Incidentally there is a story illustrative
of the importance the Buddha attached to the practice of the Dhamma. One day, the Buddha
came out of the Jetavana monastery with the bhikkhus to go on tour. King Kosala, the
merchant Anathapindika and other lay disciples requested the Buddha not to go on tour, but
it was in vain. The merchant was unhappy because he would not be able to hear the Buddha's
teaching or to make offerings to the Lord and the bhikkhus. His slave girl, Punna by name,
said that she would ask the Buddha to come back. The merchant promised to free her from
bondage if she could make the Buddha return to the monastery.
Then Punna followed the Buddha quickly and implored the Lord to come
back. The Buddha asked her what she could do for him. She replied that she had nothing to
offer, but that she would take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha and observe
the five precepts if the Lord spent the lent in Savatthi city. Saying, "Sadhu - well
said", the Buddha blessed her and returned to Jetavana monastery.
The news spread and the merchant set Punna free and adopted her as his
daughter. She was now free to do what she liked, free to shape her own destiny. For this
reason and by virtue of her parami (kammic potential) in her previous lives, she joined
the holy order. She practised vipassana and when she developed insight into the
impermanence of nama-rupa, the Buddha exhorted her thus: "My daughter, just as the
moon is full and complete on the fifteenth day, so also you should practise vipassana to
the end. When your vipassana insight is complete, you will attain the end of
suffering."
After hearing this exhortation, Punna theri attained the last stage on
the holy path and became an Arahat. The Buddha had of course foreseen Punna's destiny and
it was his concern for her spiritual welfare that prompted him to cancel the projected
tour and turn back in response to her appeal. This is an example of the high regard for
the practice of dhamma that Gotama Buddha had in common with other Buddhas.
So the prince observed the ten precepts and dwelt at the residence of
the Buddha. He spent his time near Sumana thera, the special attendant and watched him
serve the needs of the Buddha in a very intimate manner. Shortly before the end of the
lent, he returned home, donated lavishly to the Sangha and, in his prayer to the Buddha,
he affirmed his desire to become an intimate attendant of a future Buddha. The Buddha
blessed him and the prince developed paramis tor innumerable lifetimes. The jatakas refer
to many lives which he devoted to perfecting himself in collaboration with bodhisatta
Gotama. Sometimes the bodhisatta was king and he was the king's minister or the bodhisatta
was a human being and he happened to be a deva or Sakka. But their positions were often
reversed. In some jatakas they were brothers.
Thus they developed paramis close together through their long samsaric
journey and in his last existence Ananda was the nephew of king Suddhodana. After spending
the first lent near Benares, the Buddha went to Rajagaha and from there he proceeded to
Kapilavatthu at the invitation of his father. When he left his native place, Ananda and
some Sakyan princes followed the Buddha and joined the holy order.
The parami (perfections) which Ananda had acquired through many
lifetimes made it possible for him to understand easily Paticcasamuppada that has baffled
so many people. Moreover, Ananda had received instructions from teachers. He had not only
lived with his teachers but also learned and inquired about the meanings of the doctrine
and memorized them. This kind of learning helped him to understand Paticcasamuppada. In
fact, he attained the first stage of the holy path after having heard the sermon of the
noted preacher, Punna thera. Ananda paid a high tribute to Punna for his illuminating
discourse. The substance of the discourse is as follows.
"Self-conceit arises from attachment to the body, feeling, memory,
kamma-formations (sankhara) and consciousness. It cannot arise without the five khandhas
any more than the reflection of a man's face can appear in the absence of a mirror. The
body, feeling, etc., are not permanent. Since they are not permanent, you should
contemplate and realize that none of the five khandhas, whether in the past, present or
future, internal or external, gross or subtle, good or bad, distant or near is yours, is
you or is your ego."
"The well-informed disciple of the Buddha who thus contemplates
and realizes truth is disillusioned with the five khandhas. He becomes detached and free.
He knows that his mind is free, that he has done what is to be done, that he has nothing
else to do for his freedom."
This was what Punna preached to Ananda. As sotapanna, Ananda realized
the cause-and-effect relationships of Paticcasamuppada. He had this insight when he
practised vipassana. He knew that illusion, attachment, obsession, effort, rebirth,
consciousness, etc., form the links in the chain of causation. Here, illusion or ignorance
is avijja, attachment is tanha, obsession is upadana, effort is kamma. So when it is said
that kamma leads to rebirth, we should understand that rebirth is also conditioned by
upadana, etc. So the past involves avijja, tanha, upadana and kamma as causes. The yogi
who realizes this through contemplation of nama-rupa is free from all doubts which we
cannot remove merely through learning and reflection.
As the best-informed disciple of the Buddha, Ananda also gained
recognition of the Teacher in matters of knowledge. He usually accompanied the Buddha on
preaching tour and memorized all the discourses. He could repeat a discourse verbatim
after he had once heard it. As for the Buddha's talks given in his absence, he learnt from
others and memorized them. The dhammas which he had thus learnt by heart are said to
number eighty four thousand.
Ananda was well-known for his retentive memory and the commentary on
Mahavedalla sutta says that he could memorize hundreds of gathas in a short space of time.
What with his wide knowledge of the teachings of the Buddha and his chief disciples, it is
no wonder that the doctrine of Paticcasamuppada did not present much difficulty to him.
Even today, given a thorough knowledge of the Pitaka, a man may understand the
cause-and-effect relationship in the doctrine.
The Abstruseness Of The Doctrine
Nevertheless, the doctrine is abstruse in terms of effects, causes,
teaching, and empirical knowledge (pativedha).
