The teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero

[Lal]

Regarding: “ayam antimā jāti, natthi dāni punabbhavo”
. Let us analyze the verse word by word.
Ayam is mine. Antima is last. Jati is birth. Natthi is not, punabbhava = puna + bhava or repeated bhava (existence).

Therefore, it does mean “This is my last birth, no more repeated existences”.

By the way, please read my post, "Bhava and Jāti – States of Existence and Births Therein" posted on Sat Oct 27, 2018 (p. 43) to see the difference between bhava and jati. For example, one can be born (jati) many times in a given "human bhava" or "human existence", before the kammic energy sustaining that human existence runs out.
- Also, there are many types of bhava and jati, even during a lifetime, as discussed in the above post. For example, when one gets drunk, one has the mindset of a drunkard and is in a "drunkard bhava" and thus is born (jati) in that "drunkard state". Of course, when he becomes sober the next day, he is no longer in that "drunkard bhava".

Regarding: "yatohaṃ, bhagini, ariyāya jātiyā jāto"

It is correct that it means "Ever since I was born in the noble birth".
One is "born" in a "Noble birth" when one attains at least the first stage of Nibbana: Sotapanna. After one attains a magga phala, he/she is "born a Noble birth", and that "jati" will never go away until one attains Parinibbana or last the last death as an Arahant.

For example, Angulimala was a murderer before he met the Buddha. In the very first encounter with the Buddha, he was "born an Ariya". Then within a week or two, he attained the Arahanthood, and attained Parinibbana.

There is an interesting story about Ven. Angulimala that illustrates this point. After attaining the Arahanthood, he came across a woman in labor pains. He went back to the Buddha and asked whether he would be able to alleviate the pain of that woman. The Buddha said, he indeed can, and that he should do a "Sacca Kriya": Ven. Angulimala said, "but I have killed so many people. I don't think my sacca kriya will be effective". Then the Buddha reminded him that, he has now been born in the "Ariya jati".
P.S. I just realized that DooDoot's quote: "Ever since I was born in the noble birth, sister, I don’t recall having deliberately taken the life of a living creature. By this truth, may both you and your infant be safe." OR "yatohaṃ, bhagini, ariyāya jātiyā jāto, nābhijānāmi sañcicca pāṇaṃ jīvitā voropetā, tena saccena sotthi te hotu, sotthi gabbhassā ti."
is Ven. Angulimala's Sacca Kriya to that woman.

Your other examples belong to the same category.

I am confident about the way I interpret Dhamma. If I do make a minor error, I am more than willing to correct it. In fact, I do want to correct such mistakes ASAP.
- Each person making any incorrect translations of Tipitaka suttas needs to bear that responsibility.

P.S. The reference that DooDoot provided (MN 86) does have that verse that he quoted.

I found the following on the internet (from the book, "Loving-Kindness in Plain English: The Practice of Metta"
By Henepola Gunaratana, p. 67) that also describes the story about Angulimala and the woman in labor pains:
https://books.google.com/books?id=Ek3YD ... ns&f=false

[DooDoot]

Regarding: “ayam antimā jāti, natthi dāni punabbhavo”
. Let us analyze the verse word by word.
Ayam is mine. Antima is last. Jati is birth.

Yes, but I personally have read compelling no evidence in sutta "birth" means "physical birth". I think the evidence favours "birth" as a "mental idea".

Natthi is not, punabbhava = puna + bhava or repeated bhava (existence).

Yes but the suttas appear to say "bhava" is an "asava" or "mental defilement". For example, in MN 121, the living mind of emptiness has no "bhava". I think "bhava" might mean the idea "I exist" rather than physical existence.

It is correct that it means "Ever since I was born in the noble birth".

This is a plain statement. One does not need to be a genius to affirm it is correct. MN 86 literally says "birth" is something "mental".

[Lal]

 Dasa akusala corrupt a mind and and they lead to sansāric suffering.
 Dasa kusala purify a mind and and they lead to permanent happiness (Nibbāna).

The most potent of the dasa akusala is miccha ditthi, which basically corrupts the mind and lead to other nine types of akusala. As we have discussed, micca ditthi is of two types: 10 types of miccha ditthi and being unaware of Tilakkhana.
- This was discussed in "Ten Types of Miccha Ditthi" Two posts on Nov 16, 2018 (p. 48)

Dasa Kusala and Dasa Akusala – Fundamentals in Buddha Dhamma

There are a set of short suttas in Anguttara Nikāya 10, that state directly what different key Pali terms mean.

Kusala Sutta (AN 10.180) and Akusala Sutta (AN 10.136)

“Kusalañca vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi akusalañca. Taṃ suṇātha … pe … katamañca, bhikkhave, akusalaṃ? Pāṇātipāto … pe … micchādiṭṭhi—idaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, akusalaṃ.

Katamañca, bhikkhave, kusalaṃ? Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī … pe … sammādiṭṭhi—idaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, kusalan”ti.

Translated:
Akusala: taking a life, stealing, abusing sense pleasures, speaking untruth, slandering, harsh speech, gossiping, greed, ill-will, wrong views (defined in terms of dasa akusala).
Kusala: Opposites:

Dhamma Sutta (AN 10.182) and Dhamma Sutta (AN 10.138)

“Dhammañca vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi adhammañca. Taṃ suṇātha … pe … katamo ca, bhikkhave, adhammo? Pāṇātipāto … pe … micchādiṭṭhi—ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, adhammo.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, dhammo? Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī … pe … sammādiṭṭhi—ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, dhammo”ti.

Translated:
Adhammo: taking a life, stealing, abusing sense pleasures, speaking untruth, slandering, harsh speech, gossiping, greed, ill-will, wrong views.
Dhammo: Opposites

Saddhamma Sutta (AN 10.191) AND Saddhamma Sutta (AN 10.147)

“Saddhammañca vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi asaddhammañca. Taṃ suṇātha … pe … katamo ca, bhikkhave, asaddhammo? Pāṇātipāto … pe … micchādiṭṭhi—ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, asaddhammo.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, saddhammo? Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī … pe … sammādiṭṭhi—ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, saddhammo”ti.

