The world II - concept and reality

There is one major misconception in current mainstream - understanding of Buddhism (if there is such a thing ) IMHO, brought about by a rather misconceived interpretation of one very important and frequent term in the discourses of the Buddha, nama-rupa.

Nama-rupa is a compound, a noun, made up of two words. They are really easy to translate. “Nama” is “name” in English and many other indo-european languages as well, and rupa is form or picture, as in “the form on a canvas”.

Well, if that is so easy, why do we nowadays seem to find this term almost exclusively translated as “mind-matter”??

How does that sound to you? Ah, maybe you are familiar with this word in a Buddhist context. But, dare we say, doesn’t it sound a bit…materialistic. And the reason for the common translation is pretty simple: Modern day scholars follow the late commentarial interpretation which on this important topic is.. shall we say .. a bit abhidhammic-like materialistic in that it views mental phenomena as compartmentalizable “realities” by themselves. Which they are not. They are all concepts. Names.

It may sound very “scientific”, talking about “mind-matter”. Well, if we compare Newton to Einstein and Niels Bohr, of course his laws play a much more important part in our daily lives…on the surface, that is. In the same way, talking about mind and matter on a conventional basis makes sense. However, especially this term “nama-rupa” shows the depthness of the Buddha’s realization. Therefore, “psychologically” looking into name and form, could then be considered a “postmodern” physics topic where your four quantum theory semester would be the preliminary course in Buddhist vipassana meditation.

In fact, if the Buddha would have meant “mind and matter” in his language it would have been something like “mana-kaya” or “cittakaya”.

However, as it happens, Buddha had something very important “in mind” when he used the term “nama-rupa” not in this conventional materialistic connotation.

Nama-rupa definitely relates to “mental” phenomena and reality, but, from the perspective of the insight meditator, in a more “idealistic” sense: those mental phenomena which are at the root of proliferating the world in time and space around us based on 6 (sense) impression, that is the viewpoint which the Buddha had in mind, when he was looking for a term which could appropriately denote this deeper perspective, beyond the conventional terms of “mind” and “body”. Those terms, used separately, are “concepts” of content fabricated by the mind and are thus only useful in a very conventional type of communication. All just said where concepts as well, generated in the way outlined. You can sense an endless loop here.

If you will, there is a “wisdom-speak” and a “conventional-speak” in the suttas. Both deal with the same things, but the first talks in technical terms trying to catch the experience someone practicing vipassana or insight meditation may garner. That is hard, being at the event-horizon of reality, but Buddha came up with some pretty neat and accurate labels describing what is “going on” - if you try to translate them literally, that is. It is hard to grasp their meaning without practice and personal experience, because they talk about things which can only be seen by experience - now translating them in a very abstract and alienated way just to capture a readership used to the materialistic mechanic positions of last century physics doesn’t help in appreciating the novelty and depthness of the Buddha-Dhamma.

So, what is nama rupa? Here some suggested translations:

• “name and form”
• “concept and reality”
• “concept and forms”
• “representation and reality”

Nama or “Name/Concept” stands for a number of mental phenomena which are all necessary to fabricate and generate mental concepts which are then perceived as “reality” by our mind. It is a tricky process, and a quick one as well, but bare attention can shed some real light into this. If you like to read more about what constitutes “name” and produces concepts by which we live, have a look at this post.

Rupa or “form” is the physical counterpart on which our sixfold sense consciousness bases it concept-creation. The basic objective for our samsaric thirst for continuity is getting a “picture” or “representation” of the physical reality so that we can go on feeding the whirlpool. But the “physicalness” of the world is very evasive, as we can only interpret and infer it. And if we do a good job doing that, we end up with quantum physics pointing the finger back at the finger who is pointing. Anyway, if you like to read more about the definition on rupa, have a look here.

So, the next time you write/read a text on Buddhism, try to re-consider “mind-matter” as “name and form”. Using terms like “concept and reality” so much more precisely points us in the right direction, i.e. a direction of mindfulness and insight.

There could not be any liberation from a “mind created by matter”. But there very well can be a liberation from “concepts and forms”.

Lets talk about the world!

Normally, when we talk about the world, we think of mountains, oceans, rivers, valleys, towns, transportation, globalisation, earth, planets, the universe.

When the Buddha spoke about “the world” he had something else in mind:

As he was sitting there, he said to the Blessed One: “‘The world, the world’ it is said. In what respect does the word ‘world’ apply?

“Insofar as it disintegrates, monk, it is called the ‘world.’ Now what disintegrates? The eye disintegrates. Forms disintegrate. Consciousness at the eye disintegrates. Contact at the eye disintegrates. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye — experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain — that too disintegrates.

“The ear disintegrates. Sounds disintegrate…”The nose disintegrates. Aromas disintegrate…”The tongue disintegrates. Tastes disintegrate…”The body disintegrates. Tactile sensations disintegrate…”The intellect disintegrates. Ideas disintegrate. Consciousness at the intellect consciousness disintegrates. Contact at the intellect disintegrates. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the intellect — experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain —that too disintegrates. [SN]

Just pause for a moment and give it “a thought”. Except for those six building blocks, where can there be a world beyond those? Can you imagine outside imagination? Can you feel outside feelings? Can you think the thoughtless?

Okay, you say: “But there is our earth and the stars”. But, well, yes, that what you said was in itself, if we are honest, a thought. Or better: a series of sense impressions. You say: Beware of solipsism. That is just a philosophical playground.” But well, yes, even this “standpoint”, if we show absolutely no interest in this question’s content but try just to be aware, listening to the sixfold noise of becoming, this question too was, in effect, just a thought.

Even my reflection, whether there could be something beyond thoughts…is, again, a thought. You say: “It is all a brain function.” Guess what? Gotcha, another thought (this term is used here very loosely. As seen in the quotation above, in addition to the five sense impressions Buddha reckons the mental objects and mind consciousness as just another “sense” - all in all, those six realms (sal-ayatana) are the foundation of “all” (even time and space are derived from their interplay). Whoever wants to “know” has to work with them. The trick however is to not get intangled with the contents (usually summed up sense impressions wrought into concepts and proliferated into perceptions of a 3D-surrounding filled with comedy and tragedy. Having said that, even a (quantum) physicist is essentially taking the stars for the telescope, ouch!).

The one trying to stop running away into labyrinths and thought chains, stopping hard to confront himself with the shock and aftermath of each sense impression, enters the abyss of impermanence which in each moment is closer than we fear but made invisible by some form of existentially necessary amblyopia. Or, did you ever enjoy a film were you could see each individual frame flashing? You may have enjoyed the funny aspect about that, a joy the insight meditator may very well experience seeing the rising and falling of his world in real-time. But “enjoying” the story? The “story” as such comes only into being through interpretation.

Being close to a realm which many unfortunately only associate with philosophy instead of personal experience we nevertheless know of at least one very famous (Buddhist) philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, who came as close to the Dhamma as you can get using contemplation on the topic of what constitues “world”, which is pushed forward by thirst and caught in concepts (or in Schopenhauer’s terms: The world as will and representation). Who knows, maybe he is using the reality-slicing knife of insight meditation as you read these lines.

Our existence is based solely on the ever-fleeting present. Essentially, therefore, it has to take the form of continual motion without there ever being any possibility of our finding the rest after which we are always striving. It is the same as a man running downhill, who falls if he tries to stop, and it is only by his continuing to run on that he keeps on his legs; it is like a pole balanced on one’s finger-tips, or like a planet that would fall into its sun as soon as it stopped hurrying onwards. Hence unrest is the type of existence. [link]

In the suttas we find another very famous passage which sheds light on how -in the perspective of a stream enter up to arahant - this “world” should be perceived - according to the Buddha, that is:

I tell you, friend, that it is not possible by traveling to know or see or reach a far end of the cosmos where one does not take birth, age, die, pass away, or reappear. But at the same time, I tell you that there is no making an end of suffering & stress without reaching the end of the cosmos. Yet it is just within this fathom-long body, with its perception & consciousness,that I declare that there is the cosmos, the origination of the cosmos, the cessation of the cosmos, and the path of practice leading to the cessation of the cosmos. (AN 4.45)

The “eye of the Dhamma”, dhammacakku, which the stream enterer is supposed to open for the first time is nothing else than his ability “to perceive” the world, for the very first time, in a new light (the light of wisdom, poetically - the light of perceiving the act of perception itself in a more literal sense, and thereby dimming even the light of sun and moon).

When others talk about an event “in the world”, he will hear them while maybe watching the “six sense world” disintegrating in a subtle way.

