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I have arranged the sections roughly in increasing complexity. However, you may want to scan through each section to get an idea of what is in each section. People have backgrounds at very different levels. Furthermore, even those who have been exposed to Buddhism for many years may not have a good understanding of the fundamentals.

Elephants in the Room

Word-for-Word Translation of the Tipiṭaka

▪Elephant in the Room 1 – Direct Translation of the Tipiṭaka

•Niddesa (Brief Description) of Paṭicca Samuppāda

•Paṭicca Samuppāda During a Lifetime

oIdappaccayatā Paṭicca Samuppāda – Bhava and Jāti Within a Lifetime

oChange of Mindset Due to an Ārammaṇa

oKhandhā in Idappaccayatā Paṭicca Samuppāda

oSeeing Is a Series of “Snapshots”

oAggregate of Forms – Collection of “Mental Impressions” of Forms

oRūpakkhandha in Idappaccayatā Paṭicca Samuppāda

oFive Aggregates – Experiences of Each Sentient Being

oPañcupādānakkhandha – Attachment to One’s Experiences

oSakkāya Diṭṭhi and Pañcupādānakkhandhā

oBhava and Jāti Within a Lifetime – Example

•Often Mistranslated Pāli Keywords

oRāga and Jhāna – Two Commonly Misunderstood Words

▪Elephant in the Room 2 – Jhāna and Kasiṇna

•“Jānato Passato” and Ājāniya – Critical Words to Remember

•Samādhi, Jhāna, and Sammā Samādhi

•Jhāna, Jhāya, and Jhāyi – Different Meanings

•Jhāna – Finer Details

•Sammā Samādhi – How to Define It?

•Ariya Jhāna and Anāriya Jhāna – Main Differences

▪Elephant in the Room 3 – Ānāpānasati

•Ānāpānasati Overview

•Assāsa Passāsa – What Do They Mean?

•Ānāpānasati Not About Breath – Icchānaṅgala Sutta

•Mahārāhulovāda Sutta and Ānāpānasati

▪Elephant in the Room 4 – Gandhabba/Manomaya Kāya

•Does Gandhabba mean “Semen”?

Moral Living and Fundamentals

The Basics

▪“The Pale Blue Dot……..”

▪“The Law of Attraction, Habits, Character (Gati), and Cravings (Āsavā)”

▪“Habits, Goals, and Character (Gati)”

▪Wrong Views (Micchā Diṭṭhi) – A Simpler Analysis

▪Four Noble Truths: Recipe for Problem Solving

▪First Noble Truth – A Simple Explanation of One Aspect

▪Difference between a Wish and a Determination (Paramita)

Calming the Mind

▪“Key to Calming the Mind – The Five Hindrances”

▪“Solution to a Wandering Mind – Abandon Everything?”

▪“Right Speech – How to avoid Accumulating Bad Kamma”

▪“Three Kinds of Happiness – What is Nirāmisa Sukha?”

▪“How to Taste Nibbāna”

▪Learning Buddha Dhamma Leads to Nirāmisa Sukha

▪“Need to Experience Suffering in Order to Understand It?”

▪“Does Impermanence Lead to Suffering?”

Buddha Dhamma and Buddhism

▪“Where to Start on the Path?”

▪“What Reincarnates? – Concept of a Lifestream”

▪“A Buddhist or a Bhouddhaya?”

▪“What is Mind? How do we Experience the Outside World?”

▪Recent Evidence for Unbroken Memory Records (HSAM)

▪“Buddhism without Rebirth and Nibbāna?”

Dhamma Concepts

▪“Kilesa – Relationship To Akusala, Kusala, And Puñña Kamma”

▪“Ten Immoral Actions (Dasa Akusala)”

▪“Puñña Kamma – Dāna, Sīla, Bhāvanā”

▪“Details of Kamma – Intention, Who Is Affected, Kamma Patha”

▪“The Five Precepts – What the Buddha Meant by Them”

▪“How to Evaluate Weights of Different Kamma”

▪“What is Kamma? – Is Everything Determined by Kamma?”

▪“The Four Bases of Mental Power (Cattāro Iddhipāda)”

▪“Why is it Necessary to Learn Key Pāli Words?”

Buddha Dhamma and Morality

▪Origin of Morality (and Immorality) in Buddhism

▪Buddhist Explanations of Conception, Abortion, and Contraception

▪Is Eating Meat an Akusala Kamma (Immoral Deed)?

▪Do Things Just Happen? – The Hidden Causes

Dhammapada

▪Manopubbangamā dhammā..

▪Sabba Pāpassa Akaranan….

▪Appamado Amata Padam..

▪Najajja Vasalo Hoti..

▪Arogya Parama Labha..

▪Anicca vata Saṅkhāra..

▪Atta Hi Attano Natho

Working Towards Good Rebirths

▪“Saŋsāric Habits and Āsavā”

▪“Vagaries of Life and the Way to Seek Good Rebirths”

▪“How to Avoid Birth in the Apāyā”

▪Rebirth – Connection to Suffering in the First Noble Truth

▪Kamma, Debt, and Meditation

▪How do we Decide which View is Wrong View (Diṭṭhi)?

▪Three Kinds of Diṭṭhi, Eightfold Paths, and Samādhi

▪Implications of the Rebirth Process in Daily Life and in Society

▪What Does Buddha Dhamma Say about Creator, Satan, Angels, and Demons?

▪Paṭisandhi Citta – How the Next Life is Determined According to Gati

Living Dhamma (This section starts at a basic level and proceeds to deep levels)

Essential Buddhism

▪Four Noble Truths – Suffering and Its Elimination

▪Introduction to Citta, Vedanā, Saññā, Saṅkhāra, and Viññāṇa

▪Viññāṇa – Consciousness Together With Future Expectations

▪Connection Between Saṅkhāra and Viññāṇa

▪Viññāṇa and Saṅkhāra – Connection to Paṭicca Samuppāda

▪Breath Meditation Is Addictive and Harmful in the Long Run

▪Ānāpānasati Eliminates Mental Stress Permanently

▪Ānāpāna and Satipaṭṭhāna – Fundamentals

▪Sati in Ānāpānasati/Satipaṭṭhāna – Two Meanings of Sati

Living Dhamma – Overview

▪Living Dhamma – Introduction

▪Peace of Mind to Nibbāna – The Key Step

▪Starting on the Path Even without Belief in Rebirth (with first Desanā “The Hidden Suffering that We All Can Understand”; desanā title different from post title)

Dhamma with Less Pāli

▪Buddha Dhamma for an Inquiring Mind – Part I

▪“Root of All Suffering – Ten Immoral Actions” (with the desanā “Ten Immoral Actions (Dasa Akusala)”.

