Dhamma of Buddhism

Just as the earth is far from the sky, so is an ignorant and obstinate person from the good doctrine even though he may have listened to the Buddha’s message.
Let me share continue about Abhidhamma. 
The Cetasikas  
The second reality or paramattha dhamma is the cetasikas. The cetasikas are the mental factors or concomitants that arise and perish together with consciousness (citta), sharing its object and basis.
The Abhidhamma lists 52 kinds of cetasikas. One is feeling (vedanaa), another is perception (saññaa). The remaining 50 are grouped together under the term sa"nkhaaraa.
Feeling (vedanaa)
In the Abhidhamma context the word "feeling" signifies the affective experience of an object; it does not imply emotion, which comes under a different heading. Feeling is associated with every type of consciousness. Like the citta itself it is of momentary duration, arising and perishing in an instant. This arising and perishing occur in rapid succession, so much so that they create an illusion of compactness and stability obscuring the momentariness. But the momentariness can be experienced through the practice of mindfulness. It will then be realized that there is no self or agent that experiences the feeling. There is only the arising and disappearing of an impersonal process. As long as we do not see how this impersonal process occurs we will be led to believe that feeling is the self, or the self possesses feeling, or feeling is in the self, or the self is in feeling. These beliefs keep us bound to suffering — to sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair.
Feelings are commonly classified into three types: pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. Pleasant feeling, in the absence of wise consideration (yoniso manasikaara), leads to attachment, unpleasant feeling to repugnance, and neutral feeling to ignorance. A pleasant feeling is pleasant while it lasts but when it changes, as it must, it yields to displeasure — i.e., an unpleasant feeling. An unpleasant feeling is unpleasant while it lasts, but when it passes a shallow satisfaction arises which misleads the average person into thinking: "Now, I am all right." A neutral feeling, in the absence of wise attention, can foster ignorance and a callous indifference to one's own and others' welfare. If, however, one has developed wholesome awareness based on insight, when a neutral feeling arises the mind remains in equanimity, undisturbed in all circumstances. This balanced state of mind is one of the highest forms of happiness.
Relevant to the Abhidhamma, two other classifications of vedanaa must be mentioned.
Five Kinds:
1. bodily agreeable feeling — kaayikaa sukhaa vedanaa (sukha)
2. bodily disagreeable feeling — kaayikaa dukkhaa vedanaa (dukkha)
3. mentally agreeable feeling — cetasikaa sukhaa vedanaa (somanassa)
4. mentally disagreeable feeling — cetasikaa dukkhaa vedanaa (domanassa)
5. indifferent or neutral feeling — adukkha-m-asukhaa vedanaa (upekkhaa)
Six Kinds:
Feelings born of eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact and mind-contact.
Perception (saññaa)
Perception is awareness of an object's distinctive features. It becomes six-fold in relation to the five physical sense objects (color, sound, smell, taste, touch), and mental objects. It is sañña that enables us to recognize an object previously perceived.
As in the case of feeling, perception is an impersonal process which arises and perishes in a moment. If the momentariness and impersonal nature of perception are not appreciated by insight, here again, wrong conceptions will result that perception is the self, or the self possesses perception, or perception is in the self, or the self is in perception.
There are four perversions (vipallaasa) that distort perception — the perversions of regarding:
1. What is impermanent (anicca) as permanent (nicca)
2. What is unsatisfactory (dukkha) as pleasant or happiness-yielding (sukha)
3. What is without self (anattaa) as self (attaa)
4. What is impure (asubha) as pure (subha)
These distortions, born of ignorance, increase craving, grasping, and suffering. Only by the practice of mindfulness can one see through these perversions and avoid them.
Perception and memory. Memory occurs not through a single factor but through a complex process in which perception plays the most important role. When the mind first cognizes an object through the senses, perception "picks out" the object's distinctive mark. When the same object is met with on a subsequent occasion, perception again notices that its distinctive mark is identical with the previous one. It "grasps" the identity of the distinctive marks. This "grasping" is a complex series of thought processes, one of which connects the present object with the previous one and another attaches to the present object the previous one's name. Memory will be good if this "grasping" functions well, and "grasping" will function well if the initial "picking out" of the object's distinctive marks was clear, not obscured by irrelevant thoughts. Clear perception comes through attention. As the Buddha says: "In what is seen there must be just the seen, in what is heard there must be just the heard, in what is sensed there must be just the sensed, in what is thought there must be just the thought."