In that way, the world becomes a drop of water on a lotus leaf of his unestablished consciousness (periodically at least, probably depending on the stage of his progress) or appears like the wind, passing through a net.

Though he still interacts with the world, usually in a very positive sense, he enjoys a personal freedom and detachment which is beyond “thoughts”. This goal, ending all goals, an unshakeable deliverance of the mind even when facing death: this was what prince Siddhattha had been looking for for such a long time. The cooling off of the fire, i.e. Nibbana. And that is why they still call him “the Awakened One”, Buddha.

Are you a monk? - Consider only one duty left!

If you are a monk, i guess you do not read (online). But if you do, this text was written exactly for you

In 100 BC Buddhist monks faced a tough question:

“Should we preferably memorize and thus keep alive the discourses of the Buddha as they have been handed down to us or should we focus more on realization (meditation) and transfer the practice instead.”

Well, why not do both, you may ask. The problem at that time was: famine and a war ravaging the countryside. Many monks died of hunger and the Sangha was low on people who could memorize books. It is said that at one point only one monk had survived who could remember the Mahaniddesa. So close to oblivion were parts of the Pitaka.

Finally the monks voted in favor of keeping the memory of the teachings alive and thought that it is from the textual understanding that in later times the Dhamma could be realized again. They guessed that if they did achieve realization and all became Arahants maybe down the line the teacher-pupil transmission of knowledge would wither away and with it the entire Buddhist teaching.

The meditative monks were not happy with the decision in favor of book knowledge. But they did not voice their opposition though.

Now, 2100 years later, that ancient problem seems solved. Maybe not once and for all, but definitely for our current day and age. There are millions of copies of the original teachings of the Buddha. The pali canon is widely available on CDROM, as a download, web-based and in several book editions. Yes, you can even read it on ebook readers.

Scholars abound and dry scholastic knowledge on “Buddhism” swamps the bookshelves. Some deeper some more superficial - but it seems that the Tipitaka itself will be even better accessible to interested lay people and monks as the years pass by. More translations and magnificent editions are very likely to be sponsored by Buddhists around the globe. The benefits of a global interactive Southeast Asia and China - especially for Buddhists - are adamant.

Looking at the meditation / practice side in the Sangha though, we can only wonder: There is room for quite some improvement. Maybe you are the one who will make that difference!

Instead of going to the forests, young monks head to the streets, universities and political arena. A task made for lay life is taken over by laymen in robes, who, because of ignorance or boredom forsake the training grounds of frugality and virtue and the battlefields of insight and concentration for the semi-luxurious life of … well, laymen.

Don’t get this wrong. Sure, there is a great need for such and many other worldly activities. However, it is not what the banner of the Arahants was made for. And it is not just the Vinaya, but also conscience which should intervene.

Now, lets imagine if we would bring back to life those monks who created the distinction between “book” monks (ganthadhura) and meditative monks (vipassanadhura or dhutangikas) in the first place and who decided to spent most of the time handing down the texts, bound up by activities which are closer to the scholar than the practicioner: let us imagine that they would all come together to vote again, based on the current 21st century state of affairs.

Would they not unanimously vote in favor of realization, i.e. striving for Nibbana?! At that time, they knew what this Sasana stood for, and felt it and awkward deviation to book-learn instead to realize and guide others but reluctantly they ventured on this path, because in the long run, they thought, practice of the teachings and thus liberation of the mind would not be lost. And again: Videos, transcripts and dhamma talks of experienced meditative monks, that is what the lay and monk Sangha is in need of.

Should some monks have forgotten the real reason of the existence and foundation of the Sangha?

The Theravadin countries abound in monks/nuns an and perfect conditions for more or less intensive meditation practice. For the development of sila, samadhi and panna. However, the monk communities of Thailand, Sri Lanka, Burma etc. etc., seeing no need in handing down scriptures any more are now - for a big part, lost in monotheistic-like unreflected worship or political and social activism or they compete in scholarly activities with lay people.

While all those activities are and should be in the domain of lay people they need not, in the present day and age, be in the domain of monks. Exceptions may exemplify the rule. Of course. But in the end, to be honest, the robe is donned and a man or woman becomes the sun or daughter of the Buddha for the sake of Nibbana not Mannana.

Therefore, the world and heavens are always in need of teachers who master samatha and vipassana. And monks, nowadays, find the best resources they could possibly expect for once again making the realization of Nibbana and the end of samsaric suffering their paramount goal.:

‘‘Bhante, imasmiṃ sāsane kati dhurāni nāmā’’ti pucchi. Āvuso, vipassanādhuraṃ, ganthadhuranti. ‘‘Bhante, gantho nāma paṭibalassa bhāro, mayhaṃ pana dukkhūpanisā saddhā, vipassanādhuraṃ pūressāmi kammaṭṭhānaṃ me dethā’’ti vanditvā nisīdi. Thero ‘‘vattasampanno bhikkhū’’ti vattasīse ṭhatvā tassa kammaṭṭhānaṃ kathesi. So kammaṭṭhānaṃ gahetvā vipassanāya ca kammaṃ karoti, vattañca pūreti. Ekadivasaṃ cittalapabbatamahāvihāre vattaṃ karoti, ekadivasaṃ gāmeṇḍavālamahāvihāre, ekadivasaṃ gocaragāmamahāvihāre. Thinamiddhe okkantamatte vattaparihānibhayena palālavaraṇakaṃ temetvā sīse ṭhapetvā pāde udake otāretvā nisīdati. So ekadivasaṃ cittalapabbatamahāvihāre dve yāme vattaṃ katvā balavapaccūsakāle niddāya okkamituṃ āraddhāya allapalālaṃ sīse ṭhapetvā nisinno pācīnapabbatapasse sāmaṇerassa aruṇavatiyasuttantaṃ sajjhāyantassa –

‘‘Ārambhatha nikkamatha, yuñjatha buddhasāsane;

Dhunātha maccuno senaṃ, naḷāgāraṃva kuñjaro.

‘‘Yo imasmiṃ dhammavinaye, appamatto vihassati;

Pahāya jātisaṃsāraṃ, dukkhassantaṃ karissatī’’ti. (saṃ. ni. 1.185) –

Happy Vesakh B.E. 2552!

Can you feel the sense stream’s drag?

There are a couple of instances in the Pitaka, where the Buddha compares our moment to moment experience (zoom out and you would call it “life”) with a swift river.

In some similes he compares our journey from Samsara to Nibbana as crossing a stream and trying to reach the safe haven of “the other shore”.

But in some of those instances where the Buddha employs this simile, he actually puts us right in the middle of the water, comparing our moment to moment experience with a person caught in the middle of a wild mountain river.

Imagine yourself being washed away in a swift river, floating midstream. The waves push you up only to pull you down again. You are pulled under water, you may get close to drowning in the water. You stretch your legs and arms, paddling like crazy in the wild water just to find a hold on something. Catch something, grasp something to keep up with the pushing and pulling currents.

According to this simile (see below) each moment of our lives resembles such a scary situation. Because, in a certain sense, reality as such means constant change and the onslaught of sense impressions share a similarity with the currents of a stream. In order to “stay alive” we need to keep our head/ego above the water.

We could not live one moment, if sounds, thoughts, pictures, feelings would come into being and simply continue unchanged - never changing again. If such a thing would happen, there would be no thinking, no moving, no perceiving possible: Everything would freeze in a moment and unknowing eternity would be the result. Now, that is not the case. We know very well, that life comes with death and a new car will one day break. But on a much more intimate level, not one moment stays the same.

Because all life is a question of measurement of this against that, of object and subject …the sounds you hear, the pictures you see, the body you feel. It all is like a cocoon or a huge meshed echo of sense impressons and mental activity creating the seemingly robustness of a river in which you swim, but on zooming close to that little fellow in the water who so aptly learnt to survive in the waves you will see - that he is frantically trying to keep himself above the water in each moment of being…(that is the strange feeling in the back of your mind, deeply buried, that longing for final contentment which makes you skydive, found a family, go on demonstrations, buy new cloth…makes you “live” through objects).

So you try to keep your head above the water because of the fear of reality, because of the fear of:

• impermanence which seems to take away our foundations - whatever water we just splashed against to pull ourselves upwards will give way and we loose ground again
• exhaustion because of this eternal fight for being, fight for existence in a very fleeting fluid environment causes discontentment, unsatisfactoriness on a very deep level
• and emptiness, as there seems to be no lasting hold - not in the seen, not in the heard, not in the felt, not even in the thought, the water arround us is so merciless natural.

