Paṭicca Samuppāda > Paṭṭhāna Dhamma > Āsevana and Aññamañña Paccayā

November 20, 2016; revised July 1, 2019 (comment added at the end); March 4, 2021; September 9, 2022; March 28, 2023

Introduction

1. As mentioned in the “Paṭṭhāna Dhamma – Connection to Cause and Effect (Hetu Phala),” there are 24 paccayā or conditions that contribute to various steps in the Paṭicca Samuppāda (PS) cycles.

▪As discussed in the post “What Does “Paccayā” Mean in Paṭicca Samuppāda?,” and in the post mentioned above, a given step in a PS cycle cannot proceed until one or more conditions are satisfied. And we have control over most of these conditions. Therein lies Paṭṭhāna Dhamma’s value; we can see how to stop Akusala-Mūla PS cycles from proceeding and maintain Kusala-Mūla PS cycles.

▪This post will discuss two of those 24 paccayā or conditions. They are somewhat related to each other and thus are suitable to discuss.

Āsevana Paccayā

2. Āsevana paccayā — which can be loosely translated as the “condition of association” — is an important condition that fuels various PS steps at different times.

▪In most cases, āsevana paccayā has been translated as a “condition of repetition.” Even though repetition is relevant, repetition comes via close associations, so the association is primary.

▪The word “āsevana” comes from “ā” and “sevana” or “came to the shade”; when one is staying close to a tree in the hot sun, one is “hanging around” the tree and is benefited from its cool shade.

▪Of course, as we will see below, one can be influenced in the wrong direction when associating with bad friends. Therefore, āsevana paccayā comes into play in both Kusala-Mūla and Akusala-Mūla PS.

▪When one likes the experience, one tends to keep that association. Sometimes, that eventually leads to harmful consequences, but one still tends to keep bad associations because of the ignorance of such bad outcomes.

3. An important role of āsevana paccayā is played in the “viññāṇa paccayā nāmarūpa” step in PS, whether it is Kusala-Mūla PS or Akusala-Mūla PS.

▪For example, a teenager who is (unknowingly) cultivating a viññāṇa for drinking is heavily influenced by the association with bad friends. He likes to “hang out” with such bad friends and tends to generate a lot of saṅkappa or vacī saṅkhāra (conscious thinking about how he/she will be having a good time with those friends at parties with a lot of alcohol). The nāmarūpa generated in his mind are such “party scenes,” visualizing those friends and various favorite drinks.

▪On the other hand, when one is on the right path, one constantly thinks about Dhamma Concepts, has Dhamma discussions with good friends, and visualizes such gatherings. Or one could be visualizing some meritorious deeds, like giving or helping out at an orphanage; these are good nāmarūpa generated with such a good viññāṇa.

▪These nāmarūpa are different from the nāmarūpa that descends to a womb at the okkanti moment, i.e., when a gandhabba enters a womb. We will discuss that later. So, nāmarūpa comes in two main categories.

Āsevana Paccayā – Examples

4. Āsevana paccayā can play a role in different types of situations. Let us consider two such examples.

▪One such situation is the teenager mentioned above, who cultivates bad nāmarūpa by associating with bad friends. The more he/she associates with such bad friends, the more he/she will generate bad nāmarūpa of party scenes with a lot of alcohol and/or drugs. Also, there will be other associated nāmarūpa: He/she will constantly be visualizing favorite friends, gathering places, appropriate music, etc.

▪In such an environment, it is also easy to cultivate other types of “bad nāmarūpa” such as gambling, illicit sex, stealing (to sustain those activities), violence, and even killings.

▪The teenager could cultivate such nāmarūpa and more over time.

5. On the other hand, when one is on either mundane or lokuttara Eightfold Path, one will be cultivating “good viññāṇa,” and one tends to visualize exactly opposite types of nāmarūpa.

▪One could be planning a Dhamma discussion and thinking and visualizing who will be there and what topics will be discussed. One could be organizing a charity event and making arrangements.

▪One could plan to attend a meditation retreat and visualize what activities one may engage in. One could even be thinking about and trying to visualize the suffering endured by poor children in a situation one is familiar with and generating compassion-filled thoughts and nāmarūpa.

6. In either case, the “nāmarūpa paccayā saḷāyatana” step will then point one’s all six āyatana or saḷāyatana (five physical senses and the mind) towards such thoughts, visuals, and actions.

▪Then those associations will become even stronger. When one gets absorbed in relevant activities, when one’s mind is occupied with such thoughts and constantly visualizes related activities, people, and objects, those nāmarūpa will “grow” in one’s mind. Those nāmarūpa will be closely associated with one’s gati.

▪This is also discussed in the post: “The Law of Attraction, Habits, Character (Gati), and Cravings (Āsavas).”

Āsevana Paccayā – In a Citta Vīthi

7. Another critical application of the āsevana paccayā occurs in a citta vīthi. When we are generating saṅkappa (or sankalapanā), we are generating an enormous number of citta vīthi in a short time. Each citta vīthi will make the next citta vīthi stronger (actually make the javana citta in the subsequent citta vīthi stronger) by association.

▪The best example is one we have discussed several times in the “Living Dhamma” section. When we start thinking about an enemy, we start visualizing more and more bad situations that we encountered with that person; we tend to pull out all “past associations” from memory and conjure up “many possible future scenarios” in our minds.

▪All these “bad saṅkappa” or “conscious bad thoughts” will strengthen the PS steps.