Sa"nkhaaraa
Sa"nkhaaraa is a collective term for the other fifty cetasikas. These fall into four groups:
1. Universal mental factors (sabba citta saadhaaranaa)
2. Particular mental factors (paki.n.nakaa)
3. Unwholesome mental factors (akusalaa)
4. Beautiful mental factors (sobhanaa)
The universal mental factors. There are seven mental factors which are called universals because they are common to every state of consciousness. Two are feeling and perception mentioned above. The order in which the other five are given has no sequential significance as they all co-exist in any state of consciousness. They are:
1. Contact (phassa), the coming together of the sense organ, object, and appropriate consciousness.
2. Concentration (ekaggataa), the mental focus on one object to the exclusion of all other objects.
3. Attention (manasikaara), the mind's spontaneous turning to the object which binds the associated mental factors to it.
4. Psychic life (jiivitindriya), the vital force supporting and maintaining the other mental factors.
5. Volition (cetanaa), the act of willing. From a psychological standpoint, volition determines the activities of the associated states; from an ethical standpoint it determines its inevitable consequences. Volition leads to action by body, speech and mind and thus becomes the principal factor behind kamma. Therefore the Buddha said: "cetanaaha.m bhikkhave kamma.m vadaami" — "Volition, O monks, is kamma, I declare." Thus wholesome or unwholesome acts, willfully done, are followed at some time by their appropriate consequences. But if one unintentionally steps on an insect and kills it, such an act has no moral or kammic significance as volition is absent. The Buddha's position here contrasts with that of his contemporary, Niga.n.tha Naataputta, the founder of Jainism. Naataputta taught that even involuntary actions constitute kamma, thus release from sa.msaara (the round of rebirths) can be achieved only by abstaining from all activities.
The particular mental factors. Six mental factors are called particulars for, unlike the universals, they need not exist in every citta. The six are:
1. Initial application (vitakka), which applies the other mental factors to the object when attention has brought it into range.
2. Continued application (vicaara), which makes the mental factors dwell on the object.
3. Resolution (adhimokka), which prevents the mental factors from wavering and makes a decision.
4. Effort (viriya), which energizes the mental factors and opposes idleness.
5. Joy (piiti), which creates an interest in the object, giving the mind buoyancy.
6. Wish-to-do (chanda), the desire to act, the wish to achieve an aim.
The universals and particulars are, in themselves, ethically indeterminate but become wholesome, unwholesome, or neither, depending on the state of consciousness in which they occur.
The unwholesome mental factors. There are fourteen unwholesome mental factors. The first four listed below are present in all unwholesome states of consciousness. The others are variable.
1. Delusion (moha) is synonymous with ignorance regarding the Four Noble Truths.
2. Shamelessness of evil (ahirika) is lack of conscience, not as a mysterious inner voice, but as an abhorrence towards evil.
3. Fearlessness of evil (anottappa) is moral recklessness resulting from ignorance about the moral law.
4. Restlessness (uddhacca) is a state of excitement that characterizes all unwholesome acts, contrasting with the peace that accompanies wholesome acts.
5. Attachment (lobha), synonymous with craving, is one of the three unwholesome roots, occurring in both gross and subtle forms.
6. False view (di.t.thi) is seeing things in a distorted way. There are several kinds of false views:
A. the view of a truly existent self (sakkaaya di.t.thi);
B. eternalism (sassata di.t.thi) or nihilism (uccheda di.t.thi);
C. the view denying the efficacy or fruits of kamma (natthi di.t.thi), causality (ahetuka di.t.thi), and the moral law (ahiriya di.t.thi).
7.Conceit (maana) is self-evaluation which arises from comparing oneself with another as better, equal or inferior.