Translated:

Asaddhammo (Asath/Bad dhamma): taking a life, stealing, abusing sense pleasures, speaking untruth, slandering, harsh speech, gossiping, greed, ill-will, wrong views.
Saddhammo (Sath/Buddha dhamma): Opposites

Sappurisadhamma Sutta (AN 10.192) and Sappurisadhamma Sutta (AN 10.148)

“Sappurisadhammañca vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi asappurisadhammañca. Taṃ suṇātha … pe … katamo ca, bhikkhave, asappurisadhammo? Pāṇātipāto … pe … micchādiṭṭhi— ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, asappurisadhammo.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, sap¬purisa¬dhammo? Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī … pe … sammādiṭṭhi— ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, sappurisadhammo”ti.

Translated:

Asappurisa dhammo (Asath purisaor wicked person's dhamma):taking a life, stealing, abusing sense pleasures, speaking untruth, slandering, harsh speech, gossiping, greed, ill-will, wrong views.
Sappurisa dhammo (Sath purisaor Moral person's dhamma):Opposites:

Sadhu Sutta (AN 10.178) AND Sadhu Sutta (AN 10.134)

“Katamañca, bhikkhave, asādhu? Pāṇātipāto, adinnādānaṃ, kāmesu¬micchā¬cāro, musāvādo, pisuṇā vācā, pharusā vācā, samphappalāpo, abhijjhā, byāpādo, micchādiṭṭhi—idaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, asādhu.

Katamañca, bhikkhave, sādhu? Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī, adinnādānā veramaṇī, kāmesu¬micchā-cārā veramaṇī, musāvādā veramaṇī, pisuṇāya vācāya veramaṇī, pharusāya vācāya veramaṇī, samphappalāpā veramaṇī, anabhijjhā, abyāpādo, sammādiṭṭhi—idaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, sādhū”ti.

Translated:

Blameful (Asadhu): taking a life, stealing, abusing sense pleasures, speaking untruth, slandering, harsh speech, gossiping, greed, ill-will, wrong views.
Praiseworthy (Sadhu): Opposites

Ācayagāmi Sutta (AN 10.186) AND Ācayagāmi Sutta (AN 10.142)

“Ācayagāmiñca vo, bhikkhave, dhammaṃ desessāmi apacayagāmiñca. Taṃ suṇātha … pe … katamo ca, bhikkhave, ācayagāmī dhammo? Pāṇātipāto … pe … micchādiṭṭhi—ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, ācayagāmī dhammo.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, apacayagāmī dhammo? Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī … pe … sammādiṭṭhi—ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, apacayagāmī dhammo”ti.

Translated:

Lead to rebirth (Ācayagāmi Dhammo): taking a life, stealing, abusing sense pleasures, speaking untruth, slandering, harsh speech, gossiping, greed, ill-will, wrong views.
Calming (Lead to Nibbana) (Apacayagāmī Dhammo):Opposites

Dukkhudraya Sutta (AN 10.187) AND Dukkhudraya Sutta (AN 10.143)

“Dukkhudrayañca vo, bhikkhave, dhammaṃ desessāmi sukhudrayañca. Taṃ suṇātha … pe … katamo ca, bhikkhave, dukkhudrayo dhammo? Pāṇātipāto … pe … micchādiṭṭhi— ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, dukkhudrayo dhammo.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, sukhudrayo dhammo? Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī … pe … sammādiṭṭhi—ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, sukhudrayo dhammo”ti.

Translated:

Lead to suffering (Dukkhudrayo Dhammo): taking a life, stealing, abusing sense pleasures, speaking untruth, slandering, harsh speech, gossiping, greed, ill-will, wrong views.
Calming (Lead to Sukha/Nibbana) (Sukhudrayo Dhammo): Opposites

Attha Sutta (AN 10.181) and Attha Sutta (AN 10.137)

“Atthañca vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi anatthañca. Taṃ suṇātha … pe … katamo ca, bhikkhave, anattho? Pāṇātipāto … pe … micchādiṭṭhi—ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, anattho.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, attho? Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī … pe … sammādiṭṭhi—ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, attho”ti.

Translated:

Anattho (One without refuge/protection): taking a life, stealing, abusing sense pleasures, speaking untruth, slandering, harsh speech, gossiping, greed, ill-will, wrong views (defined in terms of dasa akusala).
Attho (One with refuge/protection):Opposites


Āsava Sutta (AN 10.183) and Sāsava Sutta (AN 10.139)

“Sāsavañca vo, bhikkhave, dhammaṃ desessāmi anāsavañca. Taṃ suṇātha … pe … katamo ca, bhikkhave, sāsavo dhammo? Pāṇātipāto … pe … micchādiṭṭhi—ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, sāsavo dhammo.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, anāsavo dhammo? Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī … pe … sammādiṭṭhi— ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, anāsavo dhammo”ti.

Translated:

Sāsava Dhamma (that help cultivate āsava): Wrong views, wrong thoughts, wrong speech, wrong actions, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindset, wrong samadhi, wrong understanding, wrong vimutti (defined in terms of micca path).
Anāsava Dhamma (that remove āsava): Opposites in the Noble Eightfold Path.

There are more. But I think one can get the idea. Key words in Buddha Dhamma are defined in terms of dasa kusala/dasa akusala.

Again, one does all other akusala because one has miccha ditthi or wrong views.As one make progress on the Path, one will be gradually and automatically abstaining from more and more dasa akusala.

Therefore, it is imperative that one gets rid of the 10 types of miccha ditthi (wrong views). This is why Samma Ditthi (right views) comes first in the Noble Eightfold Path.

[Lal]

Dasa Kusala and Dasa Akusala – Fundamentals in Buddha Dhamma - Continued

I would like to explain a few terms that were in the previous post.