▪Is Suffering the Same as the First Noble Truth on Suffering?

▪Complexity of the Mind – Viññāṇa and Saṅkhāra

▪Dhamma, Saṅkhāra, Saṅkhata, Rūpa, Viññāṇa, Gati, Āsava, Anusaya

▪Bhava and Bhavaṅga – Simply Explained!

▪Citta, Mano, Viññāṇa – Nine Stages of Mind Contamination

Living Dhamma – Fundamentals

▪What Are Kilesa (Mental Impurities)? – Connection to Cetasika

▪Suffering in This Life – Role of Mental Impurities (with Desanā 2)

▪Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta – Relevance to Suffering in This Life (with Desanā 3)

▪How Are Gati and Kilesa Incorporated into Thoughts? (with Desanā 4)

▪Noble Eightfold Path – Role of Sobhana Cetasika (with Desana 5; in two parts)

▪Getting to Samādhi (with Desana 6)

▪Sexual Orientation – Effects of Kamma and Gati (Saṅkhāra)

Mundane Sammā Samādhi

▪Micchā Diṭṭhi – Connection to Hetu Phala (Cause and Effect) (with Desanā 7)

▪Suffering in This Life and Paṭicca Samuppāda (with Desanā 8)

▪Suffering in This Life and Paṭicca Samuppāda II (with Desanā 9)

Transition to Noble Eightfold Path

▪Is It Necessary for a Buddhist to Eliminate Sensual Desires?

▪Sīla, Samādhi, Paññā to Paññā, Sīla, Samādhi

▪Ye Dhammā Hetuppabhavā.. and yam kiñci samudaya dhammaṁ..

Samādhi, Jhāna (Dhyāna), Magga Phala

▪Samādhi, Jhāna, Magga Phala – Introduction

▪Vitakka, Vicāra, Savitakka, Savicāra, and Avitakka, Avicāra

▪Jhānic Experience in Detail – Sāmaññaphala Sutta (DN 2)

▪Ascendance to Nibbāna via Jhāna (Dhyāna)

▪Paññāvimutti – Arahanthood without Jhāna

▪Mundane versus Supramundane Jhāna

▪Nirodha Samāpatti, Phala Samāpatti, Jhāna, and Jhāna Samāpatti

Mental Body – Gandhabba

▪Our Mental Body – Gandhabba

▪Gandhabba State – Evidence from Tipiṭaka

▪Antarabhava and Gandhabba

▪Ānantariya Kamma – Connection to Gandhabba

▪Mental Body (Gandhabba) – Personal Accounts

▪Abnormal Births Due to Gandhabba Transformations

▪Micchā Diṭṭhi, Gandhabba, and Sotāpanna Stage

▪Working of Kammā – Critical Role of Conditions

Nāma & Rūpa to Nāmarūpa

In this important subsection, we will discuss the link between mind (nāma) and matter (rūpa). These are deeper analyses. For simpler analyses, see, “The Five Aggregates (Pañcakkhandha).”

▪Rūpa Aggregate

•What are rūpa? – Dhamma are rūpa too!

•Bhūta and Yathābhūta – What Do They Really Mean

▪Vedanā (Feelings) Aggregate

•Vedanā – What It Really Means

•Vedanā and Samphassa-Jā-Vedanā – More Than Just Feelings

•Does Bodily Pain Arise Only Due to Kamma Vipāka?

▪Saññā (Perception) Aggregate

•Saññā – What It Really Means

•Future Suffering – Why It Arises

•Diṭṭhi, Saññā, and Saṅkhāra – How They Relate

▪Saṅkhāra Aggregate

•Saṅkhāra – What It Really Means

▪Viññāṇa Aggregate

•Viññāṇa – What It Really Means

•Kamma Viññāṇa – Link Between Mind and Matter

•Anidassana Viññāṇa – What It Really Means

▪Sakkāya Diṭṭhi

•Do I Have “A Mind” That Is Fixed and “Mine”?

▪Nāmarūpa Formation

•Nāmarūpa in Vipāka Viññāṇa

•Nāmarūpa in Idappaccayatā Paṭicca Samuppāda

•Nāmarūpa – Different Types

•Kamma Viññāṇa – Link Between Mind and Matter

•Kamma Viññāṇa and Nāmarūpa Pariccheda Ñāṇa

Buddha Dhamma

User’s Guide to Pure Dhamma Website

Buddhism – In Charts

oWhat is Unique in Buddha Dhamma? (with chart A)

oRecovering the Suffering-Free Pure Mind

▪True Happiness Is the Absence of Suffering (with chart B)

▪Uncovering the Suffering-Free (Pabhassara) Mind (with chart B1)

▪Each Citta Starts with Distorted Saññā (with chart B2)

▪Contamination of the Human Mind Based on a Sensory Input (with chart B3)

▪Contamination of a Human Mind – Detailed Analysis (with chart B3)

oPāli Words – Writing and Pronunciation (with chart C)

oBuddha Dhamma – Foundation (with chart #1)

oBuddhism without Rebirth and Nibbāna? (with chart #2)

oEvidence for Rebirth (with chart #3)

oEssence of Buddhism – In the First Sutta (with chart #4)

oFive Aggregates – Introduction (with chart #5)

oLoka Sutta – Origin and Cessation of the World (with chart #6)

oSaṅkhāra – An Introduction (with chart #7)

oKamma And Saṅkhāra, Cetanā And Sañcetanā (with chart #8)

oNāmarūpa in Vipāka Viññāṇa (with chart #9)

oNāmarūpa in Idappaccayatā Paṭicca Samuppāda (with chart #10)

oSaḷāyatana Are Not Sense Faculties (with chart #11)

oDifference between Phassa and Samphassa (with chart #12)

oAnuseti – How Anusaya Grows with Saṅkhāra (with chart #13)

oRūpa, Dhammā (Appaṭigha Rūpa) and Nāmagotta (Memories) (with chart #14)

