Key Dhamma Concepts > The Five Aggregates (Pañcakkhandha) > Sensory Experience, Paṭicca Samuppāda, and Pañcupādānakkhandha

September 14, 2024

Sensory experience and how we respond to those experiences determine our future happiness/suffering. The Buddha stated that pañcupādānakkhandha, or our attachment to sensory experience (summarized via rūpa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, viññāṇa), is the cause of suffering. Paṭicca Samuppāda describes how it happens.

Understanding Buddha Dhamma Requires a “New Way of Thinking”

1. Using “conventional human logic,” one will NEVER progress toward understanding Buddha’s teachings, i.e., the Tipiṭaka.

▪The reason is simple: Buddha’s teachings cannot be verified within theories or arguments based on mundane human knowledge.

▪Understanding Buddha Dhamma requires a “paradigm change.” In particular, it requires a drastic change in how one looks at sensory experience.

2. Soon after attaining Buddhahood, the Buddha stated the above using the verse, “adhigato kho myāyaṁ dhammo gambhīro duddaso duranubodho santo paṇīto atakkāvacaro nipuṇo paṇḍitavedanīyo.” See “WebLink: suttacentral: Brahmāyācana Sutta (SN 6.1).”

▪The translation in that link: “This Dhamma (worldview) I have discovered is deep, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, sublime, beyond the scope of logic, subtle, comprehensible to the astute.”

▪“Adhigato kho myāyaṁ dhammo” means “This Dhamma I uncovered.” “gambhīro” means “profound.” Thus, the rest of the translation is good, but “atakkāvacaro” does not mean “beyond the scope of logic.”

▪ “Atakkāvacaro” means “beyond the scope of erroneous logic of humans.”

▪That verse “adhigato kho myāyaṁ dhammo gambhīro duddaso duranubodho santo paṇīto atakkāvacaro nipuṇo paṇḍitavedanīyo” appears in many suttas, including DN 1, DN 14, MN 26, MN 72, MN 95.

3. In the “WebLink: suttacentral: Brahmāyācana Sutta (SN 6.1),” the Buddha further explained why it is difficult for average humans (puthujjana) to see the validity of his teachings.

▪Starting at marker 1.5, he explains why. That verse is better translated as “But people like clinging to sensory pleasures; they love it and enjoy it.”

▪@ marker 1.6: “It’s hard for them to see the truth, i.e., idappaccayatā paṭicca samuppāda.”

▪Idappaccayatā paṭicca samuppāda explains how a mind starts in an undefiled state and is defiled within a split second. It also describes the accumulation of pañcupādānakkhandha.

▪Only the mind of a Buddha can uncover that process. But once explained, we can all understand it.

4. Therefore, the validity of Buddha’s teachings cannot be tested within the theories or logic known to humans. It requires a paradigm change in thinking.

▪All philosophies and religions are based on the assumption that happiness can be achieved somewhere within this world, whether in this life or a “heavenly realm.”

▪Buddha taught that the above assumption is wrong. One can eliminate sakkāya diṭṭhi only by seeing that it is indeed true.

▪Conventional thinking suggests striving for more sensory experiences that provide joy/happiness. However, the Buddha taught that this often leads to a defiled mindset, which is the cause of future suffering—understanding that “unconventional logic” requires an effort.

We Need to Focus on Ending Suffering

5. Humans have an innate desire to be inquisitive; we like to look into everything about this world. However, it is impossible to know everything or even a fraction about many subjects.

▪In the “WebLink: suttacentral: Acinteyya Sutta (AN 4.77),” the Buddha specifically identified four subjects one should avoid.

▪The necessary translation: “There are four unthinkable things. They should not be thought about; anyone who tries to think about them will lose their mind or be frustrated.

▪Those four things are (i) the capabilities of a Buddha, [buddhavisayo acinteyyo] (ii) the subject of jhāna, [jhānavisayo acinteyyo] (iii) the subject of kamma vipāka, [kammavipāko acinteyyo] and (iv) speculation about the wider world, [lokacintā acinteyyā] e.g., other planetary systems, life on other planets, etc.

▪Think about just the last category. Numerous scientists have studied such subjects for hundreds of years. They are gaining “knowledge,” for sure, but such mundane knowledge does not contribute anything to being free of suffering. We have a limited time left in this life to at least get to the Sotāpanna stage. Even if we are reborn again with a human body, we don’t know whether we will be born into a conducive environment to re-engage with Buddha’s teachings. Over 99% of the world’s population is non-Buddhist!