Kusala are moral deeds, and akusala are immoral deeds.
- Even though we normally say "deeds", akusala kamma include actions, speech, and thoughts (corresponding to kaya, vaci, and mano sankhara).
- See the post, "Sankhāra – What It Really Means", Thu Nov 01, 2018 (p. 43)

Adhamma means "not the truth" or whatever one teaches that is not compatible with Buddha Dhamma (Nature's Laws). Dhamma is Buddha Dhamma.
- One fully abstains from dasa akusala when one has fully comprehended Buddha Dhamma.
- As explained in the post, "Ten Types of Miccha Ditthi" and a follow-up post on Nov 16, 2018 (p. 48), getting rid of the 10 types of miccha ditthi is the first part of comprehending Buddha Dhamma. Then one needs to learn Tilakkhana, Paticca Samuppada, etc.

Saddhamma/asaddhamma same as Dhamma/adhamma.

Sap­purisa­ dhamma is the Dhamma followed by sappurisa or "people with moral character". Asppurisa dhamma is the dhamma followed by "people with immoral character" or those who engage in dasa akusala, including miccha dithi.

Sadhu means "praiseworthy actions". Asadhu means "blames-worthy actions" of any of the dasa akusala.

Ācayagāmi actions (dasa akusala) are those that lead to bad births and the continuation of the rebirth process. Apacayagāmī is the opposite, dasa kusala leading to good results and eventually to Nibbana.


Duk­khud­ra­ya actions are dasa akusala leading to suffering. Sukhudraya actions are moral actions leading to release from future suffering.

Anattha is becoming helpless in the rebirth process by engaging in dasa akusala, because one does not know the truth (attha) about the real Nature of this world. Attho describe one with refuge/protection who abstains from dasa akusala and has Samma Ditthi.
- Anattha is part of the "anatta nature" in the Tilakkhana (three characteristics of Nature).

Sāsava Dhamma are those defiled actions/teachings associated with dasa akusala, especially miccha ditthi, which lead to suffering at the end. Anāsava Dhamma is Buddha Dhamma that leads to stopping of future suffering and Nibbana.

[Lal]

We have discussed many suttas that state that dasa akusala lead to suffering. We will discuss in a few posts how dasa kusala (or staying away from dasa akusala leads to happiness in two steps:
- Happiness during this life, and,
- eventually the permanent happiness (Nibbana).

Part 1: Three Kinds of Happiness

1. There are three kinds of happiness:

- Sense pleasures (āmisa sukha)
- Mundane meditative (jhānic) pleasures
- Nibbanic (nirāmisa) sukha

2. Āmisa means material; “āmisa däna” is offering of material things. Thus āmisa sukha is the pleasures that arise from material things. Sense pleasures are the ones all of us are familiar with. We like to indulge in sense pleasures. We like to see beautiful pictures or people; hear soothing music; taste good food, etc.

- The drawback with sense pleasures is that the pleasure lasts only while one is satisfying the particular sense faculty; as soon as we finish eating, for example, the pleasure goes away. Also, we cannot keep eating either, even if we wanted to; we will get sick of it soon enough no matter how good the food is.
- Same is true for any other sense pleasure. One cannot keep listening to music or watch movies for too long at a stretch.
However, the craving for any sense pleasure comes back after a while. It is never permanently satisfied.

3. People who have been doing samatha meditation (for example, breath or kasina) know that it gives a pleasure that is different from any sense pleasure. Jhānic states are higher samādhi states.

- One could meditate for hours (especially if one gets into a jhānic state), and can enjoy it as long as one wants. Furthermore, even after the session, the calming effect is there for a while. It gives a sense of peacefulness that can last for hours.
- If one dies while in a jhānic state, then one will be born in the corresponding Brahma world (either in the rupa loka or in the arupa loka depending on the jhānic state). However, a birth in one of the lowest four realms is not ruled out for births after that.
- The ability to get into jhānic states could be lost even in this lifetime if one commits a really bad kamma, or start indulging heavily in sense pleasures.
- Jhānic states are attained via TEMPORARY blocking of the defilements of greed and hate from the mind by focusing the mind on a neutral object such as breath, rising and falling of stomach, or a kasina object, for example.

4. The nirāmisa sukha is of more permanent nature even compared to jhānic pleasures, especially if one has attained at least the first stage of Nibbāna, the Sōtapanna stage.

- Nirāmisa is opposite of āmisa that we mentioned earlier; thus nirāmisa sukha does not arise due to material things. It is totally mental, it is in fact the happiness due to release or dissociation from material things. It is more of a relief sensation rather than an enjoyment. It is like the feeling when a pulsating headache goes away; a sense of calm and peacefulness.
- Stated in another way, nirāmisa sukha is present when where there is no suffering.
- The nirāmisa sukha of a Sōtapanna (or above) is never lost. If Ariya jhānas are cultivated, that can be summoned at any time. The Sōtapanna status is never lost even through future lives.

6. Once the final stage of Nibbāna is attained, there is nothing else to do. An Arahant who has developed higher jhānas can even experience the full Nibbanic pleasure (saññā vedayita nirōdha samāpatti) can be summoned at will any time during the lifetime for up to seven days at a time. At death, permanent Nibbāna is attained.

- The four Nibbānic states are attained via PERMANENT removal of greed, hate, and ignorance in four stages. This involves insight (vipassanā) meditation, most importantly on the three characteristics of existence: anicca, dukkha, anatta.
Even before the Sōtapanna stage, one can start feeling the nirāmisa sukha by systematically removing greed, hate, and ignorance; see, “How to Taste Nibbāna“.

In the next post, we will discuss how staying away from dasa akusala can lead to nirāmisa sukha.

[Lal]

Part 2: How Does Abstaining from Dasa Akusala Lead to Happiness?

1. We will look at Nibbāna in a deeper sense later. But we can look at early stages of Nibbāna in a simple way.

- In Sinhala language (spoken in Sri Lanka), Nibbāna is also called “nivana” or “niveema” (නිවීම). This means “cooling down”. As one move towards Nibbāna one feels cooling down, a sense of well-being.

2. Do you remember the last time when you got really mad? How did that feel? You get hot. Whole body becomes hot and agitated; blood pressure goes up; face becomes dark, because the blood becomes dark.