In the first place it is very hard to understand sankhara, etc., as the
results of avijja and other causes for most people mistake the suffering of nama-rupa for
happiness. This is avijja and they do not know it as an illusion. They believe that it is
their ego-entities that think, they do not know sankhara (effort) as an effect of avijja,
but they think it is they themselves who make the effort. So it is hard to see good or bad
deeds (kamma) as the effects of ignorance. More difficult to understand is the causal
relation between this sankhara of the previous life and the rebirth consciousness of the
present existence. Likewise, it is hard to understand that nama-rupa, salayatana, etc.,
are conditioned by vinnana, etc.
Equally incomprehensible are the causes involved in dependent
origination for people believe that they shape their own destiny. Some say that they are
created by God or Brahma while some insist that everything happens by chance. Most of them
do not see avijja, etc., as the mainspring of their existence.
Again, some teachings of the Buddha on the doctrine begin with avijja
and end with death. Some are set forth in reverse order. Some begin with the middle links
in the chain and proceed to the beginning or to the end. These various versions of the
doctrine add to the difficulty of understanding it.
In order to gain an insight into the doctrine, one has to practise
vipassana and realize the facts of causal relationship empirically. This vipassana
approach to the study of Paticcasamuppada is by no means easy for the method must be right
and one will have to practise it steadily and thoroughly.
In spite of these difficulties, the doctrine seemed clear to Ananda
because of his unusual qualifications, So the Buddha's words "Do not say like this,
Ananda" may be an implicit compliment to him, but according to the commentary, the
Buddha's saying may be an indirect reproach to him. It may mean in effect, "Ananda,
you say that Paticcasamuppada is easy to understand. Then why did you become a sotapanna
only after hearing my teaching? Why have you not attained any stage higher than the first
stage on the path? You should think of your shortcomings. You are my disciple with
average, limited intelligence and what you say does not agree with my words. It is a
saying that should not have been uttered by a close disciple like you. I have had to
develop intelligence for aeons to know this doctrine and so you should not speak lightly
of it."
Thus, after chiding Ananda implicity by a few words, the Buddha
stressed the profundity of Paticcasamuppada. "Profound, Ananda, is this dependent
origination and profound does it appear. It is through not understanding and not
penetrating this law that this world of living beings resemble a tangled ball of thread, a
bird's thicket of sedge or reed, and that man does not escape from the lower states of
existence, from the course of suffering, from the round of rebirths."
In other words, this law concerning the conditioning of vinnana,
nama-rupa, etc., by avijja, sankhara, etc., is very profound. So people do not know that
there are only cause-and-effect relationships and that there is no permanent being. They
believe that a living being exists in a permanent form from the time of inception; that
there is a permanent entity behind the being that develops and grows up. Some hold that
this core or soul of the being has many previous lives. All these illusions are due to
ignorance of the reality underlying the dependent origination.
A living being's acts, words and thoughts are clearly due to ignorance
of the four noble truths and dependent origination. Undeniably, good acts bear good
fruits, bad acts bear bad fruits and everyone fares according to his deeds. So ignorance
leads to kammas or sankharas which in turn give rise to rebirth, consciousness, etc. This
fact is clear to an intelligent person.
Because of their inability to understand dependent origination, living
beings remain mired in the round of rebirths, wandering ceaselessly from one existence to
another. By and large, they land in the lower worlds and pass on to the deva-realms only
occasionally by virtue of their good kamma. When the good kammic effects run out, they
revert to the lower worlds.
It is hard for the denizens of the lower worlds to pass on to the human
or deva worlds for attainment of the higher planes of existence is possible only when a
dying person has memories or visions of his good deeds and a good act is simply
unthinkable among the lower forms of life. Animals kill one another and the law of the
jungle prevails in their world, leaving no room for love, pity and other spiritual values.
They usually die stricken with pain and fear. So a lower being is very likely to be reborn
in the lower worlds.
Because of the ignorance of dependent origination a living being is
unable to free himself from the round of rebirth. He is like an ox yoked to the mortar. No
matter how long it goes round and round, the animal cannot leave the strictly limited area
of its mobility. Likewise, the ignorant person is mired in the life-cycle (samsara) which
largely means confinement in the nether worlds and for aeons he remains subject to
rebirth.
Understanding of Paticcasamuppada is as vital to spiritual liberation
as the understanding of the four noble truths. In fact, the four noble truths are
synonymous with the dependent origination. The object of vipassana practice is to gain
insight both intellectually and empirically into these teachings, but these teachings are
deep and hard to understand. Even in vipassana practice it is not easy to have clear ideas
about avijja, sankhara, etc.
The Buddha reflected on Paticcasamuppada before and shortly after his
attainment of supreme enlightenment. For seven days the Buddha was absorbed in the peace
of liberation (vimuttisukha) and on the seventh day at night, he contemplated
Paticcasamuppada in terms of conditioning (paccaya) or cause-and-effect relationship.
Having dealt with the first links in the chain of causal sequence, we
will now proceed to phassa that is conditioned by salayatana. Salayatana means the six
sense-organs and the six sense-objects, viz., visual form, sound, smell, taste, tactile
object and mind-object. The contact between a sense organ and the corresponding
sense-object is called phassa. It is an intangible phenomenon of mental life but it shows
itself clearly when the object has an unmistakable impact on the mind. For example, we are
shocked when we see someone being ill-treated. It makes us tremble when we see a man whose
life is hanging by a thread on the top of a tree. Seeing a ghost will send the shivers,
down the spine. Hearing or reading an interesting story often leaves some impressions that
may remain indelible for a long time. All these show what it means when there is phassa or
the impact of a sense-object on the mind of a person.
The impact is occasionally very violent and gives rise to violent
emotions and outbursts of passion, anger, etc. According to the commentary on Anguttara
Nikaya, in the time of the ancient Sinhalese King Dutthagamani, a young monk happened to
see a girl. The girl looked at him too and both of them were so much consumed with a
burning desire that they died. Again an elderly monk became insane after looking
unmindfully at the queen of King Mahanaga.
