists some hold
that Nibbana is an abode or a sort of paradise and there are many arguments about it. All these
show how hard it is to understand Nibbana.
In reality Nibbana is the total extinction of the nama-rupa process that occurs ceaselessly
on the basis of causal relationship. Thus according to the doctrine of Paticcasamuppada, avijja,
sankhara etc., give rise to nama-rupa, etc., and this causal process involves old age, death and the
other evils of life. If avijja, etc., becomes extinct on the Ariyan path, so do their effects and
all kinds of dukkha and this complete end to dukkha is Nibbana.
For example, a lamp that is refuelled will keep on burning, but if it is not refuelled there will
be a complete extinction of flame. Likewise for the yogi on the Ariyan path who has attained
Nibbana, all the causes such as avijja, etc., have become extinct and so do all the effects such as
rebirth, etc. This means total extinction of suffering, that is, Nibbana which the yogi must
understand and appreciate before he actually realizes it.
This concept of Nibbana does not appeal to those who have a strong craving for life. To
them the cessation of nama-rupa process would mean nothing more than eternal death.
Nevertheless, intellectual acceptance of Nibbana is necessary because on it depends the yogi's
whole-hearted and persistent effort to attain the supreme goal.
Knowledge of the fourth truth, viz., truth about the way to the end of dukkha is also of
vital importance. Only the Buddhas can proclaim the right path; it is impossible for anyone else, be
he a deva, a Brahma or a human being, to do so. But there are various speculations and teachings
about the path. Some advocate ordinary morality such as love, altruism, patience,
alms-giving, etc., while others stress the practice of mundane jhana. All these practices are
commendable. According to the Buddhist teaching, they lead to relative welfare in the
deva-Brahma worlds but do not ensure freedom from samsaric dukkha such as old age, etc.
So they do not form the right path to Nibbana although they are helpful in the effort to attain it.
Some resort to self-mortification such as fasting, living in a state of nature and so forth.
Some worship devas or animals. Some live like animals. From the Buddhist point of view all
these represent what is termed //silabbataparamasa// which means any practice that has nothing to
do with the Eightfold Path.
The Noble Eightfold Path comprises right view, right intention, right speech, right action,
right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right contemplation.The path is of three kinds,
viz., the basic path, the preliminary path and the Ariyan path. Of these the most vital is the
Ariyan path but this path should not be the primary objective of the yogi nor does it require him to
spend much time and energy on it. For, as the vipassana practice on the preliminary path develops,
the insight on the Ariyan level occurs for a thought-moment. For example, it requires much
time and effort to produce fire by friction but ignition is a matter of a moment's duration.
Similarly, the insight on the Ariyan path is instantaneous but it pre-supposes much practice of
vipassana on the preliminary path.
Right View, Etc.
Vipassana insight is the insight that occurs at every moment of contemplation. The yogi
who notes every psycho-physical phenomenon becomes aware of its real nature. Thus he focuses
his attention on the bending of his arms or legs and he realizes the elements of rigidity and
motion. This means right view in connection with //vayodhatu//. Without mindfulness there will
arise illusion of "It is the hand", "It is a man", and so forth. Only the mindful yogi sees things as
they really are.
The same may be said of right view in regard to sensation in the body, e.g. imagination,
intention. When the mind becomes fixed and calm, the yogi finds the nama-rupa phenomena
arising and vanishing and so he gains insight into their anicca, dukkha and anatta.
Right belief implies right intention and other associative dhamma on the path. Insight on
the path occurs at every moment of contemplation. With the attainment of perfect insight into the
three characteristics of existence, the yogi sees Nibbana. Hence, if Nibbana is to be realized here
and now, the practice of vipassana is essential. The yogi who cannot as yet practise vipassana
should focus on the path that is the basis of vipassana practice. This basic path means doing
good deeds motivated by the belief in Kamma. In other words, it is the practice of dana, sila etc.,
in the hope of attaining Nibbana.
All the paths (magga) - the basic, the preliminary and the Ariyan, form the three-fold path
leading to Nibbana. In particular, the yogi must recognize the Ariyan path as the dhamma that is
to be desired, cherished and adored. Such a recognition is essential to strenuous effort in the
practice of vipassana. The yogi must also accept the vipassana magga as a noble dhamma and
know how to practise it.
Some people are ignorant of the way to Nibbana. On top of that they belittle the
Nibbana-oriented good deeds of other people. Some deprecate the teaching and practice of other
people although they have never practised vipassana effectively. Some criticize the right method
because they are attached to their wrong method. All these people have avijja which means
ignorance of and misconception about the right path. It is avijja not to know that dana, sila and
bhavana lead to Nibbana and it is avijja too to regard dana, etc. as harmful to one's interest. The
more destructive avijja is ignorance of and illusion about the right method of contemplation.
Ignorance of the right path is the most terrible form of avijja. For it makes its victims blind
to good deeds and creates illusions, thereby preventing them from attaining human happiness or
divine bliss, let alone the Ariyan path and Nibbana. Yet most people remain steeped in ignorance,
unmindful of the need to devote themselves to dana, sila and bhavana.
Avijja Leads To Sankhara
To them sensual pleasure is the source of happiness, Nibbana as the extinction of
nama-rupa is undesirable and the way to it is arduous and painful. So they seek to gratify their
desire through three kinds of action (kamma) viz., bodily action, verbal action and mental
action. Some of these actions may be ethically good and some may be ethically bad. Some people
will practise dana, etc. for their welfare hereafter, while some will resort to deceit or robbery to
become rich.
A Pali synonym for kamma (action) is sankhara. Sankhara is also of three kinds, viz.,
sankhara by thought, sankhara by speech and sankhara by body. Sankhara pre-supposes cetana
(volition). The function of cetana is to conceive, to urge or to incite and as such it is the
mainspring of all actions. It is involved in killing, alms-giving, etc. The yogi knows its nature
empirically through contemplation.
In another sense there are three kinds of sankharas, viz., punnabhi (wholesome) sankhara,
with its good kammic result, apunnabhi (unwholesome) sankhara, with its bad kammic result and
anenjabhi-sankhara that leads to wholesome arupajhana which literally means immobile
jhana. Rupajhana and all the good actions having the kammic results in the sensual world are to be
classified as punnabhi-sankhara. Punna literally means something that cleanses or purifies. Just as
a man washes the dirt off his body with soap, so also we have to rid ourselves of kammic
impurities through dana, sila and bhavana. These good deeds are conducive to welfare and
prosperity in the present life and hereafter.
Another meaning of punna is the tendency to fulfil the desire of the doer of the good deed.
Good deeds help to fulfil various human desires, e.g. the desire for health, longevity, wealth and
so forth. If a good deed is motivated by the hope for Nibbana, it leads to a life that makes it
possible to attain his goal or it may ensure his happiness and welfare till the end of his last
existence. Abhisankhara is the effort to do something for one's own welfare. It tends to have good
or evil kammic results. So punnabhi-sankhara is good deed with good kammic result. There are
eight types of good deed in sensual sphere (kamavacarakusala) and five types in fine-material
sphere (rupavacara). All these may be summed up as of three kinds, viz., dana, sila and bhavana.
Giving dana gladly means wholesome consciousness which is kammically very fruitful. So the
donor should rejoice before, during and after the act of alms-giving. In the scriptures, this kind of
dana is credited with great kammic productivity. The attitude of the donor may also be one of
indifference (upekkha) but, if the mind is clear, his act of dana too has high kammic potential Any
act of alms-giving that is based on the belief in kamma is rational and it may bear fruit in the form of
rebirth with no predisposition to greed, ill-will and ignorance. An act of dana that has nothing to do
with a sense of its moral value or the belief in kammic result is good but unintelligent and it will lead
to rebirth with no great intelligence. It may bear such kammic fruit in everyday life but it does not
make the donor intelligent enough to attain the path in his next life.
Again one may do a good deed spontaneously without being urged by others
(asankharika-kusala); some do good deeds at the instigation of others (sasankharika-kusala). Of
these two kinds of good deeds, the former is kammically more fruitful than the latter. When we
consider the four kinds of good deeds mentioned earlier in terms of these last two attributes, we have
a total of eight types of wholesome consciousness in the sensual sphere. Whenever we do a good
deed, we are prompted to do so by one of these kusala dhammas; when we practise concentration
and meditation, we have to begin with these eight types of wholesome dhammas.
If it is bhavana that can lead to jhana, the yogi attains rupavacara jhana when his samadhi is
well-developed. Jhana means total concentration of mind on an object of mental training. Samatha
jhana is concentration for bare tranquillity. Jhana samadhi is like the flame burning in still air.
According to the Suttas, the rupavacara jhana has four levels; in Abhidhamma it has five levels.
Unwholesome Kammas
Opposed to punnabhisankhara is apunnabhisankhara or unwholesome kamma formations.
These immoral deeds lead to lower worlds and evils in human life such as ugliness, infirmities and so
forth. They number twelve in terms of consciousness, viz., eight rooted in greed (lobha), two rooted
in ill-will (dosa) and two rooted in ignorance (moha).
The lobha-based dhammas comprise four with wrong belief and four without it. Of the four
dhammas with wrong belief, two are joyful, spontaneous (asankharika) dhamma and joyful but
unspontaneous (sasankharika) dhamma. The neutral (upekkha) unwholesome dhammas may be
classified in the same way. Likewise there are two joyful lobha-based dhammas without wrong belief
and two lobha-based dhammas without joy or wrong belief. Every kamma is characterized by one
of these eight lobha-based dhammas. The dosa-based dhammas are of two kinds, viz., spontaneous
kamma and unspontaneous kamma. This dosa-based consciousness is the mainspring of anger,
dejection, fear and revulsion.
The two kinds of moha-based consciousness are doubt (vicikiccha) and restlessness
(uddhacca). The former concerns doubts about the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha, sila, samadhi, the idea
of a future life and so forth. The latter refers to the person who is distracted and absent-minded. The
mind is seldom calm and it usually goes wandering when it is not restrained through the practice of
bhavana. It is said, however, that uddhacca does not lead to the lower worlds. The other eleven
unwholesome dhammas do so under certain circumstances and even in case of a good rebirth, they
usually have bad kammic effects such as sickliness. These twelve kinds of unwholesome volition
(cetana) are called apunnabhisankhara.
All over the world people wish to be happy and so they strive for their material welfare in the
present life and hereafter. But it is greed and ill-will that largely characterize their activities.
Wholesome consciousness is confined to those who have good friends, who have heard their
dhamma and who think rationally.
Some go morally astray, being misled by their selfish teacher. In the lifetime of the Buddha,
a lay Buddhist abused good monks and so on his death he became a peta in the latrine of the
monastery he had donated to the Sangha. He told the elder thera Moggallana about his misdeed when
the latter saw him with his divine eye.What a terrible fate for a man who had materially supported
the Sangha for his welfare in after-life, but was misguided to the lower world by his teacher. This
shows that the person whose company we seek should possess not only deep knowledge but also
good character.
The mark of a good man is abstinence from any act, speech or thought that is harmful to other
people. Those who keep company with good men or good bhikkhus have the opportunity to hear the
good dhamma and if he thinks wisely, his thoughts will lead to wholesome kammas. On the other
hand evil teachers or friends, false teachings and improper thoughts may lead to moral disaster. Some
who bore unblemished character in the beginning were ruined by corrupt thoughts. They were
convicted of theft, robbery or misappropriation and their long-standing reputation was damaged once
and forever. All their suffering had its origin in the illusion of happiness. Contrary to their
expectations, they found themselves in trouble when it was too late. Some misdeeds do not produce
immediate kammic results but they come to light in due course and lead to suffering.If retribution
does not follow the evil-doer here and now, it overtakes him in afterlife as in the case of the donor
of the monastery who became a peta for his evil words.
His teacher who had misguided him fared worse after his death. For he occupied a place below
his former pupil and had to live on his excreta. The kammic result of his misdeed was indeed frightful.
He had committed it for his own end but it backfired and he had to suffer terribly for it.
Some jungle tribes make animal sacrifices to gods for good harvest, security, etc. These
primitive beliefs still prevail among some urban people. Some worship the chief nat'as if he were the
Buddha. Some kill animals to feed guests on the occasion of religious alms-giving. Even some
ignorant Buddhists have misgivings about this practice. Whatever the object of the donor, killing has
bad kammic result and it is not a good deed despite the belief of the killer to the contrary.
A good deed bears the mark of moral purity. Killing or hurting a living being cannot be morally
pure in any sense if you identify yourself with the victim. He faces death or endures ill-treatment only
because he cannot avoid it. He will surely retaliate if he is in a position to do so. Some people pray
for vengeance and so the killer is killed in his next existence or he has suffer in hell for his misdeed.
The Pitaka abounds in many instances of the kammic consequences of killing.
Some long for human or deva life and devote themselves to dana, sila and bhavana. Their good
deeds serve to fulfil their wishes and lead to welfare in afterlife, but every life is subject to old age and
death, and human life is inextricably bound up with ill-health, and mental suffering. Some crave for
the Brahma-world and practise jhana. They may live happily for many kappas (world-systems) as
Brahmas. But when life has run its course, they will be reborn as human beings or devas and any evil
deed that they do may bring them to the lower worlds. After all, the glorification of the Brahma-life
is an illusion.
The illusion of happiness is not confined to common people. The illusion (vipallasa and avijja)
that makes us regard dukkha as sukha lingers at the first two stages of the holy path, and even at the
anagami stage the yogi still mistakes material life (rupa-bhava) and immaterial life (arupa-bhava) for
a life of bliss. So the object of the Ariyas at the first three stages is to do good. As for the common
people, they are mired in all the four illusions that make them regard the impermanent as permanent,
the dukkha of nama-rupa as sukha, the impersonal as personality (atta) and the unpleasant as
pleasant. Associated with these illusions are the four avijjas. Because of these misconceptions and
ignorance, every bodily, verbal or mental action gives rise to good or bad kamma. A good kamma
arises only from volitional effort coupled with faith, mindfulness and so forth. If the mind is left to
itself, it is likely to produce bad kamma.
Rejection Of Good Kamma Means Bad Kamma
Some people misinterpret the lack of good or bad kamma on the part of the Arahat and say that
we should avoid doing good deeds. For an ordinary person the rejection of good kamma will mean
the upsurge of bad kamma, just as the exodus of good people from a city leaves only fools and
rogues, or the removal of useful trees is followed by the growth of useless grass and weeds. The man
who rejects good deeds is bound to do bad deeds that will land him in the lower worlds. It will be
hard for him to return to the human world.
In point of fact, the Arahat's dissociation from good kamma means only that because of the
extinction of avijja, his action is kammically unproductive. Indeed the Arahats do good deeds such
as revering the elder theras, preaching, giving alms, helping living beings who are in trouble and so
forth. But, with their total realization of the four noble truths and the elimination of avijja, their good
actions do not have any kammic effect. So it is said that the Arahat does not have good kamma, not
that he avoids doing good deeds.
An ordinary person who does not care for good deeds because of his avijja and mistaken view,
will build up only bad kamma that are bound to lead to the lower worlds. In fact the lack of the
desire to do good is a sign of abysmal ignorance that makes the holy path and Nibbana remote. The
mind becomes inclined to good deeds in so far as avijja loses its hold on it. A sotapanna yoga is more
interested in doing good than when he was an ordinary man. The same may be said of those at the
higher stages of the Ariyan path. The only difference is the increasing desire to give up doing things
irrelevant to the path and devote more time to contemplation. So, good deeds should not be lumped
together with bad deeds and purposely avoided. Every action that is bound up with avijja means either
good kamma or bad kamma. In the absence of good kamma all will be bad kamma.
Ignorance and Illusion
Truth and falsehood are mutually exclusive. If you do not know the truth, you accept falsehood
and vice versa.Those who do not know the Four Noble Truths have misconceptions about dukkha
which, posing as sukha, deceive and oppress them.
Apart from tanha which, when gratified affords pleasure, everything in the sensual world is real
dukkha. All sense-objects are subject to ceaseless flux and unreliable. Yet to the ignorant person they
appear to be good and pleasant. They make him nostalgic about what they regard as their happy days
in the past and optimistic about their future. Because of their misconception, they long for what they
consider to be the good things in life. This is the cause of their dukkha but they do not realize it. On
the contrary they think that their happiness depends on the fulfilment of their desires. So they see
nothing wrong with their desire for sensual pleasure. In fact, the truths about the end of dukkha and
the way to it are foreign to most people. Some who learn these truths from others or accept them
intellectually do not appreciate them. They do not care for Nibbana or the way to it. They think that
the way is beset with hardships and privations.
The hope for happiness is the mainspring of human action. Actions in deed, speech or thought
are called kamma or sankhara. We have referred to three kinds of sankhara, the two kinds of good
kamma comprising the first sankhara, viz., the eight good kammas in the sensual world and the good
kammas in the material world; we have also mentioned two kinds of good kamma or consciousness,
viz., one associated with intelligence and the other divorced from intelligence. In the practice of
vipassana the yogi's mind is intelligent if it becomes aware of the real nature of nama-rupa (anicca,
dukkha, anatta), through contemplation. It is not intelligent if it means little more than the recitation
of Pali words and superficial observation. In ordinary morality a sense of moral values is intelligent
if it is associated with the belief in the law of kamma.
Some people say that an intelligent act of dana must involve the contemplation of the anicca,
dukkha and anatta of the donor, the recipient and the offering. This view is based on Atthasalini (a
commentary on Abhidhammapitaka) which mentions the contemplation on the impermanence of
everything after giving alms. But the reference is to contemplation after the act of dana, not before
or while doing it. Moreover, the object is not to make the act intelligent but to create wholesome
kamma in vipassana practice. If by intelligent dana is meant only the dana that pre-supposes such
contemplation, all the other dana of non-Buddhists would have to be dubbed unintelligent acts and
it is of course absurd to do so.
The accounts of alms-giving by bodhisattas make no mention of contemplation nor did the
Buddha insist on it as a pre-requisite to an act of dana. The scriptures say only that the kammic
potential of dana depends on the spiritual level of the recipient and this is the only teaching that we
should consider in alms-giving. If the donor and the recipient were to be regarded as mere nama-rupa
subject to anicca, etc., they would be on equal footing. The act of dana would then lack inspiration
and much kammic potential.
In fact the object of alms-giving is not vipassana contemplation but the benefits accruing to the
donor. So the Buddha points out the would-be recipients who can make dana immensely beneficial
and the importance of right reflection (belief in kamma).
On one occasion Visakha, the lay woman asked the Buddha for lifelong permission to make
eight kinds of offering to the Sangha; these were (1) bathing garments for the bhikkhus, (2) food for
guest-monks, (3) food for travelling monks, (4) food for sick monks, (5) food for the monk who
attended on a sick monk, (6) medicine for the sick monk, (7) rice-gruel for the Sangha and (8)
bathing garments for the bhikkhunis. The Buddha asked Visakha what benefits she hoped to have in
offering such things and the substance of Visakha's reply is as follows.
"At the end of the lent, the bhikkhus from all parts of the country will come to see the Buddha.
They will tell the Lord about the death of certain monks and ask him about their rebirth and stages
on the holy path that they (the deceased monks) had attained. The Lord will reveal their spiritual
attainments. I will then approach the visiting monks and ask them whether their late fellow-monks
had ever visited Savatthi city. If they say yes, I will conclude that the Noble one who is now at the
sotapanna or any other stage on the holy path must have certainly used one of my offerings. This
remembrance of my good kamma will fill me with joy. It will be conducive to peace, tranquillity and
self-development."
Here it is worthy of note that the reference is not to the contemplation on the impermanence
of the namarupa of the deceased monks but to the spiritual attainments that distinguished them in
afterlife. Importance is attached to the contemplation that leads to ecstasy and training in
self-development. Hence, the most appropriate object of contemplation in doing dana is the noble
attributes of the recipient such as the noble character of the Buddha when laying flowers at the shrine,
the holy life of the bhikkhu when offering food and so forth.
Preaching or hearing the dhamma is a wholesome kamma and it is an intelligent act if the
dhamma is understood. Every good deed based on the belief in kamma is an intelligent kamma.
Without the belief, a good act is wholesome but unintelligent as are the good acts of some children
who imitate the elders and worship the Buddha image and the good acts of some people who reject
the belief in kamma but are helpful, polite and charitable.
The five material wholesome dhammas (rupakusala-dhamma) are those associated with five
jhanas. They are accessible only through the practice of samatha that leads to jhana. The eight
wholesome dhammas and the five material wholesome dhammas form the punnabhisankhara.
Apunnabhisankhara or unwholesome kammas number twelve in terms of consciousness. Here
sankhara means volition (cetana). Of the twelve unwholesome sankharas eight are based on greed,
two on anger and two on ignorance.
The greed-based (lobha-mula) consciousness is of eight kinds viz., four with joy and
attachment and four without joy, but with attachment (upekkha sahagutta). Of the first four kinds
two are bound up with belief and, of the two with the belief or without the belief, one is
non-spontaneous (sasankharika) and the other is spontaneous (asankharika). Belief is of three kinds,
viz., belief in ego-entity, belief in immortality of ego, and belief in annihilation of the ego without
there being any kammic effect of good or bad deeds.
Few people are free from the belief in ego-entity. The belief dominates those who do not know
that life is a nama-rupa process without a soul or a being. The belief is weak among those who have
some knowledge of Buddhist scriptures but their bookish knowledge does not help them to overcome
it completely. The yogis who have had a clear insight into the nature of nama-rupa through
contemplation are usually free from the belief. Yet they may hark back to the belief if they stop
contemplating before they attain the path. As for the common people, the ego-belief is deep-rooted,
making them think that it is the self or the ego which is the agent of whatever they do or feel or
think. Again those who believe in total extinction after death and reject the idea of future life and
kamma have unwholesome consciousness that is bound up with nihilistic beliefs.
Hatred-based (dosa-mula) consciousness comprises doubt and restlessness. Doubts about the
Buddha, Nibbana, anatta and so forth are labelled vicikiccha.
Hatred-based consciousness is of two kinds, viz., voluntary consciousness and involuntary
consciousness. But there are many kinds of hatred such as anger, envy, anxiety, grief, fear and so
forth. Ignorance-based (moha-mula) consciousness comprises doubt and restlessness. Doubts about
the Buddha, Nibbana, anatta and so forth are labelled vicikiccha. The mind is subject to doubt
(uddhacca) when it wanders here and there restlessly.
Thus apunnabhisankhara means the eight greed-based mental factors, two hatred-based mental
factors and two ignorance-based mental factors. It is opposed to punnabhisankhara. It serves to purify
nama-rupa, leads to good rebirth with good kammic results whereas the other defiles the nama-rupa
process and leads to bad rebirth with bad kammic results.
People do evil deeds for their welfare. They kill, steal, rob or give false evidence at court for
their wellbeing. Even those who kill their parents do so to achieve their own ends. For example,
prince Ajatasattu killed his father to become king. Misguided by his teacher Devadatta, he had
concluded that he would be able to enjoy life as a king for a longer period if he could do away with
his father and take his place. For his great evil of patricide and the murder of a sotapanna at that, he
was seized with remorse and anxiety that caused him physical suffering as well. Later on, he was
killed by his son and reborn in hell where he is now suffering terribly for his misdeed.
In the time of Kakusandha Buddha the Mara called Susi did his utmost to harm the Buddha
and the Sangha. Failing to achieve his object, he possessed a man and stoned to death the chief
disciple Arahat behind the Buddha. For this horrible crime he instantly landed in Avici hell, the lowest
of the thirty-one worlds of living beings. As a Mara he had lorded it over others but in Avici he lay
prostrate under the heels of the guardians of hell. He had hoped to rejoice over the fulfilment of his
evil desire, but now he had to suffer for his evil kamma. This is true of evil-doers all over the world.
It is the hope for happiness also that forms the mainspring of other two types of action, viz.,
punnabhisankhara and anenjabhisankhara. Anenjabhisankhara means the four
arupajhana-kusaladhammas. Anenja means equanimity or self-possession. A loud noise nearby may
upset the equanimity (samapatti) of a yogi who is absorbed in rupa jhana. But arupa jhana is
invulnerable to such distractions. Arupa jhana is of four kinds according as it relates to (1) sphere
of unbounded space (akasanancayatana jhana), sphere of nothingness (akincannayatana jhana) and
(4) sphere of neither perception-nor-non-perception (nevasannanasannayatana jhana). These four
jhanas are the sankharas that lead to the four arupa worlds. Apunnabhisankhara leads to the four
lower worlds and punnabhisankhara leads to human, deva and rupa-Brahma worlds.
People do these three kinds of kammas or sankharas for their welfare and as a result there
arises vinnana or consciousness. With vinnana there also come into being nama-rupa, salayatana,
phassa, etc., of the new existence.
Sankhara Causes Vinnana
Because of avijja there is sankhara which in turn causes vinnana. As a result of good or bad
kammas in the previous life there arises the stream of consciousness beginning with rebirth
consciousness in the new life. Evil deeds may, for example, lead to the four lower worlds. After that
there arises the stream of vinnana called bhavanga-citta which functions ceaselessly when the six kinds
of vithi consciousness do not occur at the moment of seeing, hearing, smelling, eating, touching and
thinking. In other words, bhavanga is the kind of subconsciousness that we have when we are asleep.
We die with this subconsciousness and it is then called cuticitta. So the rebirth-consciousness, the
subconsciousness and the cuti or death-consciousness represent the mind which results from the
kamma of previous life.
The five kinds of consciousness associated with the five unpleasant sense-objects such as
unpleasant eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, etc., are due to unwholesome kamma as are (1) the
consciousness that is focused on these five sense-objects and (2) the inquiring (santirana)
consciousness. There are altogether seven types of consciousness that stem from bad kamma
(apunnabhisankhara). As for anenjabhisankhara, because of the four arupakusala-dhammas there
arises the resulting arupa-consciousness in the four immaterial worlds in the form of
rebirth-consciousness in the beginning, the bhavanga citta in the middle, and the cuticitta as the end
of existence.
Similarly, because of the five rupakusala-dhamma there arise five rupa vipakacittas in
rupa-brahma worlds. Then there are eight mahavipakacittas corresponding to eight good kammas in
the sensual sphere. They form the rebirth, bhavanga and cuticittas in the human world and six
deva-worlds. They also register pleasant sense-objects (tadarammana) after seven impulse-moments
(javana) that occur on seeing, hearing, etc. Also due to good consciousness associated with five
pleasant sense-objects, the registering consciousness, the joyful, inquiring consciousness and the
nonchalant, inquiring consciousness. Hence, the resulting (vipaka) consciousness is of thirty-two
kinds, viz., four arupavipaka, five rupavipaka, seven akusala vipaka and sixteen kusala vipaka in
sensual sphere. All these thirty-two vipaka are resultants of sankhara.
How Sankhara Leads To New Vinnana
It is very important, but hard to understand how sankhara gives rise to rebirth-consciousness.
Ledi Sayadaw points out that this part of the teaching on paticcasamuppada leaves much room for
misunderstanding. It is necessary to understand the extinction of the last consciousness (cuticitta)
together with all nama-rupa as well as the immediate arising of the rebirth-consciousness together
with the new nama-rupa as a result of good or bad kammas in the case of living beings who are not
yet free from defilements. Lack of this understanding usually leads to the belief in transmigration
of souls (sassataditthi) or the belief in annihilation after death (ucchedaditthi) which is held by
modern materialists.
The belief in annihilation is due to ignorance of the relation between cause and effect after
death. It is easy to see how avijja leads to sankhara and how the sense-bases (ayatana), contact,
sensation, craving, etc., form links in the chain of causation for these are evident in the facts of life.
But the emergence of new existence following death is not apparent and, hence, the belief that there
is nothing after death.
Learned people who think on the basis of faith usually accept the teaching that sankhara
gives rise to rebirth consciousness. But it does not lend itself to purely rational and empirical
approach and today it is being challenged by the materialistic view of life. The way rebirth takes
place is crystal clear to the yogi who has practised vipassana. He finds that the units of
consciousness arise and pass away ceaselessly, that they appear and disappear one after another
rapidly. This is what he discovers by experience, not what he learns from his teachers. Of course he
does not know so much in the beginning. He discovers the fact only when he attains sammasana and
udayabbaya insights. The general idea of death and rebirth mental units dawns on him with the
development of paccayapariggaha insights but, it is sammasana and udayabbaya insights that leave
no doubt about rebirth. On the basis of his insight, he realizes that death means the disappearance of
the last unit of consciousness and that rebirth means the arising of the first unit of consciousness in
the manner of the vanishing and arising of consciousness-units that he notes in the practice of
vipassana.
Those who do not have vipassana insight miss the point. They believe in a permanent ego and
identify it with the mind. It is rejected by those who have a good knowledge of Abhidhamma but, it
lingers in some people because of attachment to it in their previous lives. Even the contemplating yogi
who is not yet intellectually mature sometimes feels tempted to accept it.
Sassata And Uccheda
To the ordinary people who are wedded to the ego-belief, death means the extinction of
individual entity or its displacement to another abode or existence. This is a misconception called
ucchedaditthi if it is the belief in annihilation, or sassataditthi if it is belief in the transfer of the soul
to another body or abode. Some believe that consciousness develops spontaneously with the growth
and maturation of the body (ahetukaditthi).
Some have misconceptions about samsara or nama-rupa process. They regard the body as the
temporary abode of the life principle that passes on from one abode to another. The disintegration
of the physical body is undeniable, but some people pin their faith to the resurrection of the body in
due course of time and so they treat the dead body with respect. These views confirm the Ledi
Sayadaw's statement that the causal links between sankhara and vinnana lends itself to
misinterpretation.
Ordinary Buddhists are not wholly free from these misconceptions but, because of their belief
in the Buddhist doctrine of anatta, they do not harbour the illusions so blindly as to harm their
vipassana practice. So even without a thorough knowledge about the nature of death, rebirth and
nama-rupa, they can enlighten themselves through contemplation.
For example, shortly after the parinibbana of the Buddha, the thera Channa practised vipassana
but made little progress because of his ego-belief. Then as he followed Ananda's discourse on
Paticcasamuppada, he contemplated, overcame his illusion and attained Arahatship. Again, in the
time of the Buddha, bhikkhu Yamaka believed that the Arahat was annihilated after his parinibbana.
Sariputta summoned and preached to him. While following the sermon, Yamaka contemplated, and
achieved liberation. So those who have faith in the Buddha need not be disheartened. If they practised
vipassana zealously and whole-heartedly, they will become enlightened.
Because of their ignorance and doubts about the nature of death and conception or leaning to
uccheda belief, some people ask whether there is a future life after death. The question by itself
presupposes atta or soul or life-force in a living being. Materialism rejects the idea of soul but the
ego-illusion is implicit in its differentiation of the living from the dead. The question of those who
accept the ego explicitly or by implication are hard to answer from the Buddhist point of view. If we
say that there is future life, they will conclude that we support the ego-belief. But Buddhism does not
categorically deny the future life. Hence, the Buddha's refusal to answer this question. Moreover, it
is hard to produce evidence for ordinary people. Psychic persons may be able to point out the hell
or the deva-worlds but sceptics will dismiss such exhibition as black magic or chicanery. So the
Buddha did not answer the question directly, but said that there is continuum of nama-rupa process
in the wake of death without the extinction of defilements.
The problem of future life does not admit any intellectual approach. It is to be settled only
through certain Buddhist practices. These practices enable the yogi to acquire psychic powers by
virtue of which he can see the dead, the good men who have attained the deva-worlds, as well as the
evil persons who are suffering in the nether worlds. What he sees is as clear as what an observer who
occupies a position directly opposite two houses sees - persons passing from one house to the other.
Among the many devas, animals, etc., of the higher and lower realms, he (the yogi) can easily find
the person whom he wants to see.
It is possible for the yogis to attain jhana and psychic powers. There is no teaching which rules
out this possibility. Some practising yogis have in fact had paranormal contact with the other world
(paraloka). But paranormal gifts are hard to come by. Their emergence depends on intense
concentration and so the easier way is to practise vipassana. The problem of life becomes fairly clear
when the development of paccaya-pariggaha insight makes the yogi well aware of the nature of death
and conception. It becomes clearer when he attains sammasana, udayabbaya and bhanga insights for
then he sees clearly how the consciousness units arise and pass away ceaselessly one after another and
how death means the passing away of the last unit to be followed by conception or the arising of the
first consciousness-unit in a new existence. But this insight is still vulnerable and it is only when the
yogi attains at least the sotapatti stage that he becomes wholly free of all doubts about future life. The
trouble is that people wish to inquire about it instead of practising vipassana. Some seek the verdict
of Western scientists and philosophers while others accept the teaching of those who are reputed to
be Arahats with psychic powers. But, the best thing is to seek the answer through vipassana practice
instead of relying on other people.
At the stage of udayabbaya insight the yogi can clearly see how in the wake of the
consciousness-unit that has passed away, there follows a new unit attached to a sense-object. On the
basis of this experience he realizes how the new existence begins with consciousness-unit that arises,
conditioned by attachment to an object at the moment of dying in a previous life.
Before death the stream of consciousness depends on the physical body and is continuous
with one unit following the other uninterruptedly. After death, the body disintegrates and the stream
of consciousness shifts to the physical process in another abode. This may be likened to the
continuous appearance of light in an electric bulb through the ceaseless generation of electricity.
When the bulb is burnt up, the light goes out but the potential electric energy keeps on coming. Light
reappears when the old bulb is replaced with a new one. Here, the bulb, energy and light are all
changing physical processes and we should be mindful of their impermanent character.
The commentary cites the analogies of echo, flame, impression of a seal and reflection in the
mirror. Echo is reflection or repetition of a sound produced by the impact of sound waves on walls,
woods, etc. But it does not mean the transfer of the original sound to a distant place although we
cannot deny the causal relation between the sound and the echo either. When you look at a mirror
your face is reflected on it, but you must not confuse the reflection with your face although it is
causally related to the latter. A lamp, which is burning, may be used to light up another lamp. The
flame of the new lamp is obviously not the flame of. the old lamp since the latter is still burning but,
neither is it causally unrelated to the flame of the old lamp. Lastly, the seal leaves an impression that
is like its face, but it is not the face and it cannot occur in the absence of the seal either.
These analogies help to throw some light on the nature of rebirth process. When a person is
dying, his kamma, the signs and visions related to it and visions of the future life appear. After his
death, there arises the rebirth consciousness conditioned by one of these visions at the last moment
of the previous existence. So rebirth does not mean the passage of the last unit of consciousness to
another life but, since it is conditioned by the visions on death-bed, it is rooted in avijja, sankhara,
etc., that form the links in the chain of causation leading to the visions of the dying person.
Thus, rebirth consciousness is not the consciousness of the dying person but it is causally
related to the previous life. Two consecutive units of consciousness are separate but, given the
stream of consciousness, we speak of the same individual for the whole day, the whole year or the
whole lifetime. Likewise, we speak of the last consciousness on death-bed together with rebirth
consciousness as representing a single person. A man's attainment of deva or any other world is to
be understood in the same sense. It does not mean the transfer of nama-rupa as a whole. We speak
of a man or a person only because the rebirth concerns the stream of causally related mental units.
So it is ucchedaditthi to believe that a person has nothing to do with a previous life since every
person is annihilated on death. Most Buddhists are free from this belief. As the two consecutive lives
are causally related, we speak of one person in conventional terms. But we must guard ourselves
against the sassata view that rebirth means the transfer of the ego to a new abode.
The yogi who has mature vipassana insight does not harbour the two beliefs because he is fully
aware of the rising and passing away of mental units in the present life and their causal relations. This
awareness leaves no room for the illusions of personal immortality or annihilation. The nature of
consciousness is evident even to those who think objectively. Joy may be followed by dejection and
vice versa or, a serene mind may give way to irritation and vice versa. These changing states of
consciousness clearly shows its heterogeneous nature. Moreover, mental states may be associated
through similarity, as for example, the intention to do a certain thing at night may occur again in the
morning. The mental states do not differ, but are causally related to one another. Those who
understand this relation between two consecutive states of consciousness can see that the same
relation holds between the two mental elements that are separated only by death.