Buddha Dhamma – A Scientific Approach

oIntroduction – A Scientific Approach to Buddha Dhamma

oTheories of Our World – Scientific Overview

oMind and Matter – Buddhist Analysis

oSensual Pleasures – The Hidden Suffering

oKammic Energy Leads to Consciousness

oBrain and the Gandhabba

▪Mind Is Not in the Brain

▪Gandhabba in a Human Body – an Analogy

▪Persistent Vegetative State – Buddhist View

▪Patient H.M. – Different Roles of Brain in Memory

▪Memory Recall for Gandhabba in a Human Body

▪How Do We See? – Role of the Gandhabba

oOur Two Worlds – Rūpa Loka and Nāma Loka

▪Autobiographical Memory – Preserved in Nāma Loka

▪Rūpa and Rūpakkhandha, Nāma and Nāmagotta

▪Response to a Sensory Stimulus – Role of Gati/Anusaya

▪Ārammaṇa Plays a Critical Role in a Sensory Even

▪Nāma Loka and Rūpa Loka – Two Parts of Our World

oTipiṭaka – A Systematic Approach

▪Tipiṭaka – The Uniqueness of Buddha Dhamma

▪Pāli Canon Is Self-Contained but Requires Detailed Explanation

▪Vinaya Piṭaka – More Than Disciplinary Rules

▪Abhidhamma Piṭaka – Deeper Analyses of Concepts

oAntarābhava and Gandhabba

▪Antarābhava – No Connection to Gandhabba

▪Antarābhava Discussion in Kathāvatthu – Not Relevant to Gandhabba

▪Interpretation of the Tipiṭaka – Gandhabba Example

Buddhahood Associated Controversies

▪Buddhahood Controversies – Introduction

▪Pāṭihāriya (Supernormal Abilities) of a Buddha – Part I

▪Pāṭihāriya (Supernormal Abilities) of a Buddha – Part II

What is Buddha Dhamma?

Foundation of Dhamma

The Importance of Purifying the Mind

The Grand Unified Theory of Dhamma

▪The Grand Unified Theory of Dhamma – Introduction

▪Our Two Worlds: Material and Immaterial

▪31 Realms Associated with the Earth

▪Gandhabba – Only in Human and Animal Realms

▪Body Types in 31 Realms – Importance of Manomaya Kāya

▪Gandhabba Sensing the World – With and Without a Physical Body

▪Nibbāna in the Big Picture

Buddha Dhamma: Non-Perceivability and Self-Consistency

Saṁsāric Time Scale, Buddhist Cosmology, and the Big Bang Theory

Evidence for Rebirth

Power of the Human Mind

▪Power of the Human Mind – Introduction

▪Difference Between Jhāna and Stages of Nibbāna

▪Power of the Human Mind – Anāriya or Mundane Jhānā

▪Power of the Human Mind – Ariya Jhānā

▪Are There Procedures for Attaining Magga Phala, Jhāna and Abhiñña?

Transfer of Merits (Pattidāna) – How Does it Happen?

First Noble Truth is Suffering? Myths about Suffering

Vinaya – The Nature Likes to be in Equilibrium

Buddhist Chanting

▪Buddhist Chanting – Introduction

▪Sadhu – Symbolizes Purified Hadaya Vatthu (Mind)

▪Namaskāraya – Homage to the Buddha

▪Supreme Qualities of Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha

▪The Five Precepts – Pañca Sīla

▪Sutta Chanting (with Pāli Text)

Myths or Realities?

▪Vedās Originated With Buddha Kassapa’s Teachings

▪Dasa Māra Senā (Mārasenā) – Ten Defilements

▪Animisa Locana Bodhi Poojawa – A Prelude to Acts of Gratitude

▪Pāramitā – How a Puthujjana Becomes a Buddha

▪Tisarana Vandana and Its Effects on One’s Gati

▪Does the Hell (Niraya) Exist?

▪Can Buddhist Meditation be Dangerous?

▪Boy Who Remembered Pāli Suttā for 1500 Years

▪Do Buddhists Pray and Engage in Idol Worshipping?

Also see, “Mystical Phenomena in Buddhism?” in the subsection, “Origin of Life”

Also see, “Myths about Meditation” in the subsection, “Bhāvanā (Meditation)”

Key Dhamma Concepts

•Basic Framework of Buddha Dhamma

oBuddha Dhamma – Noble Truths, Paṭicca Samuppāda, Tilakkhaṇa

oNoble Truths, Paṭicca Samuppāda, Tilakkhaṇa – Key Relationships

oAnicca Nature, the First Noble Truth, and Paṭicca Samuppāda

Tilakkhaṇa – Introduction

▪Anicca and Anatta – Two Characteristics of the World

▪Anuloma Khanti and Sammattaniyāma – Pre-requisites for a Sotāpanna

▪Anicca Nature – Not Possible to Overcome Suffering in This World

▪Dukkha in Tilakkhaṇa Is a Characteristic – Not Dukkha Vedanā

▪Attachment to Things with Dukkha Lakkhaṇa Leads to Dukkha

▪How Does Anicca Nature Lead to Dukkha?