In Mudulakkhana jataka, the bodhisatta was a rishi (recluse) who went
to the king's palace to have his meal. He went there by air as he had psychic powers. When
the rishi appeared suddenly, the queen rose to her feet in a hurry and her garment
slipped. The queen's seductive pose instantly aroused the long-dormant sexual desire of
the rishi. He could not eat any food. His psychic powers having vanished, he walked back
to his abode and there he lay, afflicted with the fires of lust and passion.
On learning what had happened, the king offered the queen to the rishi
as he was confident of the holy man's ability to recover his higher self eventually. He
secretly instructed the queen to do her best for the welfare of the rishi.
Taking the queen, the rishi left the king's palace. Once outside the
gate the queen told him to go back and ask the king for a house. He was offered an old
house but there he had to fetch a hatchet and a basket for the disposal of excreta and
filth. Again and again, he had to go and ask the king for other things that he needed.
Going to and fro and doing all household chores at the bidding of the queen, the rishi was
dead tired but he did not come to his senses as he was still dominated by lust and
passion.
After having done everything that he was told to do, he sat down near
the queen to take a rest. Then she pulled his moustache with a jerk and said, "Are
you not aware of your being a samana (ascetic) whose object is to do away with passions
and desires? Are you so much out of your senses?" This awakened the rishi to a sense
of his blind folly and ignorance. After handing back the queen to the king, he went to the
Himalayan forest, practised vipassana and recovered his psychic power. On his death he
attained the Brahma world.
The moral is that even a person of spiritual calibre like a bodhisatta
could not escape the fires of defilements. The rishi might have casually seen the queen
before but the impact was not violent enough to jolt his emotional life. It was the clear,
vivid impressions of the queen's physical appearance that harassed and engulfed him with
the fires of lust and passion for many days.
In Ummadanti jataka, King Sivi became almost crazy after seeing
Ummadanti, the wife of his commander-in-chief. The woman was so famous for her beauty that
the king sent his brahmin advisers to see whether she had the qualities of a noble lady.
But at the sight of the woman they were so much bewitched by her beauty that they lost
self-control and made a mess of the feast given by their host. Disgusted by their
disorderly behaviour, Ummadanti had them hustled out of the house. Thereupon, the
disgruntled brahmins reported to the king that she was not qualified to be a queen. The
king lost interest in her and she became the wife of the supreme commander. She was,
however, determined to make things even with the king and so when he went round the city
during a festival she showed her beauty and charms to the best of her ability.
The king was half beside himself with infatuation for the woman. Unable
to sleep, he raved about her and gave vent to his blind passion in a gatha which says that
if he were granted a boon by the king of devas, he would ask for an opportunity to sleep
one or two nights with Ummadanti. The impact of a sense-object depends largely on the
nature of the impression conveyed by the object. If the impression is vague and dim, it
produces only mild feeling and craving, but much vedana, tanha, etc., follow in the wake
of clear and vivid impressions.
The impact may also lead to outburst of temper. We show anger at the
sight of an offensive object, and we fear a frightful object. Unpleasant words are
irritating to us. Pride wells up in us when we think of something that boosts our ego. We
hold wrong views when we toy with the idea of soul or with a teaching that makes a farce
of kamma and its fruit. Objects of envy make us envious, and objects which we wish to
possess exclusively make us miserly. These are instances of phassa that fuel unwholesome
kammas.
Wholesome kammas too arise from phassa. Objects of devotion arouse
faith, those whom we should forgive or tolerate help to foster forbearance, and
contemplation of the Buddha and the Arahats make us mindful, kindly and so forth. So
Patisambhidamagga says: "Conditioned by phassa, there arise fifty cetasikas (mental
factors)." It attributes feeling, perception and kamma-formations to phassa.
We see because of phassa and this phassa occurs because of the eye, the
visual object and the visual consciousness. The Buddha's teaching makes a distinction
between the visual consciousness and the visual object. Ordinary people tend to confuse
the former with the latter, but the Buddha stated clearly that visual consciousness arises
from the eye and the visual object, and that phassa means the conjunction of the eye, the
visual object and the visual consciousness.
This is the impact of seeing for which the three ayatanas, viz., the
eye, etc., form the three necessary and sufficient conditions. The nature of impact is
realized empirically by the yogi who practises mindfulness. The yogi notes, "seeing,
seeing" at every moment of seeing and as concentration develops, he comes to realize
that seeing is not uncaused, that it is not made or created by a person; that it is a
psycho-physical phenomenon, having the eye and the visual object as its cause and the
visual consciousness as its effect.
The impact on the sense-organ leads to feelings that may be pleasant,
unpleasant or indifferent according to the nature of the sense-object. If the object is
beautiful, there arises pleasant feeling; if it is ugly, we have unpleasant feeling. If
the object is neither ugly nor lovely, the feeling is indifferent. This feeling (upekkha
vedana) does not give rise to any comment, whether favourable or unfavourable; indeed it
is not even recognized as a feeling but it is accepted by the ego. In fact, these three
kinds of feelings have nothing to do with the ego or self but are aspects of the mental
process stemming from sense-contact.
To understand Paticcasamuppada means to be free from scepticism and
illusion. Since this freedom is the essential attribute of the yogi at the first stage on
the holy path, it is important to understand the doctrine. Ignorance of it tends to cause
doubts about the Buddha, the Dhamma and so forth. There are eight kinds of doubts.
(1) Doubt about the Buddha. This leads the sceptic to raise questions
such as "Was the Buddha really a being who was free from all defilements? Or was he
an ordinary man who commanded the blind faith of his followers?"
(2) Doubt about the Teaching. "Are there the Path and Nibbana that
really ensure the extinction of craving, hatred and ignorance?"