Death-Bed Visions
Consciousness in the new existence is of two kinds,
viz., rebirth consciousness and the consciousness that
occurs during the whole life. There are altogether l9
kinds of rebirth consciousness, one in the lower worlds,
nine in the sensual worlds of human beings and devas,
five in rupa-brahma world and four in arupa-brahma
worlds. As for the others that occur during the rest of
life, they number thirty-two as resultant mental states
(vipaka-vinnana). These enumerations will be
intelligible only to those who have studied Abhidhamma.
To a dying person, there appears the flashbacks of what
he has done in life (kamma), the surrounding conditions
associated with his kammic acts (kammanimitta) and the
visions of his future life (gatinimitta). Kamma may
assume the form of a flashback about the past or the
hallucination about the present. A fisherman on his
death-bed may talk as if he were catching fish or a man
who has given much alms may think in his last hours that
he is doing dana. Many years ago, I led a group of
pilgrims from Shwebo to visit pagodas in Mandalay and
Rangoon. An old man in the group died shortly after our
return to Shwebo. He died muttering the words that were
reminiscent of his experience during the pilgrimage.
The dying man also has visions of the environment in
which kammic deeds were done such as robes, monasteries,
bhikkhus, Buddha images, etc., in connection with his
acts of dana or weapons, places, victims in case of the
murder he has committed.
Then he sees visions of what he will find in his
afterlife. For example, he will see hell-fire,
hell-guards, etc., if he is bound to land in hell;
devas, mansions, etc., if he is to pass on to
deva-worlds and so forth. Once a dying brahmin was told
by his friends that the vision of the flames which he
saw indicated the brahma-world. He believed them and
died only to find himself in hell. False beliefs are
indeed dangerous. It is said that some people tell their
dying friends to visualize their acts of killing a cow
for dana, believing that such acts are beneficial.
The Story Of Mahadhammika Upasaka
In the time of the Buddha, there were in Savatthi city
five hundred upasakas each with 500 followers. They all
practised the dhamma. The eldest of them, Mahadhammika,
the head of all upasakas had seven sons and seven
daughters who also lived up to the teaching of the
Buddha. As he grew old, he became sick and weak. He
invited the bhikkhus to his house and while attending
their recitation of the dhamma, he saw the celestial
chariot arriving to take him to the deva-world. He said
to the devas, "Please wait."
The bhikkhus stopped reciting as they thought that the
dying man had told them to do so. His sons and daughters
cried, believing that he was babbling for fear of death.
After the bhikkhus' departure, he came round, told the
people around him to throw a garland of flowers up into
the air. They did as they were told and lo! the garland
remained hanging in the air. The upasaka said that the
garland indicated the position of the chariot from
Susita heaven, and after advising his daughters and sons
to do good deeds like him for rebirth in the deva-world,
he died and landed in Susita. This is how the vision of
deva-world appears to the good man on his death-bed. A
layman in Moulmein said that just before he died he saw
a very good pucca building. This, too, may be a vision
of the deva-world. Some dying persons who are to be
reborn as human beings have visions of their would-be
parents, residence and so forth. A Sayadaw in Moulmein
was killed by robbers. Three years later a child from
Mergui came to Moulmein and identified by name the
Sayadaws with whom he said he had lived together in his
previous life. He said that the robbers stabbed him when
they did not get the money, that he ran away to the
jetty where he got into a boat, reached Mergui and dwelt
in the home of his parents. The flight, journey by boat,
etc., were perhaps visions of the Sayadaw's afterlife.
Flashbacks of kammic acts and visions of a future life
occur even in cases of instant death. According to the
commentary, they occur even when a fly on a bar of iron
is crushed to pieces with a hammer. Today, there arc
nuclear weapons that can reduce a big city to ashes in a
moment. From the Buddhist point of view, these weapons
have appeared because of the evil kamma of their
potential victims. Those who are killed by these bombs
also see the flashbacks and visions. This may sound
incredible to those who do not know the mechanism of the
mind thoroughly but, it presents no difficulty to the
yogi who contemplates the nama-rupa in action. For it is
said in the scriptures that units of consciousness arise
and pass away by the billions in the twinkling of an
eye. The yogi who has attained udayabbaya insight knows
empirically that hundreds of mental units arise and
dissolve in a moment. So he has no doubt about the
possibility of consciousness centering or flashbacks and
visions in those who meet violent and instant death.
Consciousness is always focused on objects. We often
recall what we have done and think of the deva-world or
the human society. If a man who has done good deeds dies
with these thoughts, he will be reborn as a deva or a
human being. The objects of these thoughts on death-bed
are called gatinimitta, visions of objects associated
with kamma are called kammanimitta.
References to these death-bed phenomena are to be found
not only in the commentaries, but also in the Pali
pitaka. In the Balapandita and other suttas, the Buddha
speaks of the death-bed memories of good or bad deeds
and likens them to the shadows of a mountain dominating
the plains in the evening. It is impossible to remove
them. Once I saw a dying woman who showed great fear as
if she were face to face with an enemy who was out to
treat her cruelly. She was speechless and her relatives
tried to comfort her but, it was in vain. Perhaps she
was having a foretaste of her unhappy future as a result
of evil kamma.
So it is necessary to do good kamma that will produce
mental images of objects and persons associated with it
and visions of a good afterlife at the moment of dying.
If the good deed is rational, strongly motivated and one
of the eight kinds of good deeds in sensual sphere, the
resultant consciousness is one of the four kinds of
rational vinnana. Rebirth is then associated with amoha
(non-ignorance) and as such it takes place with three
root-conditions (hetu) viz., amoha, adosa
(non-aggressiveness) and alobha (non-craving). A person
reborn with these innate tendencies can attain jhana and
psychic powers if he practises samatha and can attain
the holy path and Nibbana if he devotes himself to
vipassana. Good acts that are motivated by the desire
for Nibbana lead to such good rebirth and finally to the
path, and Nibbana through contemplation or hearing a
sermon.
If the motivation is weak or if it is a good, but
unenlightened deed, that is, a good deed divorced from
the belief in kamma, the result is one of the four kinds
of unenlightened (moha-vipaka) consciousness. The
rebirth is then devoid of amoha (non-ignorance), there
being only the other root-conditions, viz., alobha and
adosa. It is termed //dvehetupatisandhika//. A man
reborn in this way cannot attain jhanas or the Path as
he lacks the innate intelligence for it. If the good
deed is unenlightened and half-hearted, the result will
be good rebirth consciousness without any good
predispositions. The person concerned is likely to have
defective eyes, ears, etc.
So when you do a good deed you should do it with zeal
and with Nibbana as your objective. If you set your
heart on Nibbana, the good deed will lead you to it and
the zeal with which you do it will ensure rebirth with
good predispositions. It is not necessary to pray for
such noble rebirth because you are assured of it if you
do good deeds intelligently and zealously. But, if you
lack zeal in doing good, yours will be a rebirth with
only alobha and adosa.
Some people say that dana and sila mean good
kamma-formations (punnabhisankhara) which, being rooted
in ignorance, lead to rebirth and samsaric suffering.
This is a mistaken view that stems from ignorance. If
the practice of dana and sila is motivated by the desire
for Nibbana, it will ensure the noblest rebirth and lead
to the supreme goal. It was due to dana and sila that
Sariputta and other disciples of the Buddha finally
attained Nibbana. The same may be said of
paccekabuddhas.
The bodhisatta, too, attained supreme enlightenment in
the same way by praying that his good deeds contribute
to the attainment of omniscience (sabbannutanana). Here
rebirth with three good predispositions, viz., amoha,
adosa and alobha involved in the genesis of Buddhahood
is of two kinds, viz., consciousness associated with joy
(somanassa) and consciousness associated with equanimity
(upekkha). Again each of these two vinnanas is of two
kinds, viz., asankharika (spontaneous) and sasankharika
(non-spontaneous). The bodhisatta's rebirth
consciousness was powerful, zealous asankharika.
According to ancient commentaries, it was somanassa
consciousness. For the bodhisatta wanted very much to
promote the welfare of all living beings, he had
infinite metta (good-will or loving-kindness) for them.
A strong-willed metta is usually coupled with somanassa
and, hence, the bodhisatta's rebirth consciousness was
tinged with joy.
But, Mahasiva thera suggested upekkha as its
(bodhisatta's rebirth) concomitant. In his view, the
bodhisatta's mind was firm and profound, thereby making
equanimity rather than joy the characteristic of his
rebirth consciousness. In any event, this
rebirth-vinnana had its origin in his good deed that was
motivated by the desire for supreme enlightenment. Thus,
although the enlightened good kamma-formations
(sankhara) lead to rebirth, it does not prolong samsaric
existence; on the contrary it contributes to liberation
from the life-cycle.
Consciousness of any kind, whether it be rebirth
consciousness or otherwise, is a matter of very short
duration. It has only three points of time, viz.,
arising (//upada//), being (//thi//) and passing away
(//bhanga//). According to the commentaries, these
mental units arise and pass away by the millions in the
twinkling of an eye. The moment of each unit is so short
that it does not last even the millionth part of a
second.
After the cessation of rebirth-consciousness there
follows the stream of subconsciousness (bhavanga) which
flows ceaselessly unless it is interrupted by a
different kind of consciousness called vithi, that is
the kind of mental activity involved in seeing, hearing,
and so forth. The stream of bhavanga lasts as long as
there is life, its mainspring being sankhara as in the
case of rebirth consciousness. Its duration, too,
depends mainly on sankhara or kamma. It may be like a
stone thrown into the air. The stone will travel a long
way if the hand which throws it is strong, but it will
not go very far if the hand is weak. The force of kamma
may also be compared to the initial velocity of the
bullet, rocket, and so forth. Death means the
dissolution of the consciousness that is born of the
same kammic force. Hence the initial rebirth
consciousness, the stream of subconsciousness and the
last dying (cuti) consciousness of an existence comprise
the mental life that is wholly rooted in past kamma.
Also due the kamma or sankhara are the five kinds of
vithi consciousness, viz., those involved in seeing,
hearing, smelling, eating and touching as well as the
mental unit that focuses on the sense-objects, the
consciousness that reflects (santirana-citta) and the
consciousness that registers (tadarammana-citta) the
objects of impulse-moments (javana). These have their
roots in original kamma that leads to rebirth or other
kinds of kamma.
The Abhidhamma pitaka attributes all kinds of
consciousness, including wholesome, unwholesome and
non-kammic or kiriya-citta to sankhara. This view is
reasonable since the kiriya-cittas, too, evolve from the
bhavanga-citta that is rooted in sankhara. But the
doctrine of Paticcasamuppada specifically describes the
three rounds (vatta) of defilements, kamma, kammic
results and their cause-and-effect relationships. So it
ascribes to sankhara only the 32 types of mundane
resultant cittas that stem from kamma vatta. Of these 32
cittas we have described 19 cittas that comprise
rebirth, subconscious state and death of the other
cittas. Of the other cittas some are wholesome according
to the sankhara.
In the doctrine of Paticcasamuppada, the first two
factors i.e., avijja and sankhara are described as the
causes in the past life, vinnana, nama-rupa, phassa and
vedana as the consequences in the present life; tanha,
upadana and bhava as the causes in the present life and
jati and jaramarana (old age and death) as the
consequences that will occur in the future life.
Vinnana And Nama-Rupa
The doctrine says that vinnana gives rise to nama-rupa.
This means that with the arising of rebirth
consciousness there also arise mind and body. Rebirth
consciousness is invariably coupled with feeling
(vedana), perception (sanna), contact (phassa), volition
(cetana), mental advertance (manasikara) and other
elements of mind relating to the objects of death-bed
visions of a person. Every citta is bound up with these
mental elements. The high (tihetu) rebirth of some
Brahmas, devas and human beings also, involve the three
noble predispositions of alobha, adosa and amoha; some
devas and human beings have only alobha and adosa while
the earth-bound devas and human beings with defective
organs are totally devoid of noble predispositions.
Their rebirth is a good ahetu-birth as distinct from the
evil ahetu-rebirth of the denizens of the lower worlds
who are also devoid of good inborn tendencies.
Rebirth may assume one of the three forms: rebirth in
the mother's womb, rebirth generated in putridity
(samsedaja) and rebirth as sudden and spontaneous
emergence of the full-fledged physical body (opapatika).
Rebirth in the mother's womb is of two kinds, viz.,
viviparous as in the case of human beings and quadrupeds
emerging from the wombs with umbilical cords and
oviparous as in the case of birds coming out of eggs.
These living beings may differ in origin as they do in
size and gestation or incubation period. We will leave
it at that and now go on with the human rebirth as
described in the commentaries.
With the arising of rebirth consciousness there occur
simultaneously three kammaja-rupakalapa or thirty rupas.
These are rupas that have their origin in kamma, viz.,
ten kaya-rupas, ten bhava-rupas and ten vatthu-rupas.
The nine rupas, to wit, the solid, fluid, heat, motion,
colour, smell, taste, nutriment and life together with
the kayapasada (body-essence), rupa form the ten
kaya-rupas; bhava-rupa and the solid, etc., form the
group of ten bhava-rupas. Bhava-rupa means two germinal
rupas, one of manhood and the other for womanhood. With
the maturation of these rupas the mental and physical
characteristics of man and woman become differentiated,
as is evident in the case of those who have undergone
sex changes.
In the time of the Buddha Soreyya, the son of a
merchant, instantly turned into a woman for having
wronged Mahakaccayana thera. All masculine features
disappeared and gave way to those of the fair sex. He
even gave birth to two children. It was only when he
begged for forgiveness that he again became a man. Later
on, he joined the holy order and died as an Arahat. It
is somewhat like the case of a man who develops canine
mentality after having been bitten by a rabid dog. The
sex freak who is neither a male nor a female has no
bhava-rupa. He has only ten kaya-rupas and ten
vatthu-rupas. Vatthu-rupas are the physical bases of
rebirth, subconscious, death and other cittas. So at the
moment of conception there is already the physical basis
for rebirth consciousness. The three kalapas or thirty
rupas form the kalala which, according to ancient
Buddhist books, mark the beginning of life.
This embryonic rupa has the size of a little drop of
butter-oil scum on a fine woollen thread. It is so small
that it is invisible to the naked eye. It does not exist
by itself. We should assume that it arises from the
fusion of the semen (sukka) and blood (sanita) of the
parents. If we reject this view, it will be hard to
explain the child's resemblance to his parents in
physical appearance. It is also said in the suttas that
the physical body is the product of the four primary
elements and the parent's semen. Moreover, the pitaka
specifies three conditions necessary for conception,
viz., the parents' intercourse, the menstrual discharge
of the mother and the presence of something qualified to
become an embryo. Thus, it is clear that according to
the scriptures, the embryonic kalala has its origin in
the fusion of parents' semen and blood.
The semen and blood dissociated from the parents are
utuja (temperature-based) rupa but it is quite possible
for utuja-rupa to assimilate kammaja (kamma-based) rupa.
Modern doctors excise a lump of unhealthy tissue from
the human body and replace it with healthy tissue. The
graft is utuja-rupa when cut out from the body but, as
it becomes one whole with the natural tissues there
appears kayapasada or kammaja-rupa. There are also cases
of transplanting a goat's intestine or a human eye in
place of diseased organs. No doubt these transplants
develop kammaja-rupas in the form of kayapasada and
cakkhupasada. Likewise, we should assume that the three
kammajakalapas are fused with utuja-rupas of semen and
blood detached from parents.
According to Western biologists, it is the fusion of the
mother's ovum and the father's spermatoza that gradually
develops and becomes a child. The original embryo is so
small that it cannot be seen with the naked eye. The
findings of these scientists fairly agree with what the
Buddhist books say about conception. Without the help of
microscope or other instruments, but purely by means of
his intellect, the Buddha knew how life begins with
three kalapas or thirty rupas as kalala on the basis of
parents' semen and blood. This was the Buddha's teaching
2500 years ago and it was only during the last 300 years
that Western scientists discovered the facts about
conception after long investigation with microscopes.
Their discoveries bear testimony to the Buddha's
infinite intelligence. However, they are as yet unable
to reveal the genesis of thirty rupas probably because
the extremely subtle kammaja-rupas defy microscopic
investigation.
Thus, the cetasika and kammaja-rupa are the nama-rupas
born of rebirth consciousness. The kammaja-rupas are
renewed at every thought-moment as are the utuja-rupas
due to heat. From the arising of the first
bhavanga-citta there also occur cittaja-rupa
(consciousness-based) rupas at the moment of the arising
of citta. But, cittas which make us barely aware of
seeing, etc., cannot cause rupa. So cittaja-rupas do not
arise at the moment of the arising of the bare cittas.
Thus, with the arising of the rebirth citta, there
develop in due course all other kinds of citta, that is,
cetasikas, e.g., feeling, etc., as well as all kinds of
rupa, to wit, kammaja, utuja and cittaja-rupas. After a
week, the kalala becomes turbid froth (abbuda) which
turns into a lump of flesh after a week. This hardens
into //ghana// in another week and in the fifth week
there develops //pasakha// with four knobs for hands and
legs and one big knob for head.
The Buddhist books do not describe in detail the
development after the fifth week, but say that after 77
days the four pasada-rupas for seeing, hearing,
smelling, and tasting appear as do the ahara-rupas, the
product of the nutriment in the mother's body. It is
also said that the embryo has toe-nails, finger-nails,
etc. The books do not go into further details as it is
not necessary for the yogis to know them. Such knowledge
is beneficial only to doctors.
//Upapata// Rebirth
For heavenly beings like catumaharaja and others, as
soon as the rebirth-citta arises, there also arise 70
rupas or seven different kalapas, viz., cakkhu, sota,
ghana, jiva, kayabhava and vatthudasaka. Kalapas of the
same kind are innumerable according to the size of the
deva's eyes, ears, etc. There are no dasaka-kalapas,
that is, ghana, jiva, kaya and bhava in the three first
jhanic abodes, the three second jhanic abodes, the three
third jhanic abodes, the vehapphala and suddhavasa
abodes. The three dasakarupa-kalapas (cakkhu, sota and
vatthu-dasaka) and one navaka-kalapa or a total of four
different kalapas or 39 rupas arise simultaneously with
rebirth-citta. Of these four kalapas,
jivitanavaka-kalapa takes on the nature of kayadasaka.
The body of the Brahma is pervaded by jivita and nine
rupas as is the deva's body by kayadasaka-kalapa.
Asannasatta Brahmas have no citta from the moment of
rebirth. They have only jivitanavaka-kalapa which assume
Brahmanic form. Being devoid of citta and cittaja-rupa,
such a Brahma knows nothing and makes no movement. He is
like a wooden statue. More wonderful than these Brahmas
are arupa Brahmas who having no rupa live in arupa
(immaterial) worlds for thousands of world-systems
through the successive renewal of mind and its elements.
These accounts do not admit of scientific investigation
and they concern only the Buddha and holy men with
psychic powers.
The denizens of hell and the petas who are forever
burning and starving cannot be conceived in wombs nor
can they arise from putrid matter. Because of their evil
kamma they come into being by materialization. Like the
aforementioned devas they develop seven kalapas or 70
rupas simultaneously. They usually do not have defective
vision, hearing, etc., since they are doomed to
suffering through sense-contact with evil objects.
Sansedaja Beings
As the sansedaja beings are said to have their origin in
putrid matter, they are likely to develop gradually.
But, the Buddhist books refer to their full-fledged
materialization if they do not have defective visions,
etc. We cannot say which is true, development or
materialization, as the kammaja-rupas cannot be
subjected to scientific inquiry and so for the time
being it is better to accept the view as stated in the
scriptures. The development of kammaja and other rupas
in sansedaja and upapata rebirths are generally like
that in gabbhaseyyaka (womb) rebirth. The only
difference is that in the case of the former beings,
aharaja-rupas arise from the time they eat food or
swallow their saliva.
Vithi-Cittas
Vithi-cittas differ in kind from bhavanga-cittas.
Bhavanga-citta resembles rebirth-citta in respect of
objects and process. It is the stream of consciousness
that follows rebirth-citta, having its root in kamma. It
is focused on one of the three objects viz., kamma,
kammanimitta or gatinimitta of the previous existence.
It is not concerned with the objects in present life. It
is the kind of mental state that we have when sound
asleep. But there occur certain changes when we see,
hear, smell, eat, have bodily contact or think and these
changes in mental phenomena are called six vithi-cittas.
Suppose the visual form is reflected on the sensitive
rupa of the eye (cakkhupasada), these rupas, each
lasting only 17 thought-moments, are renewed ceaselessly
together with the visual objects and their mental
images. A group of eye-rupas and a group of visual
objects occur simultaneously. But, a rupa is not
powerful at the moment of arising and so there is no
contact between the eye and its object during the moment
of bhavanga-citta. In other words, there is no
reflection of the visual object on the eye. The bhavanga
that passes away before such reflection is called
atitabhavanga. Then another bhavanga-citta arises and
reflection occurs. As a result, the bhavanga-citta is
disrupted. Its attentiveness to its accustomed object
wanes and it begins to consider the visual object. This
is termed bhavangacalana or bhavanga in motion. Then
another bhavanga takes its place but, it is so weak that
with its cessation, the bhavanga stream is cut off. The
mind becomes curious about the visual form that the eye
sees. This inquiring mind is called avajjana-citta and
there are five kinds of such cittas corresponding to
five sense-organs. There follows the eye consciousness,
and after its cessation, there arises the citta which
receives and attends to the visual object.
Bhavanga is the resultant citta that stems from
sankhara, as are eye-citta and the receiving citta. They
are called vipaka (resultant) cittas. There are two
kinds of vipaka-cittas, viz., good and bad according to
good and bad sankhara. On the other hand avajjana-citta
(mental advertance) is ethically neither good nor bad;
it is not a vipaka-citta either. It is termed
kiriya-citta which means mere action without any kammic
effect, the kind of citta that is usually attributed to
Arahats.
After the mind has received the visual object, it
inquires about its quality, whether it is good, bad,
etc., (santirana-citta). Then, there follows decision
(vutthocitta), that it is good, etc. This leads to
javana which means seven impulse moments flashing seven
times in succession. Javana occurs very quickly. It has
speed and impetus that are absent in other factors of
the consciousness process. It is associated with
powerful mental factors which may be good or bad such as
lobha or alobha. No wonder that evil minds rush towards
their objects speedily. Thus, greed makes us inclined to
scramble for the desired object and seize it by force,
and anger arouses in us the desire to rush and destroy
its object blindly. Doubt, restlessness and ignorance,
too, speedily associate themselves with their respective
objects. The same may be said of good mental factors.
Because of their frantic and impulsive nature, the
sensual desires are also called kamajavana. After the
seven impulse moments, there follow two
tadarammana-citta moments. This citta is concerned with
the object of javana and thus its function is to fulfil
the lingering desire of its predecessor.
In the consciousness process the eye-vinnana is
dependent on eye organ (cakkhu-pasada) that arises
together with atitabhavanga. Other vinnanas are
dependent on the heart (hadaya-vatthu) rupa that arises
along with other cittas. The 14 cittas from avajjana to
the second tadarammana are focused only on present
objects. So these 14 cittas are vithi-cittas that differ
in kind from bhavanga-cittas. In other words, they are
active cittas. After the cessation of second
tadarammana-citta that marks the end of the
consciousness process, the mental life reverts to the
subconsciousness (bhavanga) state that is something like
sleep.
An analogy may throw some light on the process (vithi)
of consciousness. A man is sleeping under a mango tree.
A mango falls and he wakes up. Picking up the fruit, the
man examines it. He smells it and knowing that it is
ripe, he eats it. Then he thinks over its taste and
falls asleep again. Here the bhavanga state with kamma,
kamma-nimitta and gatinimitta as its objects is like the
state of being asleep. Waking up with a start due to the
fall of the mango may be like the rising and passing
away of bhavanga-citta. Reflection after awaking is
avajjana. Seeing the visual object is seeing the fruit.
Santirana-citta is involved when the man examines the
fruit. To conclude that it is ripe is vuttho-citta.
Javana is like eating the fruit and tadarammana is like
thinking over its taste. Reverting to bhavanga state is
like falling asleep again.
If the visible object is not very clear, it appears on
the eye-organ after the arising of atitabhavanga twice
or thrice. In case of such objects the vithi process
does not last till the emergence of tadarammana but ends
in javana and sinks into bhavanga state.
If the visible object is still weaker, it is reflected
only after the arising of atitabhavanga from five to
nine times. The vithi process does not reach javana, but
ends after vuttho arises twice or thrice. The vithi that
thus ends in vuttho is of great importance in the
practice of vipassana. For the yogi who practises
constant mindfulness does not seek or attend to defiling
sense-objects. So reflection is slow, avajjana is weak,
eye-consciousness is not clear, reception is not proper,
inquiry is not effective and decision is indefinite. So
after reflecting twice or thrice the mind relapses into
bhavanga state. The object is not clear enough to defile
the mind and the yogi becomes aware of anicca, dukkha
and anatta of the phenomena. There is only bare
awareness of seeing and the vithi process is wholly free
from defilements.
The vithi process that we have outlined above for the
eye equally applies to the ear, nose, tongue and body.
Manodvara Vithi
The mind vithi is of three kinds according to the javana
involved, viz., kammajavana, jhanajavana and
maggaphalajavana. Here, what matters is vithi with
kammajavana. While the bhavanga stream is flowing, there
appear mental images of the sense-objects that one has
experienced or, sometimes, those which one has not
experienced. Then bhavanga is disturbed and next time it
is cut off. This is followed by reflection which is
somewhat like vuttho (decision) in the five
sense-organs. Like vuttho, reflection (avajjana) leads
to javana, giving rise to agreeable or disagreeable
emotions such as fear, anger, confusion, devotion, awe,
pity and so forth. The impulses arising at the five
sense-organs are weak and they neither lead to good or
bad rebirth nor produce much other effects. But the
impulses in the mind are potent enough to determine the
quality of rebirth and all other kammic results. So it
is necessary to guard and control these impulses. After
seven impulse-moments followed by two
tadarammana-moments the mind sinks into bhavanga state.
Thus, the vithi process at manodvara involves one
avajjana-moment, seven javana-moments and two
tadarammana-moments. In the case of dim and indistinct
objects, the mind skips tadarammana, passes through
javana and reverts to bhavanga. If the object is very
weak, the mind does not attain even javana but has two
or three avajjana-moments. This is natural if we bear in
mind the way we have to focus on mind-objects in
vipassana practice. The only resultant citta in this
mano-vithi is tadarammana, the other two being
kiriya-citta, the citta that does not stem from
sankhara.
Follow-Up Vithi
The mind vithi may involve the review of the
sense-objects after rising from bhavanga state in the
wake of the vithi rooted in the respective sense-organs.
Up to this vithi the mind has, as its object, only rupa
in its ultimate sense (paramattharupa). It is not
concerned with the conventional modes of usage, e.g.
man, woman, etc. So at this moment the yogi is not
misled by appearances for he is aware of ultimate
reality. He should try to contemplate immediately after
seeing, etc. We, therefore, stress the importance of
immediate and present moment as the yogi's focus of
attention.
If after this kind of manovithi the yogi is unmindful,
there arises another manovithi in connection with the
visual object, etc. Then the sense-object becomes a
specific object of attention in terms of conventional
shape and form. This vithi is open to strong but
unwholesome impulses. It gives way to another manovithi
where the attention is focused on conventional
designations such as man, woman, etc., thereby making it
more susceptible to stronger evil impulses.
In the face of a strange, unfamiliar object, the
vithi-process involves three stages, viz., seeing,
reflection and cognizance of the form and substance in
conventional terms. The vithi stops short of cognizing
the conventional names. In the case of vithi that arises
in connection with a conventional term, it involves
hearing, reflection and cognizance of the conventional
term, and awareness of the relevant form and substance.
From Vinnana Arises Nama-Rupa
Because of rebirth consciousness there arise mental
phenomena associated with it such as feeling,
remembering, perception, reflection, etc., together with
the three kalapas or thirty rupas. After the cessation
of rebirth consciousness, cetasikas (mental factors)
arise in the wake of every activity of vinnana and so do
rupas conditioned by citta, kamma, utu (heat) and ahara
(nutriment).
There is no doubt, about the close connection between
citta and cetasika. When citta is active we feel, we
remember, we think, there arise greed, anger, faith and
so forth. Equally obvious are the physical phenomena
that stem from cittas. We stand, sit, go or do anything
that we wish to do. According to the commentary, this
obvious fact gives ground for our knowledge that the
rebirth consciousness at the moment of conception leads
to three kalapas or thirty rupas. In fact, the arising
of rebirth consciousness and rupa at the moment of
conception takes place in a split second and as such it
is invisible even to the divine eye. The divine eye may
see what happens shortly before death and after rebirth,
but it is only the Buddha's omniscience that sees
death-citta and rebirth-citta directly. But, from what
we know about the cause of physical phenomena, we can
infer the arising of rupa from the rebirth-citta at the
moment of conception.
Some physical phenomena have their origin not in citta
but in kamma, utu (heat) and material food, but without
citta they will have no life. A corpse is lifeless
although it is composed of utuja-rupas. It is because of
the contribution of citta that the rupas based on kamma,
utu and nutriment exist and form a continuous stream of
life. Once death supervenes, cutting off the stream of
consciousness, the cetasikas and living rupas cease to
exist. Hence, the teaching that nama-rupa is conditioned
of vinnana.
Because of sankhara (good or bad kamma) there is an
uninterrupted flow of vinnana in the new existence.
Coupled with every citta is nama-rupa which arises
ceaselessly. The duration of nama-rupa depends on citta.
If citta lasts an hour, so does nama-rupa. If the stream
of citta, flows for 100 years, we say that the life of
nama-rupa is 100 years. In short, we should understand
that life is only the continuum of ceaseless causal
relationships between nama-rupa and vinnana.
To sum up what we have said so far. Avijja causes
sankhara. Because of the ignorance of the four noble
truths people exert effort (sankhara) to be happy. They
think that they will be happy if they get what they
want. But, the objects of their desire are impermanent
and so they lead to suffering. Not knowing the truth
about dukkha, they think, speak and do things for their
welfare in the present life and hereafter. These kammic
actions lead to rebirth consciousness in the lower or
the higher worlds. Beginning with this rebirth
consciousness, there is a stream of citta that flows
continuously until death, and the nature of this mental
life is determined by kamma. The physical body too is
conditioned by kamma as well as by citta, utu (heat) and
nutriment.
The physical phenomena as conditioned by citta are
obvious for all our bodily and verbal actions such as
moving, speaking, etc., are rooted in citta. The yogi
has to practise mindfulness on the basis of these
cittajarupas and it is important to know them
empirically for himself. Hence, the Buddha's teaching in
Mahasatipatthana sutta: "The bhikkhu knows that he walks
when he walks and that he stands when he stands."
According to the commentary, if we know experientially
the dependence of cittajarupa on citta, we can know by
inference the contribution of vinnana to kammajarupa,
cittajarupa, utujarupa and aharajarupa. Hence, the
teaching of Paticcasamuppada: Conditioned by vinnana,
there arises nama-rupa.
The yogi cannot know empirically the rebirth-citta or
for that matter any other citta in the past in its
ultimate sense. All that he can know is the reality
about consciousness as it is functioning at present and
he can know this only if he is always mindful. If he
focuses on present vinnana, he comes to know nama-rupa
fairly well. For, if he notes "seeing, seeing" and knows
the eye-consciousness, he also knows the nama-rupa that
is bound up with it. Here, by eye-consciousness we mean
not only the eye-vinnana but the whole mental process of
seeing (cakkhudvara-vithi). The yogi notes it as a whole
and not by piecemeal. Moreover, the vithi appears to the
yogi as a single unit of consciousness. This way of
introspection is in accord with Patisambhidamagga which
says: "The citta that focuses on rupa arises and passes
away. The yogi then contemplates the dissolution of the
citta that has watched the dissolution of the rupa."
In other words, when the rupa is manifest, the citta
watches it; but since the citta has attained bhanga
insight, it too sees impermanence in the rupa and
dissolves away. The dissolving vipassana citta itself
becomes the object of contemplation. This vipassana
citta is not a simple citta; it is composed of at least
avajjana and seven impulse moments. But, these eight
cittas cannot be watched one by one; the whole vithi is
to be the object of attention.
Here, the eye-consciousness means the whole mental
process (vithi) of seeing and it includes good or bad
kamma and impulses. So attentiveness to it leads to
awareness of vedana (feeling), sanna (perception),
phassa (contact), manasikara (reflection), cetana
(volition) and so forth. But, cetana is more apparent in
connection with thinking. Thus, it comes into full play
when at night we think of what we have to do the next
day. It urges and agitates us and its function is
unmistakable. The yogi who constantly watches his
nama-rupa is aware of cetana in action whenever he
speaks or moves any part of his body. For example, if
while practising mindfulness, you feel an itch you wish
to get rid of, you note the desire and you feel as if
you are being urged to remove the itch. It is cetana
which urges you to do and so it is manifest in your
everyday action, speech and thinking.
In short, if you know the eye-consciousness through
contemplation, you know the nama (mental) khandhas that
are born of it as well as the rupas of the whole body
that form its basis. This is in accordance with the
teaching: "From vinnana there arises nama-rupa."
The same may be said of the consciousness in connection
with hearing, etc., awareness of vinnana means awareness
of all the nama-rupa that are bound up with it. The
awareness of contact is based on pleasant and unpleasant
sensations when these sensations are manifest; it is
based on contact when motion and rigidity are manifest;
when you note the desire to bend the arm, you know the
volition (cetana) behind it.
When you contemplate the vinnana which thinks, you know
the nama-rupa that is coupled with it. When you find
yourself committing something to memory, you know sanna;
when you note your intention to do or speak something,
you become aware of cetana; when you note your desire
for something, you know that it is your lobha. When you
note your irritation, you know that it is dosa; you know
moha when you note your view of a being in terms of a
permanent and happy individual. You know alobha when you
know the lack of desire in you. Moreover, your intention
to do or say something is followed by bodily behaviour
or verbal expression and so through contemplation, you
become aware of vinnana-citta as the cause of rupas in
the body.
Vinnana and nama-rupa are interdependent. Just as
vinnana gives rise to nama-rupa, so also nama-rupa leads
to vinnana. Nama-rupa contributes to vinnana by way of
simultaneous arising (sahajatapaccaya) foundation
(nissayapaccaya) and so forth. It is only through the
contribution of all cetasikas collectively or the body
(rupa) as the physical basis, etc., that vinnana comes
into being.
Mahapadana sutta tells us how the bodhisatta reflected
on dependent origination just before he attained
enlightenment. He found nama-rupa, six bases of mental
activity, impression, feeling, craving, clinging and
becoming (bhava) to be the links in the chain of
causation leading to old age and death. Then it occurs
to him that nama-rupa is conditioned by vinnana and
vice-versa. The sutta ascribes this statement about the
correlation between vinnana and nama-rupa to Vipassi
bodhisatta, but we should understand that it is a fact
discovered by all bodhisattas before they attained
supreme enlightenment.
Although vinnana and nama-rupa are interdependent, the
former is the determining factor and, hence, it is
described as the cause of nama-rupa. In fact, when
vinnana arises because of sankhara, its concomitant
cetasikas as well as the rupas resulting from sankhara
come into being at the same time. So vinnanas and
nama-rupas arise together from the moment of rebirth.