▪Anatta is a Characteristic of the World, not About a “Self”

▪Anatta in Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta – Part 1

▪Anatta in Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta – Part 2

Critically-Relevant Posts in Other Sections:

oSaṅkhāra – What It Really Means

oCorrect Meaning of Vacī Saṅkhāra

•Concept of “Saŋ”

oWhat is “Saŋ”? Meaning of Sansāra (or Saṁsāra)

oSaṅkhāra, Kamma, Kamma Bīja, Kamma Vipāka

oSaṅkhāra – Life is a Bundle of Saṅkhāra

oDifference Between Dhamma and Saṅkhāra

oKamma are Done with Abhisaṅkhāra – Types of Abhisaṅkhāra

•Nibbāna

oHow to Taste Nibbāna

oNirāmisa Sukha

oNibbāna – Is it Difficult to Understand?

oThe Four Stages in Attaining Nibbāna

oWhat Are Rūpa? (Relation to Nibbāna)

oDoes the First Noble Truth Describe only Suffering?

oNirodha and Vaya – Two Different Concepts

oNibbāna “Exists”, but Not in This World

•Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta

Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta – Distortion Timeline

Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta – Wrong Interpretations

The Way to Nibbāna – Transcription of a Discourse by Waharaka Thero

•Anicca – True Meaning

oAnicca – Inability to Keep What We Like

oAnicca – Repeated Arising/Destruction

oAnicca – Worthlessness of Worldly Things

oAnicca – The Incessant Distress (“Pīḷana”)

oHow to Cultivate Anicca Saññā

oHow to Cultivate the Anicca Saññā – II

oIf Everything is Anicca Should We Just give up Everything?

•Anattā – A Systematic Analysis

oAnattā in Anattalakkahaṇa Sutta – No Soul or an Ātma

oAnatta – No Refuge in This World

oDasa Akusala and Anatta – The Critical Link

oAnatta – the Opposite of Which Atta?

oAnattā (Mundane Interpretation) – No “Unchanging Self”

Anatta and Dukkha – True Meanings

Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta – According to Some Key Suttā

Three Marks of Existence – English Discourses

•Sotāpanna Stage and Tilakkhaṇa

oSakkāya Diṭṭhi and Tilakkhaṇa

oSakkāya Diṭṭhi – Getting Rid of Deeper Wrong Views

oAssociations (Sevana)- A Root Cause of Wrong Views

Why are Tilakkhaṇa not Included in 37 Factors of Enlightenment?

Two Versions of 37 Factors of Enlightenment

Types of Bodies in 31 Realms – Connection to Jhāna

Finest Manomaya Kāya of an Arūpāvacara Brahma

•Gati, Bhava, and Jāti

oNāmagotta, Bhava, Kamma Bīja, and Mano Loka (Mind Plane)

oGati and Bhava – Many Varieties

oGati to Bhava to Jāti – Ours to Control

oMemory, Brain, Mind, Nāma Loka, Kamma Bhava, Kamma Vipāka

oBhava and Jāti – States of Existence and Births Therein

oCuti and Maraṇa – Related to Bhava and Jāti

oAnusaya, Gati, Bhava – Connection to Manomaya Kāya (Gandhabba)

oDifference Between Taṇhā and Upādāna

oPāpa Kamma Versus Akusala Kamma

• Sorting out Some Key Pāli Terms (Taṇhā, Lobha, Dosa, Moha, etc)

oKāma Taṇhā, Bhava Taṇhā, Vibhava Taṇhā

oLobha, Raga and Kāmachanda, Kāmarāga

oLobha, Dosa, Moha versus Rāga, Paṭigha, Avijjā

oWhat Are Kilesa (Mental Impurities)? – Connection to Cetasika

oDiṭṭhi (Wrong Views), Sammā Diṭṭhi (Good/Correct Views)

oAnantara and Samanantara Paccayā

oWhat is Avijjā (Ignorance)?

oVedanā (Feelings) Arise in Two Ways

oIndriya and Āyatana – Big Difference

oHetu-Phala, Paccuppanna, and Paṭicca Samuppāda

oCorrect Meaning of Vacī Saṅkhāra

oPañca Indriya and Pañca Bala – Five Faculties and Five Powers

oKāmaccandha and Icca – Being Blinded by Cravings

• The Five Aggregates (Pañcakkhandha)

•Sensory Experience, Paṭicca Samuppāda, and Pañcupādānakkhandha

•Two Aspects of Saññā - Beneficial and Dangerous

•Overcoming Attachment to “Distorted/False Saññā” Leads to Nibbāna

•Two Aspects of Saññā - Beneficial and Dangerous

•Five Aggregates – Introduction

•Difference Between Physical Rūpa and Rūpakkhandha

•Rūpakkhandha and Rūpa Upādānakkhandha

•Arising of Five Aggregates Based on an Ārammaṇa

•Memory Records – Critical Part of Five Aggregates

•Pañca Upādānakkhandhā – Introduction

•Five Aggregates – Connection to Tilakkhaṇa

▪Five Aggregates and Tilakkhaṇa – Introduction

▪Icca, Nicca, Anicca – Important Connections

▪“Me” and “Mine” – The Root Cause of Suffering

▪Difference Between “Me and Mine” and Sakkāya Diṭṭhi

▪Sakkāya Diṭṭhi – “Me and Mine” View

▪Atta – Two Very Different Meanings

•“Saññā (Perception)”

•“Vedanā (Feelings)”

•Saṅkhāra is discussed at, “Saṅkhāra, Kamma, Kamma Bīja, Kamma Vipāka.”

•“Viññāṇa (Consciousness)”

•“Rūpa (Material Form )”

• “Nāmarūpa Formation”

oNāmarūpa in Vipāka Viññāṇa

oKamma Viññāṇa – Link Between Mind and Matter

oKamma Viññāṇa and Nāmarūpa Pariccheda Ñāṇa

Deeper Analyses:

•Pañcakkhandha or Five Aggregates – A Misinterpreted Concept

•Pañcupādānakkhandha – It is All Mental

Paṭicca Samuppāda

Paṭicca Samuppāda – “Pati+ichcha” + “Sama+uppāda”

Sakkāya Diṭṭhi and Paṭicca Samuppāda

•Sakkāya Diṭṭhi – Wrong View of “Me” and “Mine”

•What Reincarnates? - Concept Of A Lifestream

•Anatta and Sakkāya Diṭṭhi – Two Different Concepts

Paṭicca Samuppāda – Essenntial Concepts

•Nibbāna - Rāgakkhaya Dosakkhaya Mohakkhaya - Part 1

•Pañca Nīvaraṇa and Sensual Pleasures (Kāma)