(3) Doubt about the Sangha. "Are there Ariyas, the Noble ones who
are really free from defilements? Sotapannas who, having overcome illusion and doubt, will
never be reborn in the lower worlds? Sakadagamis, who do not have much sensual desire and
anger? Anagamis, who are wholly free from sensual desire and anger? Or the Arahats who
have freed themselves from all defilements?"
(4) Doubt about the practice. "Is the practice of morality or
contemplation beneficial and helpful to the higher spiritual progress?"
(5) Doubt about the past. "Did I exist in the past? Why and how
did I exist in the past? What kind of person was I in my previous life? Did I originate
with the moss or did I come into being spontaneously?"
(6) Doubt about the future. "Will I exist after my death? What
kind of person will I become in my next life?"
(7) Doubt about both the past and the future. According to the
sub-commentaries, this doubt refers to the present life that is between the past and the
future of a man's life-cycle. This interpretation agrees with the Pali text of Sutta
pitaka which says: "Now there arises doubt as regards one's self in the
present." Such doubt may raise questions such as, "Am I really myself? Does the
ego exist or does it not exist? If the ego exists, what kind of being is it? Is it big or
small? Why or how does the ego exist? Was it created or did it come into being
spontaneously? From where did the ego come and where will it go after the final
dissolution of the body?"
These questions show that there are five doubts about the past, five
doubts about the future and six doubts about the present. The yogi overcomes all these
doubts when he is free from all illusions about the self or ego (kankhavitarana-visuddhi).
(8) The last subject that raises much doubt is the doctrine of
Paticcasamuppada that emphasizes the primacy of cause-and-effect relationship in the world
of living beings. Is effort really due to ignorance of the true dhamma? Is rebirth really
conditioned by kamma? Is it a fact that bad kamma is harmful and good kamma beneficial to
a future life? Is there really a cause for every phenomenon? Is everything the outcome of
the combination of atoms and electrons by chance? These doubts centre on causal links,
e.g. avijja, sankhara, etc., and resultant links, e.g. vinnana, rebirth, etc., in the
chain of causal sequence as enunciated in the doctrine of Paticcasamuppada.
These doubts give rise to wrong views in the long run. The false
beliefs that conflict with the dependent origination are rooted in these doubts.
Speculations on the nature of life that are above one's intellectual level produce doubts
in the beginning but eventually turn the sceptic into one who clings to illusions. Such
scepticism and false views are due to ignorance of Paticcasamuppada. One who understands
the teaching clearly harbours no doubt, let alone illusions.
In the final analysis, a living being is a compound of causes and
effects as are non-living things like the earth, the sun, tree, etc. The law of causation
governs the universe leaving no room for creation or spontaneous occurrence. Modern
science provides overwhelming evidence for the absolute dependence of the non-living
material world on the interplay of cause and effect. It tends to bear out the truth of the
Buddha's teaching about the conditionality of everything in the world, whether it be life,
mind or matter.
The Buddha laid emphasis on the conditioned nature of man's internal
life. The teaching leaves out of account the external world of inanimate matter because
the material world has no life-cycle and is not subject to rebirth and suffering. What
matters most from the Buddhist point of view is the living being. If left to itself, the
nama-rupa comprising the living being passes through innumerable lives and, for the most
part, the individual suffers on the lower planes of existence, but if we understand the
nama-rupa process and act wisely, we can make progress gradually on the way to liberation.
Even if we are not yet liberated, we can achieve a better life and fare fairly well in the
round of rebirths. A clear understanding of Paticcasamuppada is vital for it ensures
complete extinction of defilements.
We have described ignorance as the cause of effort (sankhara) and
kammic effort as the cause of rebirth. It is necessary to say something more about the
origin of rebirth consciousness. In a sutta of Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha likens the
wholesome or unwholesome volitional (cetana) action (kamma) to a thriving field,
consciousness (vinnana) to seeds, and craving (tanha) to water for irrigating the field.
The planting of trees requires fields and nurseries. Likewise, rebirth consciousness
presupposes arable land in the form of kamma, kamma gives rise to the potential for
rebirth and although the former states of consciousness disappear, the rebirth potential
remains bound up with the psyche. Like a budding plant, it does not materialize as yet but
it is bound to become actual under favourable circumstances, just as a man who has
committed a crime is a potential prisoner or a worker who has distinguished himself in a
state factory is a potential winner of government reward for good service.
Furthermore, rebirth depends on wholesome or unwholesome consciousness
no less than does a plant depend on seeds for its germination. The good or bad vinnanas
arise and pass away, but they touch off a ceaseless flow of similar states of
consciousness.
These states are the outcome of former kammic vinnanas just like the
transformation of a snake's skin. The most vital of them is the death-bed consciousness
centering on one's kamma or objects associated with it (kammanimitta) or visions of future
life (gatinimitta). This encounter of a dying person with signs and visions is called
upatthanasamangita which means the foreshadowing of the future life as conditioned by
sankhara-kamma. In a sense, it marks the transition from dying consciousness to rebirth
consciousness somewhat similar to the development of a plant from a seed to a sprout.
A seed needs water to turn into a plant. Without water or at least
moisture from the air, it will remain sterile. In the same way, although kamma forms the
basis for a future life, there is no rebirth in the absence of craving (tanha). So in the
case of Arahats, although there are conditions for rebirth in terms of vinnana and the
kamma that they have done as ordinary persons, the rebirth consciousness cannot arise
because of the extinction of craving.
Tanha is inherent in non-Arahats and it is most powerful in common
people. It makes the sense-objects pleasant, attractive and desirable. It creates the
illusion of pleasure, happiness and hope. It likes what is good and makes happiness and
prosperity the main object of life for mankind. Tanha motivates the kammic consciousness
which leads to other mental states. On the approach of death, these mental states give
rise to signs and visions. The dying person delights in pleasant visions and he becomes
lively and cheerful. This shows that his kammic seeds are beginning to sprout. He does not
welcome unpleasant visions, but still these visions have something to do with himself and
this self-attachment, too, leads to the germination of the kammic seed.