Moreover, vinnana and nama-rupa include the six ayatana
(the six bases or sense-organs) as well as phassa
(sense-contact) and vedana (feeling). But since vinnana
is the cause of nama-rupa and nama-rupa the cause of
salayatana and so forth, the Buddha says: Vinnana
paccaya nama-rupa, etc., to distinguish between cause
and effect. Likewise a verse in the Dhammapada describes
the mind (mano or vinnana) as leading the cetasikas:
manopubbangama dhamma; if a person acts or speaks with
an evil mind, suffering follows him as a result, just as
the wheels of a cart follow the ox which draws it.
In point of fact citta and cetasikas arise together but,
because of its predominant role, citta is described as
leading the latter. If a man's mind is evil, he does
evil deeds, utters evil words and harbours evil
thoughts. These three kinds of kammas are sankharas born
of ignorance. They become potential for evil kammic
effect. Every deed, speech or thought is accompanied by
seven impulse-moments that flash forth several times. If
the first impulse-moments are favourable, the kamma is
productive in the present life; otherwise it becomes
sterile. If one of the seven impulse-moments is
favourable, it gives rise to kammic images or visions of
afterlife on death-bed and produces kammic effect in the
next life. Otherwise, it is sterile. As for the other
five impulse-moments, they produce kammic effect from
the third existence till the last existence (the
existence when Nibbana is to be attained) under
favourable circumstances. It becomes sterile only after
the attainment of Nibbana.
Before the attainment of Nibbana its potential remains
intact for innumerable lifetimes, ready to bear fruit
when circumstances permit. It bears fruit in terms of
suffering, both mental and physical, in the lower
worlds. If by virtue of good kamma the person is reborn
in the human world, he will be dogged by evil kamma and
suffer regardless of his station in life.
The Story Of Cakkhupala Thera
The Dhammapada verse that we have referred to was
uttered by the Buddha in connection with the story of
Cakkhupala thera. The thera was a physician in one of
his previous lives. He cured a blind woman and restored
her sight. The woman had promised to serve him as his
slave should she recover her sight. But, she did not
keep her promise and lied that she was worse off than
before. Seeing her trick, the physician gave her an
eye-lotion that destroyed her eyes completely. For his
evil kamma the man suffered in many lives and in his
last existence he became Cakkhupala thera. He practised
meditation as instructed by the Buddha with 60 other
monks at a forest retreat. He never lay down while
meditating and soon he had an eye-infection. He refused
to lie down to apply the eye-lotion and so the doctor
gave up the attempt to cure him. Reminding himself of
certain death, the thera redoubled his effort and at
midnight he became blind and attained Arahatship.
To an ordinary observer, the thera's blindness may
appear to be the price that he had to pay for the
over-exertion of his energy. But the main cause was the
evil deed he had committed in his previous life as a
doctor. Even if he had not practised meditation, he
might have become blind somehow or other. But the
attainment of Arahatship was an immense benefit that
accrued to him from his overzealous and strenuous
exertion.
There are two lessons that we can learn from the story
of Cakkhupala thera. As an energetic monk, he continued
to practise vipassana after he became an Arahat. As he
paced on the ground while meditating, the insects that
lay in his path were trampled to death. When the matter
was brought to the notice of the Buddha, the Lord said
that since the thera had no intention to kill the
insects, he was free from any moral responsibility for
their destruction.
So we should note that causing death without cetana or
volition is not a kammic act and that the body of an
Arahat has weight if he has no psychic power or, if
despite his iddhi he walks without exercising it to
control his weight. Some Buddhists have doubt about
their moral purity when they cook vegetables or drink
water that harbours microbes. They should, of course,
remove living beings that they can see. But, they need
not have qualms about the destruction of creatures that
may be accidentally connected with their actions. Some
Jains are said to feel guilty over the death of insects
that rush against a burning lamp. Theirs is an extreme
view and cetana (volition) as the keystone of moral
problems in the context of kammic law is borne out by
Moggaliputtatissa thera's verdict in his reply to king
Asoka.
The Thera's Verdict
When king Asoka supported the Buddhadhamma lavishly,
some heretics joined the Buddhist sangha for material
benefits. The true bhikkhus refused to have anything to
do with the bogus monks and for seven years the uposatha
service fell into abeyance at the Asokarama monastery in
Pataliputta city. So king Asoka sent a minister to see
to it that the bhikkhus perform the uposatha service.
But the bhikkhus refused to comply with the king's wish.
They said that the uposatha service was to be performed
only by the assembly of true bhikkhus. If there happened
to be a morally impure monk in the assembly, he had to
be admonished and penalized for any infraction of Vinaya
rules. The Sangha held the service only when there was
reason to believe in the purity of every member; and
they did not meet for the service together with
non-bhikkhus. If they did so, they would be guilty of a
serious offence.
The minister regarded this reply as defiance of the
king's order and put the good monks to the sword. The
king's younger brother, Tissa thera, escaped death
because the minister recognized him just in time. On
hearing the news the king was greatly shocked and he
asked Moggaliputtatissa thera whether he was kammically
responsible for the death of the bhikkhus. The thera
asked him whether he had intended to have the monks
killed. When the king replied that he had no such
intention, the thera said that he was free from kammic
responsibility. The thera gave this verdict on the basis
of the Buddha's saying, "Cetana (volitional act) is that
which I call kamma." He also cited Titthira jataka in
which the bodhisatta, who was then a rishi, emphasized
the primacy of cetana in the operation of the kammic
law.
The story of Cakkhupala thera also shows that an Arahat
who has no psychic power has body-weight like ordinary
people. This is evident in the death of insects that
were trampled by the thera. During the last 15 years
Burma has produced some holy men who are reputed to be
Arahats. Some women have reportedly tested their
holiness by having flowers on their hands trodden by the
holy men's feet. It is said that the flowers were not
crushed and the hands not hurt. But an Arahat who has no
psychic power or who does not use it cannot avoid
crushing a thing if he treads directly on it.
The reliable test of arahatship is to see whether or not
a person who claims or is credited with it has craving,
love of pleasure, attachment, anger, depression, fear,
anxiety, restlessness, the tendency to speak ill of
others, the habit of laughing loudly, irreverence to the
memory of the Buddha and so forth. If he has these moral
weaknesses, he is certainly not free from greed, anger
and ignorance. If a thorough inquiry does not reveal any
sign of these weaknesses, we may assume that he
possesses the admirable attributes of an Arahat or at
least the qualities of a holy man who is close to
arahatship.
Pure Thought And Happiness
Just as an evil thought is followed by suffering, so
also pure thought is followed by happiness. Those who
think, speak and act with pure thought build up good
kamma sankhara. Good kammas invariably lead to happiness
in the present life and hereafter. This was emphasized
by the Buddha in the story of Matthakundali.
Matthakundali was the son of a brahmin who never gave
alms. When he became severely ill, his father left him
to his fate as he did not want to spend any money for
his cure. He removed his dying son outside the house to
prevent those who came to inquire after the patient from
seeing his possessions.
On that very day at dawn the Buddha saw the dying boy
with his divine eye. He knew how it would benefit many
people spiritually if the boy saw him before his death.
So, while going round for the collection of food with
other bhikkhus, the Lord passed by the brahmin's house.
At the sight of the Lord, the boy was filled with deep
devotion and shortly after the Lord's departure he died
and landed in Tavatimsa heaven.
Reviewing his past, he saw how devotion to the Buddha
had led him to the deva-world and he saw too, his father
mourning at the cemetery. As he wished to teach his
father a lesson, he came to the cemetery and posing as a
boy who resembled Matthakundali, he started crying.
Questioned by the old brahmin, he said that he needed a
pair of wheels for his golden chariot and that he wanted
the wheels to be made of the sun and the moon. The
brahmin pointed out the futility of his desire but the
boy said that the objects of his desire were visible
whereas the brahmin was mourning for his dead son who
could be seen no longer. He asked who was more foolish,
he or the brahmin. This brought the brahmin to his
senses. The deva revealed his identity and told him how
adoration of the Buddha on his death-bed had benefited
him. He urged his father to seek refuge in the Buddha,
the Dhamma and the Sangha and observe the five precepts.
The brahmin invited the Buddha and the bhikkhus to
morning meal at his house. There were present believers
and non-believers alike at the feast. After the feast,
the brahmin asked the Lord whether there was anybody who
had never heard the Dhamma, never offered food to the
bhikkhus and never kept sabbath and yet attained the
deva-world through his devotion to the Buddha. The Lord
replied that there were many such people. At that moment
Matthakundali deva arrived with his mansion. He told the
Lord how his devotion on his death-bed had landed him in
heaven. All the people were much impressed by the power
of faith in the Buddha that had so immensely benefited
the young man who did not care much for deeds before his
death. Then the Buddha uttered the verse:
"Manopubbangama dhamma..." that we have explained
before.
According to the Dhammapada commentary, the brahmin and
the deva attained the first stage on the holy path after
hearing the verse. It is worthy of note that it was just
the mere thought about the Buddha that led to the young
man's rebirth in the deva-world. He did not seem to have
any hope or desire for Nibbana. His rebirth as a deva
was indeed devoid of intelligence but hearing a verse
made him a sotapanna. These two verses from Dhammapada
echo the Paticcasamuppada teaching that vinnana is
conditioned by sankhara. For the verses say that
happiness or misery arises from kamma sankhara, and in
fact sukha or dukkha occurs together with vinnana.
Again, vinnana implies the associated mental factors and
its physical basis viz., rupa. Hence, the teaching that
vinnana conditions nama-rupa.
Nama-Rupa and Salayatana
Nama-rupa conditions salayatana. This is very profound
and hard to understand. Here nama-rupa means the three
cetasika khandhas while rupa refers to the four primary
elements, the six physical rupas, jivita (life), rupa
and nutriment (ahara-rupa).
Nama-rupa leads to salayatana or five physical
sense-organs, viz., eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and
consciousness. These ayatanas are the doors (avara) that
lead to vithi process. In the immaterial world every
citta-unit throughout the whole life is born of
associated cetasika, but for ordinary persons this will
remain bookish knowledge as it is to be understood only
by Ariyas in the immaterial world.
Further, in any existence like human life that has both
nama and rupa, every vipaka-citta that arises from the
time of conception is also due to associated cetasika.
Vipaka-citta means the kind of citta that barely sees,
barely hears, etc., the pleasant or unpleasant objects.
Here, the seeing citta cannot arise by itself for it
pre-supposes manasikara that considers the visual
object, phassa that contacts the object and cetana that
strives to see it. The seeing citta can arise only when
these concomitant cetasikas arise, collectively at the
same time. This is conascence condition called sahajata
accaya in Pali. Thus, a load that can be raised only by
four men working together will not move up if the team
leader tries to move it alone. Likewise, although
vinnana is the mainspring of mental life it counts for
little by itself. It can function only together with
other mental factors.
Moreover, these associate cetasikas contribute to the
five physical ayatanas, viz., eye, ear, etc., by
conascence at the moment of rebirth. Of course at the
time of conception there is only kaya or rupa. But in
other kinds of rebirth that do not involve the mother's
womb, there may be all the five ayatanas at the
beginning. The conditioning of the ayatanas by vinnana
and cetasikas at the moment of conception is hard to
understand but we have to accept on the authority of the
Buddha. At other times, vipaka as well as the non-vipaka
cittas help to maintain the ayatanas. This is
understandable since it is impossible for matter to
exist without mind.
Rupa And Ayatana
The rebirth consciousness arises on the basis of the
heart (hadaya-vatthu). The mind ayatana has its basis in
the eye, ear, etc. Thought and consciousness too have
heart as their physical basis. All the secondary
physical phenomena such as the eye, visual object, etc.,
depend on the four primary elements, viz., pathavi, apo
(solidity, motion), etc. The five pasada-rupa, i.e. eye,
ear, etc., are rooted in the primary elements and their
kamma-based rupas in jivita (life-force) rupa. The five
ayatana-rupas too depend on nutriment (ahara-rupa).
To sum up, citta-vinnana is conditioned by at least
three mental factors, viz., manasikara, phassa and
cetana. Sometimes there arise repeatedly greed, craving,
anger, illusion, pride, doubt, restlessness, worry,
envy, ill-will, anxiety, fear and so forth. All these
mental states arise because of unwholesome cetasikas.
Similarly, there often occur faith, piety, moral sense,
non-attachment, compassion, sympathetic joy (mudita),
appreciation of the law of kamma, reflection on anicca,
dukkha, anatta, and so forth. These mental states arise
from wholesome cetasikas. Thus, the yogi realizes the
dependence of vinnana on wholesome or unwholesome
cetasikas, the eye-consciousness on the eye. So it is
clear that the manayatana is dependent on nama-rupa.
The mind is also vital to the existence of living
matter. So the five ayatanas that produce sense-organs
are dependent on the mind. The sensitive sense-organs
(pasada) cannot exist without their gross physical bases
just as the reflecting mirror cannot exist without the
gross matter of glass. So the eye presupposes the gross
matter of solidity (pathavi), cohesion (apo), heat
(tejo) and tenseness (vayo); in short, the ability to
see depends on the gross physical body of the eye. The
same may be said of the ability to hear, the ability to
smell, etc. Further, we can maintain life uninterrupted
only because of life-force (jivita-rupa) and nutriment.
All these facts show how the five ayatana-rupas
originate with nama-rupa.
The sixth ayatana viz., manayatana comprising thought,
reflection, intention, etc., depends on wholesome or
unwholesome mental states such as greed, faith and
mental factors such as phassa (contact) as well as on
its physical bases. It arises from its root viz.,
bhavanga which in turn forms the basis for the
mind-process (manodvara-vithi).
SUMMARY
To recapitulate: Seeing involves sensitive eye-organ and
consciousness. The eye-organ depends on consciousness,
life-force, nutriment and physical base. The
eye-consciousness depends on the eye-organ and the three
mental factors of reflection, striving and contact. In
short, the eye as well as the eye-consciousness depend
on nama-rupa and the same may be said of other five
ayatanas.
A thorough knowledge of the origin of the six ayatanas
on the basis of nama-rupa is possible only for
bodhisattas. Among the Buddha's disciples, even
Sariputta and Moggallana did not seem to understand it
comprehensively before they attained sotapanna. For, it
is said that the ascetic Upatissa who was later to
become Sariputta thera attained the first stage on the
holy path on hearing the verse uttered by Assaji thera.
The verse, ascribed to the Buddha, says that all
phenomena (dhammas) are the effects of certain other
phenomena which are the causes. The Buddha points out
these causes and there is the cessation of the effects
together with the causes. Upatissa and his friend Kolita
are said to have attained sotapanna after hearing this
verse, but they could not have reflected deeply on the
dependent origination in such a short space of time. One
may fairly understand the Buddha's teaching on the
doctrine according to one's intellectual capacity but,
it is impossible to grasp all of it fully.
The commentary explains the verse in the context of the
four noble truths, "All the dhammas is the effect"
refers to the truth of suffering as having its origin in
craving. The cause in the gatha means craving as the
cause of dukkha. So the gatha epitomises the truth about
suffering and its cause.
In those days there were many views about the soul
(atta) viz., that the soul was immortal and passed onto
another abode after death, that it was annihilated after
the final dissolution of the body, that it was created
by God, that it was infinite and so forth. The gatha
recognizes only the existence of the cause and effect
and denied the immortality or annihilation of the soul
and this teaching afforded the two ascetics a special
insight into the nature of life.
Visuddhimagga Mahatika identifies this gatha with the
teaching on Paticcasamuppada. It refers to a sutta in
Samyuttanikaya which says, "If this cause arises, then
that effect follows. If this cause ceases, then that
effect is also ended. So avijja causes sankhara, etc.,
so there is suffering. With the cessation of avijja
there follows the cessation of sankhara and so on until
suffering becomes extinct." According to the Mahatika,
the substance of this teaching is implicit in the
aforementioned gatha, in regard to both the arising
(anuloma) and cessation (patiloma) of dukkha.
Mahayana pitaka describes this gatha as a sutta that
sums up the doctrine of Paticcasamuppada. Any writing of
the gatha is said to be beneficial if it is enshrined in
a cetiya (pagoda). No wonder that many of these writings
are found in very ancient pagodas.
Both views in the commentary and Mahatika are plausible.
For the first two noble truths imply Paticcasamuppada in
respect of the arising of dukkha and its cause while the
other two noble truths imply the doctrine in respect of
the cessation of dukkha.
To sum up the causes and effects in the chain of
causation: In the past life of a person, ignorance leads
to acts, speech and thoughts and these sankharas give
rise to vinnana. Then there are five effects in the
present life, viz., vinnana, nama-rupa, ayatana, phassa
and vedana These effects in turn become causes or in
other words, they sow the seeds for future life, viz.,
craving, clinging and becoming (tanha, upadana and
jati). As a result there are old age, death, grief and
suffering in store for the future life.
Paticcasamuppada is profound and this is borne out by
the Buddha's saying to Ananda. Ananda reflected on the
doctrine from the beginning to the end and vice versa.
To him it was very clear and it presented no difficulty.
He approached the Buddha and said, "Lord, this
Paticcasamuppada is indeed very profound. But, for me it
seems so easy to understand." The Buddha chided him,
saying, "You should not say like that, Ananda."
According to the commentary, the Buddha's words imply a
compliment as well as a reproach to Ananda. The Buddha
meant to say in effect, "Ananda, you are highly
intelligent and so it is easy for you to understand the
doctrine, but do not think that it may be equally easy
for other people to understand it."
Ananda's ability to understand the doctrine was due to
four factors, viz., the parami (perfections) which he
had acquired in his previous lives, the instructions of
his teachers, his wide knowledge and his attainment of
the first stage on the holy path.
Long, long ago, Ananda was prince Sumana, the brother of
Padumuttara Buddha. As a provincial governor, he subdued
an uprising successfully. The king was much pleased and
told him to ask for any boon he desired. The prince
asked for permission to serve the Buddha for three
months during the lent. The king did not wish to grant
this boon and so he said evasively that it was indeed
hard to know the Buddha's mind, that he could do nothing
if the Lord was reluctant to go to the prince's abode.
On the advice of the bhikkhus, the prince requested a
thera named Sumana to arrange for an interview with the
Buddha. When he met the Buddha, he told the Lord how
Sumana thera had done a thing that was beyond the power
of other bhikkhus. He asked what kind of good deeds a
man should do to be so intimate with the Lord. The
Buddha said that he could become like Sumana by
practising dana and sila. The prince requested the Lord
to spend the lent in his city as he wished to do good
deeds so that he might become a specially privileged
thera like Sumana in the holy order of a future Buddha.
Seeing that his visit there might benefit all and
sundry, the Buddha said, "Sumana, the Buddha loves
solitude," a saying that meant tacit acceptance of the
invitation.
The prince then ordered over one hundred monasteries to
be built along the route where the Buddha and the Sangha
might rest comfortably at night. He bought a park and
turned it into a magnificent monastery as well as other
dwellings for the Buddha and numerous monks.
Then when all was ready, he sent word to his father and
invited the Buddha to come to his city. The prince and
his people welcomed the Buddha and his followers, and
honouring them with flowers and scents, led them to the
monastery. There the prince formally donated the
monastery and the park to the Buddha.
After performing this act of dana the prince summoned
his wives and ministers and said, "The Buddha has come
here out of compassion for us. The Buddhas do not care
for material welfare. They care only for the practice of
the Dhamma. I wish to honour the Buddha with practice so
that he may be well pleased. I will observe the ten
precepts and stay at the residence of the Buddha. You
must feed and serve all the Arahats every day during the
rains-retreat as I have done today."
The Buddha's Emphasis On Practice
Incidentally there is a story illustrative of the
importance the Buddha attached to the practice of the
Dhamma. One day, the Buddha came out of the Jetavana
monastery with the bhikkhus to go on tour. King Kosala,
the merchant Anathapindika and other lay disciples
requested the Buddha not to go on tour, but it was in
vain. The merchant was unhappy because he would not be
able to hear the Buddha's teaching or to make offerings
to the Lord and the bhikkhus. His slave girl, Punna by
name, said that she would ask the Buddha to come back.
The merchant promised to free her from bondage if she
could make the Buddha return to the monastery.
Then Punna followed the Buddha quickly and implored the
Lord to come back. The Buddha asked her what she could
do for him. She replied that she had nothing to offer,
but that she would take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma
and the Sangha and observe the five precepts if the Lord
spent the lent in Savatthi city. Saying, "Sadhu - well
said", the Buddha blessed her and returned to Jetavana
monastery.
The news spread and the merchant set Punna free and
adopted her as his daughter. She was now free to do what
she liked, free to shape her own destiny. For this
reason and by virtue of her parami (kammic potential) in
her previous lives, she joined the holy order. She
practised vipassana and when she developed insight into
the impermanence of nama-rupa, the Buddha exhorted her
thus: "My daughter, just as the moon is full and
complete on the fifteenth day, so also you should
practise vipassana to the end. When your vipassana
insight is complete, you will attain the end of
suffering."
After hearing this exhortation, Punna theri attained the
last stage on the holy path and became an Arahat. The
Buddha had of course foreseen Punna's destiny and it was
his concern for her spiritual welfare that prompted him
to cancel the projected tour and turn back in response
to her appeal. This is an example of the high regard for
the practice of dhamma that Gotama Buddha had in common
with other Buddhas.
So the prince observed the ten precepts and dwelt at the
residence of the Buddha. He spent his time near Sumana
thera, the special attendant and watched him serve the
needs of the Buddha in a very intimate manner. Shortly
before the end of the lent, he returned home, donated
lavishly to the Sangha and, in his prayer to the Buddha,
he affirmed his desire to become an intimate attendant
of a future Buddha. The Buddha blessed him and the
prince developed paramis tor innumerable lifetimes. The
jatakas refer to many lives which he devoted to
perfecting himself in collaboration with bodhisatta
Gotama. Sometimes the bodhisatta was king and he was the
king's minister or the bodhisatta was a human being and
he happened to be a deva or Sakka. But their positions
were often reversed. In some jatakas they were brothers.
Thus they developed paramis close together through their
long samsaric journey and in his last existence Ananda
was the nephew of king Suddhodana. After spending the
first lent near Benares, the Buddha went to Rajagaha and
from there he proceeded to Kapilavatthu at the
invitation of his father. When he left his native place,
Ananda and some Sakyan princes followed the Buddha and
joined the holy order.
The parami (perfections) which Ananda had acquired
through many lifetimes made it possible for him to
understand easily Paticcasamuppada that has baffled so
many people. Moreover, Ananda had received instructions
from teachers. He had not only lived with his teachers
but also learned and inquired about the meanings of the
doctrine and memorized them. This kind of learning
helped him to understand Paticcasamuppada. In fact, he
attained the first stage of the holy path after having
heard the sermon of the noted preacher, Punna thera.
Ananda paid a high tribute to Punna for his illuminating
discourse. The substance of the discourse is as follows.
"Self-conceit arises from attachment to the body,
feeling, memory, kamma-formations (sankhara) and
consciousness. It cannot arise without the five khandhas
any more than the reflection of a man's face can appear
in the absence of a mirror. The body, feeling, etc., are
not permanent. Since they are not permanent, you should
contemplate and realize that none of the five khandhas,
whether in the past, present or future, internal or
external, gross or subtle, good or bad, distant or near
is yours, is you or is your ego."
"The well-informed disciple of the Buddha who thus
contemplates and realizes truth is disillusioned with
the five khandhas. He becomes detached and free. He
knows that his mind is free, that he has done what is to
be done, that he has nothing else to do for his
freedom."
This was what Punna preached to Ananda. As sotapanna,
Ananda realized the cause-and-effect relationships of
Paticcasamuppada. He had this insight when he practised
vipassana. He knew that illusion, attachment, obsession,
effort, rebirth, consciousness, etc., form the links in
the chain of causation. Here, illusion or ignorance is
avijja, attachment is tanha, obsession is upadana,
effort is kamma. So when it is said that kamma leads to
rebirth, we should understand that rebirth is also
conditioned by upadana, etc. So the past involves
avijja, tanha, upadana and kamma as causes. The yogi who
realizes this through contemplation of nama-rupa is free
from all doubts which we cannot remove merely through
learning and reflection.
As the best-informed disciple of the Buddha, Ananda also
gained recognition of the Teacher in matters of
knowledge. He usually accompanied the Buddha on
preaching tour and memorized all the discourses. He
could repeat a discourse verbatim after he had once
heard it. As for the Buddha's talks given in his
absence, he learnt from others and memorized them. The
dhammas which he had thus learnt by heart are said to
number eighty four thousand.
Ananda was well-known for his retentive memory and the
commentary on Mahavedalla sutta says that he could
memorize hundreds of gathas in a short space of time.
What with his wide knowledge of the teachings of the
Buddha and his chief disciples, it is no wonder that the
doctrine of Paticcasamuppada did not present much
difficulty to him. Even today, given a thorough
knowledge of the Pitaka, a man may understand the
cause-and-effect relationship in the doctrine.
The Abstruseness Of The Doctrine
Nevertheless, the doctrine is abstruse in terms of
effects, causes, teaching, and empirical knowledge
(pativedha).
In the first place it is very hard to understand
sankhara, etc., as the results of avijja and other
causes for most people mistake the suffering of
nama-rupa for happiness. This is avijja and they do not
know it as an illusion. They believe that it is their
ego-entities that think, they do not know sankhara
(effort) as an effect of avijja, but they think it is
they themselves who make the effort. So it is hard to
see good or bad deeds (kamma) as the effects of
ignorance. More difficult to understand is the causal
relation between this sankhara of the previous life and
the rebirth consciousness of the present existence.
Likewise, it is hard to understand that nama-rupa,
salayatana, etc., are conditioned by vinnana, etc.
Equally incomprehensible are the causes involved in
dependent origination for people believe that they shape
their own destiny. Some say that they are created by God
or Brahma while some insist that everything happens by
chance. Most of them do not see avijja, etc., as the
mainspring of their existence.
Again, some teachings of the Buddha on the doctrine
begin with avijja and end with death. Some are set forth
in reverse order. Some begin with the middle links in
the chain and proceed to the beginning or to the end.
These various versions of the doctrine add to the
difficulty of understanding it.
In order to gain an insight into the doctrine, one has
to practise vipassana and realize the facts of causal
relationship empirically. This vipassana approach to the
study of Paticcasamuppada is by no means easy for the
method must be right and one will have to practise it
steadily and thoroughly.
In spite of these difficulties, the doctrine seemed
clear to Ananda because of his unusual qualifications,
So the Buddha's words "Do not say like this, Ananda" may
be an implicit compliment to him, but according to the
commentary, the Buddha's saying may be an indirect
reproach to him. It may mean in effect, "Ananda, you say
that Paticcasamuppada is easy to understand. Then why
did you become a sotapanna only after hearing my
teaching? Why have you not attained any stage higher
than the first stage on the path? You should think of
your shortcomings. You are my disciple with average,
limited intelligence and what you say does not agree
with my words. It is a saying that should not have been
uttered by a close disciple like you. I have had to
develop intelligence for aeons to know this doctrine and
so you should not speak lightly of it."
Thus, after chiding Ananda implicity by a few words, the
Buddha stressed the profundity of Paticcasamuppada.
"Profound, Ananda, is this dependent origination and
profound does it appear. It is through not understanding
and not penetrating this law that this world of living
beings resemble a tangled ball of thread, a bird's
thicket of sedge or reed, and that man does not escape
from the lower states of existence, from the course of
suffering, from the round of rebirths."
In other words, this law concerning the conditioning of
vinnana, nama-rupa, etc., by avijja, sankhara, etc., is
very profound. So people do not know that there are only
cause-and-effect relationships and that there is no
permanent being. They believe that a living being exists
in a permanent form from the time of inception; that
there is a permanent entity behind the being that
develops and grows up. Some hold that this core or soul
of the being has many previous lives. All these
illusions are due to ignorance of the reality underlying
the dependent origination.
A living being's acts, words and thoughts are clearly
due to ignorance of the four noble truths and dependent
origination. Undeniably, good acts bear good fruits, bad
acts bear bad fruits and everyone fares according to his
deeds. So ignorance leads to kammas or sankharas which
in turn give rise to rebirth, consciousness, etc. This
fact is clear to an intelligent person.
Because of their inability to understand dependent
origination, living beings remain mired in the round of
rebirths, wandering ceaselessly from one existence to
another. By and large, they land in the lower worlds and
pass on to the deva-realms only occasionally by virtue
of their good kamma. When the good kammic effects run
out, they revert to the lower worlds.
It is hard for the denizens of the lower worlds to pass
on to the human or deva worlds for attainment of the
higher planes of existence is possible only when a dying
person has memories or visions of his good deeds and a
good act is simply unthinkable among the lower forms of
life. Animals kill one another and the law of the jungle
prevails in their world, leaving no room for love, pity
and other spiritual values. They usually die stricken
with pain and fear. So a lower being is very likely to
be reborn in the lower worlds.
Because of the ignorance of dependent origination a
living being is unable to free himself from the round of
rebirth. He is like an ox yoked to the mortar. No matter
how long it goes round and round, the animal cannot
leave the strictly limited area of its mobility.
Likewise, the ignorant person is mired in the life-cycle
(samsara) which largely means confinement in the nether
worlds and for aeons he remains subject to rebirth.
Understanding of Paticcasamuppada is as vital to
spiritual liberation as the understanding of the four
noble truths. In fact, the four noble truths are
synonymous with the dependent origination. The object of
vipassana practice is to gain insight both
intellectually and empirically into these teachings, but
these teachings are deep and hard to understand. Even in
vipassana practice it is not easy to have clear ideas
about avijja, sankhara, etc.
The Buddha reflected on Paticcasamuppada before and
shortly after his attainment of supreme enlightenment.
For seven days the Buddha was absorbed in the peace of
liberation (vimuttisukha) and on the seventh day at
night, he contemplated Paticcasamuppada in terms of
conditioning (paccaya) or cause-and-effect relationship.
Having dealt with the first links in the chain of causal
sequence, we will now proceed to phassa that is
conditioned by salayatana. Salayatana means the six
sense-organs and the six sense-objects, viz., visual
form, sound, smell, taste, tactile object and
mind-object. The contact between a sense organ and the
corresponding sense-object is called phassa. It is an
intangible phenomenon of mental life but it shows itself
clearly when the object has an unmistakable impact on
the mind. For example, we are shocked when we see
someone being ill-treated. It makes us tremble when we
see a man whose life is hanging by a thread on the top
of a tree. Seeing a ghost will send the shivers, down
the spine. Hearing or reading an interesting story often
leaves some impressions that may remain indelible for a
long time. All these show what it means when there is
phassa or the impact of a sense-object on the mind of a
person.
The impact is occasionally very violent and gives rise
to violent emotions and outbursts of passion, anger,
etc. According to the commentary on Anguttara Nikaya, in
the time of the ancient Sinhalese King Dutthagamani, a
young monk happened to see a girl. The girl looked at
him too and both of them were so much consumed with a
burning desire that they died. Again an elderly monk
became insane after looking unmindfully at the queen of
King Mahanaga.
In Mudulakkhana jataka, the bodhisatta was a rishi
(recluse) who went to the king's palace to have his
meal. He went there by air as he had psychic powers.
When the rishi appeared suddenly, the queen rose to her
feet in a hurry and her garment slipped. The queen's
seductive pose instantly aroused the long-dormant sexual
desire of the rishi. He could not eat any food. His
psychic powers having vanished, he walked back to his
abode and there he lay, afflicted with the fires of lust
and passion.
On learning what had happened, the king offered the
queen to the rishi as he was confident of the holy man's
ability to recover his higher self eventually. He
secretly instructed the queen to do her best for the
welfare of the rishi.
Taking the queen, the rishi left the king's palace. Once
outside the gate the queen told him to go back and ask
the king for a house. He was offered an old house but
there he had to fetch a hatchet and a basket for the
disposal of excreta and filth. Again and again, he had
to go and ask the king for other things that he needed.
Going to and fro and doing all household chores at the
bidding of the queen, the rishi was dead tired but he
did not come to his senses as he was still dominated by
lust and passion.
After having done everything that he was told to do, he
sat down near the queen to take a rest. Then she pulled
his moustache with a jerk and said, "Are you not aware
of your being a samana (ascetic) whose object is to do
away with passions and desires? Are you so much out of
your senses?" This awakened the rishi to a sense of his
blind folly and ignorance. After handing back the queen
to the king, he went to the Himalayan forest, practised
vipassana and recovered his psychic power. On his death
he attained the Brahma world.
The moral is that even a person of spiritual calibre
like a bodhisatta could not escape the fires of
defilements. The rishi might have casually seen the
queen before but the impact was not violent enough to
jolt his emotional life. It was the clear, vivid
impressions of the queen's physical appearance that
harassed and engulfed him with the fires of lust and
passion for many days.
In Ummadanti jataka, King Sivi became almost crazy after
seeing Ummadanti, the wife of his commander-in-chief.
The woman was so famous for her beauty that the king
sent his brahmin advisers to see whether she had the
qualities of a noble lady. But at the sight of the woman
they were so much bewitched by her beauty that they lost
self-control and made a mess of the feast given by their
host. Disgusted by their disorderly behaviour, Ummadanti
had them hustled out of the house. Thereupon, the
disgruntled brahmins reported to the king that she was
not qualified to be a queen. The king lost interest in
her and she became the wife of the supreme commander.
She was, however, determined to make things even with
the king and so when he went round the city during a
festival she showed her beauty and charms to the best of
her ability.
The king was half beside himself with infatuation for
the woman. Unable to sleep, he raved about her and gave
vent to his blind passion in a gatha which says that if
he were granted a boon by the king of devas, he would
ask for an opportunity to sleep one or two nights with
Ummadanti. The impact of a sense-object depends largely
on the nature of the impression conveyed by the object.
If the impression is vague and dim, it produces only
mild feeling and craving, but much vedana, tanha, etc.,
follow in the wake of clear and vivid impressions.
The impact may also lead to outburst of temper. We show
anger at the sight of an offensive object, and we fear a
frightful object. Unpleasant words are irritating to us.
Pride wells up in us when we think of something that
boosts our ego. We hold wrong views when we toy with the
idea of soul or with a teaching that makes a farce of
kamma and its fruit. Objects of envy make us envious,
and objects which we wish to possess exclusively make us
miserly. These are instances of phassa that fuel
unwholesome kammas.
Wholesome kammas too arise from phassa. Objects of
devotion arouse faith, those whom we should forgive or
tolerate help to foster forbearance, and contemplation
of the Buddha and the Arahats make us mindful, kindly
and so forth. So Patisambhidamagga says: "Conditioned by
phassa, there arise fifty cetasikas (mental factors)."
It attributes feeling, perception and kamma-formations
to phassa.
We see because of phassa and this phassa occurs because
of the eye, the visual object and the visual
consciousness. The Buddha's teaching makes a distinction
between the visual consciousness and the visual object.
Ordinary people tend to confuse the former with the
latter, but the Buddha stated clearly that visual
consciousness arises from the eye and the visual object,
and that phassa means the conjunction of the eye, the
visual object and the visual consciousness.
This is the impact of seeing for which the three
ayatanas, viz., the eye, etc., form the three necessary
and sufficient conditions. The nature of impact is
realized empirically by the yogi who practises
mindfulness. The yogi notes, "seeing, seeing" at every
moment of seeing and as concentration develops, he comes
to realize that seeing is not uncaused, that it is not
made or created by a person; that it is a
psycho-physical phenomenon, having the eye and the
visual object as its cause and the visual consciousness
as its effect.
The impact on the sense-organ leads to feelings that may
be pleasant, unpleasant or indifferent according to the
nature of the sense-object. If the object is beautiful,
there arises pleasant feeling; if it is ugly, we have
unpleasant feeling. If the object is neither ugly nor
lovely, the feeling is indifferent. This feeling
(upekkha vedana) does not give rise to any comment,
whether favourable or unfavourable; indeed it is not
even recognized as a feeling but it is accepted by the
ego. In fact, these three kinds of feelings have nothing
to do with the ego or self but are aspects of the mental
process stemming from sense-contact.