8.Hatred (dosa), another unwholesome root, is a negative response to the object ranging from a slight aversion to destructive rage.
9.Envy (issaa) is the inability to endure the prosperity of others; this is associated with hate.
10. Selfishness (macchariya) is the wish to exclude others from one's own prosperity; this too is associated with hate.
11. Worry (kukkucca) is remorse, brooding, and repenting over evil acts done in the past or good acts left undone.
12. &13. Sloth (thiina) and torpor (middha): this pair indicates laziness or boredom, a frequent hindrance to spiritual progress.
14. Doubt (vicikicchaa) is the undecided frame of mind.
The beautiful mental factors. There are twenty-five beautiful factors. Nineteen are common to all beautiful thoughts, six are variable. The latter are the three "abstinence factors," two "illimitables," and the wisdom factor.
The common beautiful factors (sobhanaa saadhaaranaa) are as follows:
1. Confidence (saddhaa), also called faith, which for a Buddhist means trust in the Three Jewels — the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, and in the principles of the Buddha's teachings.
2. Mindfulness (sati): this is alertness, which makes us aware of what is happening to us, from moment to moment, through the five physical senses and the mind. Mindfulness is essential to insight meditation, when it must be conjoined with a clear comprehension of the suitability, purpose, and conformity with reality of any action. Then it is called right mindfulness (sammaa sati). Usually the average person acts without any form of mindfulness; his acts are prompted by force of habit. Right mindfulness has two functions: one is to increase the power of recollection and the other is to evaluate what is wholesome and what is unwholesome. Right mindfulness is a spiritual faculty that maintains a proper balance of the other faculties — faith, energy, concentration and wisdom.
3. & 4. Shame of evil (hiri) and fear of evil (ottappa) are the opposites of the second and third unwholesome mental factors, already discussed.
5. Non-attachment (alobha) restrains attachment and fosters generosity.
6.Good-will (adosa) is synonymous with loving kindness (mettaa). It keeps a person free from resentment and anger.
7. Equanimity (tatramajjhattaa, upekkhaa) is balance of mind, a quality of neutrality free from attachment and repulsion.
8 -19. The other twelve common beautiful factors fall into six pairs, one member affecting the "body" of mental factors (kaaya), the other affecting consciousness as a whole (citta). The six are as follows, the terms themselves indicating their nature:
A. composure (passaddhi) of the mental factors and consciousness. 
B. buoyancy (lakhutaa) of the mental factors and consciousness
C. pliancy (mudutaa) of the mental factors and consciousness
D. efficiency (kammaññataa) of the mental factors and consciousness
E. proficiency (paguññataa) of the mental factors and consciousness
F. rectitude (ujukataa) of the mental factors and consciousness
The abstinence factors (virati) restrain a person from committing evil acts. These are three in number:
20. Right speech (sammaa vacaa) is abstinence from lying, slandering, abusive language, and idle talk. 
21. Right action (sammaa kammantaa) is abstinence from killing, taking what is not given, and wrong conduct with regard to sense pleasures.
22. Right livelihood (sammaa aajiiva) is abstinence from any livelihood that brings harm to other living beings.
The illimitable factors (appamaññaa) are compassion and sympathetic joy; they are called illimitable because they are boundless and extend to all living beings.
23. Compassion (karu.naa) has the nature of being moved by the suffering of others. The sadness we might experience over the suffering or loss of a loved one is not true compassion. Such sadness is sentimental, a manifestation of grief. Real compassion arises when the mind, detached from self-referential concerns, is stirred by the suffering of others, feeling the suffering as its own.
24. Sympathetic joy (muditaa) has the nature of rejoicing in other's happiness. Usually people rejoice at the success of someone who is near and dear to them, but it is rare for them to rejoice when success and prosperity are enjoyed by someone unknown, not to speak of an adversary. Muditaa embraces all beings and cannot coexist with the unwholesome mental factor of jealousy.
Compassion and sympathetic joy, together with goodwill and equanimity, form the Four Sublime Abodes (brahma vihaara). Goodwill and equanimity were mentioned under the common beautiful factors.
