A billion mind moments in the blink of an eye

Discussion of Abhidhamma and related Commentaries
User156079
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Re: A billion mind moments in the blink of an eye

Post by User156079 »

Even after realization of the Path for a Sotapanna there is still work to be done, because of conditioning there are so many automatized reactions to familiar perceptions, likes and dislikes so it will require all of his effort, wholehearted and heedful exertion in the practise to get rid of delusion completely.

For him it is easier a way tho, because he cant help becoming mindful relatively often and thinks about Dhamma, Buddha, Sangha and reflects on his own behavior in light of the Teachings. This is how he spends majority of his time, and abides in these thoughts for the most part. Constantly poundering his realizations and the Dhamma.

Further being unable to ignore the 3Cs completely, he can no longer just indulge in things, he will become mindful periodically albeit occasionally. Even when clinging to what is dear and becoming heedless, there is a stronger sense of conscientiousness rooted in realization of the truth, it's painful and unpleasant sensation. So he realizes occasionally that he is only indulging out of ignorance of the Dhamma and weakened discernment faculty, knowing it as painful and envisioning the fruit of being Appamada.
zan
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Re: A billion mind moments in the blink of an eye

Post by zan »

Virg02 wrote:
zan wrote:
So it is a bit like how we infer that light moves at such an extremely fast speed, yet it is completely impossible that we would ever actually be able to see this happen. Likewise, we infer that a billion mind moments take place in a flash of lightning, yet we could never actually see this take place. Is this correct?
Yes, I think this analogy is correct.

Virg02
Okay thank you so much! This clears it up and is very helpful!
Assume all of my words on dhamma could be incorrect. Seek an arahant for truth.


"If we base ourselves on the Pali Nikayas, then we should be compelled to conclude that Buddhism is realistic. There is no explicit denial anywhere of the external world. Nor is there any positive evidence to show that the world is mind-made or simply a projection of subjective thoughts. That Buddhism recognizes the extra-mental existence of matter and the external world is clearly suggested by the texts. Throughout the discourses it is the language of realism that one encounters.
-Y. Karunadasa
zan
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Re: A billion mind moments in the blink of an eye

Post by zan »

robertk wrote:
Okay so insight doesn't take the form of a total shift in how our processing works but rather of understanding through inference after the fact? For example, one would experience seeing and then for a moment see the mind door and then realize how cognition actually takes place afterward? So the process is one of after the fact knowledge that takes place during during normal perceptual experience, rather than dramatically altered perception
?

basically yes. in normal daily life the minddoor is in a sense hidden by the sense doors.

But during the brief moments of vipassana nana the minddoor is clearly seen- namaruparicheddanana - and so the distinction between mind and matter becomes clear.

It must be more than one process that is discerned but still it happens so fast and then life is back to normal, with the minddoor again hidden: but the insight was vivid, it is not forgotten, so I heard. It supports what one learned from the texts and so a virtuous circle builds, leading to further direct insight later and so on..
Okay thank you very much! This sounds a lot more reasonable than the incorrect understanding I was forming!
Assume all of my words on dhamma could be incorrect. Seek an arahant for truth.


"If we base ourselves on the Pali Nikayas, then we should be compelled to conclude that Buddhism is realistic. There is no explicit denial anywhere of the external world. Nor is there any positive evidence to show that the world is mind-made or simply a projection of subjective thoughts. That Buddhism recognizes the extra-mental existence of matter and the external world is clearly suggested by the texts. Throughout the discourses it is the language of realism that one encounters.
-Y. Karunadasa
theY
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Re: A billion mind moments in the blink of an eye

Post by theY »

It is in the forth chapter of abhidhammatthasaṇgaha.

See: https://ballwarapol.github.io/sangaha/chapter_4.htm
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BlackMagic
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Re: A billion mind moments in the blink of an eye

Post by BlackMagic »

wandering around in the seventh jhana is all philosophical thinking is... it is an infinite attachment that chains one to rebirth.

On the cushion one would note thinking thinking, or citta citta, or just place their center of focus back on the meditational object or task at hand.

There are sutras about rebirth or waking up out of that state; like living thirty days ago while cutting vegetables instead of in mindfulness and the vegetable cuts you just as easy.
What has happened; Is that which has yet to come. What will be ...Already is.
Inedible
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Re: A billion mind moments in the blink of an eye

Post by Inedible »

Most people can experience something only a single tenth of a second without much effort. Even with training a person is unlikely to ever be able to see individual frames of a movie at twenty-four per second and now they tend to record at sixty or higher. It is ridiculous to expect to distinguish a single nanosecond just as you will not directly perceive an individual atom. However, all of that is beside the point. In highly subjective deep concentration states you may feel like your sensory acuity has been enhanced to unreal levels.
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