To understand Paticcasamuppada means to be free from
scepticism and illusion. Since this freedom is the
essential attribute of the yogi at the first stage on
the holy path, it is important to understand the
doctrine. Ignorance of it tends to cause doubts about
the Buddha, the Dhamma and so forth. There are eight
kinds of doubts.
(1) Doubt about the Buddha. This leads the sceptic to
raise questions such as "Was the Buddha really a being
who was free from all defilements? Or was he an ordinary
man who commanded the blind faith of his followers?"
(2) Doubt about the Teaching. "Are there the Path and
Nibbana that really ensure the extinction of craving,
hatred and ignorance?"
(3) Doubt about the Sangha. "Are there Ariyas, the Noble
ones who are really free from defilements? Sotapannas
who, having overcome illusion and doubt, will never be
reborn in the lower worlds? Sakadagamis, who do not have
much sensual desire and anger? Anagamis, who are wholly
free from sensual desire and anger? Or the Arahats who
have freed themselves from all defilements?"
(4) Doubt about the practice. "Is the practice of
morality or contemplation beneficial and helpful to the
higher spiritual progress?"
(5) Doubt about the past. "Did I exist in the past? Why
and how did I exist in the past? What kind of person was
I in my previous life? Did I originate with the moss or
did I come into being spontaneously?"
(6) Doubt about the future. "Will I exist after my
death? What kind of person will I become in my next
life?"
(7) Doubt about both the past and the future. According
to the sub-commentaries, this doubt refers to the
present life that is between the past and the future of
a man's life-cycle. This interpretation agrees with the
Pali text of Sutta pitaka which says: "Now there arises
doubt as regards one's self in the present." Such doubt
may raise questions such as, "Am I really myself? Does
the ego exist or does it not exist? If the ego exists,
what kind of being is it? Is it big or small? Why or how
does the ego exist? Was it created or did it come into
being spontaneously? From where did the ego come and
where will it go after the final dissolution of the
body?"
These questions show that there are five doubts about
the past, five doubts about the future and six doubts
about the present. The yogi overcomes all these doubts
when he is free from all illusions about the self or ego
(kankhavitarana-visuddhi).
(8) The last subject that raises much doubt is the
doctrine of Paticcasamuppada that emphasizes the primacy
of cause-and-effect relationship in the world of living
beings. Is effort really due to ignorance of the true
dhamma? Is rebirth really conditioned by kamma? Is it a
fact that bad kamma is harmful and good kamma beneficial
to a future life? Is there really a cause for every
phenomenon? Is everything the outcome of the combination
of atoms and electrons by chance? These doubts centre on
causal links, e.g. avijja, sankhara, etc., and resultant
links, e.g. vinnana, rebirth, etc., in the chain of
causal sequence as enunciated in the doctrine of
Paticcasamuppada.
These doubts give rise to wrong views in the long run.
The false beliefs that conflict with the dependent
origination are rooted in these doubts. Speculations on
the nature of life that are above one's intellectual
level produce doubts in the beginning but eventually
turn the sceptic into one who clings to illusions. Such
scepticism and false views are due to ignorance of
Paticcasamuppada. One who understands the teaching
clearly harbours no doubt, let alone illusions.
In the final analysis, a living being is a compound of
causes and effects as are non-living things like the
earth, the sun, tree, etc. The law of causation governs
the universe leaving no room for creation or spontaneous
occurrence. Modern science provides overwhelming
evidence for the absolute dependence of the non-living
material world on the interplay of cause and effect. It
tends to bear out the truth of the Buddha's teaching
about the conditionality of everything in the world,
whether it be life, mind or matter.
The Buddha laid emphasis on the conditioned nature of
man's internal life. The teaching leaves out of account
the external world of inanimate matter because the
material world has no life-cycle and is not subject to
rebirth and suffering. What matters most from the
Buddhist point of view is the living being. If left to
itself, the nama-rupa comprising the living being passes
through innumerable lives and, for the most part, the
individual suffers on the lower planes of existence, but
if we understand the nama-rupa process and act wisely,
we can make progress gradually on the way to liberation.
Even if we are not yet liberated, we can achieve a
better life and fare fairly well in the round of
rebirths. A clear understanding of Paticcasamuppada is
vital for it ensures complete extinction of defilements.
We have described ignorance as the cause of effort
(sankhara) and kammic effort as the cause of rebirth. It
is necessary to say something more about the origin of
rebirth consciousness. In a sutta of Anguttara Nikaya,
the Buddha likens the wholesome or unwholesome
volitional (cetana) action (kamma) to a thriving field,
consciousness (vinnana) to seeds, and craving (tanha) to
water for irrigating the field. The planting of trees
requires fields and nurseries. Likewise, rebirth
consciousness presupposes arable land in the form of
kamma, kamma gives rise to the potential for rebirth and
although the former states of consciousness disappear,
the rebirth potential remains bound up with the psyche.
Like a budding plant, it does not materialize as yet but
it is bound to become actual under favourable
circumstances, just as a man who has committed a crime
is a potential prisoner or a worker who has
distinguished himself in a state factory is a potential
winner of government reward for good service.
Furthermore, rebirth depends on wholesome or unwholesome
consciousness no less than does a plant depend on seeds
for its germination. The good or bad vinnanas arise and
pass away, but they touch off a ceaseless flow of
similar states of consciousness.
These states are the outcome of former kammic vinnanas
just like the transformation of a snake's skin. The most
vital of them is the death-bed consciousness centering
on one's kamma or objects associated with it
(kammanimitta) or visions of future life (gatinimitta).
This encounter of a dying person with signs and visions
is called upatthanasamangita which means the
foreshadowing of the future life as conditioned by
sankhara-kamma. In a sense, it marks the transition from
dying consciousness to rebirth consciousness somewhat
similar to the development of a plant from a seed to a
sprout.
A seed needs water to turn into a plant. Without water
or at least moisture from the air, it will remain
sterile. In the same way, although kamma forms the basis
for a future life, there is no rebirth in the absence of
craving (tanha). So in the case of Arahats, although
there are conditions for rebirth in terms of vinnana and
the kamma that they have done as ordinary persons, the
rebirth consciousness cannot arise because of the
extinction of craving.
Tanha is inherent in non-Arahats and it is most powerful
in common people. It makes the sense-objects pleasant,
attractive and desirable. It creates the illusion of
pleasure, happiness and hope. It likes what is good and
makes happiness and prosperity the main object of life
for mankind. Tanha motivates the kammic consciousness
which leads to other mental states. On the approach of
death, these mental states give rise to signs and
visions. The dying person delights in pleasant visions
and he becomes lively and cheerful. This shows that his
kammic seeds are beginning to sprout. He does not
welcome unpleasant visions, but still these visions have
something to do with himself and this self-attachment,
too, leads to the germination of the kammic seed.
Therefore in the case of common people rebirth is
conditioned by three factors, viz., kamma (action),
cittavinnana that is linked to kammic consciousness and
tanha. Kamma as the fertile soil for rebirth is evident
in death-bed visions and signs, the germination of the
seed is shown by the dying person's interest in these
signs and visions and one's self. So after death there
arises rebirth consciousness as conditioned by the
mental state at the last moment of the previous life.
Rebirth consciousness brings into play nama-rupa,
ayatana, phassa, vedana and their interrelations that
concern the whole life. So in a sense, we may regard it
as the seed of present existence. It is inextricably
bound up with nama-rupa. All nama-rupa, whether in or
out of the body, is suffering as they are subject to
constant arising and passing away, but ignorance makes
us blind to dukkha, creates illusion and attachment and
keeps us engaged in the pursuit of sense-objects. This
preoccupation leads to the renewal of existence.
With rebirth consciousness as the basis of a new
existence, there arise the physical body as its basis
and the concomitant mental factors such as phassa,
vedana, etc. When rebirth consciousness ceases, there
follow other mental states in succession which may touch
off good or bad kammas such as greed, anger,
contentment, forbearance, etc. These mental states in
turn lead to physical actions such as sitting, standing,
and so forth.
Hence the Buddha's teaching: "Cittena niyate loko..." a
Pali verse which may be freely translated as: "The mind
(thought, will, etc.) leads the world. It draws the
world wherever it pleases. The whole world follows the
mind." Here the world (//loka//) refers to the world of
living beings. The mind leads the living beings
rightfully or wrongfully. The mind of a good man who
develops faith, morality, etc., will lead him to do good
deeds. It will make him hear the dhamma and practise
vipassana. It will land him on the higher planes of
existence or bring him to the goal of Nibbana. On the
other hand, the mind of an evil man will lead him to
seek sensual objects and do evil deeds. After death, it
takes him to the lower worlds and makes him subject to
much suffering.
This verse shows that all nama-rupas are dominated by
the mind. It accords with the teaching of
Paticcasamuppada that because of vinnana there arise
psycho-physical phenomena such as phassa, etc. We have
already given an account of phassa arising from the eye
and now a few words about the phassa of hearing. As in
the case of seeing, hearing also involves three factors,
viz., the ear, the sound and the ear-consciousness.
Hearing is impossible without the ear-organ and the
sound. Scientists say that sound-waves travel at the
rate of 1,100 feet per second. This is the natural speed
of sound; the radio broadcast can carry it all over the
world in a moment. When it comes into contact with the
ear it is like the reflection in the mirror and the
hearing occurs.
But, it is a mistake to believe that it is the original
owner of the ear who hears. The sensitive organs of the
ear are in a ceaseless flux, the rupas involved are
forever arising and passing away. They are like the
ever-changing waters of a flowing stream. It is the
contact of sound-waves with the stream of rupas that
sparks the ear-consciousness. The consciousness occurs
only for an instant and vanishes. This is followed by
the citta that continues to focus on the sound, inquire
it and decide. Each of these cittas occurs for a moment
and vanishes. Then, there flash forth successively with
much speed seven impulse-moments, after which there
occur two thought-moments that focus on the sound.
Such is then the consciousness-process involved in
hearing. Whenever we hear a sound, the ear-vinnana is
renewed on the basis of the ear and the sound. So the
yogi who practises mindfulness realizes that hearing is
conditioned by the ear and the sound, that there is no
person or being who hears. In fact the yogi is more
aware of the causal relation in hearing than in seeing.
Thus, hearing means the conjunction of the ear, the
sound and the ear-consciousness. The impact of the sound
is phassa and it is quite clear to the meditating yogi.
Some are so sensitive that when they hear a harsh sound,
they feel like being attacked by a tremendous onrush of
it towards the ear. Some may even be startled by the
dropping of a leaf. The impact is evident when out of a
variety of sounds that reach our ears we select and
attend to the sound that we wish to hear. As for loud,
harsh and piercing sounds, we cannot avoid hearing them.
We may not look at an unpleasant object, but the sound
cannot be so ignored.
We have pleasant or unpleasant feelings according to the
pleasant or unpleasant sounds that we hear. Songs and
sweet voices are welcome to the ear while harsh sounds
and abusive words are odious to us. When we hear
ordinary sounds, we have feelings that are neither
pleasant nor unpleasant. In such cases we may not even
be aware of our feeling, the upekkhavedana that is so
subtle that it escapes our notice.
True, the Abhidhamma books deny that we have pleasant or
unpleasant feeling when we have consciousness in
connection with the eye, the ear, the nose or the tongue
and describe it only as upekkhavedana. But for the
contemplating yogi, it is not advisable to focus on
eye-consciousness, etc. He should contemplate the whole
process of consciousness (vithi) which involves pleasant
feeling along with some thought-moments, e.g. santirana,
javana and tadarammana and unpleasant feelings along
with javana or impulse-moments.
Moreover, even though the eye-consciousness, etc., may
be upekkhavedana at the moment of their arising, they
will be accompanied by unpleasant feeling if they happen
to be the effects of unwholesome kamma as is evident in
our contact with unpleasant sense-objects that cause
painful emotions such as fear. Loud noise may make us
deaf, evil smells may cause headache while unwholesome
food may do harm to our health. Likewise, the
upekkhavedana that is conditioned by the four kinds of
pleasant sense-objects implies pleasant feelings. We
enjoy seeing beautiful objects, hearing pleasant sounds,
etc. This shows the pleasant character of upekkhavedana
because of its being the product of wholesome kammas. In
this connection the sub-commentary on Visuddhimagga
says:
"'The upekkhavedana which, being the full-blown product
of low kamma, is painful and as such, it is of low
character." In other words, the upekkhavedana that is
based on unwholesome kamma may be indifferent and
neutral but, since it stems from evil kamma, it is low
just like the flower that blooms in a heap of excreta.
Moreover, although it is not as worse as dukkhavedana,
it is unbearable and so it is low. In fact, the kammic
effect of a bad deed is never good or free from pain and
suffering.
Then, elaborating the function of vedana in the chain of
causation, the sub-commentary says: "The upekkhavedana
that results from unwholesome kamma should be described
as dukkha since it is undesirable. The upekkhavedana
that has its origin in wholesome kamma should be
described as sukha since it is desirable." It is evident
in the pleasant feeling that we have when we hear a
pleasant sound. Sweet words are welcome to the ear while
harsh words jar on it. The nature of some feelings
caused by ordinary sounds is not obvious and such
feelings are termed upekkhavedana.
The three kinds of vedana due to hearing is distinctly
familiar to the ever-mindful yogi. He knows that the
dukkha or sukhavedana arises from contact between the
sound and the ear; that there is no soul or atta to be
affected by it; that the vedana arises and vanishes
instantly, and that everything is impermanent. As his
concentration develops, he becomes aware of the
ceaseless arising and vanishing of all the three kinds
of vedana.
Like hearing, smelling is also conditioned. The smelling
consciousness arises from the contact between the nose
and the odour. It is impossible to smell without the
odour or the sensitive part of the nose (ghanapasada).
People without sensitive nose are rare. Once I met a
monk who said that he had practically no scent even when
he smelled a handkerchief moistened with perfume. Even
when the nose is sensitive you cannot have any scent if
you plug it or if there is nothing to be scented. The
scent is detected only when it is wafted in the air and
comes into contact with the sensitive part of the nose.
Ordinary people labour under the delusion that it is the
person or the living being who smells. In fact it is the
contact between the airborne scent and the rupas of the
nose in continual flux that causes smelling
consciousness. As in the case of seeing and hearing this
ghana-vinnana is a process that involves advertence
(avajjana), impulsion (javana), investigation and other
stages. The crux of the matter is of course the smelling
consciousness which ceaselessly arises and vanishes,
depending on the nose and the smell.
We are all familiar with the offensive smell of
something rotten or the fragrance of a flower. Common
people believe that it is they who smell whereas the
yogi knows that it is only a phenomenon arising from the
conjunction of the nose, the odour and consciousness and
he comes to realize the ceaseless influx and
impermanence of everything. That is the difference
between the yogi and the common people.
Vedana (feeling) may be agreeable or disagreeable
according to the nature of impact (phassa). Scents of
flowers and perfumes cause pleasant feelings whereas the
stench of the decomposing matter is offensive to the
nose. The ordinary smells cause neither pleasant nor
unpleasant feelings and this is upekkhavedana; a feeling
that is so subtle that we do not notice it. The yogi
notes the smelling consciousness and becomes aware of
the three kinds of feelings, and their arising and
dissolution
Consciousness in eating (jivha-vinnana) arises from
contact between the tongue and the food. Without the
tongue or the flavour of food, there can be no
consciousness of taste but, if the tongue is so
unhealthy as to lack sensitivity, the food will be
tasteless. Common people believe that it is a living
being who eats and enjoys the flavour. In fact, the
rupas forming the sensitive part of the tongue are
forever in a flux and it is from the contact of these
rupas and the flavour of food that there arises
consciousness which involves the thought-moments that we
have mentioned before. The events at this stage are so
rapid that they seem to form a single thought moment.
This consciousness (jivha-vinnana) changes at every
moment, depending on the tongue and the flavour. It is
this citta that knows sweetness, sourness, bitterness
and so forth.
The conjunction of the tongue, the flavour and
consciousness means what in Pali is called phassa. This
is familiar to everybody, but common people think that
it is they as living beings who experience the flavour.
Only the yogi who notes all the psycho-physical events
that occur while he is eating knows it as a phenomenon
dependent on the tongue, the flavour and consciousness.
Later on, he gains a clear insight into its ceaseless
flux and impermanence.
Contact with flavour is followed by sensations (vedana)
that may be good or bad according to the flavour. Eating
good food gives us pleasure, we like it, whereas we
complain of bad food or the bitter taste of some
medicine. The feeling that we have when we eat some food
is indifferent. Although this is upekkhavedana, the
opportunity to eat is the outcome of good kamma. Hence,
eating such food also has a pleasant aspect and leads to
attachment, but as for the yogi with developed samadhi
who notes the nama-rupa at every moment, he becomes
empirically aware of the arising of all sensations
(pleasant, unpleasant or indifferent) and their passing
away.
Another source of contact, feeling, etc., is the
sensitive part of the body (kayadvara). It is said:
"Body consciousness arises from the body or tactile
organ and the tactile object. Body-impression (phassa)
arises from the conjunction of the body, the tactile
object and tactile consciousness, and the tactile
impression conditions the (tactile) sensations
(vedana)."
This needs some elaboration. Seeing, hearing, smelling
and eating - each of these physical events concerns only
its respective organ, viz., the eyes, etc. Consciousness
in connection with them also arises only in a certain
part of the head. These psycho-physical events are
restricted in terms of locality and duration. You are
conscious of eating only when you are eating, conscious
of hearing only when there is something to be heard. As
for the body-consciousness, it is present in regard to
every part of the body. You have tactile impression
somewhere on your body at any time whenever you think of
it. So its sphere is extensive and its duration is long.
For the beginner in vipassana practice, contemplation of
tactile impression is most important and so the yogi
should know something about it.
The fine, sensitive matter (rupa) that can receive the
tactile impression pervades the whole body. It exists in
every healthy part of the body and so it can give rise
to tactile consciousness everywhere through contact with
an external or internal rupa in the body. These rupas
are impermanent and are in a flux from moment to moment.
They are like the electric energy that passes into the
bulb and gives light.
In this state of ceaseless flux the sensitive body rupa
that has not yet passed away collides with an external
or internal rupa, thereby giving rise to
body-consciousness. As in the case of seeing, etc., this
consciousness involves a series of thought-moments,
viz., citta that inquires the tactile object, citta that
knows, citta that registers etc., but these cittas arise
and vanish so rapidly that the tactile consciousness
appears to involve only a single thought-moment.
Body-consciousness is always present. It is not apparent
when the mind is absorbed in any object other than the
body but, if the attention is directed to the body,
there is no doubt about the tactile impression somewhere
as, for example, the contact between the body and the
floor, the body and the clothes, and so forth.
So the yogi who practises mindfulness in regard to
physical contact of his body is aware of its
conditionality. He knows that it is neither uncaused nor
created, that it in fact depends on the conjunction of
tactile object and the sensitive rupa in healthy
condition. The object of contact is called photthappha
in Pali and it is of three kinds, viz., pathavi, tejo
and vayo.
Pathavi element has the attribute of hardness and
coarseness and this attribute is to be found if one
examines or focuses on a part of the body that gives a
clear impression of contact. Softness too is to be
regarded as pathavi for softness and coarseness do not
differ essentially. We call velvet a smooth object in
comparison with many things that are coarser than it but
it appears to be rough when it hits the soft part of the
human eye. So softness and roughness are relative terms
that differ only in degree, not in kind. Softness and
smoothness represent solidity that is a mark of pathavi
element.
According to commentaries, solidity as the essence of
pathavi element serves as the abode of other elements
that have to depend on it just as all objects have to
depend on earth. For example, rice-powder when mixed
with water turns into a lump in which it may be termed
pathavi because of its solidity or its predominantly
solid character. The particles of powder are combined
and held together by the water (apo) element. The lump
also contains tejo element that is concerned with heat
or cold, as well as the wind (vayo) element that
supports stiffness and expansion. So this lump of rice
powder contains all the four elements, and of these the
element of solidity (pathavi) is the basis of other
elements. All the other three elements are also inherent
in the rice powder. Thus, just as rice powder is the
support of water element, etc., so also the earth
element is the support of its associated rupas. This is
the function of the earth element.
Thus, to the yogi, the earth-element appears to be the
basis for its co-elements. This is its paccupatthana and
so is of heaviness and lightness. In Dhammasangani, one
of the books of Abhidhamma pitaka and its commentary,
the pathavi element is described as heavy and light. So
when you move a thing and feel that it is heavy or
light, that feeling or idea is to be included in the
paccupatthana of the pathavi element. The yogi is aware
of the characteristics of pathavi element through its
roughness, softness or smoothness. He is aware of its
function when he realizes that it serves as the basis of
other rupas. He is aware of its paccupatthana when he
knows that other rupas lie in the pathavi element, that
it bears other rupas, that it is heavy or light. Such
awareness of pathavi element in terms of characteristics
(lakkhana), function (rasa) and paccupatthana means
realization of truth and discriminative insight into the
nature of nama-rupa.
As for the common people, contact with pathavi element
is usually understood in terms of hands, legs, clothes,
man and so forth. This way of thinking is wrong, but the
yogi knows the truth through the practice of
mindfulness.
Tejo element means heat. It is evident when we change
the position of the body, because we feel heated and
pressed in some part of the body. Coldness too is a kind
of weak tejo element. A thing is hot or cold relative to
other things. The shade of a tree may be cool in
comparison with the heat of the sun, but it is hot
relative to the interior of a cave or house. The water
in the pot is cool relative to that in the open air but
hot when compared to iced water. Hot, warm and cool are
relative terms that mean essentially tejo dhatu
(element).
Tejo or heat is essential to maturation and development.
The function of heat is to make organisms mature and
ripe. Old age and decay of trees, buildings, the earth,
rocks, etc., are due to heat of the sun and it is the
heat of the physical body that gives rise to grey hair,
decaying teeth, wrinkled skin and other signs of
senility. The greater the heat, the more rapid is the
process of maturation. Tejo element makes the rupas soft
and pliant. So as the yogi notes, "hot", "hot", he
realizes its function, viz., to soften and loosen.
When heat or cold is manifest in the body, the mindful
yogi is aware of tejo element in terms of its
characteristics. He knows its function (rasa) when he
knows that it makes things soft and pliant. Thus, the
yogi has discriminative insight into the nature of
nama-rupa. He is free from the illusion that common
people have when they think of tejo element in terms of
substance and entity such as hand, man, woman and so
forth.
Vayo element has the characteristics of stiffness and
rigidity. If you sit erect and stretch your back and
introspect yourself, you will find rigidity. Again,
stretch your arm and fix your mind inside the hand. You
will find stiffness there. So if you sit and note
mentally, "sitting", you become aware of vayo element in
terms of its characteristics. You know it not as ego, as
atman, etc., but as stiffness and this insight into the
real nature of vayo is important.
But initially the yogi's insight will not be necessarily
confined to the reality of stiffness. Ideas of
substance, self, and so forth, continue to obtrude upon
his mind. For in the beginning, the average person's
concentration is weak and he tends to let his mind
wander freely. His mind is usually dominated by sensual
desire and other hindrances (nivarana) that conflict
with tranquillity and insight-knowledge and impede their
progress. As a result, the mind is not confined to the
reality of elements. Some teachers would have us believe
that all conventional notions go by the board at the
outset, but this is impossible. It is indeed hard for
any beginner to be free from hindrances and pure in mind
and belief. Exceptions may be made in the case of those
who heard the Dhamma right from the Buddha and attained
the holy path, but such kind of attainment is
unthinkable for other people.
Vipassana practice does not help to develop insight in
the beginning. While contemplating nama-rupa, the yogi
develops concentration strongly, thereby leaving almost
no room for stray thoughts and keeps himself constantly
mindful. It is only at this stage of mental purity that
there arises the insight into the real nature of
nama-rupa. Even so, conventional notions linger before
the attainment of insight into the dissolution of all
forms of existence (bhanganana). So it is said in
Visuddhimagga that at the earlier stage of insight
(udayabbayanana), the yogi tends to see "the lights,
flowers on the pagoda platform or fishes and turtles in
the sea." But later on, both the nama-rupa objects of
contemplation and the contemplating mind are found to
pass away one after another. Conventional ideas of
shape, figure, etc., do not arise any longer. As
Visuddhimagga says, "attention is fixed on cessation,
disappearance and dissolution."
Therefore, initially the yogi knows only the object that
he contemplates in the right way. Rigidity (vayo) is
evident at the moment of lifting the foot, etc. To make
us aware of this, the Buddha says, "When he (the yogi)
walks, he knows that he is walking." Here, the yogi is
instructed to be aware only of the fact that he is
walking; he is not told to reflect on the vayo or
rigidity. This means that names are not relevant, that
what matters most is to see things as they really are,
that the yogi can note them in terms of popular usage.
Again, vayo element is manifest in the movement of any
part of the body. Awareness of rigidity in such movement
or in the abdominal rising and falling means awareness
of the real marks of vayo element. Looseness too is a
mark of vayo for we speak comparatively when we refer to
tightness or looseness of anything.
It is also the function of vayo element to move,
incline, tilt or displace. The yogi notes the motion of
his hands when he bends them and becomes aware of the
true nature of vayo element. He knows it also when he
focuses on walking, etc. At such moments, he does not
think of the object as man, woman, body and so forth. He
is aware only of the gradual movement which means the
real nature of vayo element. He is also aware of
something pushing or leading another from one place to
the other. Thus, he knows vayo by means of the
phenomenon that appears on his mental horizon. This is
awareness by paccupatthana which the scriptures describe
as "Abhinihara paccupatthana" - the phenomena which
appears as leading.
All the three primary elements - pathavi, tejo and vayo
are to be known only by experience. You cannot know them
by hearing, etc. You can hear the sound of something,
but you cannot say whether it is coarse or soft, hot or
cold, rigid, stable or moving. Neither will its smell,
taste or visual form tell you anything about its primary
quality. Yet, it is a popular belief that we can
identify the primary elements by seeing.
No doubt a rock or a block of iron apparently gives us
the impression of hardness, but this is not due to
seeing. It is merely an inductive generalization based
on past experience. What we know by seeing is only the
visual form which sometimes gives a false impression as
is evident when we tread on what we believe to be solid
ground and stumble into a quagmire, or when we get burnt
by handling a heated iron bar unknowingly.
Nor can we know vayo element by seeing for it is an
element that we can know only empirically. We see that
an object is moving because we see it here and there,
and the idea of its motion is only an inference from our
observation of its displacements. Yet, when one of the
two trains at rest starts moving, the other train
appears to be in motion and to a traveller in a fast
moving train, the trees appear to be running in the
opposite direction. These optical illusions bear out the
fact that we cannot rely on our eyes for the truth about
motion.
Once, an elderly layman who was interested in meditation
told us about his dialogue with a monk-teacher. Taking a
pillow and shaking it, he asked the monk, "Now, Sir,
what dhammas do you see passing away?"
"Well, I see the vayo element passing away."
"Sir, you are wrong. What you see with your eyes is only
the visual form. If you are mindful at the moment of
seeing, you know only what happens to the visual form.
You cannot know empirically anything about vayo element
at the moment of seeing. Vipassana is a practice that
gives priority to what is to be known actually by
introspection. It is only afterwards that other facts
are to be noted and realized by reasoning. It is natural
to contemplate each sense-object only through its
respective sense-organ. Vayo is an object that is known
only through body-contact. We can know the motion of
vayo if we introspect while walking, bending, etc. Now
without being in contact with vayo, you say that you
know its dissolution. What you say is unnatural and
wrong."
There is much truth in my informant's criticism. Instead
of relying on Satipatthana and other suttas for
information, some teachers give purely speculative
instructions on the basis of Abhidhamma books that deal
with natural phenomena exclusively. There are yogis who
practise according to these instructions. The practice
may benefit them spiritually but they cannot rely on it
for the attainment of real insight and stages on the
holy path. The only exceptions are a few gifted yogis
who gain insights through speculative introspection.
The best thing to do is to follow the Buddha's
instruction in Satipatthana sutta and contemplate the
psycho-physical phenomena that arise from the six
senses. This is, as the Buddha says, //eka yano maggo//:
"the only way". In the case of body-sense corresponding
to body-consciousness we should note and recognize the
body-impression when we are aware of any body-contact
internally or externally. Otherwise the impression tends
to dominate us in conjunction with avijja and other
defilements. We tend to harbour illusions of permanence,
happiness and ego-belief. Thus, through contact, we
become attached to certain parts of the body, we
consider them permanent and make distinctions according
to our preferences. If we note every contact and realize
their sensory, impermanent, unsatisfactory and
insubstantial nature, there is no attachment and we are
on the right path of vipassana that will certainly lead
to enlightenment and Nibbana.
Body-sensitivity (kayapasada) is a quality that pervades
the whole body when it is in a healthy condition. There
are many things such as clothes, air and others that can
give the body tactile impressions. The body, too,
possesses many things, e.g. hair, skin, that lend
themselves to contact. Thus, there are always both
external and internal objects of contact for the
body-sensitivity. Reflection will point clearly to the
possibility of contact in every part of the body and
there is no place, however small, that does not admit of
contact, and this contact gives rise to
body-consciousness.
From the conjunction of the body-sensitivity, object of
contact and body-consciousness, there arises impression
(phassa) that is very obvious. Pleasant impression of
contact gives rise to pleasant feeling while unpleasant
impression results in painful feeling. The deeper the
impression the more intense is the feeling.
Relation between Manodvara And Vinnana, Etc.
Manovinnana that thinks, conceives and cognizes has its
origin in the mind and mind-objects. The mind which
forms its basis is the bhavanga-citta that we have from
the moment of conception. It occurs ceaselessly
according to kamma. It is the basis for perception and
cognition. When we sleep or when the mind is otherwise
occupied, our mental life is all bhavanga-citta. It
becomes active in the face of mind-objects and there
arise intention and cognition. So we can think and know
only on the basis of bhavanga. True, this citta is
always present in the absence of intention and cognition
but bhavanga can lead to mental events only when it is
strong.
At times we cannot think because we are drowsy or our
thinking may be futile, in spite of our effort, and this
is due to weakness of bhavanga. Thus, bhavanga by itself
serves little purpose. It becomes active only when it is
in contact with a new sense-object. Hence, it is called
bhavangacalana, active bhavanga or bhavanga-paccheda,
bhavanga with its stream cut off. This last bhavanga
gives rise to intention and cognition. According to the
commentaries, avajjana (advertence of the mind towards
the object) is also to be considered the basis for
mental activity. Avajjana forms the first stage in the
consciousness-process. It arises as the inquiring state
of mind in regard to the object. If it is alert and
sharp, it is mindful of all the essential facts and
objects.
The good writer considers the important facts for his
book and the good speaker chooses appropriate words for
his speech, thereby making their writings and speeches
perfect. Further, this avajjana leads to good or bad
kammic consciousness accordingly as it is bent on good
or bad objectives. It is open to introspection and
cognition since we can know actually that intention and
awareness arise from avajjana. So the words: "mananja -
mind as the basis" should be understood as reference
also to avajjana.
Equally vital to mental activity is the mind-object. The
object always arises when we reflect. In the absence of
mind-objects mental activity is impossible. Thus,
sometimes we wish to think but have to give up thinking
because we cannot recall the essential facts or objects.
Hence, mental activity depends on the conjunction of the
mind (bhavanga), inquiring mind (avajjana) and the
mind-objects.
According to the commentaries, the heart forms the
physical basis of all mental events. But today Western
doctors have removed the diseased heart of a patient and
replaced it with a good substitute. The experiment was
not a complete success but the press reports say that
the transplanted heart functioned for a few days. This
news may raise doubts about the role of the heart in the
mental life of mankind.
This question admits of two explanations. Although the
heart is removed, its potency may not become extinct and
bhavanga-citta may still linger in its place just like
the tail of a house-lizard that moves after it has been
cut off. Moreover, the bhavanga-citta may become active
again when the transplant gets a new lease of life from
the blood of the body, just as the new tissue or new eye
ball that is engrafted has new sensitivity. Or, we can
dispose of the question on the basis of Abhidhamma
pitaka, for Patthana, one of the Abhidhamma books,
describes the physical basis of manovinnana (mind)
simply as "that physical organ which conditions the mind
as its basis." It does not specifically mention any
organ or part of the body. Thus, according to this
canonical book, we may assume that a certain part of the
body is the seat of the mind, perhaps it is a certain
part of the heart or the head. Those who do not wish to
locate the mind in the heart may regard the head as its
physical basis.
Here, we must mention the analogy of the spider and the
evolution of mind as set forth in the commentary on
Abhidhamma pitaka. The spider builds a web which is a
kind of net for catching flies. It can do so
instinctively in a matter of days after its birth
whereas by contrast even a year-old child can do nothing
for himself. The spider waits in the center of its web,
eats up any creature that gets entangled there and
returns to its abode. In the same way, the bhavanga or
mano-vinnana has the heart as its abode and like the
threads of the spider's web connecting its abode and its
surroundings, the blood pumped by the heart flows
through the blood-vessels and spreads all over the body.
So the visual image in the eye stirs the bhavanga-citta
in the heart and turns it into eye-consciousness and so
on through its process (vithi). It (bhavanga) then turns
back to its original seat. The same may be said of
sound, smell, etc., with their respective sense-organs.
It is now clear that bhavanga, together with its
original activity, that is, thinking and knowing, forms
the mainspring of our mental life. When there is a
visual object, the eye-consciousness arises with the eye
as its basis and then the manovinnana reflects on it.
The same is true of the ear-consciousness, etc., with
the ear, the nose and the tongue as their bases. As for
the body-consciousness, its sphere is extensive as it
depends on the size of the body.
When the sense-objects are not apparent, the
mano-vinnana or the mind that comprises thinking and
knowing holds sway over the mental life. Sometimes we
are so much absorbed in thought that we remain unmindful
of all sense-objects. Preoccupation with an important
matter may even make us sleepless. We are then dominated
by thoughts that arise ceaselessly one after another on
the basis of mental activity as conditioned by bhavanga,
avajjana and mind-objects. To the yogi who notes every
thought as it arises, these thoughts will appear to
arise and vanish separately in fragments.
Every mental event depends on the conjunction of mind,
mind-object and cognition. This is followed by contact
with mental images. These images, which may be real or
unreal, existent or non-existent, are present in
imagination whenever we think or intend to do something.
This is familiar to those who have read, for example,
the jataka stories. Reading these stories give rise to
mental images of cities and kings that are coloured by
Burmese beliefs and traditions. They are far from
historical truth for since the stories have their origin
in India, people and places described in the jatakas
must have conformed to the Indian culture and way of
life.
Modern novels evoke images of towns, villages, men,
women, criminals and so forth. The reader knows that all
these are purely fictitious and imaginary and yet while
he is reading, they appear as real and, hence, the
delight, sorrow and other emotions that a good story
arouses in him. All this is due to contact with mental
images.
As the Buddha says in Brahmajala sutta, "these teachings
and beliefs stem from vivid imagination that makes them
clear and real." In short, vivid imagination is
necessary when we speak, write, hold a belief or think
or just let the mind wander freely.
Imagination leads to feeling. Pleasant images cause
pleasant feeling as do, for example, images related to
our past affluence or the prospect of becoming affluent
in future. On the other hand, unpleasant images make us
unhappy. To think of the past suffering is to revive
unpleasant memories and equally unpleasant is the
anticipation of the troubles and arisings that might
beset us in future. The cause of such unpleasantness may
be purely imaginary as in the case of the people who
grieved over the reported death of a relative only to
learn later that he was still alive.
The image that is neither pleasant nor unpleasant will
give rise to neutral (upekkha) feeling. We are then
neither happy nor unhappy. Indeed we have the impression
of having no feeling at all, but this indicates simply
the subtle nature of upekkhavedana which, according to
the commentaries., is to be known by the analogy of the
tracks of the deer.