Therefore in the case of common people rebirth is conditioned by three
factors, viz., kamma (action), cittavinnana that is linked to kammic consciousness and
tanha. Kamma as the fertile soil for rebirth is evident in death-bed visions and signs,
the germination of the seed is shown by the dying person's interest in these signs and
visions and one's self. So after death there arises rebirth consciousness as conditioned
by the mental state at the last moment of the previous life.
Rebirth consciousness brings into play nama-rupa, ayatana, phassa,
vedana and their interrelations that concern the whole life. So in a sense, we may regard
it as the seed of present existence. It is inextricably bound up with nama-rupa. All
nama-rupa, whether in or out of the body, is suffering as they are subject to constant
arising and passing away, but ignorance makes us blind to dukkha, creates illusion and
attachment and keeps us engaged in the pursuit of sense-objects. This preoccupation leads
to the renewal of existence.
With rebirth consciousness as the basis of a new existence, there arise
the physical body as its basis and the concomitant mental factors such as phassa, vedana,
etc. When rebirth consciousness ceases, there follow other mental states in succession
which may touch off good or bad kammas such as greed, anger, contentment, forbearance,
etc. These mental states in turn lead to physical actions such as sitting, standing, and
so forth.
Hence the Buddha's teaching: "Cittena niyate loko..." a Pali
verse which may be freely translated as: "The mind (thought, will, etc.) leads the
world. It draws the world wherever it pleases. The whole world follows the mind."
Here the world (//loka//) refers to the world of living beings. The mind leads the living
beings rightfully or wrongfully. The mind of a good man who develops faith, morality,
etc., will lead him to do good deeds. It will make him hear the dhamma and practise
vipassana. It will land him on the higher planes of existence or bring him to the goal of
Nibbana. On the other hand, the mind of an evil man will lead him to seek sensual objects
and do evil deeds. After death, it takes him to the lower worlds and makes him subject to
much suffering.
This verse shows that all nama-rupas are dominated by the mind. It
accords with the teaching of Paticcasamuppada that because of vinnana there arise
psycho-physical phenomena such as phassa, etc. We have already given an account of phassa
arising from the eye and now a few words about the phassa of hearing. As in the case of
seeing, hearing also involves three factors, viz., the ear, the sound and the
ear-consciousness.
Hearing is impossible without the ear-organ and the sound. Scientists
say that sound-waves travel at the rate of 1,100 feet per second. This is the natural
speed of sound; the radio broadcast can carry it all over the world in a moment. When it
comes into contact with the ear it is like the reflection in the mirror and the hearing
occurs.
But, it is a mistake to believe that it is the original owner of the
ear who hears. The sensitive organs of the ear are in a ceaseless flux, the rupas involved
are forever arising and passing away. They are like the ever-changing waters of a flowing
stream. It is the contact of sound-waves with the stream of rupas that sparks the
ear-consciousness. The consciousness occurs only for an instant and vanishes. This is
followed by the citta that continues to focus on the sound, inquire it and decide. Each of
these cittas occurs for a moment and vanishes. Then, there flash forth successively with
much speed seven impulse-moments, after which there occur two thought-moments that focus
on the sound.
Such is then the consciousness-process involved in hearing. Whenever we
hear a sound, the ear-vinnana is renewed on the basis of the ear and the sound. So the
yogi who practises mindfulness realizes that hearing is conditioned by the ear and the
sound, that there is no person or being who hears. In fact the yogi is more aware of the
causal relation in hearing than in seeing.
Thus, hearing means the conjunction of the ear, the sound and the
ear-consciousness. The impact of the sound is phassa and it is quite clear to the
meditating yogi. Some are so sensitive that when they hear a harsh sound, they feel like
being attacked by a tremendous onrush of it towards the ear. Some may even be startled by
the dropping of a leaf. The impact is evident when out of a variety of sounds that reach
our ears we select and attend to the sound that we wish to hear. As for loud, harsh and
piercing sounds, we cannot avoid hearing them. We may not look at an unpleasant object,
but the sound cannot be so ignored.
We have pleasant or unpleasant feelings according to the pleasant or
unpleasant sounds that we hear. Songs and sweet voices are welcome to the ear while harsh
sounds and abusive words are odious to us. When we hear ordinary sounds, we have feelings
that are neither pleasant nor unpleasant. In such cases we may not even be aware of our
feeling, the upekkhavedana that is so subtle that it escapes our notice.
True, the Abhidhamma books deny that we have pleasant or unpleasant
feeling when we have consciousness in connection with the eye, the ear, the nose or the
tongue and describe it only as upekkhavedana. But for the contemplating yogi, it is not
advisable to focus on eye-consciousness, etc. He should contemplate the whole process of
consciousness (vithi) which involves pleasant feeling along with some thought-moments,
e.g. santirana, javana and tadarammana and unpleasant feelings along with javana or
impulse-moments.
Moreover, even though the eye-consciousness, etc., may be upekkhavedana
at the moment of their arising, they will be accompanied by unpleasant feeling if they
happen to be the effects of unwholesome kamma as is evident in our contact with unpleasant
sense-objects that cause painful emotions such as fear. Loud noise may make us deaf, evil
smells may cause headache while unwholesome food may do harm to our health. Likewise, the
upekkhavedana that is conditioned by the four kinds of pleasant sense-objects implies
pleasant feelings. We enjoy seeing beautiful objects, hearing pleasant sounds, etc. This
shows the pleasant character of upekkhavedana because of its being the product of
wholesome kammas. In this connection the sub-commentary on Visuddhimagga says:
"'The upekkhavedana which, being the full-blown product of low
kamma, is painful and as such, it is of low character." In other words, the
upekkhavedana that is based on unwholesome kamma may be indifferent and neutral but, since
it stems from evil kamma, it is low just like the flower that blooms in a heap of excreta.