- This “burning up” is called “tāpa” in Pali (තාප in Sinhala), and is due to greed, hate, and ignorance. “Ātāpi” means the opposite, “cooling down via getting rid of those defilements”. This is what is meant by “ātāpi sampajānō” in the Satipattana sutta; see, “Mahā Satipatthāna Sutta“.
- When someone can get to the “ātāpi sampajānō” state, one feels calm and “cooled down”; see, “Kāyānupassanā – The Section on Habits (Sampajānapabba)“.

3. Do you remember how you felt when you made someone happy, either via a good deed or word? You cooled down; felt good. Didn’t you feel the opposite of when you got mad?

- When one acts with greed, “heating up” still happens, may be to a lesser extent than when one is angry. As a kid, when I was stealing something, I felt heated and uncomfortable.
- Same is true when one acts with ignorance too. One is not certain whether that is the right thing to do; the mind goes back and forth: is this right or wrong? should I do it or not? This is called “vicikiccā” in Pali. Because one does not really know, one is not certain, one becomes anxious, and the body gets heated up.

4. Thus, when one gives up acting with hate, greed, or ignorance, one becomes less agitated, at ease, with a sense of peacefulness. This is an early sense of what Nibbāna is.

- As one can see the benefits of cooling down, one will avoid actions done with hate, greed, and ignorance. And one will be looking forward to do actions of goodwill, generosity, and with mindfulness.

5. Also note the state of thoughts (citta) in the two opposing situations. When one acts with the defilements, thoughts run wildly; they come fast and they are energetic. The “javana” (impulsive power) of a thought is high when when acting with a defilement.

- On the other hand, thoughts run more smoothly and the javana (impulsive power) of a given thought is calm when acting benevolently, with kindness, with generosity, and with mindfulness; they are powerful too, but only in making one calm. Thus one can experience a taste of Nibbāna or “cooling down” even at the very early stages of the Path.

6. Now, one could get to TEMPORARY cooling down by not letting thoughts run wildly. The easiest to do is to keep the mind on a single focus. This can be done by focusing the mind on a religious symbol or just on the breath. Thus this “temporary relief” is felt by people of any religion when they contemplate on a religious symbol with faith, or by doing “breath meditation” or mundane “ānāpāna sati” meditation.

- However, the only way to achieve permanent sense relief is to REMOVE greed, hate, and ignorance gradually by cleansing one’s mind. This is done by “taking in” (āna) of good thoughts, speech, and actions and “getting rid of” (pāna) defiled thoughts, speech, and actions. This is the Buddha’s ānāpāna meditation that can lead to PERMANENT happiness.
- When one does this correct “ānāpāna” consistently, one’s bad habits (“gathi“) will be gradually removed and good habits (“gathi“) will be cultivated; see, "The Law of Attraction, Habits, Character (Gati), and Cravings (Asavas)" Thu Oct 25, 2018 (p.43) and a post on habits (Pali word “gati”, but gati is more that habits) on August 18, 2018 (p. 22).
- When one has removed the defilements to a significant extent, then this relief becomes permanent and will not reduce from that state even in future births. This first stage of Nibbāna is called the Sōtapanna stage. A Sōtapanna is guaranteed not to be reborn in the apāyās or the four lowest realms; he/she has removed all “gathi” suitable for beings in the apāyās.

7. However, it is impossible to remove greed and hate just by sheer will power, i.e., forcefully. For example, one cannot get rid of greed even by giving away one’s wealth; if that is done without understanding, then it could lead to remorse and hate.

- Rather, getting rid of greed and hate comes AUTOMATICALLY as one understands the worldview of the Buddha: that we cannot maintain anything to our satisfaction in the LONG RUN. This worldview is embedded in the Three Characteristics of “this world” or anicca, dukkha, anatta.
Not knowing the Three Characteristics is the ignorance or avijjā.
- Even before comprehending the Three Characteristics, one needs to reduce total ignorance (mōha) to the avijjā level by getting rid of the 10 types of miccha ditthi; see, "Lōbha, Dōsa, Mōha versus Rāga, Patigha, Avijjā" Nov 11, 2018 (p. 44), and "Ten Types of Miccha Ditthi" two posts on Nov 16, 2018 (p. 48).

8. This is why Sammā Ditthi or “correct world view” comes first in the Noble Eightfold Path. When one comprehends the true nature of “this world”, one’s mind will AUTOMATICALLY start rejecting thoughts, words, and actions through greed and hate.

- Then Sammā Ditthi (correct vision) will automatically lead to Sammā Sankappa (fruitful thoughts), Sammā Vācā (fruitful speech), Sammā Kammanta (fruitful actions), Sammā Ājiva (livelihood), Sammā Vāyāma (efforts in those), Sammā Sati (moral mindset) and then will culminate in Sammā Samādhi (peaceful state of mind). This Sammā Samādhi is permanent for a Sōtapanna.
- Thus it is clear that such a samādhi cannot be attained with breath meditation or any other way of “focusing attention” on one thought object.
Purification of the mind is the key, and that comes first through reading, listening, and comprehending the true and pure Dhamma.

8. As one follows the Noble Eightfold Path of the Buddha, one can EXPERIENCE a sense of well-being called nirāmisa sukha which is different from the sense pleasures; see, the last post, "Part 1: Three Kinds of Happiness" Nov 23, 2018 (p.50).

- If you did experience a sense of well-being just by reading this post, that is a good start. That sense of well being will only grow as the understanding gets deeper. I have gone through this process myself and that is what I am trying to convey to others.

9. To get the full benefits, it is a good idea to review the related previous posts that I have referenced. Now, one may be able able to understand those previous posts better too. Comprehending true and pure Buddha Dhamma takes an effort, but it is fully worthwhile.

[whynotme]

Hi Lai,

May I ask you what is the meaning of the word kāmacchanda?

I often read that it is translated as desire for sensuous pleasure, which I think mean 5 senses: visual, sound, smell, taste, and touching.

Kāmacchanda is one of five nivarana, which prevents concentration. But from my point of view, not only desire for sensuous pleasure, but desire for anything can be a hindrance for the mind. For example, when someone want to concentrate on the breath, that desire to concentrate already hold the mind firmly, and the mind can not be peaceful.

So I want to hear your analysis about the meaning of kāmacchanda.