Now on the rivers edges towards which such a flood victim is pushed there are some plants which he will try to hold onto in order to keep his head above the water:

At Savatthi. There the Blessed One said, “Monks,suppose there were a river, flowing down from the mountains, going far, its current swift, carrying everything with it, and — holding on to both banks — kasa grasses, kusa grasses, reeds, birana grasses, & trees were growing. Then a man swept away by the current would grab hold of the kasa grasses, but they would tear away, and so from that cause he would come to disaster. He would grab hold of the kusa grasses… the reeds… the birana grasses… the trees, but they would tear away, and so from that cause he would come to disaster.

“In the same way, there is the case where an uninstructed, run-of-the-mill person — who has no regard for noble ones, is not well-versed or disciplined in their Dhamma; who has no regard for men of integrity, is not well-versed or disciplined in their Dhamma — assumes form (sense objects) to be the self, or the self as possessing form, or form as in the self, or the self as in form. That form tears away from him, and so from that cause he would come to disaster.

“He assumes feeling to be the self, or the self as possessing feeling - perception - preparations - consciousness, oror consciousness as in the self, or the self as in consciousness. That consciousness tears away from him, and so from that cause he would come to disaster. AN 22.93

A little bit later In the same discourse the Buddha goes on giving a vipassana instruction to the monks. Like we saw in prior posts he finally asks the monks to simply note whatever there is (appears in their meditation) :

“Thus, monks, any form whatsoever that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near: every form is to be seen as it actually is with right discernment [noting] as: ‘This is not mine. This is not my self. This is not what I am.’

The list of categories given here is not supposed to be a checklist. If you’d sit down and go through that list, trying “to think your way” through each of the phenomena in terms of “okay, let me see, what could a past feeling be” - doing it that way you would of course mean that you indulge in a number of feelings already NOT seeing them as they are but being hooked on them.

Instead “past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near” stands for “all possible” contents or “whatever the content be, which arises” or “regardless what form, feeling etc. you perceive”. A method where the insight meditator would disregard the “content” of the sense current and regardless of what the water would push under his nose he would exert himself NOT to hold it. Because holding / resting in a strong current brings disaster. The insight meditators approach instead is to simply acknowledge / note and then disregard it.

Now lets continue with this beautiful simile. How could that poor guy get out of the water?

It is like the insight meditator had someone standing on the shore of the river seeing him being carried along by the swift current. The man on the river would shout: Look, there! Not far from you there is an elevation in the river bed. If you make it against the current and paddle up there you can stand with your feet! You won’t loose any further ground! So not excepting the pushing and shoving of the water but simply letting it float through his empty hands to push forward he dives into the water against the current parting it in his effort (getting better and better while fighting forward) and coming closer and closer to that elevation.

What is his biggest obstacle before reaching that first safe elevation in the river from which a sand bank leads to the shore where the other man gave him such a helpful advice? Well, think of all the piranhas (bad company) and logs in the water (disease and sudden death) which may appear and knock him out immediately. Or him losing faith in the message or the man on the river before even trying to do as he suggested. And don’t forget his exhaustion after swimming against the stream!

It is sure that the odds are way against him arriving on that safe little island in the water.

Lets suppose he makes it nevertheless. Now feeling that high ground with his toes for the first time he immediate feels relief (stream entry). Doubt whether the man on the shore really was trying to help him subsides, because now he knows that the instructions where correct. He can experience it as a fact. Would other people still floating in the water belief him? They may or may not, there is no way to “proof” it to them, that his feet feel ground. The only way for others would be to follow in his footsteps (paccattam veditabbo vinnuhi). But again, although the feet touch the ground, he is still 3/4 under water and the sense stream and “in-fluxes” (a-sava, lit. in-streamings) will push him in one or the other direction. However, as strong as they may push, he cannot lose that ground, he knows this spot now, tugging his toe into the ground.

Eventually, going further up on that elevation in the river bed he still can feel the tugging of water currents, but now the water reaches only up to his hips (once returner)! The karmic pushing and pulling lost its power over him and those unwholesome influxes (effluents) like greed and hatred which used to helplessly push him in their direction carrying him with them loose their grip on him. He still feels their slight nudging against his legs, but that does not mean that he has to follow them, the water falls back, the foundation under his feet is sound.

Next comes the moment where he completely leaves the water (anagami). Losing contact with the water will probably feel funny after all that time in the river.

Eventually he will reach the shore and be in the same position as the man who helped him escape in the first place. His skin will completely dry. No water left. The stream will be a remote detached event for him…still be there, but somehow completely separate. A feeling of aloofness, of ultimate freedom and release from the state of being trapped in the river currents.

In the Anguttaranikaya we find a very interesting simile with a similar context. Here the Buddha uses the river simile to show the different stages of the enlightened ones who successfully escape the full force of the water, the streaming sense experience delivering karmic ups and downs:

‘‘Cattārome, bhikkhave, puggalā santo saṃvijjamānā lokasmiṃ. Katame cattāro? Anusotagāmī puggalo, paṭisotagāmī puggalo, ṭhitatto puggalo, tiṇṇo pāraṅgato thale tiṭṭhati brāhmaṇo. etc.:

“These four types of individuals are to be found existing in the world. Which four? The individual who goes with the flow, the individual who goes against the flow, the individual who stands fast, and the one who has crossed over, gone beyond, who stands on firm ground: a brahman.

“And who is the individual who goes with the flow? There is the case where an individual indulges in sensual passions and does evil deeds. This is called the individual who goes with the flow.

“And who is the individual who goes against the flow? There is the case where an individual doesn’t indulge in sensual passions and doesn’t do evil deeds. Even though it may be with pain, even though it may be with sorrow, even though he may be crying, his face in tears, he lives the holy life that is perfect & pure. This is called the individual who goes against the flow.

“And who is the individual who stands fast? There is the case where an individual, with the total ending of the first set of five fetters (Anagami), is due to be reborn [in the Pure Abodes], there to be totally unbound, never again to return from that world. This is called the individual who stands fast.

“And who is the individual who has crossed over (Arahant), gone beyond, who stands on firm ground: a brahman? There is the case where an individual, through the ending of the mental fermentations, enters & remains in the fermentation-free awareness-release & discernment-release, having known & made them manifest for himself right in the here & now. This is called the individual who has crossed over, gone beyond, who stands on firm ground: a brahman. AN 4.5

Ingredients of insight progress

Even at Buddha’s time insight meditators went through times of doubt regarding their meditation practice. In the following case one monk thought he might simply ask his fellow monks how they practice and solve his own uncertainty. Unfortunately, they practiced differently. What was he to do?

Read this nice episode found in the Samyuttanikaya; it has a happy end:

taṃ bhikkhuṃ etadavoca – ‘‘kittāvatā nu kho, āvuso, bhikkhuno dassanaṃ suvisuddhaṃ hotī’’ti? ‘‘Yato kho, āvuso, bhikkhu channaṃ phassāyatanānaṃ samudayañca atthaṅgamañca yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti, ettāvatā kho, āvuso, bhikkhuno dassanaṃ suvisuddhaṃ hotī’’ti.

He then asked the other monk: “How, now, dear brother, is one’s insight-vision very clear? (Or: how does my seeing/bare awareness/attention has to be. How do i need to observe in order to make progress?)” - “When you, brother, perceive [*NOTE BELOW] the rising and falling of the six sense realms as they become/as they are, then, o dear brother, such monk’s insight-vision is all cleared.

However, the monk was not satisfied with this response and went to his next fellow-ascetic…only to get a complete different answer. Lets not repeat the whole text here, because even the second answer dissatisfied him and he continued getting expert tips from a couple of meditating monks. In the end he was completely confused. Lets list all expert responses on what would make our insight vision an excellent one:

1. perceiving the rising and falling of the six sense realms as they are/or become
2. perceiving the rising and falling of the five groups of grasping as they are/or become
3. perceiving the rising and falling of the four great elements as they are/or become
4. perceiving thus: ‘whatever arises will vanish’ as it becomes

Now lets study this neat list of vipassana instructions. It is hard to say whether those developed over time and all derive from the Buddha or whether the Buddha used all at the same time just applying them to different characters/tastes. All of them share the following strong similarities:

In each case the activity involved is pajānāti - to perceive/know/mentally see one or the other ‘object’ in a way or in the manner of yathābhūtaṃ. This term, as we saw here, usually translated as ‘as it really is’ and that being not a wrong translation but it too has a literal nuance of ‘as has become’, ‘as came into being’ which seems not unimportant in the context of insight meditation.