Moreover, although it is not as worse as dukkhavedana, it is unbearable and so it is low.
In fact, the kammic effect of a bad deed is never good or free from pain and suffering.
Then, elaborating the function of vedana in the chain of causation, the
sub-commentary says: "The upekkhavedana that results from unwholesome kamma should be
described as dukkha since it is undesirable. The upekkhavedana that has its origin in
wholesome kamma should be described as sukha since it is desirable." It is evident in
the pleasant feeling that we have when we hear a pleasant sound. Sweet words are welcome
to the ear while harsh words jar on it. The nature of some feelings caused by ordinary
sounds is not obvious and such feelings are termed upekkhavedana.
The three kinds of vedana due to hearing is distinctly familiar to the
ever-mindful yogi. He knows that the dukkha or sukhavedana arises from contact between the
sound and the ear; that there is no soul or atta to be affected by it; that the vedana
arises and vanishes instantly, and that everything is impermanent. As his concentration
develops, he becomes aware of the ceaseless arising and vanishing of all the three kinds
of vedana.
Like hearing, smelling is also conditioned. The smelling consciousness
arises from the contact between the nose and the odour. It is impossible to smell without
the odour or the sensitive part of the nose (ghanapasada). People without sensitive nose
are rare. Once I met a monk who said that he had practically no scent even when he smelled
a handkerchief moistened with perfume. Even when the nose is sensitive you cannot have any
scent if you plug it or if there is nothing to be scented. The scent is detected only when
it is wafted in the air and comes into contact with the sensitive part of the nose.
Ordinary people labour under the delusion that it is the person or the living being who
smells. In fact it is the contact between the airborne scent and the rupas of the nose in
continual flux that causes smelling consciousness. As in the case of seeing and hearing
this ghana-vinnana is a process that involves advertence (avajjana), impulsion (javana),
investigation and other stages. The crux of the matter is of course the smelling
consciousness which ceaselessly arises and vanishes, depending on the nose and the smell.
We are all familiar with the offensive smell of something rotten or the
fragrance of a flower. Common people believe that it is they who smell whereas the yogi
knows that it is only a phenomenon arising from the conjunction of the nose, the odour and
consciousness and he comes to realize the ceaseless influx and impermanence of everything.
That is the difference between the yogi and the common people.
Vedana (feeling) may be agreeable or disagreeable according to the
nature of impact (phassa). Scents of flowers and perfumes cause pleasant feelings whereas
the stench of the decomposing matter is offensive to the nose. The ordinary smells cause
neither pleasant nor unpleasant feelings and this is upekkhavedana; a feeling that is so
subtle that we do not notice it. The yogi notes the smelling consciousness and becomes
aware of the three kinds of feelings, and their arising and dissolution
Consciousness in eating (jivha-vinnana) arises from contact between the
tongue and the food. Without the tongue or the flavour of food, there can be no
consciousness of taste but, if the tongue is so unhealthy as to lack sensitivity, the food
will be tasteless. Common people believe that it is a living being who eats and enjoys the
flavour. In fact, the rupas forming the sensitive part of the tongue are forever in a flux
and it is from the contact of these rupas and the flavour of food that there arises
consciousness which involves the thought-moments that we have mentioned before. The events
at this stage are so rapid that they seem to form a single thought moment. This
consciousness (jivha-vinnana) changes at every moment, depending on the tongue and the
flavour. It is this citta that knows sweetness, sourness, bitterness and so forth.
The conjunction of the tongue, the flavour and consciousness means what
in Pali is called phassa. This is familiar to everybody, but common people think that it
is they as living beings who experience the flavour. Only the yogi who notes all the
psycho-physical events that occur while he is eating knows it as a phenomenon dependent on
the tongue, the flavour and consciousness. Later on, he gains a clear insight into its
ceaseless flux and impermanence.
Contact with flavour is followed by sensations (vedana) that may be
good or bad according to the flavour. Eating good food gives us pleasure, we like it,
whereas we complain of bad food or the bitter taste of some medicine. The feeling that we
have when we eat some food is indifferent. Although this is upekkhavedana, the opportunity
to eat is the outcome of good kamma. Hence, eating such food also has a pleasant aspect
and leads to attachment, but as for the yogi with developed samadhi who notes the
nama-rupa at every moment, he becomes empirically aware of the arising of all sensations
(pleasant, unpleasant or indifferent) and their passing away.
Another source of contact, feeling, etc., is the sensitive part of the
body (kayadvara). It is said: "Body consciousness arises from the body or tactile
organ and the tactile object. Body-impression (phassa) arises from the conjunction of the
body, the tactile object and tactile consciousness, and the tactile impression conditions
the (tactile) sensations (vedana)."
This needs some elaboration. Seeing, hearing, smelling and eating -
each of these physical events concerns only its respective organ, viz., the eyes, etc.
Consciousness in connection with them also arises only in a certain part of the head.
These psycho-physical events are restricted in terms of locality and duration. You are
conscious of eating only when you are eating, conscious of hearing only when there is
something to be heard. As for the body-consciousness, it is present in regard to every
part of the body. You have tactile impression somewhere on your body at any time whenever
you think of it. So its sphere is extensive and its duration is long. For the beginner in
vipassana practice, contemplation of tactile impression is most important and so the yogi
should know something about it.
The fine, sensitive matter (rupa) that can receive the tactile
impression pervades the whole body. It exists in every healthy part of the body and so it
can give rise to tactile consciousness everywhere through contact with an external or
internal rupa in the body. These rupas are impermanent and are in a flux from moment to
moment. They are like the electric energy that passes into the bulb and gives light.