Regards

[kstan1122]

May I ask you what is the meaning of the word kāmacchanda?

You may read the post "Key to Calming the Mind – The Five Hindrances" to know more about the five hindrances including kāmacchanda.

[whynotme]

May I ask you what is the meaning of the word kāmacchanda?

You may read the post "Key to Calming the Mind – The Five Hindrances" to know more about the five hindrances including kāmacchanda.

So kamacchanda is translated as five sense desires in that article.

My question is still the same. If one has desire, but not in five sense desire, let say someone has a desire to know a secret, or an extreme desire to understand how quantum mechanics is explained, is this a sense desire? I guess it is not.

But when someone has that desire, one mind can not be calmed. Do you think so? It will concentrate on the matter. And while the mind concentrate on the matter, there isn't any rupture or joy as described in the first jhana.

So, I think that until the mind still has any desire, not only sense desire, but any desire, it will not calm.

So, if the first jhana is defined as the absence of 5 nīvaraṇas, and if the above desire is not kamacchanda then what category it is? I dont see it fit in any other nivarana.

What is your opinion about this?

[Lal]

Whynotme said: “let say someone has a desire to know a secret, or an extreme desire to understand how quantum mechanics is explained, is this a sense desire? “

That is a good question.

We can get some insight by looking at how the Buddha defined “kāma”.

From Nibbedhika Sutta (AN 6.63):
“Saṅkapparāgo purisassa kāmo,
Netekāmā yāni citrāni loke;
Saṅkapparāgo purisassa kāmo,
Tiṭṭhanti citrāni tatheva loke;
Athettha dhīrā vinayanti chandanti.

- Kāma is defined as “sankappa rāga about sense pleasing material things (citrāni loke)”. And “sankappa” means “generating conscious thoughts”. For example, Samma Sankappa” in the Noble Eightfold Path is about “contemplating on fruitful Dhamma concepts with the Nibbana as the goal”.

So it is true that kāma rāga is associated with those “sense pleasing things” available in the kāma loka.

- However, there are two more “raga” that we need to overcome to attain Nibbana: rupa rāga and arupa rāga. Once one removes kāma rāga at the Anāgami stage, one still has rupa rāga and arupa raga. Those include those things that we enjoy outside “conventional sense pleasures in the kāma loka”.
- And as we will discuss in the future, Nibbāna in the ultimate sense about moving away from ALL “worldly affairs”, including say, quantum mechanics.

Regarding the five hindrances: thoughts about those worldly things like quantum mechanics (that are outside kāma rāga) come under vicikiccā (getting confused about what is important and what is not).

Still, I may have a post on kāmacchanda to discuss it in a bit more detail. Now I realize that I only have that single post on kāmacchanda at puredhamma.net, that kstan1122 referred to.

[Lal]

Kāmaccandha and Icca – Being Blinded by Cravings

1. Kāmaccandha is a Pāli word which has roots in the key word "icca" (pronounced "ichcha"),

- There is no need to look for Sanskrit roots to find meanings hidden in Pāli words, and this is a good example.

2. Kāmaccandha (“kāma”+“icca”+ “andha”) means the POSSIBILITY to be blinded by sense desires. We will analyze it below. First let me explain the pronunciation of the key words "icca" and "anicca".

- The Pāli word that is spelled in English as "icca" is pronounced as "ichcha", and has the meaning of liking/craving.
"Na" + "icca" is "anicca", which basically means "(in the long term) it is not possible to get what one craves, likes, or wants".
"Na" + "icca" is "anicca", just like "na" + "āgāmi" is "Anāgāmi".

- Such "combined words" are very common in Pāli. I will just show two examples from the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta:

"yampicchaṃ na labhati tampi dukkhaṃ" is "yam pi iccham na labhati tam pi dukkham". Here "strong craving" is expressed by adding an extra "h" to go from icca to iccha.
In the present case,  “Kāma”+“icca”+ “andha” becomes Kāmaccandha.

- That is similar to "ayamantimā jāti" in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta coming from "ayam antima jāti".

Here is an audio recording on how these words are pronounced:
[media]https://puredhamma.net/wp-content/uploa ... nation.mp3[/media]

Aslo see: "Combination of Words (Sandhi) in Pali with Key Roots", Nov 09, 2018 (p. 44) and "Translation of Tipitaka Pali Words to English", Nov 12, 2018 (p. 45), Nov 13, 2018 (p.46), and Nov 14, 2018 (p.46)

3. Now let us look at the meaning of the other components of the word kāmaccandha.

- Here “kāma” conventionally means indulging in sense pleasures that belong to the kāma lōka: eye, ear,nose, tongue, and the body;  “andha” means blind.
- If the attraction for something becomes so strong that one's mind may become "blind to rational thought".  Mind can lose any control over what is sensible and what is not sensible (or immoral). Kāmaccandha means "blinded by cravings for sense pleasures".
- Anyone who has not removed the 10 types of micchā ditthi AND started comprehending Tilakkhana, would have kāmaccandha.
However, one with kāmaccandha MAY not commit any immoral action, unless the temptation becomes "high".

4. When a strong sense input comes, one could be blinded about the possible consequences and may do something immoral.

- For example, if one gets an opportunity to rob or even kill someone without getting caught, that could become very tempting.
- We have heard about situations where well-know people who are considered to be "highly moral" are charged with rape or taking large bribes.

5. This possibility of generating kāmaccandha is removed when one attains the Sotapannna stage of Nibbāna. Kāmaccandha will be reduced to kāma rāga for a Sōtapanna.

- Having kāma rāga means one still has cravings for sense pleasures, but WILL NOT do anything immoral to get such sense pleasures.
- For example, a Sōtapanna could a happily married person taking care of a family and engaging in sexual activities with the spouse. He/she may like to enjoy other sense pleasures too.
- Kāma rāga is removed only at the Anāgāmi stage of Nibbāna.

6. Now, let us analyze the word “kāma” in a bit more detail. The true meaning of “kāma” comes from the Nibbedhika Sutta (AN 6.63):

“Saṅkapparāgo purisassa kāmo,
Netekāmā yāni citrāni loke;
Saṅkapparāgo purisassa kāmo,
Tiṭṭhanti citrāni tatheva loke;
Athettha dhīrā vinayanti chandanti."