•What Is "Kāma"? It Is Not Just Sex

•Icchā, Taṇhā, Kāma – Root Causes of Suffering

•Jāti – Different Types of Births

•Bhava – Kammic Energy That Can Power an Existence

•Bhava and Punabbhava – Kammic Energy Giving Rise to Renewed Existence

•Concepts of Upādāna and Upādānakkhandha

oDifference Between Physical Rūpa and Rūpakkhandha

oWhere Are Memories “Stored”? – Connection to Pañcakkhandha

oLoka Sutta – Origin and Cessation of the World

oDukkha Samudaya Starts With Samphassa-Jā-Vedanā

oKey Steps of Kammic Energy Accumulation

oGenerating Kammic Energy in the “Upādāna Paccayā Bhava”

•Six Root Causes – Loka Samudaya (Arising of Suffering) and Loka Nirodhaya (Nibbāna)

Kamma and Paṭicca Samuppāda

•Kamma and Paṭicca Samuppāda – Introduction

•Dhamma and Dhammā – Different but Related

•Kāma Assāda – A Root Cause of Suffering

•Gati (Habits/Character) Determine Births – Saṁsappanīya Sutta

Paṭicca Samuppāda, Tilakkhaṇa, Four Noble Truths

•Paṭicca Samuppāda – Introduction

•What Did the Buddha Mean by a “Loka”?

•Future Suffering (Loka/Dukkha Samudaya) Starts With Sensory Input (Ārammaṇa)

•Sotāpanna – One With the “Wider Worldview” of the Buddha

•Sotāpannā – Just Starting on the Noble Path

•Yoniso Manasikāra and Paṭicca Samuppāda

•Dhamma – Different Meanings Depending on the Context

•Dhammānudhamma Paṭipatti – Connection to Paṭicca Samuppāda/Tilakkhaṇa

Understanding the Terms in Paṭicca Samuppāda

•Distortion of Pāli Keywords in Paṭicca Samuppāda

•Saṅkhāra – Many Meanings

oSaṅkhāra - Should Not be Translated as a Single Word

oKamma and Saṅkhāra, Cetanā and Sañcetanā

oKusala-Mūla Saṅkhāra Are Needed to Attain Nibbāna

oRebirths Take Place According to Abhisaṅkhāra

•Viññāṇa – Two Critical Meanings

oAbhisaṅkhāra Lead to Kamma Viññāṇa

oTwo Types of Kamma Viññāṇa

oSummary of Key Concepts About Viññāṇa and Saṅkhāra

oAnidassana, Appaṭigha Rūpa Due to Anidassana Viññāṇa

•Memory, Dhammā, and Viññāṇa Dhātu

oCritical Influence of Wrong Views on Akusala Citta

oNear-Death Experiences (NDE): Brain Is Not the Mind

oGandhabba (Mental Body) Separating from Physical Body in Jhāna

oWhere Are Memories Stored? – Viññāṇa Dhātu

•Citta Vīthi – Fundamental Sensory Unit

•Does any Object (Rūpa) Last only 17 Thought Moments?

•Phassa (Contact) – Contact With Pasāda Rūpa

•Pañcupādānakkhandha – Arises With an Ārammaṇa

Paṭicca Samuppāda – Overview

How Are Paṭicca Samuppāda Cycles Initiated?

What Does “Paccayā” Mean in Paṭicca Samuppāda?

Paṭicca Samuppāda Cycles

•Avyākata Paṭicca Samuppāda for Vipāka Viññāṇa

•Akusala-Mūla Upapatti Paṭicca Samuppāda

•Kusala-Mūla Paṭicca Samuppāda

•Idappaccayatā Paṭicca Samuppāda

•Upapatti Paṭicca Samuppāda (How We Create Our Own Rebirths)

Paṭicca Samuppāda in Plain English

•Introduction – What is Suffering?

•Introduction -2 – The Three Categories of Suffering

•Avijjā paccayā Saṅkhāra

•Saṅkhāra paccayā Viññāṇa – 1

•Saṅkhāra paccayā Viññāṇa – 2

•Viññāṇa paccayā Nāmarūpa

•Nāmarūpa paccayā Saḷāyatana

•Difference between Phassa and Samphassa

•Phassa paccayā Vedanā….to Taṇhā

•Upādāna Paccayā Bhava – Two Types of Bhava

•Nāmarūpa, Viññāṇa, Dhammā – Closely Related

•Bhava paccayā Jāti….Jarā, Maraṇa,…

Imasmiṁ Sati Idaṁ Hoti – What Does It Really Mean?

Upapatti Paṭicca Samuppāda (How We Create Our Own Rebirths)

Paṭiloma Paṭicca Samuppāda – Key to Nibbāna

Paṭṭhāna Dhamma

•Paṭṭhāna Dhamma – Connection to Cause and Effect (Hetu Phala)

•What Does “Paccayā” Mean in Paṭicca Samuppāda?

•Anantara and Samanantara Paccayā

•Āsevana and Aññamañña Paccayā

Assāda, Ādīnava, Nissaraṇa

•Assāda, Ādīnava, Nissaraṇa – Introduction

•How Perceived Pleasures (Assāda) lead to Dukkha

“Kāma Rāga Dominates Rūpa Rāga and Arūpa Rāga.”

•Vedanā (Feelings) Arise in Two Ways

•Feelings: Sukha, Dukha, Somanassa, and Domanassa

•What is “Kāma”? It is not Just Sex

•Kāma Assāda Start with Phassa Paccayā Vedanā or Samphassa Jā Vedanā

Origin of Life

•Origin of Life – There is No Traceable Origin

•Human Life – A Mental Base (Gandhabba) and a Material Base (Cell)

•Clarification of “Mental Body” and “Physical Body” – Different Types of “Kāya”

•Four Types of Births in Buddhism

•Buddhist Explanations of Conception, Abortion, and Contraception

•Cloning and Gandhabba

•Living Cell – How Did the First Cell Come to Existence?

•Mystical Phenomena in Buddhism?

