|
<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation: Key Dhamma Concepts > Sorting out Some Key Pali Terms (Taṇhā, Lobha, Dosa, Moha, etc) > Kāmaccandha [Kāmacchanda] and Icca – Being Blinded by Cravings |
November 29, 2018; revised January 30, 2024
1. Kāmaccandha [Kāmacchanda] is a Pāli word that has roots in the keyword “icca” (pronounced “ichcha”),
▪There is no need to look for Sanskrit roots to find meanings hidden in Pāli words; this is a good example.
▪Kāmaccandha [Kāmacchanda] is one of the five hindrances (pañca nīvaraṇa); see, “Key to Calming the Mind – The Five Hindrances.”
2. Kāmaccandha [Kāmacchanda] (“kāma”+“icca”+ “andha”) means the POSSIBILITY to be blinded by sense desires. We will analyze it below. First let me explain the pronunciation of the key words “icca” and “anicca.”
▪The Pāli word that is spelled in English as “icca” is pronounced as “ichcha,” and means liking/craving.
▪“Na” + “icca” is “anicca,” which basically means “(in the long term) it is not possible to get what one craves, likes, or wants.”
▪“Na” + “icca” is “anicca,” just like “na” + “āgāmī” is “Anāgāmī.” [āgāmī : （adj.）, coming; one who comes.]
Such “combined words” are very common in Pāli. I will just show two examples from the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta:
▪“yampicchaṁ na labhati tampi dukkhaṁ” is “yam pi iccham na labhati tam pi dukkham.” Here “strong craving” is expressed by adding an extra “h” to go from icca to iccha.
In the present case, “Kāma”+“icca”+ “andha” becomes Kāmaccandha [Kāmacchanda].
▪That is similar to “ayamantimā jāti” in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta coming from “ayam antima jāti.”
Here is an audio recording of how these words are pronounced:
WebLink: audio pronunciation of kāmaccandha [kāmacchanda] Download
3. Now let us look at the meaning of the other components of the word kāmacchanda.
▪Here “kāma” conventionally means indulging in sense pleasures that belong to the kāma loka: eye, ear, nose, tongue, and the body; “andha” means blind.
▪If the attraction for something becomes so strong that one’s mind may become “blind to rational thought.” The mind can lose any control over what is sensible and what is not sensible (or immoral). Kāmaccandha [kāmacchanda] means “blinded by cravings for sensory pleasures.”
▪Anyone who has not started comprehending Tilakkhaṇa (for which removal of the ten types of micchā diṭṭhi is a pre-condition), would have kāmaccandha [kāmacchanda].
▪However, one with kāmaccandha [kāmacchanda] MAY not commit any immoral action, unless the temptation becomes “high.”
4. When a strong sensory input (ārammaṇa) comes in, one could be blinded by it and may do something immoral.
▪For example, if one gets an opportunity to rob or even kill someone without getting caught, that could become very tempting.
▪We have heard about situations where well-known people who are considered to be “highly moral” are charged with rape or taking large bribes.
5. This possibility of generating kāmaccandha [kāmacchanda] is removed when one attains the Sotāpanna stage of Nibbāna. Kāmaccandha [Kāmacchanda] will be reduced to kāma rāga for a Sotāpanna.
▪Having kāma rāga means one still craves sensory pleasures, but WILL NOT do anything immoral to get such sense pleasures.
▪For example, a Sotāpanna could live a happily married person taking care of a family and engaging in sexual activities with the spouse. He/she may like to enjoy other sense pleasures too.
▪Kāma rāga is removed only at the Anāgāmi stage of Nibbāna.
6. Now, let us analyze the word “kāma” in more detail. The true meaning of “kāma” comes from the WebLink: suttacentral: Nibbedhika Sutta (AN 6.63):
“Saṅkapparāgo purisassa kāmo,
Netekāmā yāni citrāni loke;
Saṅkapparāgo purisassa kāmo,
Tiṭṭhanti citrāni tatheva loke;
Athettha dhīrā vinayanti chandanti.”
▪Kāma is defined as “saṅkappa rāga about sense pleasing material things (citrāni loke).” And “saṅkappa” means “generating conscious thoughts.”
▪For example, Sammā Saṅkappa in the Noble Eightfold Path is about “contemplating fruitful Dhamma concepts with the Nibbāna as the goal.”
▪Vacī saṅkhāra include BOTH saṅkappa conscious thoughts and vācā (speech); they both depend on the cetasika (mental factors) of vitakka and vicāra that arise in the mind based on one’s mindset, see, “Correct Meaning of Vacī Saṅkhāra.”
7. The above explanation provides us with a way to start reducing kāmacchanda [kāmacchanda] even before one gets rid of the ten types of micchā diṭṭhi.