Sammā Samādhi Is Not Restricted to Fourth Jhāna!

6. While on the subject of jhāna, let me point out a misconception about a verse in the “WebLink: suttacentral: Saccavibhaṅga Sutta (MN 141)” that states Sammā Samādhi is equivalent to the four jhānās. That is true, but Sammā Samādhi can be defined in many ways.

▪For someone who cultivates Ariya jhāna, Sammā Samādhi is equivalent to the fourth Ariya jhāna.

▪Another way to describe Sammā Samādhi is in the “WebLink: suttacentral: Sammāsamādhi Sutta (AN 5.113).”

▪But the most general definition of Sammā Samādhi is the following: one who has fulfilled the preceding seven factors of Sammā Diṭṭhi through Sammā Sati would have Sammā Samādhi. See “WebLink: suttacentral: Mahācattārīsaka Sutta (MN 117).”

Focusing One’s Efforts on the Ultimate Goal

7. Some Buddhists spend a lot of time thinking about the first three categories in #5 above, but trying to analyze them in detail is a waste of time.

▪While having some ideas about them is good and even necessary, studying them in detail is not necessary.

▪The Buddha said, “I will teach you what suffering is, how it arises, why it arises, and how to stop it from arising.”

▪We should follow that advice and entirely focus on the goal of reaching at least the first (Sotāpanna) stage of Nibbāna. That involves learning everything possible about the Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Noble Path, Paṭicca Samuppāda, and pañcupādānakkhandha, which are all interrelated.

▪All those subjects examine how our minds become corrupted by attaching to sensory inputs (nimitta/ārammaṇa). A corrupt/defiled mind is subject to suffering. That is what we will examine in this new series of posts.

Importance of Studying Sensory Experience

8. In the statement in orange colour in #7 above, the Buddha stated that it is important first to understand what suffering is and how it arises. Once that is understood, the other two aspects become clear automatically.

▪In other words, the four aspects in that statement are equivalent to dukkha samudaya (the root causes of suffering) and dukkha nirodha (how suffering can be stopped from arising.)

▪We accumulate kammic energy by attaching to sensory inputs (nimitta), to (some of) which we attach (taṇhā), turning them into ārammaṇa.

▪Why do we attach to some sensory inputs? We do that because we have diṭṭhi vipallāsa, saññā vipallāsa, and citta vipallāsa.

▪Vipallāsa means “distortion” or “not the true state affairs.” Those vipallāsa arise as long as we have the corresponding anusaya/saṁyojana; we will discuss that later.

▪Removing the three types of vipallāsa happens in the order above. However, understanding saññā vipallāsa is critical. It will help remove diṭṭhi and citta vipallāsa. Even after understanding saññā vipallāsa (and simultaneously removing diṭṭhi vipallāsa), it takes time to REMOVE saññā vipallāsa and citta vipallāsa. That is where the Satipaṭṭhāna/Ānāpānasati Bhāvanā comes into play.

▪I will discuss that in detail in the upcoming posts, but let us do an overview.

Misleading/Distorted Views and Saññā Lead to Pañcupādānakkhandha

9. While it is “natural” for humans to perceive that happiness is based on sensory pleasures, the Buddha taught that indulgence in sensory pleasures (same as pañcupādānakkhandha) leads to suffering: “saṅkhittena pañcupādānakkhandhā dukkhā” OR “in brief, the origin of suffering is the craving for the five aggregates of rūpa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, viññāṇa (pancupādānakkhandha). See #2 of “Essence of Buddhism – In the First Sutta.” [“saṅkhittena pañcupādānakkhandhā dukkhā” means “through over thrown (khittena) by saŋ, the five grasping aggregates are dukkhā”]

▪The above aspect of Buddha’s teachings is widely known, even if not widely understood. However, another and even deeper aspect has not been discussed in recent years: The “sense of happiness” associated with certain foods, smells, touches, sights, and sounds (distorted saññā) is “built into our bodies” via Paṭicca Samuppāda. That is why it is extremely hard to lose the craving for sensory pleasures.

▪However, understanding how that “false sense of happiness” (distorted saññā) arises is the same as understanding the “root cause of saŋ, i.e., rāga, dosa, and moha” and becoming “sandiṭṭhiko.” This is pointed out in several suttas (e.g., “WebLink: suttacentral: Upavāṇasandiṭṭhika Sutta (SN 35.70)” and “WebLink: suttacentral: Paṭhamasandiṭṭhika Sutta (AN 6.47).” Of course, the translations in those links do not explain the critical concepts.