- Kāma is defined as “sankappa rāga about sense pleasing material things (citrāni loke)”. And “sankappa” means “generating conscious thoughts”.
- For example, Samma Sankappa in the Noble Eightfold Path is about “contemplating on fruitful Dhamma concepts with the Nibbāna as the goal”.

7. The above explanation provides us with a way to start reducing kāmaccandha even before one gets rid of the 10 types of micchā ditthi.

- It is important to note that “kāma” is not just engaging in activities to fulfill sense pleasures; “kāma” includes indulging in conscious thoughts  about the five sense faculties that belong to the kāma lōka: eye, ear,nose, tongue, and the body.
- Most times, people enjoy just thinking about sense pleasures, for example, sex or food.
- Every time one engages in generating conscious thoughts about sense pleasures, one's kāmaccandha will increase. By cutting down on such "day dreaming", one could reduce one's kāmaccandha.
- However, it will be permanently reduced to the kāma rāga level only at the Sōtapanna stage.

8. Even when one has kāmaccandha, one may be able to SUPPRESS it temporarily by focusing the mind on a neutral object, for example, on breath or a kasina object.

- That is how ancient yogis, and even some people today are able to get cultivate jhānās by engaging in breath or kasina meditations.
- Furthermore, one would need to be abstaining from akusala kamma.

9. This is why in any sutta that describes jhāna has the following verse: “..bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalēhi dhammēhi savitakkaṃ savicāraṃ vivekajaṃ pītisukhaṃ paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati..”

- That means even to get to the first jhāna, one would need to be abstaining from akusala kamma (vivicca akusalēhi dhammēhi) and kāma sankappa (vivicceva kāmēhi).
- Therefore, it is clear from the above discussion that even a Sōtapanna is not guaranteed to be able to attain jhānās.
- Jhānās are different from magga phala. We all have cultivated jhānās in our deep past. It is easier to get to jhānās for those who have practiced jhānās in recent lives.
- However, one needs to attain a magga phala just once. A magga phala is NEVER lost.

10. We can get an idea about the relief that experiences in jhānās by at least suppressing kāma rāga. “Tāpa” (pronounced “thāpa” or තාප in Sinhala) means heat; when we get really stressful we feel a “fire”  in the heart. When it gets really bad, people say, “I could feel my heart burn” when they hear an extremely poignant news.

- In the case of getting angry, we can definitely feel this "fire" within; see, the recent posts: "Part 1: Three Kinds of Happiness" Nov 23, 2018 (p.50) AND "Part 2: How Does Abstaining from Dasa Akusala Lead to Happiness?" Nov 24, 2018 (p. 50)
- Even though we do not realize it, even engaging in kāma sankappa ("day dreaming about sense pleasures") -- let alone engaging in them -- leads to a "highly perturbed state of mind".
- And “ātāpi” is to remove that “fire” from the heart and the stress from the mind, and calm the mind. This is the “cooling down”, “niveema“, “nivana“or early stages of Nibbāna.

11. This is actually what is meant by the verse, “ātāpī sampajānō, satimā vineyya lōke abhijjhā dōmanassam” in the Mahā Satipatthāna Sutta.

- It basically means: "get rid of the fire or heat in the mind by being aware of kilesa or defilements and by removing extreme greed (abhijjhā) that leads to a depressed mind (dōmanassa) through discipline (vineyya)”.
- We will discuss this in detail later, but here is the summary: When one gets angry, that is dōmanassa.  When one has strong sense desires that is abhijjhā.
- When one can at least suppress  abhijjhā and dōmanassa, one's mind automatically gets to samādhi.

12. These are just basic principles. Furthermore, one cannot get rid of abhijjhā and dōmanassa quickly just by sheer will power.

- One needs to learn pure Dhamma and understand the basic principles of WHY a mind gets heated, excited, and becomes vulnerable to doing more akusala kamma. That is a critical part of Sammā Ditthi (correct views).
- First thing to realize is that one's actions (kamma) are going to have consequences (vipāka), if not in this life in future lives.
- And that is not possible without rebirth. This is why rebirth is a built-in foundation of Buddha Dhamma.

[Lal]

This post is a continuation of "The Law of Attraction, Habits, Character (Gati), and Cravings (Asavas)" of Oct 25, 2018 (p.43) and "Gati to Bhava to Jāti – Ours to Control" on Nov 15, 2018 (p. 47).

How Habits are Formed and Broken – A Scientific View

1. We are lucky to be in an age when many of the Buddha’s teachings are not only confirmed but also strongly supported with additional evidence that were not possible during the time of the Buddha.

- This is another instance where the evidence is coming from research on the workings of the brain.

2. The Buddha basically said to follow the following procedure to break a bad habit and to instill a good habit:

- understand the reasons why a certain habit is bad,
- stop engaging in activities that enhances the habit,
- deviate the mind from such bad activities by focusing on opposing good activities,
- contemplate on the “release” or “cooling down” that has already resulted by following the above procedure,strengthen the resolve to stay on course, and keep doing (i) through (iii).

With time, the bad habit(s) will go away and the good habit(s) will take hold. There comes a time when one will automatically follow this procedure; it becomes a “way of life”.

3. The reasoning behind is based on the key factors that we discussed in the previous posts; see, “The Law of Attraction, Habits, Character (Gati), and Cravings (Asavas)” and “Habits, Goals, and Character (Gati or Gathi)“:

- We do many things automatically (i.e., without being mindful or without deliberate thinking); these are done via our habits that we formed during this life or even coming from previous lives.
- There are both good and bad habits. We want to keep and cultivate good habits and discard bad habits.
- Changing (cultivating) habits first require some “external adjustments” like one’s physical environment, friends, etc and, more importantly, the four steps listed above.

4. Beginning in the early 1990’s or so, scientific investigations in several fields (effects of meditation on the brain, behavioral studies on animals and humans, neurology, etc) have come to similar conclusions.