Especially when we have a look at the various ‘objects’ stated as valid insight meditation topics: all of them describe our experiential moment-to-moment reality in certain ‘categories’ which all imply motion. A rising and a falling. A coming and a going. Not just in spatial terms (sound coming from a bird behind me) or time (sound coming and going over time) but at a deeper level even depending on consciousness itself…no consciousness there, no one knowing, then no ‘being’. But that is something for your meditation cushion.

Now all listed methods seem to be set up in the same way, except for the objects they ask the meditator to observe. That is probably giving our newbee vipassana monk a hard time. How to solve this? Meditate all at the same time? One after the other? One in the morning, one in the evening? Or create a new one according to personal tastes? All wrong! Before we show Buddha’s answer to this tricky question, lets quickly make sure we are all on the same page and go through those objects once again:

1. object: all six sense impressions (vision, hearing, smell, taste, tangibles, thoughts)
2. object: all five groups of grasping (form, feeling, perception, (mental) preparations, consciousness)
3. object: all four elements (heat, fluidness, air quality, hardness)
4. whatever there is, tagging it promptly

If you compare your own personal vipassana instructions (be it Mahasi, Pa Auk, Goenka, Nyanananda etc. etc.) with this list you would probably find yourself in either group number 4 using some kind of label or you would use 1. or 2. derived from or combined with using labels.

Not going into details, but there are quite some techniques out there which do forget that it is NOT JUST the object of concentration but the manner in which the objects are noted which is quite (shall we say, even more?) important. See the above paragraph where we dwelled a little bit on the similarities between these descriptions but we will make this maybe a separate posting another time. Just to close this second off-topic remark: Mental chatter, whatever the content be, is not “yathabhuta pajanati” but often conceived as such. Beware of the content, it catches you and invites you to take a rest on something.

Let us listen to how the Buddha resolves this “insight meditation technique competition”:

As he was sitting there he [reported to the Blessed One his conversations with the other monks. The Blessed One then said:]“Monk, it’s as if there were a man who had never seen a riddle tree (lit. ‘What is this’ - tree). He would go to another man who had seen one and, on arrival, would say to him, ‘What, my good man, is a riddle tree like?”

“The other would say, ‘A riddle tree is black, my good man, like a burnt stump.’ For at the time he saw it, that’s what the riddle tree was like. (Tena kho pana, bhikkhu, samayena tādisovassa kiṃsuko yathāpi tassa purisassa dassanaṃ)

“Then the first man, dissatisfied with the other man’s answer, went to still another man who had seen a riddle tree and, on arrival, said to him, ‘What, my good man, is a riddle tree like?’

“The other would say, ‘A riddle tree is red, my good man, like a lump of meat.’ For at the time he saw it, that’s what the riddle tree was like.

“Then the first man, dissatisfied with this man’s answer, went to still another man who had seen a riddle tree and, on arrival, said to him, ‘What, my good man, is a riddle tree like?’

“The other would say, ‘A riddle tree is stripped of its bark, my good man, and has burst pods, like an acacia tree.’ For at the time he saw it, that’s what the riddle tree was like.

“Then the first man, dissatisfied with this man’s answer, went to still another man who had seen a riddle tree and, on arrival, said to him, ‘What, my good man, is a riddle tree like?’

“The other would say, ‘A riddle tree has thick foliage, my good man, and gives a dense shade, like a banyan.’ For at the time he saw it, that’s what the riddle tree was like.

“In the same way, monk, however those intelligent men of integrity were focused (yathā yathā adhimuttānaṃ) when their vision became well purified is the way in which they answered. (Transl. by Bh. Thanissaro, SN 35, 204)

So the Buddhas answer is a very interesting one, and the simile has a humorous overtone. The tree, which dramatically changes it appearance over the course of the year ( Butea frondosa ) was called a “What is this tree” or Kimsu-ko tree, in Pali. That is beautiful: We may ask: What is this name and form and consciousness? How can we “name” and “label” it properly for others to understand what we mean, if it changes so dramatically. We could rightly call this mind a “What is this” - mind.

It is not easy, coming up with a systemization of such an illusive process as the perception of our world and how we identify from moment to moment and proliferate into concepts, thought-constructs and finally views. Buddha’s great achievement as a very good teacher was in part that his Dhamma made it easy for many to immediately get a very good understanding of what he was talking about. Even though talking about most subtle things.

Therefore, when we go back at the list of those 4 different objects, the Buddha asks us to “judge” them as essentially the same. He gives a hint towards the fact, that those categorization of the perceived “world” may just differ in a “temporal” perception of basically one and the same process / thing: The process we experience and the perception of our world in each moment.

In our vipassana practice we could start with simple tags like “whatever arises will vanish” noting whatever arises to our attention and immediately see, when doing it, certain facts which we did not realize before. Just by repeatedly stopping and thus prolonging a sense processing sequence we allow this direct insight to grow into “wisdom” of what is really going on.

Applying this perceiving process of noting to whatever arises we eventually will witness the workings of illusive elements which are hidden behind form and are “sensed” only trough the poking of many sense impressions, or get to see feelings and perception and thoughts arise and pass away individually. Or we might even break down the frame rate further and perceive the six sense realms in yet another level of observation of the one and same tree changing its appearance.

Moral of the story: Make sure that the fundamentals of your technique (yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti) as such are correct and whatever is the object of your insight meditation will play only a secondary role (and, like in this case, may just be related to how quick or slow your “swing-by” in the moment was).

—

* perceive - seems like good translation for ‘pajānāti’. Using this one the noun pannya would than become ‘Perceiving’ instead of ‘Wisdom’ … that makes so much more sense… the English word ‘wisdom’ sounds like an old man’s experience…but that is clearly not meant by Buddhist pannya. This context makes it clear that pannya, or ‘wisdom’ in the Buddhist sense is a direct ‘perceiving’ of reality - not perception though, perceiving, or the ability to perceive.

Smiling like the morning sun

The story of the elder Mahāmitta:

The elder Mahāmitta, as they say, dwelled in the “plougher cave”. Close to the cave was a little village where he went for alms. An old lady cared for him like her own son and was serving him food when he came begging for alms. One day she went into the forest with her daughter and told her:

“My dear, tomorrow i will prepare a special meal, made from rice, milk, molasse and palm sugar. Having prepared it i will offer it to our dear monk Mitta, and you shall have some too, i will just eat the left-over with sour gruel.” - “But dear mother, what will be left for you to eat during the day?” - “A leaf soup is all that will be necessary for me, my dear.”

Now it so happened that the elder had dressed in his robes taken his alms bowl and was on his way to the village when he on his way trough the forest walking towards the village overheard their conversation.

“This great Upasika (lay devotee) is content with a sour gruel while she reserves the fine rice for me. During the day she lives on a leaf soup! And she does not give because she longs for material gains like property, dresses, food or riches. No, she gives because she hopes to attain to the three attainments of Nibbana (stream entry, once return and no-return). Can you, Mitta, help her gain those attainments or do you not? You can definitely not help her gain those attainments if you receive her food with your own mind still bound by lust, hatred and delusion.”

With that thought he put back his alms bowl into its pouch, loosened the robe strap and went back to his cave. He stowed the bowl under his wooden bed frame, hung the upper robe over the robe bar and said: “I will not leave this place before i have not attained to Arahantship“. Thus he sat down declaring his determination.

The whole night he spent with intense alertness as a humble begger-monk (bhikkhu) developing his insight and attained to Arahantship in the early morning of the following day.

Like a slowly opening lotus leaf this great being now free from influxes released a slight smile on his face.

A tree goddess, living at the entrance of the cave and having witnessed what had happened, sung, on thi occasion, the following verses:

“I worship thee o holy man, I worship thee o best of all,

Who terminated influx free, is worthy now of every gift!”

After singing those verses she addressed him, saying: “Dear Sir, a holy monk like yourself can offer an elder lady a way to free herself from suffering, if you give her an opportunity for generosity.” The elder then got up from his seat, and opened the door to his cave. He looked at the sun and recognized the time as being morning. He took bowl and upper robe and left for the village.

Her daughter had prepared the meal in the meantime and was very excited. Many times she thought that the brother had come and she got up from her seat only to find out that he still had not arrived. When the elder arrived at her door, she took his bowl, filled his alms bowl with the delicious meal and placed it in his hands. The elder thanked her, saying: “May you be well and happy!” and left. For quite some time she stood there, watching him leave.