When a deer runs across a large rock, the track is lost
since the animal leaves no footprints on it, but if the
footprints are to be found on both sides of the rock, we
conclude that the deer has run across the rock.
Likewise, the yogi is well aware of the pleasant or
unpleasant feelings. When he has upekkhavedana he does
not notice it and is mindful only of seeing, hearing and
so forth. But after that, he has again pleasant or
unpleasant feeling and so he concludes that he has had
neutral (upekkha) feeling while being mindful of
ordinary mental events.
So the Buddha says: "Conditioned by the mind and
mind-object manovinnana arises; the conjunction of mind,
mind-object and manovinnana leads to sense-contact and,
because of sense-contact, there is feeling."
This is purely a process of cause-and-effect
relationship that has nothing to do with a being, ego,
creator or any happening by chance. By the Pali word
"dhamma", the teaching refers to the five sense-objects
as well as the imagined objects. The five sense-objects
again become the focus of mental activity. So
manovinnana involves all the six sense-objects, that is,
what one has seen, heard, etc., and what one has not
seen, not heard, etc. Every sense-object leads to
sense-contact which in turn gives rise to feeling.
For common people, these mental events are bound up with
the idea of ego, self or atta. Such an idea is an
illusion irrelevant to the chain of causation. This is
empirically realized by the mindful yogi. He notes every
mental event, traces its cause and becomes aware of the
bhavanga and avajjana as well as the mind-object. So he
knows empirically that every mental event means only the
interrelation of cause and effect, leaving no room for
ego, creator or chance.
He knows too that mental activity leads to sense-contact
which in turn gives rise to feeling. His knowledge is
not bookish but empirical. He follows and notes every
mental event. If his mind wanders to his home while he
is meditating at a retreat, he directs his attention to
it and there is the contact between his mind and its
object, viz., the image of the house. In the same way,
contacts with Shwedagon pagoda or a foreign country
occur when he notes and follows the corresponding
thoughts that distract his mind. This contact with
mind-objects is phassa.
Equally clear to the yogi is the feeling that results
from sense-contact. While practising meditation, he
feels delighted when he happens to think of something
that pleases him; sorry when the thought about a sad
event occurs to him; inclined to laugh when he thinks of
something ludicrous. So he knows that feeling is merely
the outcome of sense-contact. But the insight of the
yogi who notes nama-rupa at every moment of their
arising is deeper than this knowledge of the origin of
feeling. For as he develops concentration and
tranquillity (samadhi), he finds that every object of
his introspection as well as its subject, that is,
consciousness, passes away. So he gains a clear insight
into the impermanence of all mental events, viz.,
thinking, feeling, etc., their unsatisfactoriness and
unreliability and their impersonal and insubstantial
character. Such insight means the empirical realization
and appreciation of the Paticcasamuppada or dependent
origination.
Recapitulation
In the first part of the discourse we have explained the
links in the chain of causation up to the vedana
(feeling) which arises from phassa (sense-contact). To
sum up what we have said so far.
Avijja is ignorance of the four noble truths. It makes
ordinary people blind to the impermanence and
insubstantiality of sense-objects. So they think, speak
and act in the hope of securing happiness in the present
life or hereafter. These deeds in thought, word or
bodily actions are either wholesome or unwholesome and
they are also called sankharas (kamma-formation).
The sankharas give rise to new existence. The dying
person has flashbacks of his kammic deeds and visions of
future life that impress him and condition his new
consciousness in a new life. In the absence of any
special object that concerns the new consciousness, the
latter occurs repeatedly with the death-bed impression
of his previous life as its object.
This bhavanga-citta becomes active at the moment of
seeing, etc. Then, there arises eye-consciousness that
is dependent on the eye and visual form. It is part of
the state of consciousness, that is, the whole mental
life as conditioned by sankhara. What we see, hear,
etc., may be pleasant or unpleasant and the
corresponding nature of eye-consciousness,
ear-consciousness, etc., is due to the ethical character
of our past deeds, that is the wholesomeness or
unwholesomeness of the kammas in the past existence.
This applies to all of the six types of consciousness
that arise from six sense-objects. The last type of
consciousness, implicit in mental activity comprising
thinking, imagining, willing, etc., is dependent on
bhavanga-citta, avajjana-citta (mental advertence), the
physical basis and the mental image. This mental
activity (manovinnana) involves seven thought-moments
(javana) and two other thought-moments (tadarammana).
Here tadarammana is the product of good or bad kamma.
Javana is not such a product, but in Abhidhamma it is
labelled sankhara-based vinnana in that it arises from
bhavanga, the product of sankhara.
Together with the arising of vinnana, there also arises
other concomitant psycho-physical phenomena (cetasika
and rupas). Thus vinnana leads to nama-rupa, but vinnana
is followed also by the six ayatana (sense-organs) and
six phassa (sense-impressions). Phassa means the
conjunction of the mind, the mind-object and the
sense-organ. It gives rise to vedana (feeling) which may
be pleasant or unpleasant or neither pleasant nor
unpleasant. The last kind of feeling which is called
upekkhavedana, gives us the impression of the absence of
any feeling, but according to Abhidhamma, it is in fact
a kind of subtle pleasure that implies only the absence
of unbearable pain.
Vedana Leads To Tanha
Because of pleasant or unpleasant feeling, there arises
tanha. Tanha means perpetual craving or hunger. It
craves for sensual objects that it does not have or it
craves for more of the objects that it already has. It
knows no satiety or satisfaction. For all the sensual
objects to gratify it, its hunger is insatiable.
So a deva said that devas are like petas in that just as
the petas are very hungry because of lack of anything to
eat or drink in their realm, so also devas are always
hungry although they indulge in all kinds of sensual
pleasure. This sounds quite plausible. For the life-span
of a Tavatimsa deva means millions of years on earth and
the life is still longer in other higher deva-worlds
such as Yama, Nimmanarati. Yet, in spite of their
ceaseless and fabulously lifelong enjoyment of pleasure,
the devas are never satisfied because their tanha is
insatiable.
The same is true of human beings. Poor people seek
sensual pleasure to the best of their ability. Of
course, because of their poverty, they can never fulfil
all their desires but equally insatiable is the craving
of the rich, the high officials and the upper crust of
society. This is due to the nature of tanha. The more it
is fed, the more hungry it becomes and so it is worse
among the rich than among the poor, more oppressive in
wealthy countries than in poor countries.
Six Kinds Of Tanha
Tanha is never tired of seeing pleasant objects, man or
woman whom it likes. It seeks sweet sounds. It hungers
for good scent, good food and good drinks. It craves for
tactile sensation and this is surely the worst craving
for people who love sensual pleasure. Tanha also means
liking for mind-objects that are impervious to the eye,
the ear and other physical organs. It is the object that
we can know only mentally. According to the scriptures
it means the five sensitive (pasada) rupas, the four
subtle elements such as apo, etc., the mental elements
(cetasikas) concepts of forms, qualities, names, etc.
People crave for good pasada-rupas because they want to
see clearly, to hear distinctly, or to have keen sense
of touch. They seek apo elements as they wish to keep
their mouth, throat and skin moist. They delight in the
consciousness of their own sex and the opposite and
hence their craving for manhood and womanhood. They want
to live long and to move lightly, and this desire shows
their hunger for the fine rupas of jivita and
kayalahuta, etc. Their desire for happiness, good memory
and good intelligence points to their craving for
certain mental faculties. Love of one's own physical
appearance and that of the opposite sex as well as the
desire for praise and fame again shows the hunger for
concepts.
For six sense-objects there are six kinds of craving.
These six cravings may mean merely the love of sensual
pleasure (kamatanha). This love may be combined with the
illusion of permanence (bhavatanha), tanha that implies
the eternity-belief. Craving is also bound up with the
belief in annihilation which makes some people overly
attached to sensual pleasure (vibhavatanha). So there
are six cravings (corresponding to six sense-objects)
for each of the three tanhas (kamatanha, bhavatanha and
vibhavatanha) or 18 cravings. Each of these cravings may
have internal objects or external objects and this leads
to 36 kinds of craving. Since each craving may relate to
the present, past or future, there are thus a total of
108 kinds of tanha. But all kinds of craving boil down
to three kinds of tanha viz., kama-, bhava- and
vibhava-tanhas.
People who are in contact with unpleasant sense-objects
long for pleasant objects. Those who suffer pain seek
freedom from it. In short, according to the commentary,
the suffering person longs for happiness. People seek
freedom from pain, poverty and unpleasant objects and
feelings. Absence of suffering means happiness (sukha).
We seek freedom from preoccupation with unpleasant
thoughts, from worry about food, clothing and shelter.
But, once a man is well provided with the necessities of
life, he tends to develop other cravings. Says the
commentary, "The wealthy man wants to increase his
wealth." For it is in the nature of tanha to be
insatiable. We wish to enjoy the good things of life
repeatedly; we wish to increase our possessions. The
more we have, the more we want, and the higher the
quality of life is, the greater is the desire to enhance
it. Tanha never comes to an end for it is fuelled and
perpetuated by vedana or feeling.
As regards the tanha associated with upekkha (neutral)
feeling, the commentary describes the concomitant
feeling as pleasant (sukha) because of its poise and
subtlety. In the case of our contact with ordinary
sense-objects, neither the pleasant feeling nor
unpleasant feeling is apparent; but since this upekkha
feeling is fine and subtle, it is tinged with (sukha)
pleasantness and hence it makes us crave for more
definite pleasure. It leads to discontentment with the
ordinary sense-objects and kindles the desire for better
food, better clothes, better sense-contact and better
living conditions.
In short, pleasant sense-objects create attachment and
craving for better objects. Unpleasant objects create
the desire to be rid of them. When the sense-objects
produce neither pleasant nor unpleasant feelings, we are
still discontented with our lot and crave for better
things. All these show how vedana gives rise to tanha.
Tanha And Samsara
Simultaneously with the arising of consciousness at the
moment of seeing, etc., there arise nama-rupa, ayatana,
phassa and vedana. For every ordinary person who is not
yet free from defilements, vedana (feeling) leads to
tanha. Tanha in turn causes upadana (clinging) that
makes him do a good or a bad deed (kammabhava). Under
certain conditions, kammabhava gives rise to rebirth
that makes living beings subject to old age, sickness,
death, grief and all other mental and physical
sufferings. This is how feelings lead to samsaric
dukkha.
Nobody can prevent the arising of nama-rupa, ayatana,
phassa and vedana as concomitants of vinnana. The Buddha
and the Arahats, too, have pleasant, unpleasant or
neutral (upekkha) feelings as a result of contact with
sense-objects. They feel pain that arises from physical
affliction but they do not suffer mentally; nor do they
take delight in pleasant sensations. So they are free
from craving and attachment. They do not strive for
pleasure and happiness and because of their non-kammic
way of life, they do away with rebirth, nama-rupa and
other causes of suffering. This is the extinction of
dukkha for the Arahat who is completely free from
defilements.
So it is said, "Due to the complete extinction of tanha
that is rooted in pleasant or unpleasant feeling on the
Ariyan path, there arises the extinction of upadana
(clinging)."
Experience of the pleasant or unpleasant feelings make
the non-Arahats crave for the good things of life but it
has no effect on the person who has attained Arahatship
after passing through the successive stages on the holy
path. This may sound incredible to the common people but
in fact the most alluring sense-object has no appeal for
the Arahat and he takes no interest in his welfare. He
is, therefore, wholly free from craving and attachment
and this means complete extinction of kammic effort,
rebirth and its attendant suffering.
So it is said, "The extinction of upadana leads to the
extinction of the cause of rebirth (kammic effort). The
extinction of kammic effort leads to extinction of
rebirth. Extinction of rebirth leads to extinction of
old age, death, grief, etc."
Extinction Of Craving
In short, with the complete extinction of tanha due to
Arahatship, there is the complete extinction of all its
consequences and this means the extinction of suffering.
It does not imply the disappearance of happiness or a
living being. It is simply the cessation of the
nama-rupa process that is the source of dukkha.
Just as Arahatship means complete extinction of craving,
the attainment of anagami stage on the path means
extinction of sensuous craving together with rebirth in
the sensual world, old age, death, etc. At the sotapatti
stage, the yogi is assured of extinction of all craving
that may lead to the lower worlds or more than seven
existences. So he is free from all suffering of the
lower worlds and the suffering for more than seven
lifetimes in the sensual world. Thus implicit in the
Paticcasamuppada is the lessening of dukkha with the
weakening of tanha.
Likewise, the vipassana insight ensures the momentary
extinction of tanha. The arising of six sense-objects
leads to pleasant or unpleasant feeling and in the
absence of vipassana insight, it finally ends in tanha
and its attendant suffering.
But as for the yogi who practises constant mindfulness
and has developed vipassana insight, he finds only the
arising and passing away of all phenomena, their
impermanence, suffering and impersonality. He also finds
that the pleasant or unpleasant feeling arises and
passes away instantly. So he does not delight in the
feeling that arises, he does not crave for another
feeling; he is free from all craving.
Extinction of craving on the Ariyan holy path differs
from extinction by vipassana in that in the former case,
the extinction is permanent and it concerns every
sense-object whereas in the latter case extinction is
neither permanent nor universal. Tanha is extinct only
at the moment of contemplation and only in respect of
the object contemplated. Hence, it is called "tadanga
nibbuti", momentary or partial extinction of
defilements.
The yogi who practises meditation is barely aware of
seeing, hearing, etc. This state of bare awareness
leaves no room for tanha and as a result upadana
(clinging), kamma, rebirth, etc., cease to occur. In
other words, with the cessation of tanha, the samsaric
cycle is partly cut off and this is called tadanga
nibbuti.
The Story Of Mahatissa Thera
There is the story of Mahatissa thera in Sri Lanka who
overcame tanha through the practice of both samatha and
vipassana. One day he left his forest retreat early in
the morning and on the way to Anuradha city for his
begging round, he met a woman who had left her home
after quarrelling with her husband. At the sight of the
thera, there arose in her a lustful desire and she
laughed aloud seductively. On looking at her the thera
noticed her teeth. Since he had been contemplating the
skeleton, the whole body of the woman appeared as a heap
of bones. He concentrated on this mental image and
attained jhana. Then, after contemplating the image of
the skeleton in his jhanic state of mind, he attained
Arahatship.
The thera continued his journey and on the way met the
woman's husband. The man asked him whether he had seen a
woman. The thera replied that he did see something but
that he did not know whether it was a man or a woman.
All that he noticed was a skeleton that passed him on
the way.
What he actually saw was the woman's teeth, but his
practice of contemplation had turned his impression of
her body into the image of a skeleton. Hence, in his
mind there was no room for lust or any other defilement
arising from his sense-contact with the woman. Then
practising vipassana on the basis of his jhanic
consciousness, he became free from defilements and
attained Arahatship.
This story might raise doubts among non-meditating
people as regards the arising of the image of a skeleton
at the sight of a person's teeth, but without practice
one cannot have any clear idea of what mind training
(bhavana) can accomplish. The mere exercise of
concentration without any training cannot help to create
mental images for these depend on steadfast and
prolonged practice of contemplation. Imagination is the
power of perception. Repeated contemplation strengthens
perception which then helps create any kind of image of
oneself or other people. This faculty of mind is
possible even for a parrot as is borne out by a story in
the commentary on Satipatthana sutta.
Story Of A Parrot
A dancer put up for the night at the residence of
bhikkhunis and when she went away, she left an
intelligent parrot. The bird was cared for by the
novitiates and it was called Buddha-rakkhita. The abbess
of the nunnery thought that it would be good if there
was something to contemplate for the bird living among
the spiritual aspirants. So she taught her to
contemplate "atthi: skeleton".
One morning the parrot was swooped up by an eagle. In
the wake of the hue and cry raised by the young nuns,
the eagle became frightened and dropped the parrot. The
Abbess asked it what it contemplated when it was seized
by the eagle. The bird replied, "I thought of a skeleton
being carried off and I wondered where it would be
scattered." The Abbess said "Well done! This
contemplation will contribute to your liberation from
samsaric existence."
A thing that is repeatedly contemplated will become
fixed in the long run. Since even a parrot can imagine a
skeleton, there is no reason why a human being cannot do
likewise. The parrot imagined itself as well as others
to be skeletons. Because of this contemplation, it had
no fear, anger or worry when it was taken away by the
eagle.
So Satipatthana bhavana is extolled as a practice that
helps to overcome grief and anxiety and to bring about
the extinction of mental and physical suffering. But
there may be many people who are not as wise as the
parrot in the story since they never take interest in
the dhamma and contemplate it. The yogi should resolve
to surpass the parrot in the practice of vipassana.
If Mahatissa thera had failed to regard the laughing
woman as a skeleton, he might have become lustful and
fallen a victim to temptation in the solitude of the
forest. Even if he had no sexual desire at that time,
any impression of the woman would have laid him open to
temptation at other times. But thanks to his
contemplation of the skeleton in the practice of
vipassana, he overcame defilements and achieved final
liberation from samsaric existence. Here, the extinction
of tanha through vipassana practice is called tadanga
nibbuti, partial extinction, while extinction through
arahatship is called "total extinction".
Contemplation And Extinction
So with the total extinction of tanha that results from
vedana, there is the extinction of upadana which means
the extinction of all the consequences of craving.
Contemplation of anicca, dukkha and anatta ensures the
partial extinction of tanha, upadana, kamma, rebirth,
etc. The object of vipassana practice is to put an end
to defilements and samsaric suffering. So it is a matter
of paramount importance that deserves the attention of
everyone who seeks total liberation. Without this
practice, pleasant or unpleasant feeling at every moment
of seeing, etc., is bound to lead to craving, kamma and
rebirth.
The consciousness involved in every moment of seeing is
due to avijja and sankhara in the previous existence.
Seeing occurs together with vinnana, nama-rupa, ayatana,
phassa and vedana. The scriptures treat each of these
dhammas separately in terms of their causal relations,
but in fact they do not arise separately one after
another. If vinnana arises from sankhara, it arises
together with its respective nama-rupa, ayatana, phassa
and vedana. All of these dhammas are the results of the
past kamma sankhara. They are termed vipaka-vatta which
means round or cycle of resultants. The round of
defilements viz., ignorance, craving and clinging
produce round of kamma viz., kamma and sankhara which
leads to round of resultants viz., consciousness,
nama-rupa, sense-organs, contact, feeling which again
give rise to the round of defilements.
The arising of these five resultants at the moment of
seeing means to most people simply just seeing. In fact,
seeing is the product of vinnana, nama-rupa, ayatana,
phassa and vedana as are other psycho-physical events
such as hearing, smelling and so forth.
Seeing involves consciousness together with mental
advertence (manasikara), volition (cetana), etc., plus
the eye-organ which comprises the nama-rupa. It also
involves four ayatanas viz., eye sensitivity, visual
object, eye consciousness and mental advertence
(dhammayatana). Contact with the visual object is phassa
and the pleasantness or unpleasantness that the object
causes is vedana. Hence all the five resultants are
bound up with every moment of seeing. The same may be
said of other phenomena that arise from hearing,
smelling and so forth.
Cutting Off At The Foundation
These five psycho-physical resultants or phenomena occur
ceaselessly one after another and comprise what we call
man, deva or living being. These are conventional terms
that refer in fact to the collection of the five
nama-rupa elements. There is no solid, monolithic and
permanent being. The only reality is the arising and
passing away of nama-rupa and for the mindful yogi, this
insight means the extinction of craving, clinging,
kamma, rebirth, suffering - a chain of consequences that
might result from feeling in the case of common people.
This is the way to the cessation of the wheel of life
(Paticcasamuppada) through the elimination of its key
link viz., tanha as conditioned by feeling. In order to
prevent tanha from arising as the result of vedana, at
every moment of seeing the yogi should focus on every
phenomenon that arises from six senses. Here, the most
obvious of these sense contacts is the tactile sensation
that concerns gross primary elements (Mahabhuta) and it
is necessary for the beginner to start contemplation
with it.
This way is in accord with the Buddha's teaching in
Satipatthana sutta, "Gacchanto va gacchamiti pajanati:
(the yogi) knows that he is walking when he walks." How
does he know it? He knows it as he notes mentally
"walking, walking". He practises mindfulness, too, when
he stands, lies, bends his arms, or does anything else.
When there is no bodily action or movement to be noted,
he should direct his attention to the abdominal rising
and falling. He should also note any thought, or mental
activity and any feeling that may arise in him. In
short, he must be mindful of all the psycho-physical
phenomena that arise from the six senses. As
concentration develops, such mindfulness leads to
insight into anicca, dukkha and anatta, an insight that
leaves no room for craving. With the extinction of
craving, there is also an end to clinging, and rebirth
with all its attendant suffering. This is the way to the
cessation of samsaric existence or life-cycle through
the elimination of its root cause, namely, craving.
Today, science and technology have created machines
which we cannot run or stop running without a knowledge
of their modus operandi. Those who know the secret can
operate them by manipulating their key plugs. In the
same way, the keynote of the life-cycle as described by
the doctrine of Paticcasamuppada is that tanha is caused
by vedana, but this is true only if vedana is coupled
with two kinds of latent tendencies (anusaya) viz.,
Santananusaya and arammananusaya. The Arahats are free
from these tendencies and so, although they have
feelings, their craving is extinct. This extinction of
craving leaves no room for new kamma, neutralizes old
kamma, and there is no more rebirth after their
parinibbana.
But ordinary people have potential defilements which
means not the existence of evil desires lying latent
somewhere but only the possibility of their arising
under certain circumstances. Hence, the Pali term
santananusaya kilesa for this tendency. This potential
kilesa may become greed, hatred, ignorance and other
evils in the case of those who fail to contemplate the
nama-rupas and so become subject to the illusions of
permanency, happiness and ego-entity. This kilesa which
may arise from sense-objects in the absence of vipassana
insight is called arammananusaya kilesa.
Kilesa And Unmindfulness
Greed and anger that arise in connection with what one
has seen or heard are the manifestations of the second
kind of latent tendency. The impressions that we retain
are those of permanent, lovely or repulsive beings or
things. So recall of those images gives rise to
attachment (lobha), anger (dosa) or illusion of
permanency (moha).
Lobha is another synonym for tanha. It is due to
pleasant feeling but it may also arise when unpleasant
feeling makes us crave for pleasant sensations.
Ignorance, too, leads to complacency, attachment and
craving. Thus lobha, dosa and moha give rise to feeling
which in turn causes craving with its attendant
sufferings of samsaric existence. It is only the
practice in bare awareness of seeing, hearing, etc.,
that rules out the possibility of craving and nostalgia
for the pleasant sensations from the senses. Without
this practice, craving dominates us and leads to
suffering in afterlife as well as here and now.
In the Mora jataka, the bodhisatta who was then a
peacock used to utter a gatha when he arose in the
morning and when he went to sleep in the evening. So for
700 years he escaped the trap set by a hunter. Then the
hunter employed a peahen as a decoy and enticed by her,
the peacock forgot to recite the gatha and fell into the
trap. In Benares, there was a harpist called Guttila. He
made love to a girl but he was ridiculed and rejected.
So at night he sang a very sweet song and played his
harp in front of the girl's house. Fascinated by the
music, the girl rushed out blindly, stumbled and fell to
her death. In the Mora jataka it was the female voice,
and here it was the male voice that brought about
suffering and death.
No one can deny that what we hear is impermanent.
Everything that we hear vanishes instantly, yet we enjoy
songs and music because of their apparent continuity. If
we note every sound, "hearing, hearing" mentally, our
realization of their impermanence makes it impossible
for our pleasant feelings to become cravings. This means
non-arising of upadana and all its resultant suffering.
Smell is seldom experienced by the yogi. He must, of
course, note it and see that it does not give rise to
craving.
Mindfulness is especially important in eating. The
unmindful person delights in eating good food. He is
fond of such pleasure; he craves for it in future and
hereafter. This craving for good food and drinks is
powerful. It may lead to an existence that makes a
person subsist on bad food. Thus, according to the
Balapandita sutta, those who do misdeeds for the
pleasure of good food are reborn as animals that eat
grass, leaves or human excreta.
Eating bad food also tends to create the desire for good
food. Therefore, it is necessary for the yogi to note
everything, every movement of his hand and mouth and
every sensation when he is eating. Through this practice
of mindfulness he becomes aware of the vanishing of his
actions, sensations and feeling. In this way he gains an
insight into impermanence of everything, an insight that
leads to the extinction of craving and its attendant
suffering.
Thoughts And Tactile Impressions
Tactile impression is always present all over the
physical body. Thinking, too, is also present all the
time except when the yogi goes to sleep. So thoughts and
tactile impressions form the objects of vipassana
practice for most of the time. The yogi contemplates the
tactile impressions when he has nothing else to engage
his attention.
He notes his thoughts even though they happen to be
unpleasant and undesirable. The beginner in meditation
is often subject to such distractions, but they usually
disappear as he gains practice and develops
concentration. Thoughts about the Dhamma occur to some
yogis from time to time and these should be noted.
Introspection of these thoughts also ensures insight
into impermanence and the extinction of suffering.
Here, some may wonder what this description of vipassana
practice has to do with the discourse on
Paticcasamuppada. The doctrine points out the chain of
consequences as conditioned by their respective causes
and our object is to show the way to the end of samsaric
suffering that finally results from the interplay of
their causes and consequences. So we have to describe
the practice wherever it is relevant. Thus, when it is
said that "avijja leads to sankhara and sankhara to
rebirth", we have to show the way to remove avijja. So
also in connection with vinnana, etc., that finally
bring about dukkha, it is necessary to stress the need
for removing the link between vedana and tanha, that is
the main cause of dukkha.
Three Kinds Of Craving (Tanha)
If feeling (vedana) that arises from contact with
sense-objects is not rightly contemplated, it leads to
one of the three kinds of craving viz., craving for
sensual pleasure, craving for existence and craving for
non-existence.
The first kind of craving (kamatanha) is focused on
sensual objects and it is most prevalent among the
living beings of the sensual world.
The craving for existence (bhavatanha) is bound up with
the eternity-belief (sassata-ditthi). It presupposes the
permanence of a living being and the indestructibility
of the ego despite the dissolution of the physical body.
The belief is not deep-rooted among the Buddhists, but
non-Buddhists hold it so firmly that it is a major
impediment to their spiritual liberation. Their craving
for existence is evident in their illusion of permanent
self and their love of sensual pleasure.
The craving for non-existence (vibhavatanha) is born of
the annihilation belief (uccheda-ditthi). The belief is
not found among Buddhists and no one is a true Buddhist
if he or she holds the belief. The craving for
non-existence means the desire for the automatic
cessation of the life-stream after death as well as the
love of pleasure rooted in the materialistic view of
life.
Each of these three cravings stems from the failure to
realize anicca, dukkha and anatta through the
introspection of feelings. So in order to forestall
craving and its consequences, namely, rebirth and
suffering, the yogi should contemplate every phenomenon,
and try to see everything as it really is.
Tanha Causes Upadana
From craving there arises clinging (upadana). The Pali
term upadana is a compound of //upa// - intense,
extreme, and //adana// - grasp, take, and so it means to
grasp firmly, or intense, obsessive craving. Clinging is
of four kinds: (1) clinging to sensuous objects, (2)
clinging to false views, (3) clinging to irrelevant,
non-Ariyan practices as the way to salvation, and (4)
clinging to atta or ego-belief.
(1) Clinging to sensual objects:
Sensual objects excite the desire of all living beings
who are not free from the craving for sensual pleasure.
These objects are five in number viz., visual form,
sound, odour, taste and contact.
Visual form is the object that is pleasant and
attractive to the eye. It may possess natural beauty or
it may appear to be beautiful in the eyes of the viewer.
Pleasant visual form, whether real or apparent, is to be
found in men, women and consumer goods. It is the
physical appearance of females that attracts the males
and vice-versa. The things that both men and women
desire are clothes, jewellery, cars, etc. It is not
merely the form or colour that excites desire. Man and
woman are drawn towards each other not only by the
complexion but by the whole body of the opposite sex,
and the same may be said of consumer goods that make
people greedy. Form or colour only serves to introduce
or identify the object of desire just as the cry of an
animal helps the hunter to track and find it out.
Sound as the object of sensual pleasure is represented
by the voices of men and women, songs or music. Some
sounds and voices are really sweet while some only
appear to be sweet in our ears. Again, it is not the
mere sound that attracts us for when we delight in
hearing a sound or a voice, the whole thing or the being
that produces it forms the focus of our attachment.
Odour as the source of sensual pleasure comprises all
kinds of scents: scent of flavours, powder, fragrant
essence. Men and women apply these odoriferous
substances to their bodies and delight in these scents,
and it is not the scents alone but the whole physical
body giving out the scent that attracts people.
The sensual pleasure that we have by eating or drinking
is rooted in food and drinks. The good or pleasant taste
may be real or apparent. For pigs, dogs and other
animals, garbage, refuse and filth may be a source of
sensual pleasure. Some people are very fond of bitter or
spicy food. Some like intoxicants. Their pleasure is
more apparent than real since normal ordinary people do
not share their tastes. The pleasure of eating is not
confined to food; it centres also on the preparation of
food and the man or woman who prepares it. This is
evident in the pleasure of a man who enjoys eating the
food prepared by his wife although her culinary skill
may not impress other people.
Another source of sensual pleasure is the body or
tactile impression. Soft and smooth beds, comfortable
clothing, something warm in cold season and something
cold in hot season, the body of the opposite sex - all
these form the objects of contact that create not only
the craving for the tactile impression but also the
craving for the whole body of the living or non-living
object. The tactile impression only serves to pave the
way for attachment to the whole body.
Bases Of Sensual Pleasure
Then there are living and non-living objects that form
the sources of sensual pleasure. There are gold, silver,
jewellery, rice, cattle, poultry, vehicles, houses,
land, attendants. Men work daily to secure these sources
of pleasure. They seek these things to have good food,
good clothes and good houses, to see movies and so
forth.
Sensual desire (tanha) usually leads to intense craving
for sensual objects (kamapadana). When a man starts
smoking, he delights in his new habit but as the habit
grows upon him he becomes addicted to it. Thus, we
become excessively fond of certain objects and we feel
restless and discomfited if we do not get them. In this
way tanha develops into upadana (clinging, grasping or
infatuation).
Upadana cannot come into being without tanha. The music
and songs of foreigners do not appeal to Burmese ears
and so there is no craze for them among the people.
Burmese people do not eat dogs. Dog's flesh is abhorrent
to them and so there can be no upadana in regard to it.
(2) Ditthupadana (Bigotry)
Another kind of upadana is ditthupadana which means
clinging to false views. It covers all the false views,
exclusive of those in the categories of the third and
fourth upadana. So every false belief is to be regarded
as upadana. Here we will describe at length ten false
views that have a firm grip on the people.
The first view is that alms-giving is not a good kammic
act, that it means only a waste of money. This view
rejects the sense of values and the fruits of a good
act. It has, however, no basis in fact. The act of dana
makes the donor joyful. It benefits the recipient
physically and mentally and it may even help to save the
life of a starving man. The donor is popular and highly
esteemed. After his death, he attains the deva-world. It
is hard to convince the sceptic of this post-mortem
reward, but these other-worldly results of kamma come
within the purview of Arahats and other holy men with
psychic powers. One of these powers is the ability to
see with the divine eye (dibbacakkhu). This psychic
power enables one to see donors prospering in
deva-worlds or evil-doing non-donors suffering in the
lower worlds. Such vision can be had even by some yogis
who have not acquired psychic powers but developed much
samadhi. Again some may dismiss these visions as
figments of imagination but the agreement of these
accounts about the other worlds lends weight to their
credibility.
The second false view is also a negation of the kammic
benefits for alms-giving on a grand scale.
The third false view rejects the kammic benefits of
feeding guests, giving gifts on new year day and so
forth. This view is essentially the same as the third
view. It refers to small acts of dana that were in vogue
in ancient India but were dismissed as futile by
heretics.
The fourth view denies the kammic result of any morally
good or evil act. There is a lot of evidence for the
kammic effects of a man's acts in this life, and, as for
the other-worldly result of an act, those with psychic
power can testify to it. But people who are excessively
fond of sensual pleasure like to give free rein to their
desires. They frown on moral values and ideas which they
regard as a hindrance to their material progress. So
they put forward many arguments to justify their
rejection of the kammic law. In the final analysis all
this is due to their excessive love of sensual pleasure.
The fifth and sixth view deny any respect, honour or
support that we owe to our parents for all their loving
care in our childhood. It is said that a man and his
wife get children through sexual intercourse by
accident, that they bring up the children from a sense
of responsibility, and so there is no reason why
children should be grateful to their parents. So it is
not a good deed on the part of a man to look after his
parents nor is it an evil to wrong them. It is a
terrible view; those who hold it will not be respected
by their children.
The seventh view denies the existence of any world other
than the human and the animal worlds. It also rejects
the belief that an animal may be reborn as a human
being.
The eighth view denies rebirth of a human being in deva
or animal worlds or in hell. It preaches annihilation of
life after death.
The ninth view denies rebirth by //opapatika// or
spontaneous generation. In other words, it denies the
existence of devas, brahmas, petas, asuras, etc., who
appear with their full-fledged bodies without being
conceived in the womb. This view is untenable since
encounters with good or evil spirits are reported from
all over the world; there are mediums and witch-doctors
who can invoke spirits; and devas, Brahmas, etc., are
sometimes visible to the yogis who practise vipassana.
The last view is that there is no ascetic or Brahman who
speaks of this world and the other invisible world and
who conforms to his teaching. The view implies that
there is no person who can speak independently of this
world and the other world on the basis of his actual
extraordinary experience, that all their teaching is
guesswork and speculation, and so false and evil.
Today this view is echoed by those who scoff at
religion. They reject the existence of Buddhas and
Arahats who know the world as it really is through their
own effort. But the logic underlying this view is
self-defeating for by the same kind of reasoning, one
can reject the view since those who hold it also do not
know anything about this or the other world really.
As for the Buddha-dhamma, it rests on extraordinary
insight (Sayain abhinna desita). As such it leads itself
to empirical investigation and there is much scientific
evidence for it.
The man who preached the Indian brand of agnosticism in
the time of the Buddha was Ajita. He attacked all
religious teaching without qualification and so it is to
be assumed that the arahats and the Buddha, too, were
the targets of his denunciation.
Right Views
All these ten wrong views boil down to the denial of the
law of kamma for the rejection of kamma means rejection
of any benefit accruing from the acts of dana and
reference to parents, and other good deeds, as well as
the kammic potential for arahatship or Buddhahood.
Likewise, the ten right views mentioned below are based
on the belief in kamma, or moral retribution.
(1) The first view is that dana is beneficial. One who
gives alms is admired at least by the recipients. They
will respect him, praise him and help him when he is in
trouble. He dies calmly with good death-bed visions and
after his death he attains good rebirth in deva-worlds
or in human society. His good rebirth may finally lead
to the Ariyan path and Nibbana. It was usually with an
act of dana that the bodhisatta, and others embarked on
their long spiritual journey leading to the goal of
Buddhahood, paccekabuddhahood or arahatship.
The kammic effect of alms-giving is also evident in the
material prosperity of some people. Some people do the
same job such as business, farming, etc., but differ in
their accomplishments. Some become prosperous while
others make no progress materially. Some meet with
success without working hard while others fail to
prosper despite their hard work. Other things being
equal, this disparity in the fortunes of some persons is
no doubt due to dana or lack of dana in a previous life.
(2) and (3) The man who believes in the law of kamma
will have no doubt about the kammic potency of giving
alms lavishly or the small acts of dana such as feeding
the guests, giving presents and so forth.
(4) These three right views are implicit in the law of
kamma or moral retribution. That a man fares according
to his good or bad deeds is an undeniable fact of life.