Views on Life

•Views on Life – Wrong View of Materialism

•Wrong View of Creationism (and Eternal Future Life) – Part 1

•Wrong View of Creationism (and Eternal Future Life) – Part 2

•Worldview of the Buddha

oBuddhist Worldview – Introduction

oContact Between Āyatana Leads to Vipāka Viññāṇa

oHow Do Sense Faculties Become Internal Āyatana?

oIndriya Make Phassa and Āyatana Make Samphassa

oThe Framework of Buddha Dhamma

oThe Suffering (Dukkha) in the First Noble Truth

oDangers of Ten Types of Wrong Views and Four Possible Paths

oSammā Diṭṭhī – Only One Leads to the Noble Path

oFear of Nibbāna (Enlightenment)

oGhost 1990 Movie – Good Depiction of Gandhabba Concept

oMental Body Versus the Physical Body

oPaṭicca Samuppāda – Not “Self” or “No-Self”

▪Taṇhā – The Origin of Suffering

▪Paṭicca Samuppāda – A “Self” Exists Due to Avijjā

▪Kamma, Saṅkhāra, and Abhisaṅkhāra

▪Vacī Saṅkhāra – Saṅkappa (Conscious Thoughts) and Vācā (Speech)

▪Taṇhā Paccayā Upādāna – Critical Step in Paṭicca Samuppāda

▪Moha/Avijjā and Vipāka Viññāṇa/Kamma Viññāṇa

▪Icchā (Cravings) Lead to Upādāna and to Eventual Suffering

▪Dhammā, Kamma, Saṅkhāra, Mind – Critical Connections

▪Paṭicca Samuppāda – From Mind to Matter

oKamma and Paṭicca Samuppāda

▪Kamma and Paṭicca Samuppāda – Introduction

▪Kāma Assāda – A Root Cause of Suffering

▪Gati (Habits/Character) Determine Births – Saṁsappanīya Sutta

•Origin of Life – One Creates One’s Own Future Lives

Is There a “Self”?

oRecovering the Suffering-Free Pure Mind (Necessary Background Material; extracted from “Buddhism – In Charts”)

▪True Happiness Is the Absence of Suffering (with chart B)

▪Uncovering the Suffering-Free (Pabhassara) Mind (with chart B1)

▪Each Citta Starts with Distorted Saññā (with chart B2)

▪Contamination of the Human Mind Based on a Sensory Input (with chart B3)

▪Contamination of a Human Mind – Detailed Analysis (with chart B3)

oDoes “Anatta” Refer to a “Self”?

▪Cognition Modes – Sañjānāti, Vijānāti, Pajānāti, Abhijānāti

▪Anicca Nature – Chasing Worldly Pleasures Is Pointless

▪Aniccaṁ Vipariṇāmi Aññathābhāvi – A Critical Verse

▪Dukkha – Previously Unknown Truth About Suffering

▪‘Etaṁ Mama, Esohamasmi, Eso Me Attā’ti – What Does It Mean?

▪“Attā” as “Self” – Wrong Translation in Many Suttās

▪“Attato Samanupassati” - To View Something to be of Value

▪Saññā Vipallāsa – Distorted Perception

▪Saññā – All Our Thoughts Arise With “Distorted Saññā”

▪Upaya and Upādāna – Two Stages of Attachment

oSensory Experience – Basis of Buddha’s Worldview

▪Citta – Basis of Our Experience and Actions

▪Vipāka Vedanā and “Samphassa jā Vedanā” in a Sensory Event

▪Kāma Guṇa – Origin of Attachment (Taṇhā)

▪Vision Is a Series of “Snapshots” – Movie Analogy

▪Chachakka Sutta – Six Types of Vipāka Viññāṇa

▪Sakkāya Diṭṭhi in Terms of Attā or “Self” or “Ātma”

▪An Apparent “Self” Is Involved in Kamma Generation

Bhāvanā (Meditation)

The numbered posts are to be read in that order. Even for those who are practicing Buddhists, I recommend starting at the Introduction (#1), and going down the list of topics at least the first time.

Meditation – Deeper Aspects

•Attaining Nibbāna Requires Understanding Buddha’s Worldview

•Vipassanā – Buddhist Meditation

•Sakkāya Diṭṭhi – “Seeing the Unfruitful Nature of the World”

•Loka Sutta – Origin and Cessation of the World

•Mind Operates Like a Machine According to Nature’s Laws

•Abhidhamma Piṭaka – Deeper Analyses of Concepts

•Saññā Gives Rise to Most of the Vedanā We Experience

•Taṇhā – Result of Saññā Giving Rise to Mind-Made Vedanā

•Āhāra - Food for the Mental Body

•Introduction – What is Suffering?

•Citta, Mano, Viññāṇa – Nine Stages of Mind Contamination

•Is Ānāpānasati Breath Meditation?

•Buddhist Theory of Matter – Fundamentals

Meditation – Basic Aspects

•It would be a good idea to read the posts in the following subsection at some point, in order to get an idea about the reasoning behind this approach: “Essential Buddhism.”

•1. Introduction to Buddhist Meditation

•2. The Basics in Meditation

•3. The Second Level – Key to Purify the Mind

•4. What do all these Different Meditation Techniques Mean?

•5. Ariya Mettā Bhāvanā (Loving Kindness Meditation)

•6. Ānāpānasati Bhāvanā (Introduction)

•7. What is Ānāpāna?

•Is Ānāpānasati Breath Meditation?

•8. The Basic Formal Ānāpānasati Meditation

•Possible Effects in Meditation – Kundalini Awakening

•9. Key to Ānāpānasati – How to Change Habits and Character (Gati)

•Karaniya Mettā Sutta – Mettā Bhāvanā

•10. Attaining the Sotāpanna Stage via Removing Diṭṭhāsava

•11. Magga Phala and Ariya Jhānā via Cultivation of Saptha Bojjhaṅga

•12. Key Factors to be Considered when “Meditating” for the Sotāpanna Stage

•13. Kammaṭṭhāna (Recitations) for the Sotāpanna Stage

Important Related Posts

•Anussati and Anupassanā – Being Mindful and Removing Defilements

•Myths about Meditation

•A Simple Way to Enhance Merits (Kusala) and Avoid Demerits (Akusala)

•Anicca – The Incessant Distress (“Pīḷana”)

•Pañca Indriya and Pañca Bala – Five Faculties and Five Powers

•Possible Outcomes of Meditation – Samādhi, Jhāna, Magga Phala

•What is Samādhi? – Three Kinds of Mindfulness

•Getting to Samādhi via Formal Meditation Sessions

•Are you not getting expected results from meditation?