“Somehow the skin of our elder seems to be brighter today then before, his complexion was so fair, his face and demeanor radiated like a young palm fruit…”

When her mother returned from the work in the forest, she asked her daughter: “Did your brother come?” Her daughter told her what she had seen. Hearing this the Upasika knew: “Today certainly my son has fulfilled his duty for which he went into homelessness” and said to her daugther: “Happy, my dear, is our brother in the teachings of the Buddha, not dissatisfied.”

AN Commy. PTS p. 2.59 as well as MN Commy. PTS p. 1.294

Dassanabhumi - studies in context II

Continuing on where i stopped the other day, i was amazed to see the interpretation of the next line of the Sutta Nipata by our alleged Mahakaccayana:

‘‘Paññā ceva sati ca,

Nāmarūpañca mārisa;

Etaṃ me puṭṭho pabrūhi, katthetaṃ uparujjhatī’’ti.

‘‘Yametaṃ pañhaṃ apucchi, ajita taṃ vadāmi te;

Yattha nāmañca rūpañca, asesaṃ uparujjhati;

Viññāṇassa nirodhena, etthetaṃ uparujjhatī’’ti. (see Snip for a translation)

Ayaṃ pañhe anusandhiṃ pucchati. Anusandhiṃ pucchanto kiṃ pucchati? Anupādisesaṃ nibbānadhātuṃ

This question was raised in allusion. To which alludes this question? To the nibbana state without residual clinging.

Of course, after clarifying which role mindfulness and “knowing” (paññā) play in the day to day life of an insight meditator or enlightened being the question comes up what happens if even these things vanish?

Paññā and sati are still part of some mental activity going on and it is here that the Buddha says, well, you are right Ajita, name-and-form will cease to be if consciousness ceases to be.

Mahakaccayana expounding on this verse rightfully and excitingly refers to the “Anupādisesaṃ nibbānadhātuṃ” the nibbanic state without residual clinging. Nowadays this term is usually interpreted as some beyond-life nibbana (paradise/realm) but - as Ven. Nyanananda points out in a couple of his Nibbana sermons, that does not make much sense and in fact this type of “element” or “state” refers to the meditative attainment an arahant can enter even during his life - (which, at his death, eventually will lead to no rebirth).

While talking about this the Netti brings up two words: Dassanabhumi and Bhavanabhumi. Plane of seeing and plane of development. Down the road those two terms are explained to mean a stream winner (dassanabhumi) and the rest of the enlightened ones (bhavanabhumi). So, the thing which sets the stream enterer apart from both the common folk (puthujjana) without training and also from those with higher attainments is the fact that he had this first initial realization in form of “seeing”. “Seeing things as they are, you might say. Seeing the rising and falling very clearly. And the lasting effect of this “breakthrough in thoughtless self-observation”. The transformation in his case, or better the special ability distinguishing him from everyone below that “rank” is his ability to “see” what is going on.

Of course that power of real-time seeing how his six senses operate did not come for free. It involved a process of insight meditation - maybe even for months, years or life-times. Nevertheless i was curious and did a search on this term, as it seemed not to be part of the sutta-vocabulary, and i just wanted to make sure where else this term was used in the pitaka.

And guess what the results of this search were? Yes, only Petakopadesa and Nettipakarana use these terms.

Both books are really so close in terms of content discussed and style of presentation. IMHO they read like “notes” someone took while listening to Ven. Mahakaccayana teaching and explaining the Buddha’s teachings to the lay people and monks in Avanti- and then of course they “suffered” being handed down over two or three centuries in an “unauthorized” fashion before being admitted to the Pali Canon and frozen in their current state. Together with the Patisambhidamagga and maybe Milindapanha they give a pretty good second angle on the early suttas and discourses of the Buddha and that is probably why Buddhaghosa rests so strongly on them when he edited his Visuddhimagga and the commentaries…

Anyway, looking up the parallel topic in the Petakopadesa (PTS, pp. 135) this little jewel differentiated those 4 stages of enlightenment even further. Hold on, this is very exciting (at least for me):

So, the thing which differentiates every yet “unenlightened person” from what the stream-enterer is, is a “seeing”. One could say, the thing most noticeable for a sotapanna would thus be his newly gained ability to “see” what is going on…something those not sharing this stage can only “wonder” about but not really experience, well, obviously, because they need to go through the same process of realization.

Now, what would the once returner come up with as the most noticeable description of him realizing the second stage. According to the meditation-knowledge captured and handed down by the petakopadesa the once-returner would say:”Hey, wow, this (emotions of greed and hate) has become less” (Tanubhūmi) - the stage of lessening.

What is next? Again continuing with insight meditation, going through the nyanas, at some point the next realization would among other things make the Anagami say something like: “Wow, greed and hatred are completely gone. No trace of them left” (Vītarāgabhūmi). So, this would really distinguish the Anagami from an once returner. Can we imagine how such a mental state would “feel like”? Well, only if we probably reach to that stage.

The final Arahant level of spheres where one is destined to live one’s last life is summarized in the term katābhūmi. So the Arahant gained this special extra knowledge that he “is done” (kata). He knows it. No second guessing. Like the Stream-enterer “sees it” the Arahant simply “knows that he is done”. We might think that such a knowledge is just interfered or conceptualized…but even the stage of a stream-enterer already seems to be - although so close - so far away at the same time.

Think of someone climbing up a hill. He comes back and talks about a certain cliff he stood on and “seeing”/”looking at” our most beautiful valley. Well, there you are, sitting in the same valley he talks about, but you never went up that hill, you have absolutely no clue of what he is talking about, you can only imagine it, because once you climbed on top of your roof - but that was the highest point your attachment let you get away from your dear home.

Then comes the second guy talking about an even higher cliff where the atmosphere becomes “so thin”. Now you and number one wonder what that person is talking about. But while you still wonder, another guy comes along who went even further up the mountain, where there is only ice and he could not even see the valley any longer, the clouds making everything below him look just serene and peaceful. And eventually all of them meet the last wanderer, who climbed on top of that mountain and tells them about reaching and standing there on a mountain peak. Of course, there might be such a thing, you wonder, but how does he know that there is no higher path leading up? Well, how should he explain, that standing on that top, you simply know: “this is the top”.

So, anyway, apologizing for this crude simile, but the nice “keywords” only found in the Netti and Petakopadesa describing those four stages of enlightenment seem to portrait them in a very valuable and experiential manner, adding additional insight into the suttas.

Anusayā - studies in context

Caveat: This post is probably very boring for most of you. However, if you manage to read it, you might a.)get a clearer picture what anusayā (’latent tendencies’) are and b.)see how one can arrive at filling pali terms with meaning and ‘life’ by using context search and relating the findings to ones own meditation practice. So, this is more like a journal entry than an article. Skip it, if you like.

Today studying the Nettipakarana (trying to figure out whether it is older than the Petakopadesa. Not really, on a second thought, trying to figure out which of the two is more relevant with regard to actual practice…both seem to have either had a common work they were based on…but looking at the magnificent memorization of the rest of the suttas, i can only think that their original work was something handed down besides the main texts in a more sloppy way…if you ask me, this may have been the instructions given by Ven. Mahakaccayana himself, who resided in Avanti during Buddhas time and based lots of his instructions on the Parayana and Atthakavagga of the Sutta Nipata…I am thinking that his pupils may have memorized some of his remarks and teachings and handed them down separately…being remote as they were from the heartlands of originating Buddhism. But after 100 years or so this text may have had “suffered” a couple of alternate versions, being not as authorized like Ven. Ananandas first council version. Think of the episode of that monk who heard about the council but preferred to just stick to what he himself had heard from the Buddha…no need to try tracing this text to some Mahayana source…they may well have had copies of these versions too…). So, studying the Netti i came across this passage:

‘‘Yāni sotāni lokasmiṃ, [ajitāti bhagavā,]

Sati tesaṃ nivāraṇaṃ;

Sotānaṃ saṃvaraṃ brūmi, paññāyete pidhīyare’’ti.

Paññāya anusayā pahīyanti, anusayesu pahīnesu pariyuṭṭhānā pahīyanti. Kissa [tassa (sī.)], anusayassa pahīnattā? Taṃ yathā khandhavantassa rukkhassa anavasesamūluddharaṇe kate pupphaphalapallavaṅkurasantati samucchinnā bhavati. Evaṃ anusayesu pahīnesu pariyuṭṭhānasantati samucchinnā bhavati pidahitā paṭicchannā. Kena? Paññāya. Tenāha bhagavā ‘‘paññāyete pidhīyare’’ti.