- We will discuss these in detail in the future, but here I want to just point out the main similarities. Furthermore, discussing how the mechanism takes place in the brain provides an alternative way to visualize these changes.
- We are indeed fortunate to live at a time when we have evidence from science to provide additional evidence.

5. As I pointed out in the posts on the manōmaya kaya (gandhabba) and and physical body, our physical body is “prepared” by the kamma seed that was the cause for this life. But the manōmaya kaya is constantly making “adjustments” to the physical body based on the current status of the mind.

- Many kamma vipāka are “built-in” even at the conception; some may be avoidable by taking care of the body (exercise, food, etc), and the mind (contemplation, meditation, etc), but some may not be avoidable because they are so strong: We will never know when a cancer, an accident, or even a natural calamity can drastically change our lives; this is anicca, “the inability to maintain our lives the way we would like to”.
- Thus we need to spend at least sometime to work towards a meaningful solution to the “problem of existence”.
- Another factor we need to remember is that our “sansāric habits” are built-in to our brain. We keep changing/adding such habits as we grow up, influenced by our family, friends, and the society in general. Thus one’s “character” (gati; pronounced “gathi”) are in constant flux, either by choice or influenced by the environment.

6. This is a key point: We need to make sure that we do not “go with the flow”, i.e., let past kamma or our environment determine our future.

- As humans, we have the capability to change our destiny. We DO HAVE free will, unlike an animal. Since we do not know what our next existence is going to be, we need to make sure to to get on the “right path” as soon as possible.
- Even 100 years of this life is NOTHING compared to trillions of years in the past and possibly billions of years life in “unknown territory” in the future; thus we need to make use of this opportunity.

7. As we discussed in the “Truine Brain – How the Mind Rewires the Brain via Meditation/Habits”, only the humans have a developed neocortex, that makes possible ‘thinking, and decision making”. The animals either do not have it, or have a primitive version of it.

- Therefore, the animals basically only use the “mid brain” or the “limbic system”, where decisions are made FOR THEM according to their ingrained habits that have evolved over many, many lives (as we discussed, the physical body is formed based on the manōmaya kaya). The response from the limbic system is instantaneous, and the animals can only REACT to external stimuli.
- All sansāric habits are built-in to the limbic system, and the animals react according to the way the limbic system is wired up; this may change some during growing up due to external environment, but the main “character qualities” (gati) do not change very much. That is why you see adorable dogs as well as vicious dogs. Even our pets have “a personality”.
- WE can change their personalities by teaching them things, but they are unable to do it on their own. It is easier to “teach” more evolved animals like monkeys because they have a bit of a neocortex.

8. But we humans have a neocortex that is well-developed and is capable of much more than we normally believe it to be capable of. It is this neocortex that makes us, humans, different from animals (actually, it is more accurate to say that “our current bhava” is superior to an “animal bhava”).

- Even though we also REACT first, especially to a threatening stimuli, our “thinking brain” starts to kick in quickly, especially with training. Many people get into trouble because they are “REACTIVE”, i.e., they do not try to develop the habit of using the “thinking brain”.
- But we can be PROACTIVE. We can teach ourselves to “take corrective actions” even if we do some things on impulse. Even if the initial reaction to a sudden temptation is to “take it and enjoy it” or “hit him” or “kill that annoying dog”, we can always take a breath, stop ourselves, and think about the consequences of such actions. This is what we call “mindfulness”.
- Some people are more proactive than others even at birth (via sansāric habits). Some people change from being reactive to proactive or other way around even without knowing due to the particular environment they grow up in.
- The key point is that we can WILLFULLY change from being reactive to proactive; we all are reactive at least to some stimuli: the one’s we have “tanhā” for! In other words, we like to get attached to certain things and like to dislike other things with PASSION; see, “Tanha – How we Attach via Greed, Hate, and Ignorance”.

9. In terms of science the key is in the neurons in the brain, and how we can train our neocortex to fire the right sets of neurons more frequently. The “frontal lobes” of the neocortex is the command center for brain activities.

- The frontal lobes can be visualized as the boss. If it is a lazy boss, it will just assign duties to the limbic system to carry out things “as usual”.
But if the boss is energetic and always looking for ways to “improve things”, then it will start investigating new approaches. And once better approaches are found, it will get them “hard wired” and they will essentially become the “new limbic system”.
- This is the key to “developing a new you” by discarding bad habits and developing good habits. Essentially you need to get the frontal lobes to be an active, energetic boss for the brain.

10. Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz is a psychiatrist specializing in treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD), and has pioneered in using “habit makeovers” to treat OCD. He has written several books, but I highly recommend the two books, “The Mind and the Brain” and “You are not Your Brain”.

He has developed a “Four Step” method to change one’s habits that give rise to OCD:

- Identify the problem area.
- Recognize the need to change.
- Deviate from automatically “going along” with old ways and re-direct attention to “new paths”.
Re-assess the situation, and keep working on accelerating the process.

11. He has kept records of brain scans of his patients which clearly show the improvements in the brain with time, and of course most patients are able to get rid of their compulsive behavior.

- The key is to slow down the “firing of neurons” associated with a bad habit and to increase the firing of neurons associated with an opposing good habit.
- There is a rule called Hebb’s rule that says, ‘neurons that fire together, wire together”. The more one keeps doing a certain activity, a set of neurons start to fire together and that neural connection gets stronger by the day. It is just like strengthening one’s arm by “doing more liftings” with it.
- In the same way, when one is decreasing the use of a certain activity, the set of neurons allocated for that activity gets weaker, fewer neurons participate, and eventually it loses being a habitual act.

12. Here is a figure from Dr. Schwartz’s book, “The Mind and the Brain” (p. 362), that illustrates the “re-wiring” of a new network in the brain and the concomitant weakening of a network for an undesirable habit (click to open it):

[media]https://puredhamma.net/wp-content/uploa ... tion-2.pdf[/media]

- This figure explains how a patient who had an obsessive disorder to constantly wash his hand, got rid of that habit by WILLFULLY stepping outside to the garden when he got the urge to wash hands. As he kept doing it, the wiring to “wash hands” got weakened, and instead wiring for “stepping outside” got stronger, and eventually he lost the compulsive urge to wash his hands too often.