In this state of ceaseless flux the sensitive body rupa that has not
yet passed away collides with an external or internal rupa, thereby giving rise to
body-consciousness. As in the case of seeing, etc., this consciousness involves a series
of thought-moments, viz., citta that inquires the tactile object, citta that knows, citta
that registers etc., but these cittas arise and vanish so rapidly that the tactile
consciousness appears to involve only a single thought-moment.
Body-consciousness is always present. It is not apparent when the mind
is absorbed in any object other than the body but, if the attention is directed to the
body, there is no doubt about the tactile impression somewhere as, for example, the
contact between the body and the floor, the body and the clothes, and so forth.
So the yogi who practises mindfulness in regard to physical contact of
his body is aware of its conditionality. He knows that it is neither uncaused nor created,
that it in fact depends on the conjunction of tactile object and the sensitive rupa in
healthy condition. The object of contact is called photthappha in Pali and it is of three
kinds, viz., pathavi, tejo and vayo.
Pathavi element has the attribute of hardness and coarseness and this
attribute is to be found if one examines or focuses on a part of the body that gives a
clear impression of contact. Softness too is to be regarded as pathavi for softness and
coarseness do not differ essentially. We call velvet a smooth object in comparison with
many things that are coarser than it but it appears to be rough when it hits the soft part
of the human eye. So softness and roughness are relative terms that differ only in degree,
not in kind. Softness and smoothness represent solidity that is a mark of pathavi element.
According to commentaries, solidity as the essence of pathavi element
serves as the abode of other elements that have to depend on it just as all objects have
to depend on earth. For example, rice-powder when mixed with water turns into a lump in
which it may be termed pathavi because of its solidity or its predominantly solid
character. The particles of powder are combined and held together by the water (apo)
element. The lump also contains tejo element that is concerned with heat or cold, as well
as the wind (vayo) element that supports stiffness and expansion. So this lump of rice
powder contains all the four elements, and of these the element of solidity (pathavi) is
the basis of other elements. All the other three elements are also inherent in the rice
powder. Thus, just as rice powder is the support of water element, etc., so also the earth
element is the support of its associated rupas. This is the function of the earth element.
Thus, to the yogi, the earth-element appears to be the basis for its
co-elements. This is its paccupatthana and so is of heaviness and lightness. In
Dhammasangani, one of the books of Abhidhamma pitaka and its commentary, the pathavi
element is described as heavy and light. So when you move a thing and feel that it is
heavy or light, that feeling or idea is to be included in the paccupatthana of the pathavi
element. The yogi is aware of the characteristics of pathavi element through its
roughness, softness or smoothness. He is aware of its function when he realizes that it
serves as the basis of other rupas. He is aware of its paccupatthana when he knows that
other rupas lie in the pathavi element, that it bears other rupas, that it is heavy or
light. Such awareness of pathavi element in terms of characteristics (lakkhana), function
(rasa) and paccupatthana means realization of truth and discriminative insight into the
nature of nama-rupa.
As for the common people, contact with pathavi element is usually
understood in terms of hands, legs, clothes, man and so forth. This way of thinking is
wrong, but the yogi knows the truth through the practice of mindfulness.
Tejo element means heat. It is evident when we change the position of
the body, because we feel heated and pressed in some part of the body. Coldness too is a
kind of weak tejo element. A thing is hot or cold relative to other things. The shade of a
tree may be cool in comparison with the heat of the sun, but it is hot relative to the
interior of a cave or house. The water in the pot is cool relative to that in the open air
but hot when compared to iced water. Hot, warm and cool are relative terms that mean
essentially tejo dhatu (element).
Tejo or heat is essential to maturation and development. The function
of heat is to make organisms mature and ripe. Old age and decay of trees, buildings, the
earth, rocks, etc., are due to heat of the sun and it is the heat of the physical body
that gives rise to grey hair, decaying teeth, wrinkled skin and other signs of senility.
The greater the heat, the more rapid is the process of maturation. Tejo element makes the
rupas soft and pliant. So as the yogi notes, "hot", "hot", he realizes
its function, viz., to soften and loosen.
When heat or cold is manifest in the body, the mindful yogi is aware of
tejo element in terms of its characteristics. He knows its function (rasa) when he knows
that it makes things soft and pliant. Thus, the yogi has discriminative insight into the
nature of nama-rupa. He is free from the illusion that common people have when they think
of tejo element in terms of substance and entity such as hand, man, woman and so forth.
Vayo element has the characteristics of stiffness and rigidity. If you
sit erect and stretch your back and introspect yourself, you will find rigidity. Again,
stretch your arm and fix your mind inside the hand. You will find stiffness there. So if
you sit and note mentally, "sitting", you become aware of vayo element in terms
of its characteristics. You know it not as ego, as atman, etc., but as stiffness and this
insight into the real nature of vayo is important.
But initially the yogi's insight will not be necessarily confined to
the reality of stiffness. Ideas of substance, self, and so forth, continue to obtrude upon
his mind. For in the beginning, the average person's concentration is weak and he tends to
let his mind wander freely. His mind is usually dominated by sensual desire and other
hindrances (nivarana) that conflict with tranquillity and insight-knowledge and impede
their progress. As a result, the mind is not confined to the reality of elements. Some
teachers would have us believe that all conventional notions go by the board at the
outset, but this is impossible. It is indeed hard for any beginner to be free from
hindrances and pure in mind and belief. Exceptions may be made in the case of those who
heard the Dhamma right from the Buddha and attained the holy path, but such kind of
attainment is unthinkable for other people.
Vipassana practice does not help to develop insight in the beginning.
While contemplating nama-rupa, the yogi develops concentration strongly, thereby leaving
almost no room for stray thoughts and keeps himself constantly mindful. It is only at this
stage of mental purity that there arises the insight into the real nature of nama-rupa.