25. The wisdom factor (paññaa) enables one to see things as they truly are, that is, in the light of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and selflessness.
It is important to know the unwholesome and wholesome mental factors that operate in our minds. If we do not know them for what they are we will not be able to recognize them when they arise. But when our insight develops, we can understand that it is not a "self" that commits unwholesome and wholesome acts but just these mental factors.
In Dhamma practice our aim should be to get rid of the unwholesome factors and cultivate the wholesome ones. This has been outlined by the Buddha under Right Effort (sammaa vaayaama), the fifth factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, in terms of four practices. The disciple rouses his will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts the mind, and strives to:
1.prevent the arising of unarisen evil, unwholesome thoughts;
2.abandon evil, unwholesome thoughts that have arisen;
3.produce wholesome thoughts that have not yet arisen;
4.maintain the wholesome factors that have arisen and not let them disappear, but bring them to growth, maturity and full perfection of development.
Regarding the unwholesome thoughts, to prevent them from arising or to abandon them as soon as they have arisen, we have to be mindful of the state of the mind, i.e., whether the mind is with greed, hate and delusion or not. By the constant practice of mindfulness we can learn to catch the unwholesome mental factors as soon as they arise. This mere recognition is often enough to prevent them from gaining ground, from leading to action by deed, word or thought. If this is done on a regular basis, these unwholesome thoughts can become attenuated and eventually cease.
Sometimes, however, unwholesome thoughts keep recurring and mere observation of the state of the mind may not be enough to deal with them. In such situations there are five methods proposed by the Buddha, described in the 20th Middle Length Discourse (Majjhima Nikaaya), MN 20. These are, briefly, as follows:
1. to give one's attention to a different object of a wholesome nature;
2.to reflect on the danger in those unwholesome thoughts;
3.to try not to give any attention to them;
4.to give attention to the removal of the source of those thoughts;
5. to clench the teeth, press the tongue against the palate and restrain, subdue, and suppress the mind with the mind.
Meditation is an important aspect of Buddhist practice. There are forty subjects of samaadhi meditation to suit different individual temperaments and also many types of insight meditation. To select a suitable subject of meditation it is best to seek the help of a competent teacher. If such a teacher is not available, then one has to make a sincere and honest search of one's temperament and character and find guidance in a standard book on meditation. A few examples are given below:
1.The four sublime abodes — loving kindness for those with ill will; compassion for those with a streak of cruelty; sympathetic joy for those with envy, jealousy, aversion, and boredom; equanimity for those with lust and greed.
2.For the conceited: meditation on the absence of an abiding self in all bodily and mental phenomena of existence.
3.For those with sexual obsession: meditation on the unattractive nature of the body.
4.For those with wavering confidence:meditation on the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha.
The ultimate aim should be to develop wisdom (pañña). This is achieved by insight meditation (vipassanaa bhaavanaa), which leads to fully comprehending by direct experience the three characteristics of existence — impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and selflessness.
***
Middle Length Discourse (Majjhima Nikaaya), MN 20
Vitakkasanthana Sutta: The Relaxation of Thoughts
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. There he addressed the monks, "Monks!"
"Yes, lord," the monks replied.
The Blessed One said: "When a monk is intent on the heightened mind, there are five themes he should attend to at the appropriate times. Which five?
"There is the case where evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion, or delusion — arise in a monk while he is referring to and attending to a particular theme. He should attend to another theme, apart from that one, connected with what is skillful. When he is attending to this other theme, apart from that one, connected with what is skillful, then those evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion, or delusion — are abandoned and subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, and concentrates it. Just as a skilled carpenter or his apprentice would use a small peg to knock out, drive out, and pull out a large one; in the same way, if evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion, or delusion — arise in a monk while he is referring to and attending to a particular theme, he should attend to another theme, apart from that one, connected with what is skillful. When he is attending to this other theme, apart from that one, connected with what is skillful, then those evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion, or delusion — are abandoned and subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, and concentrates it.