A man who leads a good life in accordance with the
instruction of his parents and teachers is popular, gets
help from others and achieves success, and when he grows
up he becomes a prosperous gentleman. Similarly, because
of good kamma in a previous life a man may be born of a
good family and blessed with health, wealth, physical
beauty and sincere friends. The bad effect of evil kamma
such as ill-health, poverty, ugliness, etc., are equally
well-known to everybody.
(5) and (6) The belief in kamma also implies a
recognition of our deep gratitude to parents. Parents
take care of their children from the time of their
conception. The mother is especially careful about her
health, her food, and movements for the sake of the
child in her womb. If she is a good Buddhist, she keeps
sabbath and contemplates the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha
in the hope of influencing her child spiritually. After
the birth of the child, the parents have to attend to
his physical needs and educate him, and when he comes of
age they have to give him financial support for a start
in life. For these reasons, it is our bounden duty to
revere and care for our parents; and this is a kammic
act that benefits us immensely. At the very least, a man
who respects his parents will be respected by his
children while a man who wrongs his parents is very
likely to be disdained by his children.
Seeing The World Beyond
(7), (8) and (9) The right views about the existence of
this world, the invisible world and the living beings
such as the devas who come into existence by spontaneous
materialization. These right views are also implicit in
the belief in the law of kamma for the law of kamma
makes it possible for a living being from the animal or
deva world to pass on to human world or vice-versa
according to his kamma after death. This can be
demonstrated to a certain extent but the observer will
have to possess psychic powers, vipassana insight or the
ability to think rationally.
Through the practice of samathajhana, a yogi can acquire
the power of recalling the past lives; he can have the
divine-eye (dibbacakkhu) that affords him a glimpse into
the physical appearance, etc., of a person who has
passed on to a new existence. This psychic power is also
accessible to those who practise vipassana.
Those who cannot practise samatha or vipassana will have
to depend on their power of reasoning. There are certain
persons here and there who can recall their previous
lives, people who are credited with jatissaranana in
Buddhist literature. They describe their past lives as
human beings, animals, spirits or ghosts. To the
rational mind, these accounts clearly point to the
post-mortem transition from this world to the other
world and vice-versa as well as to the instant
materialization of certain beings.
Here we wish to mention the way of thinking on the issue
of a future life suggested by wise men. Suppose a man
accepts the belief in kamma and life after death while
another man rejects the belief. The second man will not
do good deeds such as dana, sila and he will not avoid
doing evil. He will give free rein to his desires.
Therefore, he has no virtue that is worthy of respect
and admiration by other people. If contrary to his
belief, the law of kamma and a future life are real, he
is bound to land in the lower worlds immediately after
his death and suffer for many lifetimes throughout his
samsaric existence.
On the other hand, the man who believes in kamma and
after-life will avoid evil, do good and so, even if
there is no kamma or a future life, he will be extolled
and well-known for his good character. He will rejoice
at the contemplation of his good deeds. As a good
citizen, he will lead a peaceful life. These are the
benefits that will certainly accrue to him from his
belief in kamma in the present life. And if life after
death is indeed a fact, he is assured of happiness
hereafter. So it is reasonable to accept the belief in
after-life since it serves our interests now or in
future in any event. This is the infallible way of
thinking that the Buddha recommends in Apannaka sutta of
Majjhima nikaya.
Parami And Kamma
(10) Faith in the Buddha, the Arahats or holy men who
can claim transcendent knowledge about this and the
other worlds and who possess a noble character that
lends credence to their teachings - such faith also
presupposes the belief in kamma, for the spiritual
attainment of Arahats and the Buddha rests in part on
their parami (perfection) which does not differ
essentially from kamma. Development of parami is a kind
of learning. Just as a child has to learn many things in
order to become well-educated, so also a bodhisatta has
to seek knowledge and train himself for the attainment
of his goal.
Some parents and elders take their children to movies
and theatres while others take theirs to pagodas and
monasteries. In this way the children acquire good or
bad habits and develop a craving for sensual pleasure or
a taste for the higher things of life. Good habits and
good training may be called a kind of parami. Some
children are spontaneously inclined to religious life,
some men and women have immense zeal and energy for the
practice of vipassana. Such a child's unusual interest
in religion or a man's unusual love of spiritual life is
born of the parami in a previous life.
Prince Siddhattha became the Buddha through the gradual
development and perfection of parami such as dana, sila,
nekkhama (renunciation) and so forth over aeons spanning
innumerable lifetimes. It was not a matter of easy
accomplishment in a single existence. It was this
cumulative kammic potential or parami that helped to
strengthen his will when he left his family and the
luxuries of his royal palace in search of enlightenment.
Today, some people speak of their disillusionment with
life but it is hard for a man to renounce all his wealth
and become a monk, let alone to think of the kind of
renunciation that distinguished the bodhisatta.
The bodhisatta cultivated other paramis, too, for the
sake of wisdom, at energy fortitude and so forth in way
of his previous lives. As a result in his last existence
he reflected and realized independently the nature of
life, its dependent origination, etc. It was his kammic
potential (parami) that finally led to his supreme
enlightenment and likewise it was the parami that
contributed to the spiritual attainments of
Paccekabuddhas and Arahats. Hence, the belief in kamma
makes it possible for the spiritual aspirant to become
the arahat, Paccekabuddha or the Buddha and one who
accepts the belief has no doubt about the transcendent
knowledge of the Buddha and other holy men.
In short, ditthupadana is generally synonymous with
rejection of the law of kamma. It was not widespread in
the time of the Buddha or even about a hundred years ago
but now it is gaining ground, thanks to the books that
have criticized the doctrine of kamma in the name of
scientific knowledge. As the scriptures say, false
beliefs are usually rooted in craving and with man's
increasing hunger for material goods, scepticism about
kamma is likely to become dominant and it is up to good
people to guard themselves against it.
Apart from the rejection of kamma, ditthupadana also
means strong attachment to all false beliefs e.g.
ego-belief, annihilation-belief, etc. The exceptions are
the two false beliefs covered by silabbatupadana and
attavadupadana.
(3) Silabbatupadana (Clinging To False Practices)
Silabbatupadana is clinging to wrong practices that do
not lead to cessation of suffering. It is the view which
identifies the habits of cows, dogs and other animals
with the way to the end of dukkha. It found expression
among some ascetics in the time of the Buddha. Like
animals, they lived naked, ate, defecated and went about
on all fours, and slept on the ground. They believed
that such a way of life served to purge them of all evil
kamma and forestall new kammic action, thereby assuring
them of an end to suffering and eternal bliss after
death.
To a Buddhist, this kind of belief may sound incredible
but some people's preferences are very odd and they
differ in their views and inclinations. So there came to
the Buddha two ascetics, one Punna who lived like an ox
and another Seniya who lived like a dog. They asked the
Lord about the benefits of their practice. The Lord was
reluctant to answer but when pressed for his view, he
replied that an ascetic who committed himself wholly to
the habits of an ox or a dog would be reborn as an ox or
a dog after death; that it was wrong to believe that
such practices led to the deva-world; and that one who
held a wrong belief was likely to land in hell or in the
animal world. Then the Buddha went on to describe (1)
the evil practices that bear evil fruits, (2) the good
practices that bear good fruits, (3) the evil practices
mixed with good practices and (4) the practice of the
Ariyan path that leads to the total extinction of good
and bad kammas.
On hearing this sermon Punna became the disciple of the
Buddha. Seniya joined the order and attained Arahatship
through the practice of the Dhamma.
The Story Of Korakhattiya
In the time of the Buddha there was a man named
Korakhattiya who lived like a dog. One day the Buddha
passed by him, accompanied by a Licchavi bhikkhu,
Sunakkhatta by name.
Sunakkhatta saw the ascetic moving on all fours and
eating the food on the ground without the help of his
hands. The ascetic's way of life gave the monk the
impression of a holy man, nay, an Arahat who had few
desires. In point of fact, the ascetic's mode of life
was a kind of silabbatupadana that would lead him to one
of the four lower worlds. It was abhorrent to those who
had high ideals and aspirations. It had appeal for
Sunakkhatta only because of his low tastes and desires.
The Licchavi monk was exceptional in this respect. There
were then not as now many people who preferred false
views and false practices that did not accord with the
Buddha's teaching. This was probably a hangover from
wrong attachments in their previous lives.
The Buddha divined Sunakkhatta's thoughts and said, "So
you regard that ascetic as an Arahat! I wonder why you
do not feel ashamed of being called the disciple of the
Buddha." The monk then accused the Lord of envying the
ascetic's Arahatship. This is of course the kind of
retort that is to be expected from an ignorant man when
someone speaks the truth about his false teacher. The
Buddha explained that his object was to remove the
monk's illusions that would do him no good. Then he went
on to predict that after seven days the ascetic would
die of indigestion and land in the lowest Asura world;
that his body would be dumped in a certain cemetery;
that if the monk went there and asked about his present
abode, the dead body would reveal it.
The Buddha made this prophecy in order to restore
Sunakkhatta's faith in him. Through the practice of
samatha Sunakkhatta had attained jhana and divine eye.
With his divine eye he had seen the gods and goddesses
and as he wished to hear their voices he asked the
Buddha about the way to the attainment of divine ear.
But the Lord declined to fulfil his desire because his
bad kamma stood in the way and he would blame the Lord
for the non-attainment of divine ear. Nevertheless, he
lost his faith in the Lord because he thought that it
was envy that motivated the Lord to refuse his request.
So the Buddha predicted the ascetic's fate to impress
Sunakkhatta and salvage his faith.
Sunakkhatta informed the ascetic of the Lord's
prediction and warned him against overeating. The
ascetic fasted for six days but on the seventh day he
could not resist the temptation any longer. He wolfed
down the food provided by a lay follower and died of
indigestion that very night.
His fellow ascetics dragged his dead body to dump it in
any place other than the cemetery specified in the
Buddha's prediction. They got to a cemetery but found it
to be the very place they wished to avoid for it had the
kind of grass predicted by the Buddha. They tried to
drag the body away but the creeper-rope snapped and all
their efforts to remove it were in vain. So they had to
abandon the corpse there.
Sunakkhatta heard the news but still he hoped to prove
the falsity of the latter part of the Lord's prediction.
He went to the cemetery and rapping the dead man asked
about his abode. The corpse arose and after saying that
he was in Kalakamjika asura abode fell back on the
ground. Kalakamjika is the lowest asura abode. Asura is
a kind of peta with a monstrous body and a mouth which
is so small that it cannot drink and eat well.
According to the commentary, it was the Buddha's psychic
power that made the dead body possessed by the asura
peta. Given the ability of some sorcerers to raise the
dead, there is no need to have any doubt about the
resurrection of the dead ascetic through the psychic
power (iddhi) of the Buddha.
Sunakkhatta came back crestfallen and had to admit that
the Lord's prophecy had come wholly true. Even so, he
did not have complete faith in the Buddha. Later on he
left the holy order and disparaged the Lord.
Other Silabbata Practices
Besides the mode of life of cows and dogs there are
other practices that can be described as silabbata. Some
people emulate the elephants, horses, and so forth. In
other words, they worship animals. The commentary refers
to king-worshippers which may mean in Burma people who
worship various nats. Nat-worship among Burmese people
is not motivated by the desire for liberation from
samsara (life cycle). It stems from the hope for
material benefits here and now and as such it does not
fall within the scope of silabbatupadana, but it is
upadana over the belief that leads some people to make
animal sacrifice in their worship of the nats.
There are also fire-worship, naga-worship, moon-worship,
sun-worship, spirit-worship and so forth. If the object
in any kind of worship is to have happiness or spiritual
liberation after death, it is silabbatupadana. In short,
all practices divorced from the Four Noble Truths and
the Noble Eightfold Path are labelled silabbata and
attachment to them as the way to salvation is
silabbatupadana.
The yogi who has attained at least the sotapanna stage
through the contemplation of nama-rupa is well aware of
the right path to Nibbana and so he has freed himself
from the belief in silabbata. He knows empirically that
the way to the end of suffering is only through the
introspection of nama-rupa and the practice of the Noble
Eightfold Path.
For example, if you know from experience how to go from
this meditation centre to Shwedagon pagoda, you will not
be misled by anyone who points out the wrong way.
Likewise, the yogi at the sotapanna stage knows the
right way to Nibbana and so he has no illusion about the
beliefs and practices such as belief in God, nat worship
or asceticism that pass for the way to salvation.
Those who do not know the right path are not free from
such illusion. They may have acquired it from their
ignorant parents, teachers or friends; or because of
their poor basic knowledge, they might have been
misguided by books that advocate false beliefs and
practices. The ordinary man (puthujjana) is ignorant of
the right path to Nibbana and so he will have to reckon
with many teachers and practices through his samsaric
existence. If he falls for a false teacher or a false
practice, he is in for a lot of suffering. Thus the
practice of austerities will only cause hardships and
pain and the performance of animal sacrifice will
certainly lead to the lower worlds.
It is also upadana over silabbata to believe that
rupajhana or arupajhana means complete salvation. In
short, even the moral perfection or jhanic attainment in
the mundane sphere, though commendable, may lead to
silabbatupadana if it is divorced from the holy path of
vipassana and regarded as the total liberation. Udaka
sutta of Samyutta nikaya refers to the rishi Udaka, who
having attained the arupa world through his arupajhana
declared that he had uprooted the cause of dukkha and
made an end of it. This was also the illusion of another
rishi called Alara. This illusion or upadana led to
their good kamma which in turn led to their rebirth in
the arupa worlds.
So in his discourse to Baka brahma, the Buddha says: "I
see the dangers of birth, old age, death, etc., inherent
in the three worlds of sensuality, rupa and arupa. I see
those who seek Nibbana still bound to existence. So I do
not approve of any kind of existence. I have repudiated
all attachment to existence."
Like the two rishis, those who do not know the Buddha's
teaching never attain their goal. Although they seek
permanent happiness, they follow the wrong path of
silabbata and remain entangled in the samsaric existence
of dukkha. So we can hardly over-emphasize the
importance of right effort on the right path as pointed
out by the Buddha.
(4) Attavadupadana (Clinging To Belief In Soul)
Attavadupadana is a compound of attavada and upadana.
Attavada means belief in soul entity and attavadupadana
is attachment to the view that every person is a living
soul.
Attachment to the ego-belief is of two kinds, viz.,
ordinary attachment and deep-rooted attachment. Ordinary
attachment that prevails among ignorant Buddhists is not
harmful to progress on the holy path. The belief is not
deeply entrenched because Buddhists accept the Buddha's
teaching which denies the permanent soul and recognizes
nama-rupa as the only reality behind a living being.
Intelligent Buddhists are still less vulnerable to the
belief. For they know that seeing, hearing, etc.,
involve only the sense-organs (eye, ear, etc.), the
corresponding sense-objects (visual form, sound, etc.)
and the corresponding states of consciousness.
But most people are not wholly free from the ego-belief.
Even the yogi who practises vipassana may at times fall
for it and it is likely to attract every man who has not
attained the holy path.
In fact those who taught ego-belief described the ego as
the owner of the five khandhas, as an independent
entity, possessing free-will and self-determination. It
was this view of atta (soul) that the Buddha questioned
in his dialogue with the wandering ascetic Saccaka. Said
the Buddha, "You say that this physical body is your
atta. Then can you always keep it well, free from
anything unpleasant?" Saccaka had to answer in the
negative. Further questioning by the Lord elicited from
him the reply that he had in fact no control over any of
the five khandhas.
So the ancient Buddhist teachers translate "rupam
anatta" as "the physical body is subject to no control",
etc. In fact it is the denial of the "samiatta" or the
false view of atta as a controlling entity. Every
ordinary person holds this view and believes in
free-will. He can overcome it completely only through
vipassana contemplation.
The attavada teachers also say that atta exists
permanently in the physical body. In other words, it
means the personal identity that is said to persist
through the whole existence.
Again, they say that atta is the subject of all actions,
thus identifying it with sankharakkhandha. It is the
illusion that creates the belief: "It is I that see,
hear, etc."
They also say that atta is the living entity that feels;
that it is atta that is happy or unhappy. In other
words, they describe atta or soul in terms of vedana or
feeling.
Thus, although the Atmanists (attavadi) insist that atta
has nothing to do with the five khandhas, they credit it
with ownership of the body, etc., permanent residence in
the body, subjectivity and feeling: and, hence, in
effect they identify it with the five khandhas. The
ego-illusion is rooted in the khandhas and a man can
free himself completely from it only when he becomes
aware of the real nature of khandhas through
contemplation.
Of the four upadana, the first upadana (clinging to
sensuality) is the developed form of craving (tanha).
The other three upadanas differ only as regards their
objects; basically they all relate to beliefs, viz.,
belief in ego, belief in the efficacy of practices other
than those of the Eightfold Path, and any false belief
other than those in the category of the other two
upadana. All false beliefs arise in connection with
craving. Men cling to a belief because they like it.
Thus there is no doubt that all the four upadanas stem
from craving and hence the Buddha's teaching: "From
tanha there arises upadana."
In point of fact, craving is the cause and clinging is
the effect. Craving for sensual pleasure, ego-belief, or
practices irrelevant to the holy path or other false
beliefs is the cause, and this craving develops into
clinging to sensuality, ego-belief, etc., and thus
becomes effects.
Clinging Leads To Becoming
Upadana leads to bhava (becoming). There are two kinds
of bhava, viz., kammabhava and upapattibhava.
(1) Kammabhava
Kammabhava means the kamma that leads to rebirth. The
Buddha describes it as the punnabhi, apunnabhi and
anenjabhi sankharas that lead to lower sensual world or
the higher material and immaterial worlds. He also
identifies kammabhava with all kammas that give rise to
new existence.
Of the three sankharas, punnabhi sankhara comprises the
eight wholesome volitions (cetana) in sensual sphere and
five wholesome volitions in the material (rupa) sphere.
Apunnabhi sankhara is the group of twelve unwholesome
volitions. Anenjabhi sankhara means the four wholesome
volitions in immaterial sphere. Also leading to rebirth
are the kammas that arise together with the wholesome
volitions in sensual sphere, viz., having no covetous
thoughts or designs about another's possessions, having
no design against another person's life and holding
right views. These kammas are implicit in punnabhi
sankhara. In short, kammabhava is the good or bad
volition that leads to rebirth.
(2) Upapattibhava
Upapattibhava is of nine kinds. (1) kammabhava means the
nama-rupas of living beings in the sensual world. In
other words, kammabhava refers to existences in the hell
and the worlds of devas, mankind, animals and petas. (2)
rupabhava - the khandhas of brahmas with rupas. (3)
arupabhava - namakhandhas of brahmas with no rupas. (4)
sannibhava - nama-rupas of beings with gross
perceptions, that is beings in 29 abodes other than
asanni nevasanni abodes. (5) asanaribhava - nama-rupa of
asanni-brahmas. (6) Nevasanninasanni - namakhandhas of
higher brahmas. (7) ekavokarabhava - the bhava with only
rupakkhandha. (8) catuvokarabhava - the bhava with four
namakhandhas. (9) pancavokarabhava - of bhava with five
nama-rupakkhandhas.
In short, upapattibhava means the nama-rupas of the new
existence that results from kamma. It comprises the
vinnana, nama-rupa, salayatana, phassa and vedana.
The bhava that arises from upadana is basically
kammabhava, the other upapattibhava being merely its
by-product.
From contact with six pleasant or unpleasant
sense-objects there arise six pleasant or unpleasant
feelings.
Feelings lead to craving and craving develops into
clinging; clinging to sensual objects may become
excessive to the point of craving for union with one's
family in a future life or attainment of Nibbana hand in
hand with one's beloved. The excessive degree of a man's
upadana is evident in the story of the merchant Mendaka.
Story Of Mendaka
Mendaka was a rich merchant in a previous life. In the
face of a famine, his stock of provisions gradually ran
out and at last he had to send away his attendants and
was left with his wife, a son, his daughter-in-law and a
slave. His wife had cooked rice that was barely enough
for their consumption, and they were about to eat it
when a paccekabuddha appeared to receive food.
At the sight of the paccekabuddha, the merchant thought
of his bad kamma, that is, lack of dana in a previous
life that had now brought about his starvation. He then
offered his share of rice to the paccekabuddha and
prayed for abundant supply of food and reunion with the
members of his household in his future lives. His wife
too donated her share of rice and expressed a similar
wish in her prayer. The son and his wife followed suit
and prayed in the same vein, that is, for unlimited
supply of food and money as well as reunion with the
same wife, husband, parents and slaves.
The prayers of the merchant and his family clearly point
to the powerful influence of upadana in the sensual
sphere and most people today are no less subject to the
same kind of attachment. But more appalling is the
upadana of the slave Punna. After offering his share of
rice, he prayed for abundance of food and rebirth as the
slave of the same family! It never occurred to him to
pray for rebirth as a king or a merchant; his attachment
to his masters and mistresses was so strong that he
wanted only to be their slave hereafter.
Once there was a village headman who stood well with
Government officials. Those were the days when under
British rule most of the high ranking officials were
Englishmen. The headman took much delight in paying
respect to them. He said that he enjoyed saying, Phaya,
"Yes, my Lord," when he was called by an officer. His
attachment was essentially the same as that of Punna.
The paccekabuddha blessed them and departed. By means of
his psychic power they saw him fly back to the Himalayas
and share the food with five hundred other fellow
buddhas.
On that very day, the merchant and his family found
their acts of dana bearing fruit wonderfully. They found
the rice pot full of rice. They ate to their hearts'
content, but the pot was always full of rice. They found
their granaries, too, overflowing with grains.
Their prayers were fulfilled in the lifetime of the
Buddha-Gotama for they became members of the same
household in Baddiya, a city of the Magadha country. The
news of the fulfilment of their prayers was so unusual
and amazing that the king made an inquiry through a
minister and found that it was indeed true. This story
is mentioned in Vinaya pitaka.
Upadana And Kammabhava
When the sensual desire for an object develops into an
intense craving, a person becomes desperate and tries to
secure it by fair means or foul. Thefts, robberies,
frauds, murders and so forth that are rampant nowadays
stem from upadana. Some crimes are rooted in sensual
upadana while others arise from one of the three kinds
of illusion based on upadana. People commit crimes not
only because of their unwholesome desire but also
because of their blind attachment to wives, husbands,
etc.
The following is a story illustrative of the evil
kammabhava resulting from sensual upadana.
Puppharatta Jataka
Long ago, there was a poor man in Benares. He had only a
suit of thick clothes. He washed it to wear during the
Tazaungdine festival, but his wife disliked the white
clothes and craved for a garment of pink colour. All his
efforts to reason with her being in vain, the man at
last sneaked into the royal garden at night to steal the
flower that was to be used for dyeing his wife's
garment. He fell into the hands of the guards and was
ordered by the king to be impaled. He suffered terribly
with the crows pecking at his eyes. Yet he murmured that
his physical pain was nothing when compared to the
mental suffering that overwhelmed him when he thought of
the non-fulfilment of his wife's desire and his
inability to enjoy the festival together with her. So
crying over his ill-luck, he died and landed in hell.
Today, there may be many people who do evil due to the
pressure of those whom they love. All these evil deeds
comprise kammas stemming from upadana and leading to the
lower worlds. So Visuddhimagga says: "Under the
influence of sensual upadana, people do evil in deeds,
words and thought because of their craving for sensual
objects in the present life and their desire to preserve
the objects in their possession. Such evil deeds usually
lead to the lower worlds."
Right And Wrong Good Kamma
Some good deeds are right but some are wrong. The
so-called good deeds that some people do are harmful and
as such they are evil kammas. For example, some people
believe that it is a good deed to put an end to the
suffering of some animals by cutting short their span of
life. Every living being is afraid to die or suffer pain
and it is certainly wrong to cause pain and death to
animals.
Some people also consider it a good deed to bring about
the speedy death of a person who is suffering from an
incurable, painful disease. But the patient does not
want to die although he wants to be free from pain. Even
if he expresses the desire to die, it is wrong from the
Buddhist point of view to cause the death of a living
being and if one directly or indirectly causes the
premature death of a parent by "mercy killing", it is a
grave kammic offence that leads to hell.
"Craving for the sensual pleasures of the human and
deva-worlds, and misled by false teachings, etc., some
people do misdeeds such as killing for the attainment of
their object. But as a result of their evil kamma, they
land in the lower worlds after death."
According to the commentary, misconceptions of those
people arise from false teachers, lack of good kamma in
the past and the failure to guard oneself. Reliance on
evil teachers leads to evil kamma, much evil kamma in
the previous life makes it easy to acquire evil views
and evil habits, and lack of self-vigilance makes one an
easy prey to temptation.
True religion is called saddhamma "the religion of the
good man". Those who follow the true religion hear good
teachings, avoid evil deeds, evil words and evil
thoughts, hold right views about the future life, kamma
and its fruits, etc., cultivate good thoughts and
practise dana, sila and bhavana for their welfare.
The practice of alms-giving, morality and mental
development is true and good dhamma because it is
harmless and acceptable to everybody. Nobody will blame
a man who avoids killing, stealing, abusing and other
misdeeds. The good deeds which we do for our welfare
here and now or hereafter are wholesome kammas that stem
from upadana in the sensual sphere. These kammas lead to
rebirth in the human or deva worlds. So the
Visuddhimagga says: "Those who hear the true teaching
believe in kamma and the efficacy of good deeds as
passport to better life in the sensual worlds of rich
men, aristocrats or divine beings. So they do good deeds
under the influence of kamupadana and are reborn in the
human and deva worlds."
Kamma and Rebirth
As it is said, "Bhava paccaya jati," rebirth occurs in
the human and deva worlds or in the lower worlds because
of good or evil kamma-process. So rebirth stems from
kammas which result from clinging (upadana) and craving
that is rooted in the contact between the six
sense-objects and the corresponding sense-organs
(ayatana).
In other words, there arise vinnana, nama-rupa,
salayatana, phassa and vedana in the present life as the
avijja sankhara, etc., in a previous existence and now
on top of that, tanha and upadana give rise to new
kamma, thereby providing the ground for new rebirth. The
situation is like that of a man who has committed a
crime while he is in prison for a previous conviction,
or that of a man who has incurred new debt before he has
fully settled his old debt.
Such new kammas accumulate by the thousands in a single
lifetime. Under certain conditions one of these kammas
becomes a death-bed vision and leads to rebirth while
other kammas will create rebirth at other times in the
life-cycle. If there are residual kammas from the
previous lives that possess great force, they take
precedence over present kamma, appear as death-bed
visions and create rebirth in the lower or higher
worlds. The post-mortem destiny of the person in such
cases is determined by the nature of kamma.
Four Kinds Of Kamma
Kamma is of four kinds, according to the way in which it
bears fruit. (1) //garukamma// - weighty kamma, (2)
//bahula or acinnaka kamma// - habitual kamma, (3)
//asanna kamma// - death proximate kamma and (4)
//katatta// kamma - stored-up kamma.
//Garukamma// is killing parents or an Arahat or causing
injury to a Buddha or causing a schism in the Sangha. As
for the good //garukammas//, there are the good kammas
of the material and non-material worlds. The
//garukammas// head off the fruition of other kammas and
lead to rebirth, rupa and arupa jhanas among them
leading to rupa and arupa rebirth.
The evil garukammas lead direct to hell after death;
hence, the term //pancanantriyakammas// - the five great
evil kammas leading invariably to hell. The man who
kills his father or mother unknowingly or knowingly can
never attain jhana or the path and fruition (maggaphala)
in the present life; he is bound to land in hell after
his death. He cannot attain jhana or the path nor can
any good kamma save him from hell. This is evident in
the story of Ajatasattu.
Story Of Ajatasattu
Ajatasattu was the son of Bimbisara, the king of Magadha
state, a devoted follower of the Buddha. Prior to the
birth of the prince, the queen had the desire to drink
the blood from the right arm of the king. When the king
learnt this, he had the blood taken out and fulfilled
her desire. The soothsayers then predicted that the
child in the queen's womb would become the king's enemy.
Hence the name Ajatasattu - the potential enemy of the
father while still in the mother's womb.
The queen tried to abort the child but as the king's
kamma and the child's kamma would have it otherwise, she
did not succeed in her attempt. The king had her
pregnancy well protected and the child was born. When he
came of age, he was appointed heir-apparent.
Then the young prince fell into the clutches of the
evil-minded Devadatta who misused his psychic power for
his selfish ends. Turning himself into a boy with a
snake coiled around his waist, he appeared before
Ajatasattu and then showed himself as a bhikkhu. The
prince was deeply impressed, and no wonder for people
are very much interested in miracles and they have blind
faith in anyone who can perform them. The prince held
Devadatta in high esteem and became his devoted
follower.
Then Devadatta made another move for the success of his
evil design. He told the prince that since people did
not live long, he (the prince) should kill his father
and become king while still in the prime of his life;
and that he (Devadatta) on his part would kill the
Buddha. The prince failed in his attempt on the life of
the king but when the latter learnt of his desire, he
handed over his kingship to his son.
The transfer of power nonetheless came short of
Devadatta's scheme. On his advice, Ajatasattu imprisoned
his father and starved him. The queen was the only
person who was permitted to visit the prison and see the
king. She secretly brought food for the king by various
means and at last she was forbidden to visit the prison.
From that day, the king got nothing to eat but still he
managed to keep himself in good physical condition by
pacing on the floor. Then by the king's order, the
barbers caused such injury to the feet of his father as
to make it impossible for him to walk. According to the
commentary, he was thus injured because in a previous
life he walked with footwear on the platform of a pagoda
and trod with unwashed feet on a mat meant for the
bhikkhus.
King Bimbisara died probably at the age of 67. His son
Ajatasattu was not evil-minded at heart. His good nature
was evident in his devotion to the Buddha after he had
wronged his father, his adoration and enshrinement of
the Buddha relics and whole-hearted support which he
gave to the First Council. It was his association with
the evil teacher that led him astray to the point of
patricide. His life affords us a lesson that we should
specially bear in mind.
On the very day of his father's death, his wife gave
birth to a son. On hearing the news, he became excited
and overwhelmed with great affection for his child. This
reminded him of his father and he ordered the release of
the imprisoned king, but it was too late. When later on
he learnt from his mother how much he was loved and
cared for by his father in his childhood, he was seized
with remorse. His life became wretched and miserable. He
could not sleep at night, haunted by the visions of hell
and smitten by conscience for his crime against his
father, a devout lay disciple of the Buddha at that.
So led by the physician Jivaka, he went to see the
Buddha. At that time the Lord was surrounded by over a
thousand bhikkhus. But as they were in a contemplative
mood, all was quiet with none speaking or making any
movement of their hands or feet. Being deeply impressed,
the king said, "May my son Udayabaddha be blessed with
the kind of serenity which these bhikkhus possess!"
Perhaps he feared lest his son should come to know how
he seized power and try to follow in his father's
footsteps. But later his fear did become a reality for
down to his great grandson, the sons ascended the throne
after killing their fathers.
King Ajatasattu asked the Buddha about the immediate
benefits of the life in the holy order. The Lord
enlarged on the benefits accruing from the holy life -
the lay follower's reverence for the bhikkhu, moral
purity, the first jhana and other higher states of
consciousness in the mundane sphere, psychic powers,
extinction of defilements and the attainments of the
holy path.
After hearing the sermon, Ajatasattu formally declared
himself a disciple of the Buddha. He would have attained
the first stage on the path but for his patricide.
Nevertheless, from that time he had peace of mind and
after his death, he was spared the terrors of Avici hell
that would have been in store for him had he not met the
Buddha.
Habitual And Death-Bed Kammas
The other three weighty kammas, viz., killing an Arahat,
causing injury to the Buddha and wilfully causing a
schism in the Sangha are also bound to drag the offender
to hell.
The other type of kamma that bears fruit is habitual
kamma, called //bahula or acinna kamma//. Failure to
lead a good moral life may become habitual if no step is
taken to remove it, and it will have evil kammic effect
in a future life. So laymen should live up to the five
precepts and in case of any breach verbally affirm the
will to guard one's moral life more vigilantly. Moral
purity is equally vital to the life of a bhikkhu.
Failure to make amends for any deliberate or
unintentional violation of a vinaya rule will create
habitual kamma and so the bhikkhu should seek to regain
moral purity through confession and reaffirmation of his
will to preserve it.
Alms-giving, reverence for parents and teachers,
contemplation of the Buddha, practice of meditation and
so forth, which one does daily are also habitual kammas
that tend to bear immediate fruits.
In the absence of habitual kamma, what we do at the last
moment of our life (//asanna kamma//: death-bed kamma)
produces kammic results. In one Abhidhamma book, it is
described as being more potent than habitual kamma but
perhaps this is true only in exceptional cases. As the
commentaries say, the habitual kammas probably take
precedence and bear fruits.
Nevertheless, in the light of stories in ancient
Buddhist literature we can certainly rely on death-bed
kamma. A dying man who had killed people for over 50
years attained the deva-world after offering food to
Sariputta and hearing his discourse. This story finds an
echo in the experience of a. Sinhalese fisherman who
landed in the deva world after his encounter with a
thera just before his death.
As productive as the positive death-bed kamma is its
negative counterpart. A Sinhalese layman who practised
meditation for many years was disappointed as he had
never seen even the light. He then concluded that the
Buddha's teaching was not the way to liberation and
because of this false view he landed in the peta world
after his death.
Failure to encounter the light, etc., in the practice of
meditation may be due to wrong method, wrong effort or
lack of basic potential (parami). In the time of the
Buddha, a monk called Sunakkhatta attained divine eye
but not the divine-ear because he did not have the
potential for it and, besides, there was his bad kamma
as a hindrance.
So the yogi need not be disheartened if his practice
does not produce the desired effect. By and large,
practice along the right path leads to unusual
experiences.
With tranquillity and purity of mind, the material
object of contemplation and the contemplating
consciousness become clearly distinct as do their causal
relation and their ceaseless, rapid arising and
dissolution. At that time, the yogi sees the light but
even if he does not see it clearly he experiences joy,
ecstasy, etc., for joy, ecstasy, tranquillity,
equanimity, etc., form the links of enlightenment
(//bojjhanga//) that are so vital to the development of
vipassana insight. Reflection on namarupa by itself does
not lead to these higher states of consciousness.
In the absence of habitual or death-bed kamma, there is
kattata kamma which means the kamma that one has done
once in a lifetime.
Birth And Suffering
The role of kamma in the chain of causation is
underscored in the teaching sankhara paccaya vinnanani -
"From sankhara there arises rebirth consciousness",
which we have already explained in detail. The dying
person is attached to the signs and visions relating to
his kamma and so on his death there follow kamma-based
rupas together with rebirth-consciousness conditioned by
his death-bed attachment.
Contact with the sense-objects gives rise to feeling
which in turn produces desire. It does not matter
whether the feeling is pleasant or unpleasant. Pleasant
feeling creates attachment to pleasant objects while
unpleasant feeling makes us crave for pleasant objects.
When the desire becomes strong and develops into frantic
craving (upadana), it results in activity or effort for
its fulfilment. People do good or bad deeds which they
hope will help to satisfy their needs and desires. It is
this kammabhava rooted in craving that gives rise to
rebirth. Rebirth is bound up with suffering regardless
of the world in which it takes place.
There is no need to dwell on the sufferings in the
animal and other lower worlds. Among human beings, too,
suffering is an inescapable fact of life. A man's
suffering begins while he is in the mother's womb. He
has to work hard for his living, he is harassed by
bullies and tyrants. Even if he escapes from the dukkha
inherent in the struggle for survival, he will finally
have to face old age, sickness and death. From the time
of his conception, man is headed towards these
inevitable evils of life. He is approaching them at
every moment. He may live an apparently care-free, happy
life but his namarupas are forever in the process of
ageing and disintegration.