Kāyagatāya satiyā bhāvitāya bahulīkatāya cakkhu nāviñchati manāpikesu rūpesu, amanāpikesu na paṭihaññati, sotaṃ…pe… ghānaṃ… jivhā… kāyo… mano nāviñchati manāpikesu dhammesu, amanāpikesu na paṭihaññati. Kena kāraṇena? Saṃvutanivāritattā indriyānaṃ. Kena te saṃvutanivāritā? Satiārakkhena. Tenāha bhagavā – ‘‘sati tesaṃ nivāraṇa’’nti.

The verse is of course from the Sutta Nipata, Ajitas question to the Buddha. Like most of the Parayana very relevant to practice. This one is interesting because it talks about sati (mindfulness) just keeping the sense doors under control and then talking about panna, which is supposed to finish the job.

I guess if this is really from Mahakaccayana, he would not cite the suttas in the Samyutta where they talk about him how he uses the parayana for instructions. You would rather think that this Netti or Petakopadesa IS (part) of the instructions he used to give to the newly converted Buddhists in Avanti. Have to check this on reading more of both books.

Anyhow the “Kāyagatāya satiyā” part can easily be traced to the Salayatana in the Samyutta. Interesting though: not the exact same wording there:

Evameva kho, bhikkhave, yassa kassaci bhikkhuno kāyagatāsati bhāvitā bahulīkatā, taṃ cakkhu nāviñchati manāpiyesu rūpesu, amanāpiyā rūpā nappaṭikūlā honti…pe… jivhā nāviñchati manāpiyesu rasesu…pe… mano nāviñchati manāpiyesu dhammesu, amanāpiyā dhammā nappaṭikūlā honti. Evaṃ kho, bhikkhave, saṃvaro hoti.

So, either there existed different wordings of this discourse of the Buddha at the time the Netti was compiled, or Mahakaccayana had a different memory. Semantically the same meaning..Its like you hear someone talking about “he is not repelled by” and you remember it as “he is not pulled back from” unappealing sense impressions…

But i was even more interested in the former part about paññā. It says that through paññā (usually rendered as ‘wisdom’) the anusayā vanish. If they vanish, then the grasp-arounds of your mind will vanish. pariyutthana meaning something like posessed by. Like when you are in a rage or long after something and ‘completely forget yourself’ …that is why, looking up pariyutthana in the tipitaka i found most explanations in commentaries giving kilesa (defilements) as a synonym. If you are taken over by a reaction usual that results in negative impulses like greed, conceit, malice, discontent etc. etc. Lots of thoughts.

It says that if the anusayas are destroyed (pahiyanti…fading away) you will never ‘forget yourself’ again. Then it gives the simile of a tree. The tree destroyed, all flower, fruits etc. the whole continuation (are you are frequent reader of this blog. if so, you may see a connection here with the last post) is without grounds and will cease to exist.

Then comes the fun part: How? kissa? Answer: paññā.

Well, thinking: paññā, the verb is pajānāti, used very very often in describing the noting process “iti pajnatāi” - in terms of vipassana, labeling something as imperment and seeing it that way. What if the translation of simply ‘wisdom’ does not carry this connotation? How about ‘Knowing’. The ability to just “know” clearly what is going on…at any time. Hm, worth a separate posting.

So, there is this anusaya still, difficult strange word. You can sense its experiential origin. Literal meaning is something like the “following or lying after” depending on which translation you go with. Its connotations are usually that of some inherent tendency, thus modern translations as “latent tendency”.

Looking up “anusayā pahīyanti” i wonder. Hm, except for a few cryptic passages in the AN mostly commentarial works taking this pair up. Looking at the AN passage i find this:

Puna caparaṃ, āvuso, bhikkhu samathavipassanaṃ yuganaddhaṃ bhāveti. Tassa samathavipassanaṃ yuganaddhaṃ bhāvayato maggo sañjāyati. So taṃ maggaṃ āsevati bhāveti bahulīkaroti. Tassa taṃ maggaṃ āsevato bhāvayato bahulīkaroto saṃyojanāni pahīyanti, anusayā byantīhonti.

Well, this passage is quite known. One of the few talking in samathavipassana terms. We have to look at the commentarial explanation on this one in another post! Has a beautiful vipassana practice description for a commentary. But i was under the impression that anusayā appears more often. So another search on this term. Lets get the context straight:

anusayā … 779 occurances, in 56 books.

Okay, that is enough. The term is well established, all over the place, even just looking at the plural. So definitely used by the Buddha in one form or the other himself. Lets try to get a clearer picture of its meaning. After all, if this “drys up” through “knowing” we will not get into states of “bewilderment” anymore where some series of thoughts would have power and sway over the “knowing” ability of the mind as developed by progress in insight meditation. DN:

Satta anusayā – kāmarāgānusayo, paṭighānusayo, diṭṭhānusayo, vicikicchānusayo, mānānusayo, bhavarāgānusayo, avijjānusayo

Next came the samyojanas…in the list. Not the first time. They really seem to belong together…So here is the list of “latent tendencies” which we “follow after” that will lead to a mental obsession. Sensual desire, repelling, views (opinions), doubt (insecurity), ego (conceit), desire to exist (to be) and lack of knowledge (of raise and fall).

So, can you think of anything which could possession of you if these 7 guys are missing? Can we envision a mind with such a strong faculty of “always knowing” that it will not be trapped by those? Okay, that would mean to envision the mind of an arahant…

Looking for more descriptions of anusaya:

‘‘Kathaṃ nu kho…pe… anusayā samugghātaṃ gacchantī’’ti? ‘‘Cakkhuṃ kho, bhikkhu, anattato jānato passato anusayā samugghātaṃ gacchanti…pe… sotaṃ… ghānaṃ… jivhaṃ… kāyaṃ… manaṃ… dhamme… manoviññāṇaṃ… manosamphassaṃ… yampidaṃ manosamphassapaccayā uppajjati vedayitaṃ sukhaṃ vā dukkhaṃ vā adukkhamasukhaṃ vā tampi anattato jānato passato anusayā samugghātaṃ gacchanti. Evaṃ kho, bhikkhu, jānato evaṃ passato anusayā samugghātaṃ gacchantī’’ti. Sattamaṃ

Hey! The SN supports Ven. Kaccayanas definition of panna solving the problem. Nice triangulation. So here it is the seeing of emptiness in the six sense realm that leads to the desctruction of anusayas. Panna is here to be identified as “tampi anattato jānato passato”. It says that the anusayā will go to their destruction “samugghātaṃ gacchanti”.

And the next search for anusaya turns this up. Very nice too:

Cha, bhikkhave, ānisaṃse sampassamānena alameva bhikkhunā sabbasaṅkhāresu anodhiṃ karitvā dukkhasaññaṃ upaṭṭhāpetuṃ. Katame cha? ‘Sabbasaṅkhāresu ca me nibbidasaññā paccupaṭṭhitā bhavissati, seyyathāpi ukkhittāsike vadhake. Sabbalokā ca me mano vuṭṭhahissati, nibbāne ca santadassāvī bhavissāmi, anusayā ca me samugghātaṃ gacchissanti [gacchanti (pī. ka.)], kiccakārī ca bhavissāmi, satthā ca me pariciṇṇo bhavissati mettāvatāyā’ti.

Very descriptive of a meditation process. Do you see how it uses “sampassamānena” to see completely the advantage in. How does he “see”. He uses / repeats a reflection in direct speech. This would be a further addon to our iti and sallakkheti post. And here “Sabbalokā ca me mano vuṭṭhahissati” - these are descriptions of some of the results of his insight meditation. And also “kiccakārī” - done what i was supposed to do…do my duty. . Look at the post of “as a Buddhist. why meditate”. Dhamma as the raft not a Venice on the waters.

But when reading something like this:

‘‘Sukhāya kho, āvuso visākha, vedanāya rāgānusayo anuseti, dukkhāya vedanāya paṭighānusayo anuseti, adukkhamasukhāya vedanāya avijjānusayo anusetī’’ti.

What follows a pleasant feeling after each sense impression (on which they are based)? You would not say what “tends latent after each pleasant feeling”. Or would you? No, it is simplicity which makes the suttas so convincing…their talking about real experiences people had 2550 years ago…their discoveries.

So here we would then say that desire follows (anu-s-eti) a pleasant feeling, or: a pleasant feeling is followed by a desire-following. . Thats what it is. So the “anusayas” are “followings” (lit. go after). What follows rudimentary feelings of pleasant and unpleasantness. Some are followed by lust, others by rejection, others by doubt, others by opinions…

If that is not the case in the case of an arahant is mind is doing what exactly? Just experiencing seeing, hearing, … thinking? Experiencing the feelings. Period. Nothing which follows that.