Even so, conventional notions linger before the attainment of insight into the dissolution
of all forms of existence (bhanganana). So it is said in Visuddhimagga that at the earlier
stage of insight (udayabbayanana), the yogi tends to see "the lights, flowers on the
pagoda platform or fishes and turtles in the sea." But later on, both the nama-rupa
objects of contemplation and the contemplating mind are found to pass away one after
another. Conventional ideas of shape, figure, etc., do not arise any longer. As
Visuddhimagga says, "attention is fixed on cessation, disappearance and
dissolution."
Therefore, initially the yogi knows only the object that he
contemplates in the right way. Rigidity (vayo) is evident at the moment of lifting the
foot, etc. To make us aware of this, the Buddha says, "When he (the yogi) walks, he
knows that he is walking." Here, the yogi is instructed to be aware only of the fact
that he is walking; he is not told to reflect on the vayo or rigidity. This means that
names are not relevant, that what matters most is to see things as they really are, that
the yogi can note them in terms of popular usage. Again, vayo element is manifest in the
movement of any part of the body. Awareness of rigidity in such movement or in the
abdominal rising and falling means awareness of the real marks of vayo element. Looseness
too is a mark of vayo for we speak comparatively when we refer to tightness or looseness
of anything.
It is also the function of vayo element to move, incline, tilt or
displace. The yogi notes the motion of his hands when he bends them and becomes aware of
the true nature of vayo element. He knows it also when he focuses on walking, etc. At such
moments, he does not think of the object as man, woman, body and so forth. He is aware
only of the gradual movement which means the real nature of vayo element. He is also aware
of something pushing or leading another from one place to the other. Thus, he knows vayo
by means of the phenomenon that appears on his mental horizon. This is awareness by
paccupatthana which the scriptures describe as "Abhinihara paccupatthana" - the
phenomena which appears as leading.
All the three primary elements - pathavi, tejo and vayo are to be known
only by experience. You cannot know them by hearing, etc. You can hear the sound of
something, but you cannot say whether it is coarse or soft, hot or cold, rigid, stable or
moving. Neither will its smell, taste or visual form tell you anything about its primary
quality. Yet, it is a popular belief that we can identify the primary elements by seeing.
No doubt a rock or a block of iron apparently gives us the impression
of hardness, but this is not due to seeing. It is merely an inductive generalization based
on past experience. What we know by seeing is only the visual form which sometimes gives a
false impression as is evident when we tread on what we believe to be solid ground and
stumble into a quagmire, or when we get burnt by handling a heated iron bar unknowingly.
Nor can we know vayo element by seeing for it is an element that we can
know only empirically. We see that an object is moving because we see it here and there,
and the idea of its motion is only an inference from our observation of its displacements.
Yet, when one of the two trains at rest starts moving, the other train appears to be in
motion and to a traveller in a fast moving train, the trees appear to be running in the
opposite direction. These optical illusions bear out the fact that we cannot rely on our
eyes for the truth about motion.
Once, an elderly layman who was interested in meditation told us about
his dialogue with a monk-teacher. Taking a pillow and shaking it, he asked the monk,
"Now, Sir, what dhammas do you see passing away?"
"Well, I see the vayo element passing away."
"Sir, you are wrong. What you see with your eyes is only the
visual form. If you are mindful at the moment of seeing, you know only what happens to the
visual form. You cannot know empirically anything about vayo element at the moment of
seeing. Vipassana is a practice that gives priority to what is to be known actually by
introspection. It is only afterwards that other facts are to be noted and realized by
reasoning. It is natural to contemplate each sense-object only through its respective
sense-organ. Vayo is an object that is known only through body-contact. We can know the
motion of vayo if we introspect while walking, bending, etc. Now without being in contact
with vayo, you say that you know its dissolution. What you say is unnatural and
wrong."
There is much truth in my informant's criticism. Instead of relying on
Satipatthana and other suttas for information, some teachers give purely speculative
instructions on the basis of Abhidhamma books that deal with natural phenomena
exclusively. There are yogis who practise according to these instructions. The practice
may benefit them spiritually but they cannot rely on it for the attainment of real insight
and stages on the holy path. The only exceptions are a few gifted yogis who gain insights
through speculative introspection.
The best thing to do is to follow the Buddha's instruction in
Satipatthana sutta and contemplate the psycho-physical phenomena that arise from the six
senses. This is, as the Buddha says, //eka yano maggo//: "the only way". In the
case of body-sense corresponding to body-consciousness we should note and recognize the
body-impression when we are aware of any body-contact internally or externally. Otherwise
the impression tends to dominate us in conjunction with avijja and other defilements. We
tend to harbour illusions of permanence, happiness and ego-belief. Thus, through contact,
we become attached to certain parts of the body, we consider them permanent and make
distinctions according to our preferences. If we note every contact and realize their
sensory, impermanent, unsatisfactory and insubstantial nature, there is no attachment and
we are on the right path of vipassana that will certainly lead to enlightenment and
Nibbana.
Body-sensitivity (kayapasada) is a quality that pervades the whole body
when it is in a healthy condition. There are many things such as clothes, air and others
that can give the body tactile impressions. The body, too, possesses many things, e.g.
hair, skin, that lend themselves to contact. Thus, there are always both external and
internal objects of contact for the body-sensitivity. Reflection will point clearly to the
possibility of contact in every part of the body and there is no place, however small,
that does not admit of contact, and this contact gives rise to body-consciousness.
From the conjunction of the body-sensitivity, object of contact and
body-consciousness, there arises impression (phassa) that is very obvious. Pleasant
impression of contact gives rise to pleasant feeling while unpleasant impression results
in painful feeling. The deeper the impression the more intense is the feeling.