Sutta Interpretations

Sutta Interpretation – Uddesa, Niddesa, Paṭiniddesa

Pāli Dictionaries – Are They Reliable?

Nikāya in the Sutta Piṭaka

Sutta Learning Sequence for the Present Day

Mahā Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta

•Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta – Structure

•Satipaṭṭhāna – Introduction

•Kāyānupassanā – Section on Postures (Iriyapathapabba)

•Kāyānupassanā – The Section on Habits (Sampajanapabba)

•Prerequisites for the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhāvanā

•What is “Kāya” in Kāyānupassanā?

Mahā Cattārīsaka Sutta (Discourse on the Great Forty)

Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta

•Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta Interpretation – Uddesa, Niddesa, Paṭiniddesa

•Essence of Buddhism – In the First Sutta

•Majjima Patipada – Way to Relinquish Attachments to this World

•Tiparivaṭṭaya and Twelve Types of Ñāṇa (Knowledge)

•Relinquishing Defilements via Three Rounds and Four Stages

Aṅguttara Nikāya – Suttā on Key Concepts

•Dasa Akusala/Dasa Kusala – Basis of Buddha Dhamma

•Dasa Akusala/Dasa Kusala – Basis of Buddha Dhamma -2

Na Cetanākaranīya Sutta

Pathama Mettā Sutta

Kukkuravatika Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 57) – Kammakkhaya

Aggañña Sutta Discussion – Introduction

Buddhism and Evolution – Aggañña Sutta (DN 27)

Tapussa Sutta (AN 9.41)– Akuppā Cetovimutti

Yamaka Sutta (SN 22.85) – Arahanthood Is Not Annihilation but End of Suffering

Three Types of “Bodies” – Poṭṭhapāda Sutta (DN 9)

Seeking Nibbāna

•Attha Purisa Puggalā- Eight Noble Persons

•Āsava, Anusaya, and Gati (Gathi)

•“The Way to Nibbāna – Removal of Āsavas”

•Kanha (Dark) and Sukka (Bright) Kamma and Kammakkhaya

•Dasa Saṁyojana – Bonds in Rebirth Process

•The Cooling Down Process (Nibbāna) – How Root Causes are Removed

•“Why is Correct Interpretation of Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta so Important?”

•“How to Cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path Starting with Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta”

•“Akusala Citta – How a Sotāpanna Avoids Apāyagāmī Citta”

•Difference Between Giving Up Valuables and Losing Interest in Worthless

Sotāpanna Stage of Nibbāna

The first stage of Nibbāna — the Sotāpanna stage — is also called the Stream Enterer in English and Sovān in Sinhala.

•Sotāpanna Stage via Understanding Perception (Saññā)

oSotāpanna Stage and Distorted/Defiled Saññā

oPabhassara Citta and Saññā Vipallāsa

oMūlapariyāya Sutta – The Root of All Things

oFooled by Distorted Saññā (Sañjānāti) – Origin of Attachment (Taṇhā)

oKāma Rāga Arises Due to “Distorted Saññā”

oDistorted Saññā Arises in Every Adult but Not in a Newborn

oPurāṇa and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation

oSaññā Nidānā hi Papañca Saṅkhā - Immoral Thoughts Based on ‘Distorted Saññā’

oKalahavivāda Sutta – Origin of Fights and Disputes

•The Sotāpanna Stage

•Why a Sotāpanna is Better off than any King, Emperor, or a Billionaire

•Myths about the Sotāpanna Stage

•Anuloma Paṭiloma Paṭicca Samuppāda – Key to Sotāpanna Stage

•Sotāpanna Anugāmi and a Sotāpanna

•Sotāpanna Anugāmi – No More Births in the Apāyā

•Four Conditions for Attaining Sotāpanna Magga/Phala

•Sotāpatti Aṅga – The Four Qualities of a Sotāpanna

•Sammā Diṭṭhi – Realization, Not Memorization

•Assāda, Ādīnava, Nissaraṇa

•Sakkāya Diṭṭhi – “Seeing the Unfruitful Nature of the World”

•How Does One Know whether the Sotāpanna Stage is Reached?

•Akusala Citta – How Does a Sotāpanna Avoids Apāyagāmī Citta

•What is the only Akusala Removed by a Sotāpanna?

•Uadayavaya Ñāṇa

•Micchā Diṭṭhi, Gandhabba, and Sotāpanna Stage – (in the “Mental Body – Gandhabba” section).

•12. Key Factors to be Considered when “Meditating” for the Sotāpanna Stage (in the Meditation section).

Also, see the following posts in the Abhidhamma section for more details (these could be helpful even if you have not studied Abhidhamma):

•Why do People Enjoy Immoral Deeds? – Diṭṭhi is Key

•Key to Sotāpanna Stage – Diṭṭhi and Vicikicchā

Discussion Forum

•Forums

•Pure Dhamma Discussion Forum Guidelines

Abhidhamma

•Abhidhamma – Introduction

Essential Abhidhamma – The Basics

•Amazingly Fast Time Evolution of a Thought (Citta)

•The Amazing Mind – Critical Role of Nāmagotta (Memories)

•Citta and Cetasika – How Viññāṇa (Consciousness) Arises

•State of Mind in the Absence of Citta Vīthi – Bhavaṅga

•Bhava and Bhavaṅga – Simply Explained!

•Citta Vīthi – Processing of Sense Inputs

•Javana of a Citta – The Root of Mental Power

•Cetasika – Connection to Gati

Mind and Consciousness

•What is Mind? How do we Experience the Outside World?

•What is a Thought?

•What is in a Thought? Why Gati are so Important?

•What is Consciousness?

•1. Thoughts (Citta), Consciousness (Viññāṇa), and Mind (Hadaya Vatthu) – Introduction

•2. Viññāṇa (Consciousness) can be of Many Different Types and Forms

•3. Viññāṇa, Thoughts, and the Subconscious

Citta and Cetasika

•Citta and Cetasika – How Viññāṇa (Consciousness) Arises

•What is a Thought?

•What is in a Thought? Why Gati are so Important?