Next search turns up Malunkyaputta sutta in MN. The simile of the baby having no anusayas. This is subtle but it seems the Buddha stresses the point that the baby would still “follow after” if it had such concepts like person, or views etc. So it is that running after whatever presents itself to the mind after experiencing a pleasant or unpleasant sense impression which even the baby has. That is why it will cry when it falls, bewailing its lost pacifier etc etc. The baby like the old deluded cannot “see” what happens to them in a real-time fashion, which separates them from the ariyans. Note: even in this context Buddha uses pariyutthena.

This gives us another great view on the topic:

‘‘Cakkhuñca, bhikkhave, paṭicca rūpe ca uppajjati cakkhuviññāṇaṃ, tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso, phassapaccayā uppajjati vedayitaṃ sukhaṃ vā dukkhaṃ vā adukkhamasukhaṃ vā. So sukhāya vedanāya phuṭṭho samāno abhinandati abhivadati ajjhosāya tiṭṭhati. Tassa rāgānusayo anuseti. Dukkhāya vedanāya phuṭṭho samāno socati kilamati paridevati urattāḷiṃ kandati sammohaṃ āpajjati. Tassa paṭighānusayo anuseti. Adukkhamasukhāya vedanāya phuṭṭho samāno tassā vedanāya samudayañca atthaṅgamañca assādañca ādīnavañca nissaraṇañca yathābhūtaṃ nappajānāti. Tassa avijjānusayo anuseti. So vata, bhikkhave, sukhāya vedanāya rāgānusayaṃ appahāya dukkhāya vedanāya paṭighānusayaṃ appaṭivinodetvā adukkhamasukhāya vedanāya avijjānusayaṃ asamūhanitvā avijjaṃ appahāya vijjaṃ anuppādetvā diṭṭheva dhamme dukkhassantakaro bhavissatīti – netaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati.

So here we have the whole series. A form aligns with the see-faculty and see-consciousness in what is called “contact”. A feeling arises which if pleasant may be followed by a number of affirmative reactions. This is the “raganusayo” the “follow after of desire”. So anusayo works as a placeholder for positive or negative reactions and unawareness in case of neutral feelings.

So why not then call this “follow” something like planning and thinking about the sense experience one had. Have a look at the next search result and be “positively surprised”:

‘‘No ce, bhikkhave, ceteti no ce pakappeti, atha ce anuseti, ārammaṇametaṃ hoti viññāṇassa ṭhitiyā. Ārammaṇe sati patiṭṭhā viññāṇassa hoti. Tasmiṃ patiṭṭhite viññāṇe virūḷhe āyatiṃ punabbhavābhinibbatti hoti. Āyatiṃ punabbhavābhinibbattiyā sati āyatiṃ jātijarāmaraṇaṃ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā sambhavanti. Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.

This passage from the Nidanavagga in SN shows that “follow” is really something more subtle than just thinking about. You experience a pleasant feeling eating ice cream. Now usually this may result in lots of thoughts and planning: How much more, when was the last time, how do the others like this…etc.” But this passage says, even if your mind would be withouth thoughts…there may still be a “following after”. Which is what? It is like the surge of the mind running after or emphasizing those sense impressions which this pleasant or unpleasant feeling derives from. All following sense impressions seem to come into a “special spotlight”. Not just awareness or attention, but they are sought after. So we might even translate as “seeking after” instead of “following”. Or probably just “following”, thus denoting some kind of silent but perceivable effort/wish/drag of the mind “to continue with it” (be it negative or positive).

So the arahant is like the tree in the winter forest, experiencing the drops of snow flakes unmovable but as they come and the rest of us are like kids, sometimes standing there and experiencing them like the tree but most of the time chasing one or the other which caught our special attention.

Summing up: Reading the tipitaka in context rather than book after book can definitely enhance understanding. You would be able to do the same without a computer, of course, if you would memorize the tipitaka by heart, like in the ancient days..or some monks these days.

Karma and stock price action

Thinking about karma (pali: kamma), many people entertain a popular notion that your past bad and good karma is similar to a bag pack which you carry with you. On occasion the understanding of kamma also comes pretty close to some kind of retribution system.

Faced with the question how kamma is passed on from life to life if there is no soul carrying a basket of good and bad deeds many wondered how to get a better understanding of what karma is.

After all, kamma seems to be such a good way of explaining all kinds of inequalities in life: The beauty and the ugly, the rich and the poor, the dumb and the smart, the short and long lived…it makes so much more sense, if we introduce a natural moral law and let cause and effect do the work they do elsewhere pretty reliably.

In the Milindapanha, the Western (Greek) schooled king Menandros (yes, ‘Western’ Theravada is quite old and started in India ) had his own hard time understanding karma and asked the Buddhist monk Ven. Nagasena this question:

8. Rājā āha ‘‘bhante nāgasena, iminā nāmarūpena kammaṃ kataṃ kusalaṃ vā akusalaṃ vā, kuhiṃ tāni kammāni tiṭṭhantī’’ti? ‘‘Anubandheyyuṃ kho, mahārāja, tāni kammāni chāyāva anapāyinī’’ti [anupāyinīti (ka.)]. ‘‘Sakkā pana, bhante, tāni kammāni dassetuṃ ‘idha vā idha vā tāni kammāni tiṭṭhantī’’’ti? ‘‘Na sakkā, mahārāja, tāni kammāni dassetuṃ ‘idha vā idha vā tāni kammāni tiṭṭhantī’’’ti. ‘‘Opammaṃ karohī’’ti.

The king said: “Bhante Nagasena, these deeds - wholesome or unwholesome - which are done by this name and form, where do they stay?” - “They are bound after, o great king, those deeds, they follow one like a shadow.” - “But can one, Bhante, point out those deeds, saying: ‘Here or there do these deeds exist’? ” - “One cannot, o great king, point out those deeds, saying: ‘Here or there do these deeds exist’” - “Give me an example”.

Especially remarkable is Ven. Nagasenas answer:

‘‘Taṃ kiṃ maññasi, mahārāja, yānimāni rukkhāni anibbattaphalāni, sakkā tesaṃ phalāni dassetuṃ ‘idha vā idha vā tāni phalāni tiṭṭhantī’’’ti. ‘‘Na hi, bhante’’ti. ‘‘Evameva kho, mahārāja, abbocchinnāya santatiyā na sakkā tāni kammāni dassetuṃ ‘idha vā idha vā tāni kammāni tiṭṭhantī’ti.

‘‘Kallosi, bhante nāgasenā’’ti. (Milindapanha, PTS 72)

“What do you think, o great king, of all those trees around here which do not yet bear fruits: can one point them out, saying: ‘Here or there do these fruits exist?’ - ‘Of course not, Bhante’. - In exact the same way, o great king, it is through an unbroken continuation that one cannot point out those deeds, saying: ‘Here or there do these deeds exist’”.

Let us try to build on this answer with a rather modern but amazingly fitting simile: The stock market. For this i would like you to have a look at the chart below, which displays an actual stock chart with its typical ups and downs - distributed among larger trendlines:

Now according to Venerable Nagasena, kamma is something like an built-in (genetic) program. He compares it to the process of growing fruits - which yet do not exist, but are pre-programmed to develop.

Having a look at the stock chart, we might even compare it to the built-in movements a stock price is subjected to while at the same time gravitating towards levels of support, shrinking from levels of resistence and overall following stronger trends.

Without going into details, let us think of an unwholesome deed based on evil intentions as creating a downward inclination. Now the foundation for a bear market has been laid, the foundation for more evil and unwholesome sense impressions to flood into our life and a falling price resembles each moment of life, a series of transactions, a series of rises and falls of sense impressions - but their general trend has now been established by this karmic intention and is pointing largely in one direction: downwards.

Within this large trend (say we killed someone for very mean reasons) there will definitely be moments of upward movements as well. Sometimes it may even look as if the bad karma done has no impact (yet), our life seems to go up for a while. However, this is just based on some other prior positive trends - like a stock price our life will hardly ever move in straight lines. So many past impressions and intentions left their imprints like ripples and waves on a lake.

But to stay with the simile: There is always an expectation to come back to former levels or grounds. Our overall morality seems not to have suffered right away even after maybe a very unwholesome deed, but this one big breach, this setting the downward trend, eventually, was so strong, that it will drag the price down. In this or the next life (depending on past conditions, depending on each and every next step).

Now the fascinating thing with this comparison, is the fact, that if you zoom in and look at the individual transactions between buyers and sellers, you cannot “see” the big trend in each sale - as you cannot see the big trends in each moment of your life, in the moments of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, feeling, thinking. But the trend itself cannot exist without those individual moments either.