▪Our minds can run wild if not controlled with Satipaṭṭhāna or Ānāpāna; see, “Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta – Relevance to Suffering in This Life.”

8. Even in a given citta vīthi, each javana citta is strengthened by the previous javana citta via āsevana paccayā. This happens in the time scale of a billionth of a second and is driven by our gati.

▪The first javana citta is weak. But the second javana citta gets fuel from the first one and is inevitably generating strength via association. One meaning of the name javana is “to run with.” The series of 7 javanas “run with the object in mind,” initially getting stronger until the fifth javana. Then the fuel runs out, and the sixth and seventh javana become weaker and weaker.

▪Kamma generated by the first javana citta can only bring vipāka into this life. But kamma done by the second through the sixth javana citta (which get stronger by association) are potent enough to bring kamma vipāka in many future lives. The seventh javana is weak. Thus, it can bring vipāka only in the next life and become null if it does not bring vipāka in the next life.

▪It is unnecessary to learn the complexities of citta vīthi, but it is good to have some idea.

9. The association then moves to the next citta vīthi. Thus the subsequent citta vīthi (and thus the javana citta in that citta vīthi) will be stronger. And thus, it propagates, which is why one can get “really worked up” even thinking about a hated person.

▪This is why Satipaṭṭhāna (and being mindful of evil thoughts) is so important. The start of such a hateful mindset is AUTOMATIC (due to our gati,) as discussed in the “Living Dhamma” section. But we can stop those initial thoughts BEFORE they get strong and become out of control if we are mindful.

▪This can be compared to a seed giving rise to a mighty tree unless one destroys it when it is just a little bud. When a seed germinates and becomes visible as a little plant, that little bud can be easily broken. But if one waits and allows it to grow, it COULD grow into a strong tree that is hard to take down.

10. As we see, Paṭṭhāna Dhamma can go into finer details. This is why Paṭicca Samuppāda has been compared to an ocean. It is vast and can explain the arising of ANY saṅkhata (alive or inert) in this world.

▪However, if we start digging deeper, that could become a waste of time since there is no ending regarding how much finer detail one wants to examine.

▪Still, it is good to see the depth of Buddha Dhamma. It gives one confidence in following the Path. Unshakable faith comes from realizing that Buddha Dhamma describes our world as it is.

Aññamañña Paccayā

11. Now let us briefly discuss the aññamañña paccayā, usually translated as “mutuality condition.” This is not a bad translation but could also be translated as “forward and backward condition.”

▪Many of the PS cycle’s steps go backward and forward. For example, the step we have discussed, “viññāṇa paccayā nāmarūpa,” runs backward (in the same PS cycle) too.

▪Therefore, while nāmarūpa are generated AND get stronger by a given viññāṇa, the viññāṇa itself gets stronger by the cultivation of nāmarūpa, i.e., “nāmarūpa paccayā viññāṇa” step runs simultaneously too. This is “mutual strengthening.”

▪In the example of the teenager, the cultivation of “bad” nāmarūpa (visuals of party scenes, bad friends, etc.) leads to the strengthening of that bad viññāṇa (desire to drink or take drugs), even though the bad viññāṇa first leads to the corresponding nāmarūpa.

12. The aññamañña paccayā — just like the āsevana paccayā — is highly effective in the first several steps in PS. While the “avijjā paccayā saṅkhāra” step initiates bad actions (or saṅkhāra), the continued actions in the same direction then lead to strengthening avijjā (or ignorance of the consequences of such actions), i.e., “saṅkhāra paccayā avijjā.”

▪This is why it is essential to stop such conscious saṅkhāra (especially saṅkappa or the first part of vacī saṅkhāra) when one realizes that one is getting on the wrong track. Otherwise, one’s avijjā will grow, and one’s bad gati will only grow.

▪Such immoral saṅkhāra — in the form of vacī saṅkhāra — appear to provide us with a sense of satisfaction at that time. For example, when one gets “really worked up” thinking about a bad deed done by an enemy, it gives one pleasure to say bad things about that person to others, or even retaliate directly to that person.

13. However, such actions lead to a “heat” or “tāpa” in us in the longer term. Long after that “initial satisfaction” of putting down that person, one will be “burning inside” for a long time, even if one does not realize that. One will be prone to frequent outbursts even with other people.

▪Removal of this tāpa or “fire” in us is what is meant by the phrase “ātāpi sampajano” in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. That will help reduce our tendency to get “worked up” at the slightest provocation, i.e., to change our gati in the right direction; see “Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta – Structure.”

▪This is the first type of suffering that many of us don’t even realize; see, “Suffering in This Life – Role of Mental Impurities” and other posts in “Living Dhamma.”

14. Finally, the aññamañña paccayā is not operative starting at the “saḷāyatana paccayā phassa” step in the Paṭicca Samuppāda.

▪We can see that “phassa cannot lead to saḷāyatana,” “vedanā cannot lead to phassa,” etc.

Āsevana and Asevana – Different meanings

July 1, 2019: Regarding #2 above, it is essential to note that āsevana differs from asevana.

▪Sevana is association. Āsevana (Ā + sevana) is “came to associate with”(as discussed in #2 above).

▪Asevana (A with a short A + sevana) is “not to associate with,” the negation; see #5 of “Associations (Sevana) – A Root Cause of Wrong Views..”

It is imperative to see the difference, which illustrates how Pāli words combine (sandhi) to produce other words with very different meanings. Thanks to Tobias Große for bringing this distinction to our attention at today’s discussion forum.