There is an Indian story which stresses the
inevitability of old age, sickness and death. A man
being afraid of old age rose into the air with the
elixir of life in his mouth and hid in the sky. Another
man hid under the sea to escape sickness and still
another hid in a cave in Himalayas to avoid death. When
their sons searched for them they found that the first
man had become old with all the ugly signs of
decrepitude, the second man was sick unto death and the
third man was dead.
Everyone is subject to old age, sickness and death. Once
a man is reborn, there is nothing that will protect him
from these evils of existence. Hence, the Buddha's
saying in the Dhammapada that there is no place in the
sky, on land or in the sea, where one can escape death.
Grief And Lamentation
Death and the other two evils of life are inevitable so
long as rebirth takes place within the framework of
disintegrating nama-rupa. Rebirth leads also to grief,
anxiety, lamentations and anguish.
We grieve when a member of the family dies. The grief is
overwhelming when we lose someone, e.g. parents or a
husband on whom we have to depend or someone, e.g. a son
or a daughter whom we love dearly. Another cause for
grief is the loss of material possessions through
evil-minded officials, robbers, thieves, destructive
fires, floods, cyclones, and hated heirs. Grief is also
caused by the affliction of disease and decline of
health. Some sick persons are so much depressed that
their mental states become a hindrance to their
recovery. In the case of morally scrupulous monks and
laymen, any damage to moral life gives rise to anxiety.
Thus, the rishi Isisinga suffered terrible anguish when
his moral integrity was undermined by the seduction of a
goddess. Anxiety and repentance also torment those who
realize their mistakes after having rejected the right
view in favour of a wrong one under the guidance of a
false teacher.
Besides, there are many other misfortunes in life, e.g.
accidents, viz., victimization by robbers, etc.,
hardship in earning one's living and, securing the
necessities of life and so forth that occasion grief,
anguish and lamentation.
There is no need to dwell on the physical sufferings in
hell and the animal and peta-worlds. Because of his
consciousness, man also suffers anguish whenever he is
in contact with unpleasant sense-objects. As he has thus
to suffer mentally into the bargain, it is for him
something like adding insult to injury. This does not
apply to the Arahat or the noble one at the anagami
stage, for being free from irritation (dosa) he remains
unperturbed in the face of physical suffering and so
does the mindful yogi who is free from ego-illusion that
tends to add to the sense of self-pity. Hence, the
importance of the Buddha's teaching that we should be
aware of unpleasant feeling when we suffer from it.
People are unhappy when they think of the frustrations
and misfortunes that beset them in the past or at
present or that may beset them in future. They feel
bitter and upset when they find themselves in distress
and burdened with misfortunes.
All these sufferings are rooted in rebirth. Life is all
suffering without the ego and without anything good even
if there were such ego to enjoy it.
According to the doctrine of Paticcasamuppada, the only
thing that links one existence with another is the
cause-and-effect relationship. From craving, kammic
effort, etc., based on ignorance in one existence, there
arise five effects, viz., consciousness, body and mind,
sense-organs, contact, and feeling. These effects begin
with rebirth and end in death with old age, anxiety and
other sufferings in between them.
This teaching of the Buddha will not appeal to common
people who harbour illusions of happiness and
ego-entity. But impersonality and suffering are the
unmistakable facts of existence and life in the
deva-world is no exception. Some earth-bound devas have
to struggle hard for survival and are more miserable
than human beings. They are called //vinipatika// devas
and they comprise ghosts, devils, etc., that belong to
lower order of devas. Some devas in heavens are not
happy because they do not have good abodes and enough
attendants. Even Sakka, the king of devas, admitted to
the elderly thera Mahakassapa that he was not very much
luminous as his attainment of deva-world was due to the
good kamma which he did long before the proclamation of
Buddha-dhamma and that he had to hide himself when he
saw the devas who outshone him as they had done good
kamma in the time of the Buddha.
Thus, Sakka was not always happy and so were his female
attendants who told Mahakassapa that they were wretched
and miserable since they counted for little among the
high-ranking queen-goddesses. Some devas become unhappy
on the approach of death that is heralded by the
withering of their bedecked flowers, the sweating from
their armpits and other signs of senility. Some devas
die suddenly while indulging in celestial pleasure just
like a man whose life is cut off by stroke. Death may be
a matter of seconds like the extinction of the flame of
a candle. This is borne out by the story of Subrahma
deva.
Story Of Subrahma Deva
Subrahma deva was having a good time when his
attendants, the goddesses who were singing and plucking
flowers on the tree died suddenly and landed in hell.
Subrahma deva saw them suffering in hell and at the same
time he foresaw that he too would die in a few days and
share the fate of his attendants. Being much frightened,
he came to the Buddha and asked the Lord to show him the
place where he could live without fear. The Lord then
says that he sees no way to salvation for every living
being other than the practice of //bojjhanga// dhamma
(links of enlightenment such as mindfulness), the
//dhutanga// (ascetic practices) and //sammappadhana//
(right exertion), that serve to put an end to
defilements, the control of senses (indriyasamvarasile),
the control that helps to keep off the defilements and
Nibbana which means renunciation of everything.
On hearing this, the deva and his attendants attained
the first stage on the holy path. What we should note
here is the sudden death of the goddesses. The fate of
those who thus die suddenly while engaged in the pursuit
of pleasure is indeed terrible for they are likely to
land in hell as a result of unwholesome kammic impulses.
If there is any sign that heralds the approach of death,
it creates fear and adds to their suffering.
Suffering that stems from attachment to pleasure is not
confined to the sensual sphere. For it is the lot, too,
of the Brahmas in their immaterial or formless (arupa)
world. In the Brahma world there is no pleasure of sex
or any other sensual pleasure. The Brahmas only see,
hear or think and the objects of their seeing, etc.,
have no sexual overtones. But as Visuddhimagga says,
some people develop a craving for the sensual pleasures
of the Brahma world because they believe either through
hearsay or speculation that such pleasures are superior
to those of the human and deva-worlds. It is no other
than their sensual craving that leads to the attainment
of rupajhana, arupajhana, samapatti and finally lands
them in the rupa or arupa brahma worlds.
It is not surprising that some people think or speak of
the sensual pleasure in the Brahma world. Those who are
well aware of the true teachings of the Buddha will
reject the idea but it probably appeals to ignorant
people. The Indian religious books portray Brahma with
his wife and some regard even Nibbana as a heavenly
abode with celestial mansions where we can dwell with
our families and attendants.
Kamaupadana Means All Kinds Of Excessive Craving
Kamaupadana here means not only the excessive craving
for sensual pleasure. It means also the developed forms
of craving for the material and immaterial (rupa and
arupa) worlds. Hence, according to Visuddhimagga, the
yogi can do away with this inordinate craving only at
the last stage of the holy path and it is this craving
that lies at the root of every effort to attain rupa or
arupa jhana. For ordinary people such jhana means rupa
or arupa kammic effort based on sensual craving and this
leads to rebirth in rupa or arupa world of Brahmas. From
the time of rebirth there arises the ceaseless ageing
(jara) of nama-rupa or either of the two phenomena of
life. The senility of the Brahma is not apparent like
that of a human being but still it leads to decay, and
when his course is run, he cannot avoid death.
Being free from hatred, the life of a Brahma is not
subject to grief, worry, anxiety and so forth; and the
lack of physical sensitivity makes him free from
physical suffering. He cannot, however, escape birth,
old age and death that are inherent in every kind of
existence.
So escape from old age and death presupposes the effort
to rule out the possibility of rebirth. In order to
avoid rebirth, we must seek to avoid wholesome or
unwholesome kamma and negation of kammic existence calls
for negation of attachment and craving. For this
purpose, the mental process must end in feeling and stop
short of developing the desire for anything. This denial
of desire through the contemplations, anicca, dukkha and
anatta of everything arising from the senses is the only
way to avoid craving, rebirth and other links in the
causal sequence that leads to old age and death. This
means the temporary extinction of suffering which the
yogi can overcome once and forever when he develops
vipassana insight on the holy path.
Attachment To Belief As The Cause Of Rebirth
Ditthupadana means the attachment to the view which
rejects future life and kamma. Hence, ucchedaditthi
which insists on annihilation after death is a kind of
ditthupadana. A person who holds such a belief will have
no need to do good or avoid evil. He will do nothing for
other-worldly welfare and seek to enjoy life as much as
possible by fair means or foul. As he has no moral
scruples, most of his acts are unwholesome kammas that
create death-bed visions and lead him to the lower
worlds. This is evident in the story of Nandaka peta.
Nandaka was a general in the time of king Pingala who
ruled Surattha country that lay north of the present
province of Bombay in West India. He clung to false
views e.g. that it was useless to give alms and so
forth. After his death he became a peta on a banyan
tree, but when his daughter offered food to a monk and
shared her merit with him, he had an unlimited supply of
celestial drinks and food. He then realized the truth of
the kammic law and repented of his adherence of false
views in his previous life. One day, he led king Pingala
to his abode and entertained the king and his followers
to a celestial feast. The king was much surprised and in
response to his inquiry, the peta gave an account of his
rebirth in the lower worlds as a kammic result of his
false views, immorality and vehement opposition to
alms-giving; and the sudden change of his fortune
following his sharing of merit acquired by his daughter.
He also described the suffering that he would have to
undergo after his death, the terrible suffering in hell
that he was to share with those who held wrong views and
vilified the holy men during their earthly existence.
The moral of the story is that attachment to wrong views
(e.g. that an act has no kammic result, etc.) leads to
unwholesome acts and rebirth in the lower worlds.
The commentary also says that clinging to uccheda
(annihilation) belief leads to deva or Brahma worlds if
annihilation is supposed to follow demise on those
higher planes of existence, but devas and Brahmas
apparently do not believe in their annihilation after
death. By and large, the belief in annihilation makes
people prone to misdeeds.
Kammic deeds may also be motivated by eternity belief
(sassataditthi). The belief creates the illusion of
personal identity, the illusion which makes a man
believe that it is his permanent self that will have to
bear the consequences of his good or bad deeds in a
future life. So he devotes himself to what he regards as
good deeds. Some of his deeds may be bad in fact, but in
any case his deeds, whether good or bad, that arise from
eternity belief lead to rebirth and suffering.
Still, another mainspring of kammic deed is
superstitious belief. There are many superstitions, for
example, that seeing a man of low class brings about
misfortune, that the beehive or a guana in a house is a
sure omen of poverty. Under the influence of such
beliefs, a person may do evil, such as treating an
outcaste cruelly or killing the bees. This is borne out
by the Cittasambhuta jataka.
In the jataka the bodhisatta was a man of low chandala
class called Citta. Ananda was then his cousin named
Sambhuta. They made their living by dancing with
bamboos. One day, the daughter of a merchant and the
daughter of a high-caste brahmin who were very
superstitious went for a picnic with their attendants.
At the sight of the two dancers, they considered it an
ill omen and returned home. Their irate followers then
beat the two men for denying them the pleasure of the
picnic.
The two dancers then went to Taxila and disguised as
brahmins, they devoted themselves to learning. Citta
became a student leader by virtue of his intelligence.
One day, their teacher sent them to a place where they
were required to recite the brahmanical parittas. There
having got his mouth burnt by drinking hot milk
unmindfully, Sambhuta uttered, "Khalu, Khalu" in his
dialect and Citta was so absent-minded as to say,
"niggala, niggala" ("spit out, spit out"); these slips
of the tongue led to their undoing for their high caste
brahmin students found out their secret. They were
beaten and expelled from school.
On the advice of their teacher they became rishis
(forest ascetics or hermits). After their death they
passed on to the animal world, first as two deers and as
two eagles in their next existence. Then Citta became
the son of the chief Brahmin and remembered his three
previous lives. He led the life of a hermit and attained
jhana and psychic powers. Sambhuta became a king, he
remembered his low caste life as a chandala and spent
his time in the pursuit of sensual pleasure.
By means of his psychic power, Citta knew his brother's
spiritual immaturity and after waiting for 50 years he
came to the king's garden. The king recognized the
hermit as his brother in a previous life and was
prepared to share royal pleasures with him. But being
aware of the kammic effects of good and bad deeds, the
bodhisatta had pledged himself to a life of
self-restraint, renunciation and detachment. He reminded
the king of their close associations in their previous
lives, to wit, as low-caste chandalas, as deers and as
birds. His object was to point out the erratic course of
kammic life and to urge the king to become an ascetic
for further spiritual progress. But it was hard for
Sambhuta to give up his worldly pleasures. So the
bodhisatta returned to the Himalayas. Then the king
became disenchanted with his worldly pleasures and went
to the Himalayas where he was welcomed by the hermit.
There, as a hermit he devoted himself to spiritual
exercises and attained jhana and psychic powers.
Superstition And Evil Rebirth
What we wish to emphasize in this story is the evil
kammas that arise from superstitions. The role of
superstition as the cause of evil deeds is also evident
in the story of Koka, the hunter.
In the time of the Buddha, there was a hunter called
Koka in a certain village. One day he set out with his
dogs to hunt in the forest. On the way he met a monk who
was out on his begging round. The hunter considered this
encounter an omen that boded no good. As luck would have
it, he did not get any animal for food on that day. On
his return he again met the monk. Now blind with fury
and ill-will, he set his dogs on the monk. The monk had
to run and climb up a tree.
He sat on a branch that was not very high. The hunter
poked at the feet of the monk with the sharp end of an
arrow. The latter had to lift his feet one after the
other and at last his robe got loose and slipped down.
It fell upon the hunter and seeing him thus wrapped up
in the robe, the dogs mistook him for the monk and
attacked him. Thus, he was killed by his own dogs. Then
realizing that they had killed their master, the dogs
ran away.
The monk got down from the tree and reported the matter
to the Buddha. Thereupon, the Lord says, "The foolish
man wrongs a person who has never wronged another. He
wrongs a person who is free from defilements, but his
evil deed boomerangs on him just like the particle of
dust that returns to us when we throw it against the
wind."
Here, the hunter's terrible death, his rebirth in the
lower worlds and suffering arise from an evil deed that
in turn is rooted in his superstition. Some people get
alarmed when an astrologer says that the position of
planets bodes no good for them. So they offer flowers
and candles to the Buddha image, give dana to the monks,
hear the sermons and practise meditation. Some have the
parittas recited by monks to stave off the impending
evil that they associate with their unpleasant dreams.
Their good deeds lead to good rebirth, but like the
other rebirths that stem from evil deeds, it too is
fraught with suffering.
Some ignorant people do evil to keep off the misfortunes
that might befall them. The jatakas mention the animal
sacrifice of some kings that involves the killing of
four goats, four horses, four men and so forth as
propitiatory offerings to gods. On one occasion, this
kind of rite was planned by king Kosala in the time of
the Buddha.
The king had taken a fancy to a married woman and so one
day he sent her husband on an errand to a distant place.
Should he fail to accomplish the task entrusted to him
and return to the capital on the same day, he was to be
punished. The man carried out the king's order and
returned before sunset, but the city gate was closed and
so being unable to enter the city, he spent the night at
Jetavana monastery.
Overwhelmed with lust and evil desire, the king could
hardly sleep in his palace. He heard the voices of the
four men who were suffering in hell for having committed
adultery in their previous lives. It was perhaps by
virtue of the Buddha's will and psychic power that the
king heard these voices from hell. The king was
frightened and in the morning, he sought the advice of
the Brahmin counsellor. The Brahmin said that the voices
portended imminent misfortune and that in order to stave
it off, the king should sacrifice elephants, horses,
etc., each kind of animals numbering a hundred.
The king made preparations for the animal sacrifice. How
cruel is human nature that dictates the sacrifice of
thousands of lives to save one's own life. Among the
potential victims there were human beings, and hearing
their cries, queen Mallika approached the king and asked
him to seek the advice of the Buddha.
The Buddha assured the king that the voices had nothing
to do with him. They were the voices of four young men
who, having seduced married women in the time of Kassapa
Buddha, were now suffering in Lohakumbhi hell. They were
now repentent and belatedly trying to express their
desire to do good after their release from hell. The
king was very much frightened and vowed never to lust
for another man's wife. He told the Buddha how the
previous night had seemed very long because he could not
sleep. The man who had fetched what the king wanted said
too that he had travelled one yojana the previous day.
Thereupon, the Buddha uttered the verse: "To one who
cannot sleep, the night seems long; to the weary
traveller, a yojana is a long distance. Similarly, for
the foolish man who does not know the true dhamma, the
life-cycle is long."
After hearing this gatha, many people attained sotapanna
and other stages on the holy path. The king ordered the
release of all living beings that were to be sacrificed.
But for the Buddha's words, he would have done
unwholesome kammas, and this story shows how
superstitious beliefs lead to evil deeds.
Fanaticism Or Religious Upadana
Good or evil kammas are also born of religious
attachments. By and large, people believe that theirs is
the only true religion, that all other religions are
false. So they try to spread their religion, convert
other people by force or otherwise persecute the
non-believers. All these evils had their origin in
religious upadana or fanaticism.
Again kammic deeds may stem from attachment to ideology
or views on worldly matters. Some people seek to impose
their creed on other people by every means in their
power; they propagate it in various ways and they
discredit or slander or undermine the unity of those who
do not agree with them. All these efforts and activities
form the kammabhava due to upadana.
In short, all obsessions with practices, and beliefs
other than the ego-belief mean excessive attachment to
views that leads to kammic deeds.
Silabbatupadana - Attachment To Wrong Practices
Some people believe that they can attain salvation
through certain practices that have nothing to do with
the Four Noble Truths. Such a belief is called
silabbatupadana. It is silabbatupadana, too, to worship
animals, to adopt the animal way of life, to perform
certain rites and ceremonies in the hope of attaining
salvation.
According to Visuddhimagga, some people rely on these
practices as the way to salvation and do kammic deeds
that lead to rebirth in the human world, the deva world
and the material (rupa) and immaterial (arupa) worlds.
The Visuddhimagga refers only to kammas leading to the
human and other higher worlds. It makes no mention of
the kammas leading to the lower worlds. It does not
follow, however, that silabbatupadana does not give rise
to bad kammas. The commentary does not mention the evil
kamma arising from silabbatupadana only because it is
too obvious to need allusion. It is said in the
Kukkuravatika and other suttas that a man is reborn as
an ox or a dog if he lives to the letter like those
animals in deed, word or thought or he is reborn in hell
or animal world if he accepts the false belief but does
not practise it fully. Needless to say, the killing of
animals as a sacrifice to gods that arises from this
upadana leads to the lower worlds, and so do other
misdeeds resulting from the upadana that is bound up
with certain forms of worship, rites and ceremonies.
In short, every belief in the efficacy of a practice as
an antidote to evil is silabbatupadana. According to the
commentaries on Visuddhimagga it is silabbatupadana even
to rely entirely on conventional morality and mundane
jhana as the way to liberation. The arupa jhanas
attained by Alara and Udaka originated in this upadana
and so do the deeds of many people that are based on
faith in God. All these upadanas leads to rebirth and
suffering.
Attavadupadana - Attachment To Ego-Belief
The last upadana (attavadupadana) is attachment to
ego-belief. It is the strong conviction about the ego
entity, the firm belief that the ego exists permanently,
that it is the agent of every deed, speech and thought.
Few people are free from this upadana. The average man
believes that it is "I" who sees, hears, moves, etc.
This illusion of ego-entity is the mainspring of
self-love and concern about the welfare of one's self.
The universality and omnipotence of self-love are
underscored in Queen Mallika's reply to king Kosala.
Mallika was originally the daughter of a flower vendor.
One day she met the Buddha on the way and offered her
food. After eating the food, the Lord told Ananda that
the girl would become the queen of king Kosala. On that
very day, king Kosala who was defeated in the battle,
fled on horseback. Utterly exhausted and forlorn, the
king rested in the flower-garden where he was tenderly
attended on by Mallika. Being much pleased, the king
took her to the palace and made her his chief queen. The
Buddha's prophecy came true because of her recent good
kamma and her good deed in the past existence.
But Mallika was not as good looking as other lesser
queens. Moreover, as a woman born of a poor family, she
felt ill at ease among the courtiers. So in order to
cheer her the king one day asked her whom she loved
most. The answer which he expected was "Your Majesty, I
love you most." He would then tell her that he too,
loved her more than anyone else and this demonstration
of his love would, so he thought, increase their
intimacy and make her more at home in the palace.
Nevertheless, as an intelligent woman who had the
courage of conviction, Mallika replied frankly that
there was no one whom she loved more than herself. She
asked the king whom he loved most. The king had to admit
that he too loved himself more than anyone else. He
reported this dialogue to the Buddha. Then the Lord
said, "There is no one in this world who loves another
person more than himself. Everyone loves himself or
herself most. So everyone should have sympathy and avoid
ill-treating another person."
In this saying of the Buddha, the word "self" or in
Pali, atta, does not mean the atta or atman of the
ego-belief. It refers only to self in its conventional
sense or the self that a man speaks of to distinguish
his own person from other living beings. But the
ego-belief is also a source of self-love. The more
powerful the belief is, the greater is the love of
oneself.
We do not love anyone more than our own selves. One
loves one's wife or husband or child only as a helpmate,
an attendant or a support. Marital or parental love is
no more real than love of precious jewellery. So if a
person says that his love of someone is greater than his
love of himself, his words must be taken with a large
grain of salt. In cases of life-and-death crisis, even a
mother will not care for her child.
Once a woman travelling with a caravan across the desert
was left behind with her child as she was asleep when
the caravan departed. As the sun rose higher in the sky,
the sands became hotter and she had to place her basket
and then her clothes under her feet. Still the heat
became more unbearable till at last she was forced to
put down her child under her body. Hence, the saying
that even a mother will sacrifice her child for
self-preservation.
Because of this self-love based on ego-belief, man seeks
his welfare or the welfare of his family by fair means
or foul. He does not hesitate to do evil that serves his
interests. But the belief in a permanent self also leads
to good kammas. Some people are motivated by the belief
and so they practise sila, dana, jhana, etc., for their
welfare in afterlife. As a result they land in deva and
Brahma worlds, but there they have to face again old
age, death, and other evils of existence.
In short, every effort to seek one's welfare in the
present life or hereafter is rooted in ego-belief. Such
kammic effort differs from that arising from kamupadana
only in that its mainspring is obsession with personal
identity whereas in the case of the latter the
driving-force is craving for sensual pleasure.
Nevertheless, for those who are strongly attached to
ego-belief, egoism is closely bound up with sensual
desire.
As for the Ariyas who are wholly free from ego-belief,
they are motivated only by kamupadana when they do good.
Thus, the dana, sila and bhavana of Anathapindika,
Visakha, Mahanama and others on the holy path may stem
from their desire for better life in the human and
deva-worlds or for the attainment of higher stages on
the path.
Story Of Ugga
The anagami Ariyas do good presumably because of their
desire for the bliss in material and immaterial spheres
and arahatship. It is, of course, arahatship that can
help remove sensual craving. The desire for arahatship
as the motivation for doing good in the case of anagami
yogi is evident in the story of Ugga.
Ugga was a householder in Vesali city. The Buddha spoke
of the eight wonderful attributes possessed by Ugga. In
response to the inquiry by a monk about the Lord's
reference to his attributes, Ugga said that he knew
nothing about it but that he had eight distinctive
qualities which were as follows.
l. When he saw the Buddha for the first time, he
concluded decisively that Gotama was the real,
all-Enlightened Buddha.
2. He attained anagami insight into the Four Noble
Truths when he heard the Buddha's discourse. He observed
the five precepts that included abstinence from sexual
intercourse.
3. He had four young wives. He told them about his
sexual abstinence and permitted them to return to their
parents' homes or to marry the men of their own choice.
At the request of his eldest wife, he willingly
performed the wedding ceremony before giving her away to
the man she loved.
4. He had resolved to spend all his wealth on giving
alms to holy men of high moral character.
5. He approached the bhikkhus respectfully.
6. He heard the bhikkhus' sermon respectfully. He
preached if the bhikkhus did not give a sermon.
7. The devas came to him and said, "The doctrine of the
Buddha is very good." He replied that the Dhamma was a
good doctrine whether or not they said so about it. He
did not feel conceited for his dialogue with the devas.
8. He found himself free from the first five attachments
that lead to the lower, sensual worlds.
One day Ugga, the householder who possessed these eight
qualities and had attained the anagami stage on the
path, offered food and robes which he liked very much to
the Buddha. The Lord commented on the nature of
alms-giving as follows:
"One who offers anything that pleases him or that he
prizes highly gets something which he adores. One who
offers to the Ariyan Noble who is of high moral
character is doing an act of dana that it is hard for
ordinary people to do and therefore he gets what he
wants very much."
Some years later, Ugga died and passed on to the
Suddhavasa brahma-world. Before long he came and paid
respect to the Buddha. He said that he had attained
Arahatship that was indeed the object of his aspiration
when he offered his much beloved food to the Lord in his
previous existence. The Buddha again commented on the
nature of kammic benefits of alms-giving - how the giver
got what he prized most if he offered his much-prized
object, how he attained a rare object if he offered rare
things, how he attained to a much extolled stage if he
offered much-extolled objects.
The moral of this story is that one may even attain
Arahatship, the summum bonum of the holy life as the
kammic result of giving away one's much prized and
precious objects. Ugga's alms-giving was motivated by
the desire for Arahatship and it is this desire, or
kamupadana that formed his driving force. Some people
may object to making the term kamupadana synonymous with
the desire for Arahatship and label it rather
kusalachanda (wholesome desire) but then they will have
to explain what kind of upadana it is that gives rise to
good acts of Ariya such as dana, sila, etc.
Vipassana Practice And Upadana
The practice of vipassana, too, is to be attributed to
kamupadana of a person who seeks permanent deliverance
from evils of existence. Ordinary people have to
contemplate to be free from the four upadanas while the
Ariyas have to contemplate to overcome kamupadana. Thus,
vipassana practice stands for the conquest of upadana.
According to Visuddhimagga and another commentary, viz.,
Sammohavinodani, avijja is indirectly the cause of good
acts in that one has to do good for liberation from
avijja and it is also said that bhavana or vipassana
practice is one of the good acts in the sensual world
which one has to do for such liberation.
The question then arises as to whether vipassana
practice can lead to rebirth. The commentaries on
Anguttara Nikaya and Patthana point to such a
possibility. According to the commentary on Anguttara
Nikaya, the first three right views lead to good
rebirth, the last two right views, viz., the view that
is born of fruition on the path (phala-sammaditthi) and
the view that results from vipassana practice tend to
liberate the yogi from life-cycle (samsara). It says,
however, on the authority of a learned thera (Culabhaya)
that the yogi is subject to rebirth for seven times
before he attains Arahatship. According to Patthana,
contemplation of appamana (conditions of existence)
leads to rebirth in sensual sphere, and the commentary
defines appamana-cetana as maturity (gotrabhu cetana).
Hence, it is reasonable to assume that vipassana
practice can give rise to rebirth before Arahatship is
won.
But vipassana can ensure freedom from samsara through
insight into anicca, dukkha and anatta of all
sense-objects - an insight that keeps off the defilement
of craving for them. This non-arising of craving means
non-arising of kamma and rebirth. Thus, vipassana
insight helps to offset kamma and its samsaric
consequences by tadangapahana (overcoming by opposite).
Moreover, through inductive generalization, the yogi
realizes the anicca, dukkha and anatta of other
phenomena that he has contemplated. Thus, he keeps off
the defilements and their kammic potentials by
repression (vikkhambhana pahana). Then, there follows
the Ariyan insight on the path that helps to root out
the defilements. The emergence of this insight may be
likened to the signing of an official letter by the head
of a government department. The act of the
officer-in-charge is, in fact, to give the finishing
touch to the lot of work done by his subordinates. We
cannot ignore the major contribution of vipassana
practice in the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment any
more than we can ignore the work of office staff or the
cumulative effect of repeated use of a saw that makes it
finally possible for the woodcutter to exterminate the
tree once and forever. As the sub-commentary on
Visuddhimagga says:
"Transcendent insight on the path helps to stamp out,
root and branch only the defilements which the yogi has
done his utmost to overcome through mundane vipassana
insight."
Those who do not contemplate, labour under the illusion
of bliss and ego-entity. The illusion leads to craving,
kammic efforts, rebirth and all the sufferings that are
inherent in life-cycle.
Life-Cycle And Three Time Dimensions
The doctrine of Paticcasamuppada describes twelve causes
and effects viz., (1) ignorance, (2) kamma formations,
(3) consciousness, (4) mind and body, (5) six senses,
(6) sense-contact, (7) feeling, (8) craving, (9)
clinging, (10) becoming (bhava), (11) birth (jati), (12)
old age and death.
According to the doctrine, ignorance and craving are the
two main sources of suffering. There are two
life-cycles, the anterior life-cycle and the posterior
life-cycle. The anterior life-cycle begins with
ignorance as its main source and ends with feeling,
while the posterior life-cycle begins with craving and
ends with death. In the former life-cycle, ignorance
(avijja) and kamma formations (sankhara) in the past
life leads to rebirth, while in the latter life-cycle,
craving (tanha) and clinging (upadana) cause rebirth in
future. The two life-cycles show how a man's lifetimes
are linked with one another through cause and effect.
Again, if the doctrine of dependent origination is to be
described on time-scale, avijja and sankhara are two
links in the past life, the links from vinnana to
kammabhava concern the present life, while birth, old
age and death are the links that future has in store for
us. Thus, the doctrine refers to three time dimensions.
Five Causes In The Past
The doctrine describes the past cause only in terms of
avijja and sankhara but in point of fact avijja is
invariably followed by tanha and upadana and sankhara
too always lead to kammabhava. So Patisambhidamagga
comments on the doctrine as follows.
"Avijja is ignorance that dominates us while doing a
kammic deed. Sankhara means collection and exertion of
effort. Tanha is the craving for the results of an
action in the present life and hereafter. Upadana is
obsession with action and its result. Kammabhava is
volition. These five factors in the past constitute the
cause of present rebirth."
Thus, we have to consider all these five links viz.,
avijja, tanha, upadana, sankhara and kammabhava if we
are to describe the past cause fully. Of these, avijja,
tanha and upadana are labelled kilesavatta (cycle or
round of defilements). Sankhara and kammabhava are
called kammavatta (cycle of actions). The commentary
makes a distinction between sankhara and kammabhava,
describing the prior effort, planning, etc., preparatory
to an act as sankhara and the volition at the moment of
doing the act as kammabhava. Thus, seeking money, buying
things, etc., prior to an act of dana comprise sankhara
while the state of consciousness at the time of offering
is kammabhava. Preliminary activities leading to an act
of murder are sankhara while cetana or volition at the
time of killing is kammabhava.
Distinction Between Sankhara And Kammabhava
The other kind of distinction between sankhara and
kammabhava is based on impulse-moments. It is said that
an act of murder or alms-giving involves seven
impulse-moments. The first six impulse-moments are
called sankhara while the last is termed kammabhava.
The third way of making the distinction is to describe
volition (cetana) as kammabhava and other mental states
associated with volition as sankhara.
The last method of classification is helpful when we
speak of good deeds in rupa and arupa spheres. All the
three methods apply in the case of good or bad acts in
sensual world, but the first method is most illuminating
for those who are not well informed.
Alternatively, Visuddhimagga attributes rebirth to
flash-backs, visions and hallucinations that hold a
dying person's attention at the last moment of his life.
So according to this commentary, kammabhava may be
defined as the volition (cetana) that motivated his good
or bad acts in the past and the sankhara as the mental
state conditioned by his death-bed experiences.
Present Effect Due To Past Cause
Thus, owing to the rounds of defilements and kamma
comprising the five causes in the past, there arises
rebirth-consciousness together with mind-body, six
bases, impressions and feeling. These five effects are
collectively called vipaka vatta (round of effects).
Because of their ignorance, common people have the
illusion of pleasantness about every sense-object and
mind-object. They develop craving, thereby starting
again the vicious cycle of causes and effects that
represent their rounds of suffering.
Consciousness, the six sense bases, etc., arise as the
kammic result of past kammas. It is a matter of
cause-and-effect relationship just like all other
phenomena. This leaves no room for ego, God or Prime
Mover. The only difference is the moral law governing
this relationship, the nature of feeling, whether
pleasant or unpleasant, being dependent on the good or
bad sankhara in the past. In reality there is no person
who has pleasant or unpleasant feeling nor any being who
causes him to have such an experience. Life is only the
continuum of consciousness, impression, etc., as
conditioned by five factors, viz., ignorance, craving,
etc.
Knowledge For Vipassana Practice
Those who have a smattering of Paticcasamuppada or
Abhidhamma say that it is impossible to practise
meditation without a knowledge of these teachings. But,
in fact the yogi who practises under the guidance of a
learned teacher need not bother about higher Buddhist
philosophy for he can follow the teacher's instructions
if he knows only that life is a mental and physical
process characterized by impermanence, suffering and
insubstantiality. The adequacy of this simple knowledge
to meet the intellectual need of the yogi who is bent on
Arahatship is borne out by the Buddha in
Culatanha-sankhaya sutta. There the Lord goes on to talk
about vipassana practice. In the sutta, the yogi's
understanding of nama-rupa is termed "abhijanati" which,
says the commentary, means full comprehension and refers
to nama-rupa paricchedanana and paccayapariggahanana.
Through contemplation, the yogi knows all phenomena
analytically as anicca, dukkha and anatta (parijanati).
Here, the Pali terms refer to sammasananana and other
vipassana insights.
As regards Paticcasamuppada, a knowledge of the
conditionality and cause-effect relationship in life
that rules out a being ego or self is sufficient. It is
not necessary to know the twelve links or the twenty
main points of the doctrine thoroughly. If the practice
of vipassana presupposes such a comprehensive knowledge,
it would be unthinkable for a man of low intelligence
like, say, thera Culapanna. The thera's memory was so
poor that he could not remember a few gathas that he had
learnt for four months. Nevertheless, he attained
Arahatship in a few hours when he practised
contemplation as instructed by the Buddha.
Another laywoman, Matikamata by name, attained the third
stage (anagami) on the holy path in advance of some
bhikkhus who were her meditation teachers. She did not
know much about Abhidhamma and Paticcasamuppada. There
were many other yogis like this woman and Culapanna
thera. So it is possible for a yogi to attain the holy
path if he contemplates even though he may not have
thoroughly learnt the higher teachings of the Buddha.
Not to know the real nature of pleasant or unpleasant
feeling is avijja (ignorance). It is tanha to like a
sense-object and it is upadana to have craving for it.
To seek the object of one's desire, to do good or evil
for one's happiness or welfare in the present life or
hereafter means sankhara and kammabhava. These five
factors are the present causes and they give rise to
rebirth after death. The doctrine of Paticcasamuppada
mentions only three causes, viz., vedana, tanha and
upadana but in reality these three factors imply two
other causes, viz., avijja and sankhara since these two
are the mainsprings of tanha and kammabhava
respectively. So Patisambhidamagga describes all these
five factors as causes of rebirth in future.
Removing The Present Causes
Every good or evil act means the complete conjunction of
these five present causes and occasions for such a
conjunction in a single lifetime may number by
thousands. Under certain circumstances these causes may
lead to rebirth after death or two or three rebirths
successively. Every existence is bound up with old age,
grief, death, etc., and if we wish to avoid these
sufferings, we will have to remove the present causes.
To this end we should note all physical phenomena,
"seeing", "hearing", etc., at the moment of their
arising. With the development of concentration, we note
their instant passing away and become aware of their
impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and unreliability. This
awareness helps us to overcome ignorance and illusion
that fuel craving, attachment and kammic effort: we thus
keep the five present causes inoperative and inactive,
thereby forestalling rebirth and consequent suffering.
This method of removing the causes is labelled
//tadangapahana// - overcoming some defilements through
contemplation. By this method, the yogi attains
//tadanganibbuti// - partial extinction of defilements
through contemplation. Later on, there arises the
insight on the Ariyan path which means the extinction of
all sankhara and the realization of Nibbana
(//samucchedapahana//).