•Citta Vīthi – Processing of Sense Inputs

•Javana of a Citta – The Root of Mental Power

Gandhabba (Manomaya Kāya)

•Gandhabba (Manomaya Kāya)- Introduction

•Does any Object (Rūpa) Last only 17 Thought Moments?

•Hidden World of the Gandhabba: Netherworld (Paraloka)

•Ghost in the Machine – Synonym for the Manomaya Kāya?

•Manomaya Kāya (Gandhabba) and the Physical Body

•Brain – Interface between Mind and Body

•Manomaya Kāya and Out-of-Body Experience (OBE)

•Cuti-Paṭisandhi – An Abhidhamma Description

•These posts complement some of the posts in the “Udayavaya Ñāṇa” section, which is important for the Sotāpanna stage of Nibbāna. All these are pieces of a complex puzzle, but they are all inter-consistent. So, don’t worry if you do not understand it all; with time it will all make sense and will lead to unbreakable faith in Buddha Dhamma even through future lives. Faith comes via true understanding.

Abhidhamma Via Science

•Neuroscience says there is no Free Will? – That is a Misinterpretation!

•The Double Slit Experiment – Correlation between Mind and Matter?

•Vision (Cakkhu Viññāṇa) is Not Just Seeing

Role of the Brain in Human Consciousness

•Body Types in Different Realms – Importance of Manomaya Kaya

•Does the Hell (Niraya) Exist?

Why Do People Enjoy Immoral Deeds? – Diṭṭhi Is Key

Key to Sotāpanna Stage – Diṭṭhi and Vicikicchā

Deeper Analyses

•The Origin of Matter – Suddhaṭṭhaka

•What are Dhamma? – A Deeper Analysis

•Pabhassara Citta, Radiant Mind, and Bhavaṅga

Comments/Reviews

•Discussion of Comments (These are based on questions sent to me via email by readers prior to 2018. In late 2017, a discussion forum was launched: “Forums.”)

oDetails of Kamma – Intention, Who Is Affected, Kamma Patha

o“Self” and “no-self”: A Simple Analysis

oCraving for Pornography – How to Reduce the Tendency

•Book Reviews

o“Why Does the World Exist?” by Jim Holt

o“Waking Up” by Sam Harris

o“The Language of God” by Francis Collins

o“Spark” by John Ratey

o“The Life of the Buddha” by Bhikkhu Nānamoli

Myths or Realities?

•Animisa Locana Bodhi Poojawa – A Prelude to Acts of Gratitude

•Pāramitā – How a Puthujjana Becomes a Buddha

•Tisarana Vandana and Its Effects on One’s Gati

•Does the Hell (Niraya) Exist?

•Can Buddhist Meditation be Dangerous?

•Boy Who Remembered Pāli Suttā for 1500 Years

•Do Buddhists Pray and Engage in Idol Worshipping?

•Also see, “Mystical Phenomena in Buddhism?” in the subsection, “Origin of Life”

•Also see, “Myths about Meditation” in the subsection, “Bhāvanā (Meditation)”

Subsection: Origin of Life (see above)

Consciousness – A Dhamma Perspective

•What is Consciousness?

•What Happens in Other Dimensions? [Consciousness Dependence on Number of Dimensions]

•Six Kinds of Consciousness in Our 3-D World

•Expanding “Consciousness” by Using Technology

•Expanding “Consciousness” by Purifying the Mind

Consistencies with Science

▪Second Law of Thermodynamics is Part of Anicca!

▪Quantum Entanglement – We Are All Connected

▪Infinity – How Big Is It?

▪Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem

▪Truine Brain: How the Mind Rewires the Brain via Meditation/Habits

▪How Habits are Formed and Broken – A Scientific View

Inconsistencies with Science

1. We all are impressed by the scientific advances made during the past 100 years or so making our lives easier and more productive. I am actually a cheerleader for scientific and technological advances.

•Physics had been my passion since high school days, and that changed when I started learning Buddha Dhamma several years ago. I still love and work on topics of interest in physics (and science in general). Fortunately, I am finding that those two interests are not mutually exclusive, and there is significant overlap. In fact, this section is the result of my two overlapping interests.

2. The following posts discuss cases where current theories of science are not consistent with Buddha Dhamma. I believe that science will recognize the primary nature of the mind in the future, and will discard the current notion that the mind (consciousness) arises out of inert matter.

Neuroscience says there is no Free Will? – That is a Misinterpretation!

The Double Slit Experiment – Correlation between Mind and Matter?

Vision (Cakkhu Viññāṇa) is Not Just Seeing

3. Despite the advances in science and technology, there is much about the human mind that science does not understand, and has not even begun to understand. Western science is based on the five physical senses, leaving out the most important one, the mind.

•At the present time, in 2016, scientists have the wrong view that consciousness originates in the brain.

•All scientific theories relating to the mind are based on this wrong hypothesis. However, Buddha Dhamma says not only that mind is a sense of its own, but it is the most powerful of all six senses.

Here is a post from the Abhidhamma section that has a deeper analysis of the brain-mind connection:

Brain – Interface between Mind and Body

Dhamma

This section will discuss two issues:

1.A new interpretation of quantum mechanics (QM) based on non-locality is presented based on Feynman’s ideas. Concepts like wave-particle duality, observer effect, are not needed. Furthermore, complex interpretations like the “Many-Worlds interpretation” are avoided. All existing experimental data will be shown to be consistent with this interpretation.

2.A deeper understanding of how kamma automatically lead to corresponding kamma vipāka in Buddhism (Buddha Dhamma), becomes clear with this interpretation.

Quantum Mechanics and Dhamma – Introduction

Quantum Mechanics and Consciousness

Quantum Mechanics – A New Interpretation

•What Is a Wave and What Is a Particle?

•Photons Are Particles Not Waves

Basis of the Proposed Interpretation – Feynman’s Technique in QED

•Feynman’s Glass Plate Experiment

•Feynman’s Method of “A Particle Exploring All Possible Paths”

•“Exploring All Possible Paths” Leads to Fermat’s Principle of Least Time

Buddha Dhamma – Advanced

•Pali Words – Writing and Pronunciation

•Pāli Suttas in Tipiṭaka – Direct Translations are Wrong