It is this inherent quality, inherent inclination which the simile given by Ven. Nagasena so nicely captures. Also, looking at our stock chart, we can see such an inherent power of trends. They are based on individual moments, but they are not individual moments. No individual sale carries a “bag” of the minor and larger trends it is part of and yet…it is a part of and creates those trends.

So, in each good life and bad life lived, there are smaller and larger trends. We could say then, that in our current life we enjoy a series of uninterrupted transactions within and without, by seeing, hearing etc. and our intention in each single case is like a little plus or a little minus. Sometimes, like in a real world stock movement, there are those shocking sales…we transgress the five precepts (sila) pointed out by the Buddha and thus set something in motion which we should better have stayed away from.

But it also tells us, that regardless how bad the current situation might look like, it is never to late to start with a change in trend. And even if our “wholesome” rallies may just be short lived…the more we do good, definitely, the further up our price will go:

Māvamaññetha puññassa, “Na mantaṃ āgamissati.”
Udabindunipātena udakumbhopi pūrati.
Dhīro pūrati puññassa, thokaṃ thokampi ācinaṃ.
Audio: http://pariyatti.com/downloads/dwob/dhammapada_9_122.mp3

Think not lightly of good, saying, “It will not come to me.”
Drop by drop is the water pot filled.
Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little,
fills himself with good.

Dhammapada 9.122
http://tipitaka.org/romn/cscd/s0502m.mul8.xml#para122

Take a look at the following video. If you never saw real-time stock price movement, this post may sound strange at first. Compare the chart in the upper left in the following video to a “karmic” lifeline and compare the lower right table to the flickering of sense impressions in each moment of life (it is an actual buy and sell window of shares in real-time; comes pretty close to the activity going on in our six sense world, doesn’ it?)

Note: What about the karmic activity of Arahants? Think of companies who are so boring (no news) that the volume of transactions dries up, the buyers and sellers leave the stock alone, its price chart soon resembles the EKG of a corpse and eventually the company declares bankruptcy. Sounds a bit negative? Well, Samsara is action and excitement, lots of ups and downs. Nibbana is peace. Like samsara - the stock market could not “exist” if it was not for its inherent impermanence, tension and soullessness (mechanicalness).

The hidden meaning of ‘yathabhuta’

In the context of liberating wisdom the Buddha frequently employs a term called “yathabhuta” when describing the practice of insight meditation.

Usually this term is translated as “as it really is”. So, a passage like this:

Sāvatthinidānaṃ. ‘‘Rūpaṃ, bhikkhave, anattā. Yadanattā taṃ ‘netaṃ mama, nesohamasmi, na meso attā’ti evametaṃ yathābhūtaṃ sammappaññāya daṭṭhabbaṃ. Vedanā anattā… saññā anattā… saṅkhārā anattā… viññāṇaṃ anattā. Yadanattā taṃ ‘netaṃ mama, nesohamasmi, na meso attā’ti evametaṃ yathābhūtaṃ sammappaññāya daṭṭhabbaṃ. Evaṃ passaṃ…pe… nāparaṃ itthattāyāti pajānātī’’ti. Chaṭṭhaṃ.

…is usually translated as:

I heard thus. At one time the Blessed One was living in the monastery offered by Anathapindika in Jeta’s grove in Savatthi. From there the Blessed One addressed the monks: Monks, matter [sic] lacks self, that which lacks self is not mine it is not I or my self. This should be seen as it really is, with right wisdom. - Feelings - perceptions - Intentions - Consciousness is not self. - Monks, the noble disciple seeing it thus turns from matter, turns from feelings, turns from perceptions, turns from intentions, and turns from consciousness. Turning, [he] is calmed and released. Knowledge arises: I am released; birth is destroyed, the holy life is lived to the end, and I know there is nothing more to wish.’ SN 21. 1. 2. 6.

The above paragraph, of which the Khandha and Salayatana chapter of the SN are filled with (in various variations, interspersed by similes and explanations) are vipassana meditation instructions. But, do we realize that when reading English (or other translations) of those passages? Can you discover a clear meditation instruction in the English paragraph above?

The paragraph starts out with an instruction (see the sentence in italics above) and continues to apply the same kind of instruction to either of the 5 groups of grasping or, in case of the Salayatana chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya, to the six sense impressions. In both instances the description makes it clear that whatever experience arises to the meditator it has to be dealt with in the way the instruction outlines.

Finally in the last part of the above paragraph, the result is mentioned. It is a short form of the elaborate 16 stages of insight knowledge culminating in the realization of nibbana.

Let us have a closer look at this instruction part and -at the same time- give an alternative (more literal) translation:

Yadanattā taṃ ‘netaṃ mama, nesohamasmi, na meso attā’ti evametaṃ yathābhūtaṃ sammappaññāya daṭṭhabbaṃ

Whatever is void of self of that (think): “This is not mine. This am i not. This is not my self.” So is this as soon as it/as far as it has become (come into existance) (yathābhūtaṃ) to be seen (daṭṭhabbaṃ ) with right/correct wisdom.

A couple of observations. daṭṭhabbaṃ or ‘to be seen’ does literally mean what it says: looking. There is only one way to see these things, and that is in a meditative session/environment. The verb does not say “think” or “conceptualize” or “reflect” or “analyse” and you will attain to Nibbana. No, it clearly says that you have to see these phenomena in a certain fashion, with right wisdom.

Now, even “right wisdom” would be an empty phrase if we do not know how we should see them in our meditation. Well, we don’t have to look far, everything is right in front of us, explained in this little paragraph. However, and that is the special point of this posting, the simple non-literal translation of “yathabhuta” with “as it really is” does not help in the context of meditation. It is not completely wrong either, but if we go word for word and consider some other facts, the meaning behind yathabhuta is even more powerful. The problem here is, that the listener at Buddha’s time was very well aware of the literal meaning of those terms. He was able to grasp from this and the context the “instruction” part. He may have even applied the instruction at the same time of hearing the discourse spoken. No wonder then, that many suttas tell us about attainments of Nibbana while listening to such words. But, back to our text:

Literally then, yathā means:

Yathā (adv.) [fr. ya˚; Vedic yathā; cp. kathā, tathā] as, like, in relation to, after (the manner of).

More important though, take a look at other examples where the word is used:

• yathā kāmam (as far as his liking goes) according to his liking

• yathā kālam (as far as the time) in time, timely

• yath’ āgato tathā — gato as he came, thus he went

Bhūtaṃ is simply the past perfect of being, meaning “become”. Have a look at the PED’s definition:

Bhūta [pp. of bhavati, Vedic etc. bhūta] grown, become; born, produced; nature as the result of becoming.

So, what does this term stand for? “as born“, “as far as become“?! He should see things as far as they were born? “What the heck does that mean?” - We can almost hear that question raised by the translators of pali texts…How can you see something as born?

Well, it took quite some time and effort to dig out the ancient meditation techniques of Theravada, and it just happened recently, some 50 years ago and it is mainly the Burmese Sangha who deserves our compliments for this re-establishment of vipassana practice in Theravada.

Of course, in the course of vipassana, to see phenomena like feeling, form, perception, mental preparations and consciousness as “This is not mine” [tag it!] AS (SOON/FAR) as they arise or as soon as they are born makes complete and utter sense. We are reminded of the Bahiya sutta, where the Buddha says, “by the seen, just the seen”, or this (and many other similar) beautiful verses:

Uddhaṃ, tiriyaṃ apācinaṃ,
yāvatā jagato gati
samavekkhitā va dhammānaṃ
khandhānaṃ udayabbayaṃ.
Audio: http://pariyatti.com/downloads/dwob/itivuttaka_4_111.mp3

Above, across or back again,
wherever the wakeful went
let him carefully observe
the rise and fall of compounded things.

Itivuttaka 4.111
http://tipitaka.org/romn/cscd/s0504m.mul3.xml#para111

But such an observation and thus translation and choice of words is hard for someone who was never experienced a vipassana meditation or similar instruction. So now, we live with Western translations and go for vipassana retreats and some ask: “Why did not the Buddha give this kind of instruction in the Suttas?”

The right answer is: Well, he did! In fact, overwhelmingly many texts talk in this direct way, but it might need another generation of pali translators to uncover them. We find many instances with variations of this basic technique of using labels to stop short the mind at bare awareness and thus by slowing the movie allowing a very deep look into the mind.

In fact, we might even learn more and derive more details for current vipassana meditation instructions if we take a look at the Pali texts from this very literal and meditation-related point of view.