The defilements and kammas are then done away with, once
and forever. The yogis who attain sotapatti stage
overcome the defilements and kammas that lead to the
lower worlds, and those that may cause good rebirth for
more than seven lifetimes, the yogis at the sakadagami
stage overcome those that may cause more than two
rebirths while the yogis at the anagami stage remove
those that lead to rebirth in sensual worlds. Finally,
the yogi who attains arahatta stage eradicates the
remaining defilements and kamma. In other words, he
becomes an Arahat, the Noble one who is worthy of honour
because he is wholly free from defilements.
Arahat's Outlook On Life
The arahat has no illusion about the nature of
sense-objects. He is aware of their unwholesomeness and
this means he realizes the truth of dukkha because he is
free from ignorance (avijja). So he has no craving for
anything. Inevitably, he has to fill the biological
needs of his physical body such as eating, sleeping,
etc., but he regards them as conditioned (sankhara)
dukkha and finds nothing that is pleasant to him.
The question arises as to whether he should long for
speedy death to end such suffering. But the desire for
early death or dissolution of the physical body too is a
destructive desire and the Arahat is free from it. So
there is an Arahat's saying in the Theragatha that he
has neither the wish to die nor the wish to live.
The Arahat does not wish to live a long life for life
means largely the burden of suffering inherent in
khandha. Although the burden of khandha needs constant
care and attention, it is not in the least reliable. To
many middle-aged or old people, life offers little more
than frustration, disappointment and bitterness. Living
conditions go from bad to worse, physical health
declines and there is nothing but complete
disintegration and death that await us. Yet, because of
ignorance and attachment many people take delight in
existence. On the other hand, the Arahat is
disillusioned and he finds life dreary and monotonous.
Hence, his distaste for life.
But the Arahat does not prefer death either. For
death-wish is an aggressive instinct which he has also
conquered. What he wants is to attain Nibbana, a longing
that is somewhat analogous to that of a worker who
wishes to get his daily or monthly wage.
The worker does not like to face hardship and privations
for he has to work inevitably just to make his living
but he does not want to lose his job either. He wants
only money and looks forward to pay-day. Likewise, the
Arahat waits for the moment when he should attain
Nibbana without anything left of his body-mind complex.
So when they think of their life-span, the Arahats
wonder how long they will have to bear the burden of
nama-rupa khandha. Because of his disillusionment, the
Arahat's life-stream is completely cut off after
Nibbana, hence it is called //anupadisesanibbana//.
Not Annihilation But Extinction Of Suffering
Those who believe in ego or soul deprecate Nibbana as
eternal death of a living being. In reality, it is the
total extinction of suffering that results from the
non-recurrence of psycho-physical phenomena together
with their causes viz., kamma and defilements. So the
Buddha points out the cessation of upadana arising from
the complete cessation of craving, the process of
becoming (bhava) ceasing to arise due to cessation of
upadana and so on. With the non-arising of rebirth,
there is the complete cessation of old age, death and
other kinds of suffering.
Here, the popular view is that birth, old age and death
are evils that afflict living beings but, in point of
fact, these evils characterize only the psycho-physical
process and have nothing to do with a living entity.
Since there is no ego or soul, it makes no sense to
speak of the annihilation of a living being with the
cessation of rebirth and suffering.
So those who regard Nibbana as annihilation are not free
from the illusion of ego-entity. To the intelligent
Buddhist, Nibbana means only cessation of suffering.
This is evident in the story of bhikkhu Yamaka in the
time of the Buddha.
Story Of Yamaka
Yamaka believed that the Arahat was annihilated after
his death. He clung to his view although other bhikkhus
pointed out its falsity. Then, Sariputta summoned him.
Questioned by the elder thera, Yamaka admitted that all
the five khandhas are impermanent and suffering, that it
would be a mistake to regard them as one's possession or
self. Sariputta told him to see the five khandhas as
they really are. He would then become disillusioned,
detached and liberated.
While hearing the sermon, Yamaka attained the sotapanna
stage. He was now free from false beliefs. Sariputta
then questioned him again. In response to the thera's
questions, Yamaka said that he did not identify the
Arahat with the physical body, the perception, the
feeling, conformations (sankhara) or the consciousness.
Nor did he believe that the Arahat existed elsewhere
without the rupa, vedana or any other khandha.
Therefore, since the Arahat or a living entity is not to
be found in the five khandhas even before death, it
makes no sense to speak of the Arahat's annihilation
after his parinibbana.
Yamaka confessed his mistaken view. He was now free from
it and he knew what to say about the destiny of the
Arahat. If someone were to ask him, "What happens when
the Arahat passes away?", he would answer, "The death of
the Arahat means the complete cessation of suffering
inherent in the impermanent five khandhas."
This statement about the Arahat was confirmed by
Sariputta. The thera likened the khandhas to the
murderer who poses as a friend and said that identifying
the khandhas with atta is like welcoming the murderer,
etc.
Here, the thera Yamaka at first believed that the Arahat
was annihilated after death, that there was nothing
left. This belief presupposes the illusion of ego-entity
and so the annihilation view of Nibbana is called
ucchedaditthi, the view that Nibbana means the negation
of atta after death. When he realized the truth and
attained sotapanna, Yamaka said that the death of the
Arahat means the complete extinction of suffering
inherent in the impermanent five khandhas.
To sum up the way to the cessation of suffering, failure
to note seeing, hearing and other psycho-physical
phenomena leads to the arising of avijja, tanha,
upadana, kamma, and sankhara that in turn cause birth,
old age and death in future. Mindfulness of all
phenomena forestalls the five present causes viz.,
avijja, etc., and the five consequences that involve
suffering.
Bhikkhuni Vajira On The Nature Of Khandhas
Moreover, it is the extinction of suffering that is
underscored in the famous saying of bhikkhuni Vajira.
While she was sitting under a tree near Jetavana
monastery, Mara appeared and in order to scare and
discomfit her, asked her,"Hey, bhikkhuni! Who created a
living being? Where is the creator? How did a living
being originate and how would he come to an end?"
Bhikkhuni Vajira replied, "O, Mara! What do you think is
a living being? Is not your belief in a living being an
illusion? What you regard as a living being is nothing
but a heap of sankhara. No being is to be found in this
heap, a living being (sattava) is merely a term for the
collection of five khandhas viz., rupa, vedana, etc.,
just as "chariot" is the term for the combination of
wheel, axle, etc.; there is no being but only the group
of five khandhas: That cause suffering - in fact, it is
only suffering (dukkha) that arises, exists and ends.
There is no arising and extinction of anything other
than dukkha."
Therefore, a living being is to be understood only in
the popular acceptation of the term. It does not exist
in the absolute sense; there is only the psycho-physical
process which comprises ignorance, craving, attachment,
kamma and kammic effort as causes and consciousness,
body-mind, sense bases, impression and feeling as
effects. These effects in turn become causes that give
rise to rebirth and suffering.
Four Layers, Three Links And Twenty Factors
Paticcasamuppada refers to four groups of factors
involved in the chain of causation viz., the first group
of causes in the past, the second group of effects in
the present life, the third group of causes in the
present and the last group of effects in the future. The
groups are labelled //sangaha// or //sankhepa// in Pali.
They may also be translated as layers.
There are three links for the four layers - the link
between the past and the present involving sankhara as
cause and vinnana as effect, the link between the
present effect and present cause with vedana and tanha
as cause and effect, and the third link between present
cause and future with bhava as cause and jati (birth) as
effect.
Then, there are twenty factors (akara) involved in the
psycho-physical process viz., five causes in the past,
five effects in the present, five causes in the present
and five effects in the future.
Three Cycles
Again the doctrine of Paticcasamuppada deals with three
cycles or rounds (vattas) viz., the cycles of
defilements, kamma and fruits. The first cycle comprises
ignorance, desire and attachment (upadana), the second
(kamma cycle) comprises kammic effort and kammic
existence (bhava), and the third vipaka cycle involves
consciousness, mind-body, sense bases, impression and
feeling.
The third vipaka cycle again leads to the cycle of
defilement, the cycle of defilement again gives rise to
kamma cycle and so on, each of the three cycles
occurring one after another ceaselessly in a vicious
circle. The three cycles form the samsaric round of
suffering. Samsara means continuum of nama-rupa
(psycho-physical) process occurring in terms of
cause-effect relationship.
In order to liberate ourselves from the samsaric cycle
of suffering, we do good deeds. We become familiar with
the Buddha's teaching about the Four Noble Truths. We
practise contemplation at the moment of seeing, hearing,
etc. We realize the ceaseless arising and dissolution of
psycho-physical phenomena. This vipassana insight
forestalls illusion and frees us from craving and
attachment that leads to rebirth and suffering.
Visuddhimagga describes the contribution of kamma to the
cycle of defilement. A certain yogi sees how mind-body
complex is born of kammic cycle and vipaka (kammic
fruits) cycle. He realizes that there are only kamma and
its fruits: As a result of kamma in the past, there
arise nama-rupa in the present life; nama-rupa is the
cause of present kamma; it gives rise to kammic deeds in
present life. These kammic deeds lead to rebirth. In
this way there is the arising (becoming) of nama-rupa
(being) without cessation.
Here, the arising or becoming of nama-rupa means the
arising of phenomena from the senses e.g. seeing,
hearing, etc. These lead to defilement, kamma, and
rebirth successively. Thus, the nama-rupa process is
conditioned by the cycle of kamma and its fruit.
According to Visuddhimagga, this insight-knowledge means
paccayapariggahanana and kankhavitarana visuddhi (Purity
of Escape from all Doubt).
Four Aspects Of Paticcasamuppada
There are four aspects of the doctrine of
Paticcasamuppada that we should bear in mind. The first
is the individual character of the psycho-physical
process that comprises the three successive existences.
Although the doctrine stresses the conditionality of all
phenomena, it is a mistake to believe that avijja, tanha
and other causes concern one person, while vinnana,
nama-rupa and other causes concern one person, and while
vinnana, nama-rupa and other effects concern another
person for this belief implies the total extinction of a
living being after death, the annihilation - view which
Buddhism rejects. In reality, the nama-rupa process is
analogous to, say, the evolution of a mango tree. The
mango seed becomes a seedling, the seedling turns into a
young plant and the plant grows into a tree. Here the
seed, the young plant and the tree form a continuous,
unbroken line of cause and effect relationship so that
strictly speaking, it is impossible to distinguish
between the tree and the plant.
Likewise, avijja, sankhara, vinnana, etc., occur in
unbroken succession in terms of cause and effect and so
it is reasonable to speak of a particular person
involved in the process. It was Devadatta, for example,
who committed schism and it is Devadatta who is now
suffering in hell. The merchant Anathapindika did good
deeds and it was he himself who landed in the deva-world
after his death.
The False View Of Sati
This identification of the doer of kammic deed with the
bearer of its fruit makes it possible for us to avoid
the annihilation-view. On the other hand, some people
believe in the transmigration of a living being as a
whole from one life to another. This mistaken view
called sassataditthi (eternity-belief) was held by
bhikkhu Sati in the time of the Buddha.
It was the Jatakas that led bhikkhu Sati to this view.
He learnt how the Buddha identified himself with the
leading characters in these birth stories. So he
reasoned thus: the physical body of the bodhisatta
disintegrated after his death and there was nothing of
it that passed on to his last existence. It was only the
consciousness that survived physical dissolution and
that formed the hard core of the bodhisatta's
personality in each of his existence. The same may be
said of every other living being. Unlike the physical
body, consciousness is not subject to disintegration. It
passes on from one body to another and exists forever.
But the Jatakas underscore only the continuity of the
cause and effect relationship in terms or the doer of
kamma and the bearer of kammic fruit. They do not imply
the transfer of vinnana or any other attribute intact
from one life to another. Everything passes away but
because of the causal connection, we have to assume that
the hero of a Jataka story finally became Prince
Siddhattha. So after questioning Sati, the Buddha says
that vinnana is conditioned, that it cannot arise in the
absence of its relevant cause.
The Buddha cites the simile of a fire which is
designated according to its origin. The fire that
originates with wood is called wood-fire, that which
starts with grass is called grass-fire and so on.
Likewise, consciousness is conditioned by something and
it is labelled according to that which conditions it.
Thus, the consciousness that arises from eye and visual
form is called visual consciousness (cakkhu-vinnana),
that which stems from ear and sound is called auditory
consciousness (sota-vinnana) and so forth. In short, the
consciousness is specified according to the sense-object
and the sense-organ which together give rise to it. When
the cause of a fire changes so does its designation. A
grass-fire becomes a bush-fire when the fire spreads to
the bush. In the same way, consciousness changes its
label according to the sense-object and the sense-organ
on which it is dependent. In the case of the same
sense-object and the same sense-organ, too, it is the
new consciousness that occurs at every moment in the
mental process. Thus, to realize the truth about mental
process is to be free from annihilation-belief whereas a
false view of it leads to eternity-belief.
Distinctive Character Of Each Phenomenon
Another aspect of the doctrine is the distinction
between the different phenomena constituting the chain
of causation. Thus avijja is a distinct phenomenon that
conditions sankhara; sankhara is another different
phenomenon that leads to rebirth and so on. To
differentiate these phenomena is to realize their
cause-and-effect relationship and this realization makes
us free from eternity-belief. It helps us to do away
with the illusion of a permanent, unchanging self that
survives death and passes on to another existence.
In fact the eternity-belief or the annihilation-belief
stems from the fact that people tend to over-emphasize
either the connection between the mental states in two
successive lives or the distinction between them. If we
unintelligently identify ourselves with the nama-rupa in
the present life and that in the previous life, we will
be inclined to the belief in immortality. On the other
hand, if we overstress the dichotomy of the nama-rupas,
we are likely to fall into the trap of
annihilation-view. The right attitude is to recognize
the unbroken stream of nama-rupa that flows from one
life to another in terms of cause and effect. This point
of view gives us the impression of the individual
character of nama-rupa and, as such, it clarifies the
working out of kamma. It does not, however, imply the
transfer of old nama-rupa or ego. It assumes the
cessation of old nama-rupa and the arising of new
nama-rupa in the present life on the basis of past
kamma.
This view is crucial in vipassana practice. To the yogi
who contemplates nama-rupa at every moment of their
arising, these two aspects of the doctrine are apparent.
He becomes aware of the stream of cause and effect
comprising avijja, tanha, upadana and so forth. He is
aware of the continuity, and the uninterrupted flow of
nama-rupa process and, therefore, he rejects the
annihilation view completely.
Furthermore, being aware of the new phenomenon that
arises whenever he contemplates, he discriminates
between the sense-object and his consciousness.
Contemplation brings to light feeling, craving,
clinging, effort, consciousness, etc., as distinct
phases of the mental process. And because he is well
aware of the arising of new phenomena, he frees himself
from eternity-belief.
Absence Of Effort (Avyapara)
Another aspect of Paticcasamuppada is the absence of
effort (avyapara). Avijja causes sankhara without
striving and sankhara does not strive to create rebirth.
Knowledge of this fact means insight into the
non-existence of any agent or being (karaka-puggala) who
hears, sees, etc., and as such it makes us free from
ego-belief. But as Visuddhimagga says, it lends itself
to misinterpretation and turns one into a moral sceptic
who accepts determinism and denies moral freedom.
The non-volitional nature of conditioned psycho-physical
phenomena is apparent to the yogi who contemplates their
ceaseless arising and dissolution for he realizes
clearly that since nama-rupa is conditioned, his mind
and body do not always act according to his desire.
Relevancy Of Cause To Effect
The last aspect of Paticcasamuppada is the one-to-one
correspondence between cause and effect (evam dhammata).
Every cause leads only to the relevant effect; it has
nothing to do with the irrelevant effect. In other
words, every cause is the sufficient and necessary
condition for the corresponding effect. This fact leaves
no room for belief in chance or moral impotency
(akiriyaditthi) but, as Visuddhimagga says, for those
who misunderstand it, it provides the basis for rigid
determinism (niyatavada). As for the contemplating yogi,
he clearly sees the relevancy of each effect to its
cause and so he has no doubt about their one-to-one
correspondence and the reality of moral freedom.
I have dwelt at length on noteworthy facts about
Paticcasamuppada. These will be clear to the yogis who
consider them on the basis of their experience but as
the doctrine is profound, they will not be able to grasp
some facts that are beyond their intellectual level. It
is of course only the omniscient Buddha who knew
everything thoroughly. The yogi should make it a point
to know fully as far as possible within the scope of his
intellect. To this end, he should learn from the
discourses of bhikkhus, reflect over what he has learnt
and enrich his understanding through the practice of
mindfulness.
Of the three methods of study, the third method
(bhavanamaya) is the most important for the yogi who
gains insight-knowledge by this method, attains the holy
path and is liberated from the dangers of the lower
worlds.
Conclusion
Now we will conclude the discourse on Paticcasamuppada
with a commentary on Arahant, the chief attribute of the
Buddha.
The formula about the dependent origination consists of
twelve links beginning with ignorance and ending in
death. It has ignorance and craving as two root-causes
and two life-cycles. The anterior cycle begins with
ignorance and ends in feeling, while the posterior cycle
begins with craving and ends in death and old age. Since
anxiety, grief and the like do not occur in the Brahma
world, they do not necessarily stem from birth (jati)
and, as such, are not counted among the links of the
dependent origination.
Furthermore, the anterior life-cycle explicitly shows
only avijja and sankhara; but avijja implies
tanha-upadana and sankhara implies kammabhava. So all
these five links form the past causes, while vinnana,
nama-rupa, ayatana, phassa and vedana form the present
effects. These vinnana, etc., are the wholesome or
unwholesome kammic fruits that are clearly experienced
at the moment of seeing, etc. The posterior life-cycle
directly concerns tanha, upadana and kammabhava but
these three causes imply avijja and sankhara, and so as
in the past avijja, tanha, upadana, sankhara and
kammabhava represent the five present causes that lead
to birth, old age and death in future. These effects are
the same as those of vinnana, nama-rupa, etc. Thus, like
the present effects, the future effects are also five in
number.
So there are altogether four groups of layers of five
past causes, five present effects, five present causes
and five effects in the future. The layers represent
three causal relations viz., the relation between the
past causes and the present effects; the relation
between the present effects and present causes; and the
conditionality of phenomenal existence is evident in
these layers or the twenty links of cause and effect
which are termed //akara//. These links may be grouped
in terms of vatta or cycles or rounds of defilements,
viz., the cycle of defilements, the cycle of kamma and
the cycle of kammic fruits which we have already
explained before.
Those who have done good kammas pass through human, deva
or Brahma worlds while those who have done evil are
doomed to rebirth in the lower worlds. Living beings
confined to life-cycle (samsara) get the chance to do
good only when they have a good teacher. A good teacher
is hard to come by and so many people are largely prone
to evil deeds and subject to their kammic effects in
terms of suffering. It is then said that they are
overtaken by Nemesis, that they have to pay for their
round of kamma. Once established on the Ariyan path,
they cannot land in hell but as for the cycle of kammic
fruits, even the Buddhas and Arahats are not spared
kammic retribution.
Cutting Off The Cycle Of Defilements
If we wish to end the threefold cycle, we will have to
remove its cause viz., the cycle of defilements.
Defilements originate with seeing, hearing, etc., and so
we must practise mindfulness to prevent their arising
when we see, hear, etc. The practice of concentration
and mindfulness makes the yogi aware of the impermanence
and insubstantiality of all phenomena. This means he has
no more illusion and is free from the cycle of
defilements, kammas and kammic fruits.
Now, to sum up the way to the total conquest of the
threefold cycle of defilement, kammas and kammic results
with reference to the attributes of the Buddha.
Arahan And The Attributes Of The Buddha
The Buddha's special designation is Arahan and this word
points to the following attributes of the Buddha.
(1) The Buddha was free from defilements. So were the
Arahats but they were not free from the habits that
continued to dominate them even after the attainment of
their spiritual goal. This is evident in the story of
thera Pilindavaccha. Pilinda was an Arahat, beloved of
the devas and extolled by the Buddha. Yet he was in the
habit of addressing his fellow bhikkhus or laymen rather
rudely. Some bhikkhus complained to the Buddha about the
thera's rudeness. The Buddha attributed this unpleasant
habit to his having spent several lifetimes in the
Brahmin families but said that being an Arahat, the
thera was pure and good at heart.
As for the Buddha, from the time of his attainment of
supreme enlightenment, he became free from all the
habits or hangovers of defilements that were carried
over from past lives. This distinctive mark of the
Buddha's Arahatship should be borne in mind when we
contemplate the Lord's attributes. The complete
extinction of cycles means total liberation from the
three cycles of defilements, kamma and kammic fruits.
(2) The Buddha was called Arahan because of his conquest
of defilements. People fear only the external enemy such
as robbers, snakes, etc. They do not bother about the
internal enemy, that is, defilements that are more
terrible. In point of fact, they have to suffer because
of their mind-body complex and defilements. The
root-cause is the defilements that give rise to repeated
rebirths and sufferings. The defilements are ten in
number viz., craving, hatred, ignorance, pride,
illusion, doubt, lassitude, restlessness, shamelessness
and lack of conscience.
(3) By virtue of his outstanding moral integrity, wisdom
and enlightenment, the Buddha was worthy of reverence
and offerings. People who revered or made offerings to
the Buddha have their wishes fulfilled.
(4) Since he had conquered the defilements completely,
the Buddha was pure at heart whether in public or
solitude. Many people play the hypocrite, posing as good
men or women in public but doing evil when there is
no-one to see or hear them. In reality, there is no
place where one can do evil secretly. Even though the
evil-doer is not seen by men and gods, he cannot help
having qualms of conscience. His conscience is the most
infallible witness to his misdeeds and it forms the
basis for death-bed visions that point to unpleasant
life that future has in store for him.
As for the Buddha, having wholly conquered all the
defilements, his mind was always pure and he had
absolutely no desire or intention to do evil either
publicly or secretly.
(5) The Buddha had destroyed the spokes of the wheel
with the sword of the Arahatship. Here, the wheel means
the cycle of life as described in the doctrine of
Paticcasamuppada and the sword means the
insight-knowledge of the Arahat. The axle of the wheel
represents avijja, the root-cause; the fringe of the
wheel stands for old age and death, while the spokes
stand for the middle links, viz., sankhara, etc. Just as
the removal of spokes makes it impossible for the wheel
to move, so also the destruction of the middle links in
the chain of conditioned phenomena means the end of the
cycle of life.
Story Of Baka Brahma
The first thing to do to end the life-cycle is to remove
its root-cause viz., ignorance, for ignorance is
invariably followed by sankhara, vinnana, etc., down to
jaramarana (old age and death). This is true in the
sensual worlds as well as in the material world of
Brahmas.
Once there was a great Brahma called Baka. He outlived
many world-systems (kappa); indeed he lived so long that
at last he forgot his previous existences and became
convinced of his immortality without old age or death.
The Buddha went to his abode to remove his illusion. The
Brahma welcomed the Lord and bragged about his eternal
life. The Buddha said that his ignorance was appalling
in that he denied impermanence, old age and death. He
revealed the good deeds that had led to the Brahma's
longevity and it was this fabulous longevity that had
made him oblivious of his previous lives and created the
illusion of his immortality. On hearing this, Baka
Brahma had second thoughts about his omnipotence. Still,
he was conceited and in order to show his power, he
tried to vanish out of sight of the Buddha and other
Brahmas but it was in vain. Because of the power of the
Lord, he remained visible.
Then the Buddha uttered the following verse:
Bhavevaham bhayam disva bhavan ja vibhavesinam bhavam
nabhivadim kinci nandincana upadiyim:
I do not extol any existence because I see danger in it.
I have renounced the craving for existence because I am
aware of its evil.
Baka Brahma and other Brahmas had lived so long that
they considered their existence and their abode eternal.
Likewise, the evils of life escape the notice of those
who have the blessings of a good life such as health,
wealth, prestige, success and so forth. But life is
subject to suffering on all its three planes: sensual
plane, material plane and immaterial plane. A Brahma or
a rishi on the material or immaterial planes of
existence may live for aeons but they too have to die
eventually.
Sammasambuddha
It is insight knowledge that leads to the destruction of
ignorance which is the root-cause of suffering. For the
Buddha, this means the attribute of sammasambuddha.
Sammasambuddha is one who knows the Four Noble Truths
rightly, thoroughly and independently. Here the twelve
links of Paticcasamuppada may be differentiated in terms
of the Four Noble Truths.
Thus, old age and death together means the first truth
of suffering and rebirth means the truth about the cause
of suffering. The cessation of this cause and this
effect means the truth about the cessation (nirodha)
and, knowledge of this cessation means the truth about
the path to it (magga).
The same may be said of rebirth and kammic cause, kammic
cause and clinging, clinging and craving, craving and
feeling, feeling and contact, contact and six senses,
the senses and nama-rupa, nama-rupa and consciousness,
consciousness and sankhara, and sankhara and ignorance.
In short, what immediately precedes a link is termed its
cause (samudaya) and what immediately follows is called
its effect (dukkha sacca). We can even make ignorance
(avijja), the origin of life-cycle, synonymous with
truth about suffering (dukkha sacca); if we regard it as
an effect of the attachment (asava) viz., attachment to
sensual pleasure, existence, belief and ignorance.
Here, the identification of tanha with dukkha may not be
acceptable to some people. But it is reasonable if we
remember the fact that all nama-rupa including tanha
means dukkha since it is subject to impermanence. The
commentary does not describe avijja as dukkha, but we
can say it is dukkha arising from asava (biases). There
are four asavas that have their sources in sensual
craving, attachment to life, false belief and ignorance.
It is a matter of ignorance in the past again giving
rise to ignorance in the present. Hence, the asavas may
be regarded as the cause of avijja.
So having realized the Four Noble Truths and attained
Nibbana, through his own enlightenment, the Buddha
earned the unique and glorious title of Sammasambuddha.
He knew that all the phenomena covered by the doctrine
of Paticcasamuppada are the real dukkha and the causes
of dukkha. He was disenchanted, had no attachment and
achieved liberation from all fetters. So according to
Visuddhimagga, he was called Arahan because he managed
to destroy completely all the supports of the wheel of
life.
The Fame Of The Buddha
The fame of the Buddha pervaded the whole universe. It
spread to all parts of the universe through the
inhabitants of some realms who came to hear the Buddha's
sermons or through the sermons which the Buddha himself
gave in some realms or through the former disciples who
had landed in some higher realms after hearing the
sermons.
We need not dwell on the first way in which the fame of
the Buddha spread. As regards the other two ways, in the
course of his long wanderings in samsara, the bodhisatta
had been to all the realms except the five suddhavasa
realms which are meant only for those who have attained
anagami stage. The bodhisatta usually attains all the
four stages on the path only in his last existence. So
the Buddha had never been to suddhavasa realm before and
on one occasion he paid a visit to it by means of his
psychic powers. On arriving there, he received the
homage of millions of brahmas, who told him about the
former Buddhas and their landing in suddhavasa realm as
the result of their attainment of anagami stage. Among
these brahmas, there were also those who had practised
the dhamma as disciples of Gotama Buddha.
The Buddha visited all the five suddhavasa realms. It is
easy to see how he became famous in the realms that were
the abodes of his former disciples. But the question
arises as to how his fame spread to the formless (arupa)
realms. It was not possible for the formless brahmas to
come to the Buddha or for the Buddha to go to them.
Those who practised the Buddha-dhamma in the sensual or
the material world, attaining the first three stages on
the path and dying with arupa (formless) jhana might
land in the formless worlds if they so desired. These
noble ones were aware of the sublime attributes of the
Buddha and the possibility of attaining new insights
through the practice of mindfulness. So through
mindfulness of all mental events, they finally became
Arahats and passed away in vinnanancayatana realm or
akincannayatana realm or the highest realm called
Nevasannanasannayatana. In this way, the fame of the
Buddha spread throughout the whole universe.
The Four Noble Truths In Brief
We have dealt in detail with the Buddha's knowledge of
the Four Noble Truths vis-a-vis his attribute of
Sammasambuddha. We will now repeat the four truths
briefly. According to the scriptures, all the nama-rupa
in the sensual, material and immaterial worlds,
exclusive of tanha, constitute dukkha. This is the first
truth. Tanha as the cause of dukkha is the second truth.
Nibbana as the cessation of dukkha is the third truth,
and the Ariyan path as the way to cessation is the
fourth truth. These Four Noble Truths are realized
experientially by the yogi through the practice of
vipassana. From experience he knows that all that is
arising and passing away mean dukkha, attachment to them
is the cause, that cessation of both the dukkha and its
cause is Nibbana, and that its attainment is the path.
Sammasambuddha And Buddhahood
Both of the two Pali terms viz., Buddha and
Sammasambuddha mean omniscience or knowledge of all the
dhammas. This raises the question of how to make a
distinction between the two attributes connected by the
two terms. By the attribute of sammasambuddha, we are to
understand that the bodhisatta attained Buddhahood on
the basis of independent reflection, and effort and the
realization of the Four Noble Truths through insight on
the path of Arahatship. Buddhahood means the thorough
and exhaustive knowledge of all the conditioned and the
unconditioned dhammas on the basis of the unique
attributes possessed by the Buddha such as omniscience
(sabbannutanana), etc.
These unique attributes of the Buddha consist in
knowledge of the Four Noble Truths, four kinds of
analytical knowledge and six kinds of knowledge that are
not to be found among disciples (asadharananana). The
six asadharananana are: (1) knowledge of the different
moral and spiritual levels of living beings, (2)
knowledge of the desires, inclinations and latent
tendencies (anusaya) of living beings, (3) the power to
create super-miracles (yamakapatihariyanana), (4)
infinite compassion for all living beings, (5)
omniscience, and (6) knowledge without any hindrance or
obstruction of anything which the Buddha wants to know
and which he brings into the focus of his attention.
Now a few words about the conditioned (sankhara) and
unconditioned (asankhara) dhammas. The sankharas are the
nama-rupa or the five aggregates of khandhas that arise
owing to the harmonious combination of relevant factors.
In other words, they are the phenomena conditioned by
favourable circumstances. Thus, sound is produced when
there is friction between two hard objects such as
sticks or iron bars. Here sound is sankhara. As opposed
to sankhara is asankhara which has nothing to do with
causes. The only ultimate reality (paramattha) in the
category of asankhara dhammas is Nibbana. Of the
non-paramattha asankharas there are many kinds of names
such as names of shapes, figures and so forth.
The Buddha's sabbannutanana is so called because it
encompasses the whole range of conditioned and
unconditioned dhammas. It is also described in terms of
the five neyyadhamma viz., the sankhara, the distinctive
qualities of certain rupas (nipphanna), the conditioned
characteristics of nama-rupa, Nibbana and names.
The first two attributes of the Buddha forming the
knowledge of the different spiritual levels,
inclinations and latent tendencies of living beings are
labelled Buddha-eye (Buddha-cakkhu). With this
all-seeing eye, the Buddha chose the living beings who
ought to be enlightened, and preached to them the
appropriate dhamma at the appropriate moment.
We conclude the discourse on the Paticcasamuppada with
the commentary on the attributes of the Buddha (Arahan)
because we wish to inspire the readers with faith in the
Blessed One. We hope that they will find the source of
inspiration too, in the Arahats who also possess the
Arahan attribute. The Arahat is wholly free from
defilements, he has destroyed the framework of
life-cycle; there is no secret place where he will do
evil and so he is worthy of honour. These are the
qualities that make up his Arahan attribute although
this attribute as possessed by the ordinary Arahat is
below the superlative Arahan attribute of the Buddha.
So you should try to overcome defilements through
mindfulness of the nama-rupa processes that arise at the
six sense-doors, destroy the supports of the wheel of
life and keep your mind pure all the time in order that
you may eventually become Arahats and earn the glorious
title of Arahan.
SUMMARY
From the two root-causes referred to in the two noble
truths there arise four layers, three cycles, three
connections, twelve links, three time-dimensions, twenty
phenomena and five nama-rupa processes. One who watches
these present resultant processes effectively does not
have craving that is rooted in feeling and so he will
put an end to life-cycle completely.
In other words, the yogi watches every psycho-physical
event that occurs at the six senses clearly in terms of
its impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and egolessness.
Through such effective practice of mindfulness, the yogi
gains insight into the nature of the sense-object such
as sound, visual form, etc., and overcomes the
attachment to it by the opposite (tadanga), that is, he
overcomes it by opposing it with the knowledge that
undercuts it. The cessation of attachment rules out the
arising of the other phenomena e.g. clinging, process of
becoming, rebirth, etc. After this cessation through
vipassana insight, the yogi overcomes the latent
attachment completely through destruction (samuccheda)
when he attains the insight knowledge on the Ariyan
path. At this moment the other phenomena e.g. clinging,
etc., also become totally extinct.
There is no teaching which says that with the extinction
of feeling, craving too ceases to exist. This is no
wonder for even the Arahats do not have any control over
their feelings that arise from contact with the six
senses.
There are certain psycho-physical phenomena that have to
be watched and noted as they really are i.e. in terms of
anicca, dukkha and anatta if the yogi wants to remove
the present causes such as tanha etc., the future
results and end the cycle of suffering. These phenomena
with their Pali terms are explained below.
(1) Vinnana: consciousness, which is of six kinds viz.,
eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness,
nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness,
body-consciousness and mind-consciousness.
(2) Nama: mental factors (cetasikas) that arise together
with consciousness. Rupa: the physical phenomena that
arises together with that consciousness. Nama-rupa may
be translated as mind and matter.
(3) Salayatana: the six bases of mental activity, that
is, the six internal bases comprising the consciousness
and the five physical sense-organs viz., eye, ear, nose,
tongue and body and the six external bases viz., visible
object, sound, odour, sap or gustative object,
body-impression and mind-object.
(4) Phassa: contact or impression, which is of six kinds
viz., visual impression, impression of hearing, of
smelling, of tasting, bodily impression and mental
impression.
(5) Vedana: feelings which is of three kinds viz.,
pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling and indifferent
feeling. We may also distinguish six kinds of feelings:
feelings associated with seeing, hearing, smelling,
tasting, body-impression and mental impression.
1. Two root-causes:
Ignorance (avijja) and craving (tanha).
2. Two truths:
Truth about the cause (craving) and truth about
suffering (dukkha).
3. Four layers:
(1) The layer of the past cause - ignorance, kamma
formations (sankhara), craving, clinging and becoming.
(2) The layer of present result - consciousness,
mind-body complex, six bases of mental activity,
impression, feeling.
(3) The layer of present cause - craving, clinging,
kamma, becoming, ignorance, kamma formations (sankhara).
(4) Future result - birth, old age, death,
consciousness, etc.
4. Three cycles:
(1) The cycle of defilements - ignorance, craving,
clinging.
(2) The cycle of kamma - kamma formations (sankhara),
kamma and becoming.
(3) The cycle of kammic results - consciousness,
mind-body complex, six bases of mental activity,
impression, feeling, birth, old age and death.
5. Three connections:
(1) The connection between the past kamma formations
(sankhara) as the past cause and consciousness as the
present result.
(2) The connection between feeling as the present result
and craving as the present cause.
(3) The connection between becoming as the present cause
and birth as the future result.
6. Twelve links:
(1) ignorance
(2) kamma formations
(3) consciousness
(4) mental and physical phenomena
(5) six bases
(6) impression
(7) feeling
(8) craving
(9) clinging
(10) becoming
(11) rebirth
(12) old age and death
7. Three time-dimensions:
(1) The infinite past - ignorance and kamma formations.
(2) The infinite present - consciousness, mind-body
complex, six bases, impression, feeling, craving,
clinging, kamma-process.
(3) The infinite future - rebirth, old age and death.
8. Twenty elements:
(1) Five elements of the causative process in the past
existence.
(2) Five elements of the resultant process in the
present existence.
(3) Five elements of the causative process in the
present existence.
(4) Five elements of the resultant process in the future
existence.