▪I will analyze the above aspects in this series of posts on pañcupādānakkhandha, commonly translated as “Five Grasping Aggregates.”

Paṭicca Samuppāda Describes the Accumulation of Pañcupādānakkhandha

10. The Paṭicca Samuppāda process describes three critical aspects: (i) the sensory experience (vedanā/saññā), (ii) how one responds to that experience with abhisaṅkhāra, and (iii) how that response (i.e., kamma generation via “kamma viññāṇa”) affects one’s future (during life and also for rebirths).

▪The critical role of saññā has been hidden in recent years. Most of the vedanā we experience are “mind-made” and arise due to saññā vipallāsa or distorted saññā.

▪Of course, any sensory experience is initiated by an external rūpa (sights, sounds, tastes, smells, touches, and memories) coming into contact with an internal rūpa: eyes (cakkhu), ears (sota), nose (ghāna), tongue (jivhā), body (kāya), and mind (mano).

▪Therefore, the “building up” of future suffering (pañcupādānakkhandha) happens via Paṭicca Samuppāda and all that happens in the mind.

Saṅkhāra and Abhisaṅkhāra

11. Let us look briefly at the terms in the Paṭicca Samuppāda. Avijjā is ignorance about the “true nature of the world.” Saṅkhārās are our thoughts. If they arise with rāga, dosa, or moha, they become abhisaṅkhāra and generate a subtle energy called “kammic energy.” Thus, saṅkhāra with rāga, dosa, or moha is assigned the unique prefix “abhi,” i.e., they are abhisaṅkhāra.

▪The overall sensory experience is viññāṇa. If it is a pure experience (i.e., just seeing), it can be called “vipāka viññāṇa.” However, if rāga, dosa, or moha arise in response to that vipāka viññāṇa, then the mind adds something extra (an expectation), and it becomes a “kamma viññāṇa.”

▪As you can deduce, a vipāka viññāṇa only has saṅkhāra, and kamma viññāṇa arises due to abhisaṅkhāra. If only “pure saṅkhāra” arise (without rāga, dosa, or moha) then only a vipāka viññāṇa would arise, i.e., one would just experience the event. For example, one may see a tree outside the window or hear rain falling on the roof. Those are vipāka viññāṇa with saṅkhāra. On the other hand, if lust arises in the mind when seeing a person, that involves not only seeing but also a “defiled mind” due to rāga arising.

Distorted Saññā Is Not Defiled, but Can Lead to a Defiled Mind

12. Thoughts with “pure saṅkhāra” have only vedanā and saññā as cetasika (mental factors.) In contrast, thoughts with abhisaṅkhāra have asobhana (meaning defiled) cetasika such as greed (lobha), anger (dosa/paṭigha), jealousy (issa), etc.

▪Vedanā and saññā are two mental factors that arise with all thoughts. They are “universal cetasika.” While saññā helps identify the sensory object, vedanā is the “good, bad, or neutral feeling” arising from that identification.

▪However, due to the ignorance about the “real nature of the sensory inputs/world,” that identification is distorted (“distorted saññā”), and that leads to a “mind-made vedanā.” In the example I often cite, eating honey gives a “distorted saññā” or “wrong identification” of a sweetness, which is effectively a “sukha vedanā” or a “good feeling.” Only physical bodily contact can lead to “real sukha/dukha vedanā.” The “sukha vedanā” due to the “sweetness of honey is a saññā.” That is why a tiger or a cow will not taste honey as sweet; the “sweetness of honey” is not in honey, but is a “made-up saññā” by our bodies. A tiger generates a “sukha saññā” for the flesh of other animals and not for honey; similarly, a cow tastes grass to be desirable, not honey.

▪Even though the saññā of a puthujjana is always “distorted,” there is no rāga, dosa, or moha directly associated with a “distorted saññā.”

▪However, defiled thoughts automatically arise in a puthujjana due to that “distorted saññā” until they comprehend its origin. We will discuss those ideas further in this series of posts.

A Paṭicca Samuppāda Sequence Starts With a Sensory Input (Ārammaṇa)

13. Now, one could ask: “How do thoughts (with abhisaṅkhāra) arise due to avijjā? Does that happen without a cause?”

▪No. Conscious, defiled thoughts (with abhisaṅkhāra) arise only in response to sensory input (nimitta/ārammaṇa.)

▪The Idappaccayatā Paṭicca Samuppāda explains this process in minute detail.

▪We have discussed it in the “Paṭicca Samuppāda During a Lifetime” section, but we will discuss some of its aspects in detail in this series.