▪It is important to note that “kāma” is not just engaging in activities to fulfill sense pleasures; “kāma” includes indulging in conscious thoughts about the five sense faculties that belong to the kāma loka: eye, ear, nose, tongue, and the body.
▪Most times, people enjoy just thinking about sense pleasures, for example, sex or food.
▪Every time one generates conscious thoughts about sensory pleasures, one’s kāmacchanda [kāmacchanda] increases. By cutting down on such “daydreaming,” one could reduce one’s kāmacchanda [kāmacchanda].
▪However, it will be permanently reduced to the kāma rāga level only at the Sotāpanna stage.
8. Even when one has kāmacchanda [kāmacchanda], one may be able to SUPPRESS it temporarily by focusing the mind on a neutral object, such as breath or a kasiṇa object.
▪That is how ancient yogis, and even some people today, cultivate jhānās by engaging in breath or kasiṇa meditations.
▪Furthermore, one would need to be abstaining from akusala kamma.
9. This is why any sutta that describes jhāna has the following verse: “..bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi savitakkaṁ savicāraṁ vivekajaṁ pītisukhaṁ paṭhamaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati..”
▪That means even to get to the first jhāna, one would need to be abstaining from akusala kamma (vivicca akusalehi dhammehi) and kāma saṅkappa (vivicceva kāmehi).
▪Therefore, it is clear from the above discussion that even a Sotāpanna is not guaranteed to be able to attain jhānā.
▪Jhānā are different from magga phala. We all have cultivated jhānā in our deep past. It is easier to get to jhānā for those who have practiced jhānā in recent lives.
▪However, one needs to attain a magga phala just once.
10. One can understand that because such “sense pleasing things” are not there in Brahma loka.
▪A rūpa loka Brahma (i.e., a rūpāvacara Brahma) has a very fine body and does not have a nose to smell, a tongue to taste, or a solid enough body to feel touch. It can only see and hear.
▪Since a Brahma cannot taste, smell or touch, a Brahma does not engage in those sense pleasures that are available in the kāma loka like tasting food, smelling nice aromas, or engaging in sex. Brahmās are unisex. However, even a human female who cultivated jhānā and is born as a brahma is said to have “purisa gati” as a brahma: WebLink: suttacentral: Bahdhātuka Sutta (MN 115). That term “purisa” is not used in the sense of “male” (Atthapurisa puggalās include women who have comprehended the Four Noble Truths, i.e., belong to the Saṅgha).
▪Kāmacchanda [Kāmacchanda] involves only those sense pleasures that are available only in kāma loka.
11. Jhānic pleasures are cultivated by suppressing kāma rāga; see “Three Kinds of Happiness – What is Nirāmisa Sukha?.”
▪That involves subsiding the “heating of the mind” due to kāma rāga.
▪We don’t realize it, but our minds are heated and agitated by the desire for sense pleasures. However, the desire for sense pleasures cannot be removed by sheer willpower, and becomes possible typically after the Sotāpanna stage; see, “Is It Necessary for a Buddhist to Eliminate Sensual Desires?.”
12. “Tāpa” (pronounced “thāpa”) means heat; when we get really stressed, we feel a “fire” in the heart. When it gets worse, people say, “I could feel my heartburn,” when they hear extremely bad news.
▪When getting angry, we can definitely feel this “fire” within; see, “How to Taste Nibbāna.”
▪Even though we do not realize it, even engaging in kāma saṅkappa (“daydreaming about sensory pleasures”) — let alone engaging in them — leads to a “highly perturbed state of mind.”
▪And “ātāpi” is to remove that “fire” from the heart and the stress from the mind, and calm the mind. This is the “cooling down”, “niveema,” “nivana” or early stages of Nibbāna.
13. This is actually what the verse, “ātāpī sampajāno, satimā vineyya loke abhijjhā domanassam” in the Mahā Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta means.
▪It basically means: “Get rid of the fire or heat in mind by being aware of kilesa or defilements and by removing extreme greed (abhijjhā) that leads to a depressed mind (domanassa) through discipline (vineyya).”
▪We will discuss this later, but here is the summary: When one gets angry, that is domanassa. When one has strong cravings, that is abhijjhā.
▪When one can at least suppress abhijjhā and domanassa, one’s mind automatically gets to samādhi.
14. These are just basic principles. Furthermore, one cannot get rid of abhijjhā domanassa quickly just by sheer willpower.
▪One needs to learn pure Dhamma and understand WHY a mind gets heated and excited and becomes vulnerable to doing more akusala kamma.
▪The first thing to realize is that one’s actions (kamma) will have consequences (vipāka), if not in this life in future lives.
▪And that is not possible without rebirth. This is why rebirth is a built-in foundation of Buddha Dhamma.