13. The same principle has been used to get rid of such annoying habits as well as serious disorders. We can use the same procedure to stay away from immoral habits and cultivating moral habits; this is the basis of “ānapāna“, see, “Key to Anapanasati – How to Change Character and Habits (Gathi)“.

[Coëmgenu]

May I ask you what is the meaning of the word kāmacchanda?

You may read the post "Key to Calming the Mind – The Five Hindrances" to know more about the five hindrances including kāmacchanda.

So kamacchanda is translated as five sense desires in that article.

My question is still the same. If one has desire, but not in five sense desire, let say someone has a desire to know a secret, or an extreme desire to understand how quantum mechanics is explained, is this a sense desire? I guess it is not.

The mind is a sense in Buddhism. The idea is the mind-sense's object, a "mental" object. The object of the wanting is an idea. The object is the mind's object. The idea is the mind's object. An idea is a dharma. Dharmāḥ are the mind's objects.

adhyātmaṃ dharmeṣu bahirdhā dharmeṣu adhyātmabahirdhā dharmeṣu dharmānupaśyī viharati / 內法 [...] 外法 [...] 內外法法觀住

(SF 293 Sanskrit Sarvāstivāda Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra & SA 176 Chinese Sarvāstivāda Smṛtyupasthānasūtra, compare with MN 148 Chachakkasutta in Pāli, or anything dealing with the senses and their objects in Pāli)

[Lal]

Coëmgenu said:

whynotme wrote: ↑Sun Nov 25, 2018 10:29 am
kstan1122 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 25, 2018 5:15 am
whynotme wrote: ↑Sun Nov 25, 2018 2:55 am
May I ask you what is the meaning of the word kāmacchanda?
You may read the post "Key to Calming the Mind – The Five Hindrances" to know more about the five hindrances including kāmacchanda.
So kamacchanda is translated as five sense desires in that article.

My question is still the same. If one has desire, but not in five sense desire, let say someone has a desire to know a secret, or an extreme desire to understand how quantum mechanics is explained, is this a sense desire? I guess it is not.

"The mind is a sense in Buddhism. The idea is the mind-sense's object, a "mental" object. The object of the wanting is an idea. The object is the mind's object. The idea is the mind's object. An idea is a dharma. Dharmāḥ are the mind's objects."

In order to fully understand what is meant by kāmaccandha, we need to look at the "bigger picture" of the 31 realms in Buddha Dhamma. Even though we can see only two realms (human and animal), there are lower and higher realms.

Kāmaccandha Is Not There in Brahma Realms – The Bigger Picture in the 31 Realms

1. We can NEVER get answers to these questions by using Sanskrit literature, as I have explained before; see, "“Why Sanskrit texts should not be used to learn Buddha Dhamma” and that would be breaking Vinaya rules for bhikkhus on August 26, 2018 (p. 24). More information in: "Translation of Tipitaka Pali Words to English" Nov 12, 2018 (p. 45), Nov 13, 2018 (p.46), and Nov 14, 2018 (p.46).

- We can find all the answers to such questions in the Tipitaka.

2. The five physical senses are only “five sense doors” (panca dvara). They just bring in the external sense object to contact with the mind door (mano dvara). The sixth sense, mind, is the primary sense faculty and where actual thinking takes place.

- For example, the cakkhu indriya or eye faculty just brings the external picture in. It acts just like a camera taking a picture. Then it is the mind that evaluates that “picture” and decides on what to do about it.
- Once the mind “grasps that external signal” that leads to a lot of action in the mind. It thinks about that external object (rupa, sadda, gandha, rasa, pottabba or picture, sound, smell, taste, touch), decides whether to pursue it, and if so to make plans.
- An introduction to this terms of Abhidhamma was discussed in "Citta Vithi – Processing of Sense Inputs" : October 2, 2018 (p. 35).

3. Kamaccandha involves craving for only those pleasures that are available in the kama loka. Kamaccandha is INITIATED or at least ASSOCIATED with sense signals coming through ONLY the five physical senses.

- For example, the mind may be spending hours and hours thinking about an attractive object. But that object was first seen with the eyes. It could be thinking about a tasty food one ate a year ago, but without that “tasting event”, no kamaccandha would have arisen.

4. One can get an idea about that by considering the fact that such “sense pleasing things” are not there in brahma loka.

- A rupa loka brahma has a very fine body and does not have a nose to smell, a tongue to taste, or a solid enough body to feel touch. It can only see and hear. Since a brahma cannot taste, smell or touch, a brahma does not engage in those sense pleasures that are available in the kama loka like tasting food, smelling nice aroma, or engage in sex (brahmas are unisex, no male or female brahmas).
- Kamaccandha involves only those sense pleasures that are available only in kama loka.
- One cultivates jhana because one can see that jhanic pleasures are better and long-lasting; see, "Part 1: Three Kinds of Happiness" Nov 23, 2018 (p.50).
(Furthermore, sense pleasures (kama) have bad consequences. However, that can be "seen" only when one starts comprehending Tilakkhana: anicca, dukkha, anatta).
- One cultivates jhana by at least suppressing not only kamaccandha, but also kama raga; see, "Kāmaccandha and Icca – Being Blinded by Cravings", Nov 26, 2018 (p. 50).

5. As explained in that post:
"9. This is why in any sutta that describes jhāna has the following verse: “..bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalēhi dhammēhi savitakkaṃ savicāraṃ vivekajaṃ pītisukhaṃ paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati..”

- That means even to get to the first jhāna, one would need to be abstaining from akusala kamma (vivicca akusalēhi dhammēhi) and kāma sankappa (vivicceva kāmēhi)."

- A human would have to cultivate rupavacara jhana to be born a rupavacara brahma. To cultivate those jhana, one must at least suppress the craving for those sense pleasures (and abstain from dasa akusala) for extended periods.

[Coëmgenu]

We can NEVER get answers to these questions by using Sanskrit literature

Mate, that tells me you didn't look at the Pāli. It's literally the same thing.