"If evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion, or delusion — still arise in the monk while he is attending to this other theme, connected with what is skillful, he should scrutinize the drawbacks of those thoughts: 'Truly, these thoughts of mine are unskillful, these thoughts of mine are blameworthy, these thoughts of mine result in stress.' As he is scrutinizing the drawbacks of those thoughts, those evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion, or delusion — are abandoned and subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, and concentrates it. Just as a young woman — or man — fond of adornment, would be horrified, humiliated, and disgusted if the carcass of a snake or a dog or a human being were hung from her neck; in the same way, if evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion, or delusion — still arise in the monk while he is attending to this other theme, connected with what is skillful, he should scrutinize the drawbacks of those thoughts: 'Truly, these thoughts of mine are unskillful, these thoughts of mine are blameworthy, these thoughts of mine result in stress.' As he is scrutinizing the drawbacks of those thoughts, those evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion, or delusion — are abandoned and subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, and concentrates it.
"If evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion or delusion — still arise in the monk while he is scrutinizing the drawbacks of those thoughts, he should pay no mind and pay no attention to those thoughts. As he is paying no mind and paying no attention to them, those evil, unskillful thoughts are abandoned and subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, and concentrates it. Just as a man with good eyes, not wanting to see forms that had come into range, would close his eyes or look away; in the same way, if evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion or delusion — still arise in the monk while he is scrutinizing the drawbacks of those thoughts, he should pay no mind and pay no attention to those thoughts. As he is paying no mind and paying no attention to them, those evil, unskillful thoughts are abandoned and subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, and concentrates it.
"If evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion or delusion — still arise in the monk while he is paying no mind and paying no attention to those thoughts, he should attend to the relaxing of thought-fabrication with regard to those thoughts. As he is attending to the relaxing of thought-fabrication with regard to those thoughts, those evil, unskillful thoughts are abandoned and subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, and concentrates it. Just as the thought would occur to a man walking quickly, 'Why am I walking quickly? Why don't I walk slowly?' So he walks slowly. The thought occurs to him, 'Why am I walking slowly? Why don't I stand?' So he stands. The thought occurs to him, 'Why am I standing? Why don't I sit down?' So he sits down. The thought occurs to him, 'Why am I sitting? Why don't I lie down?' So he lies down. In this way, giving up the grosser posture, he takes up the more refined one. In the same way, if evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion or delusion — still arise in the monk while he is paying no mind and paying no attention to those thoughts, he should attend to the relaxing of thought-fabrication with regard to those thoughts. As he is attending to the relaxing of thought-fabrication with regard to those thoughts, those evil, unskillful thoughts are abandoned and subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, and concentrates it.
"If evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion or delusion — still arise in the monk while he is attending to the relaxing of thought-fabrication with regard to those thoughts, then — with his teeth clenched and his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth — he should beat down, constrain, and crush his mind with his awareness. As — with his teeth clenched and his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth — he is beating down, constraining, and crushing his mind with his awareness, those evil, unskillful thoughts are abandoned and subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, and concentrates it. Just as a strong man, seizing a weaker man by the head or the throat or the shoulders, would beat him down, constrain, and crush him; in the same way, if evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion or delusion — still arise in the monk while he is attending to the relaxing of thought-fabrication with regard to those thoughts, then — with his teeth clenched and his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth — he should beat down, constrain, and crush his mind with his awareness. As — with his teeth clenched and his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth — he is beating down, constraining, and crushing his mind with his awareness, those evil, unskillful thoughts are abandoned and subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, and concentrates it.
"Now when a monk... attending to another theme... scrutinizing the drawbacks of those thoughts... paying no mind and paying no attention to those thoughts... attending to the relaxing of thought-fabrication with regard to those thoughts... beating down, constraining and crushing his mind with his awareness... steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it and concentrates it: He is then called a monk with mastery over the ways of thought sequences. He thinks whatever thought he wants to, and doesn't think whatever thought he doesn't. He has severed craving, thrown off the fetters, and — through the right penetration of conceit — has made an end of suffering and stress."
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks delighted in the Blessed One's words.

Comments

Popular Posts