<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Key Dhamma Concepts > Nāma & Rūpa to Nāmarūpa > Mental Aggregates > What Is Vedanā (Feelings)? > Vedanā and Samphassa-Jā-Vedanā – More Than Just Feelings

February 18, 2017; November 10, 2018 Rewritten and replaces Vedanā – What It Really Means ; revised February 1, 2023

1. Vedanā is conventionally translated as “feelings”, but it can mean more than just feelings, particularly in “phassa paccayā vedanā” in Paṭicca Samuppāda. That vedanā has a specific name of “samphassa jā vedanā,” as we will discuss.

▪The Buddha said that vedanā could be analyzed in many ways, with superficial or more profound meanings. Here we will analyze vedanā in a way that will be most helpful at this stage (for those following the “Living Dhamma” section from the beginning.

▪In this analysis, we will discuss nine types of vedanā.

▪By understanding these nine types of vedanā, we can understand how to do vedanānupassanā in the Satipaṭṭhāna bhāvanā correctly.

2. At the very fundamental level, vedanā means “veema danaveema” (වීම දැනවීම) in Sinhala, which means “one becomes aware (of a sense input)” and experience the corresponding good, bad, or neutral kamma vipāka.

▪That is the vedanā experienced by an Arahant. He/she is aware of sensory input, and does not ADD any more vedanā in his/her mind to that sensory input.

▪A vedanā can be a dukha vedanā (due to a past immoral kamma), a sukha vedanā (due to a past good kamma), or a neutral sensation — like feeling the wind on the body — called a upekkhā vedanā.

▪Even an Arahant will experience those dukha or sukha vedanā as long as he/she is alive. Only those “samphassa-jā-vedanā” will not arise in an Arahant; see below. No more vedanā of any type arising in an Arahant after death, because he/she will not be reborn in the 31 realms of “this world.”

▪However, normal humans go far beyond that and generate three additional types of their mind-made “samphassa jā vedanā,” as we will discuss below.

3. It is essential to realize that the physical body feels sukha and dukha vedanā due to kamma vipāka. They result due to past good or bad kamma vipāka. This can be verified by referring to Abhidhamma:

▪Akusala kamma vipāka coming though the body are listed as, “dukkha sahagataṁ kāya viññānaṁ,” and kusala kamma vipāka coming though the body are listed as, “sukha sahagataṁ kāya viññānaṁ.”

▪Neutral (upekkhā) vedanā can arise via all five physical senses; see #7 below.

4. A normal human being will mentally generate three more types of vedanā due to those sukha, dukha, and neutral vedanā that initially arise due to kamma vipāka via all five physical senses.

▪If it is dukha vedanā (due to a headache, getting injured, etc.), one is likely to start worrying about it and add more suffering. Those are domanassa vedanā or āmisa dukha vedanā.

▪If it is sukha vedanā (getting a massage, lying in a luxurious bed, etc.), one is likely to start generating thoughts about how good it is and how one can enjoy similar sukha vedanā in the future. Those are somanassa vedanā or āmisa sukha vedanā ; one could also be generating them by remembering past such sukha vedanā. These are also added in by the mind.

▪Somanassa means “mind-made joyful.” Domanassa means “mind-made misery,” which is basically a depressed mindset.

▪If a vedanā due to a kamma vipāka is not that strong one may generate neutral feelings about it; that is āmisa upekkhā vedanā.

5. Let us take some examples to illustrate how those additional types of vedanā can arise due to initial dukha vedanā and sukha vedanā.

▪Suppose someone comes down with an illness. Any pain (dukha vedanā) due to that illness CANNOT be avoided by anyone once the illness takes hold: It is the RESULT (vipāka) of a previous CAUSE (kamma).

▪Of course, it is possible that one could have avoided the kamma vipāka from materializing by trying to minimize CONDITIONS (paccayā); see, “What Does “Paccayā” Mean in Paṭicca Samuppāda?.” That is why kamma vipāka can be avoided by being mindful and taking precautions.

▪Once an illness starts, all one must take medicines or resort to other actions (e.g., massaging, applying heat/cold, etc.) to reduce the pain.

▪However, people tend to make the situation worse by starting to generate negative feelings about the situation. This gives rise to domanassa vedanā.

6. In the same way, one can start generating somanassa vedanā based on a sukha vedanā that was brought by a good kamma vipāka.

▪For example, when eating a delicious meal, one could be generating joyful thoughts about how delicious it is and how one can eat it again in the future. Such joyful thoughts (somanassa vedanā) may be generated even long after the meal.

▪Both domanassa and somanassa vedanā are “mind-made.” They are called “samphassa-jā-vedanā”; see #8 below.

7. Kamma vipāka also leads to sense inputs at the other four physical senses. They are all neutral. Thus neutral vedanā can arise via all five physical senses.

▪ Kusala and akusala vipāka coming through those four sensory doors are listed as, “upekkhā sahagataṁ cakkhu viññāṇaṁ,” “upekkhā sahagataṁ sota viññāṇaṁ,” “upekkhā sahagataṁ ghāṇa viññāṇaṁ,” and “upekkhā sahagataṁ jivhā viññāṇaṁ.”

▪For example, when we see an “eye-pleasing picture,” the initial vedanā felt by the mind is neutral.

▪However, that “neutral feeling” may not even register in one’s mind because the “samphassa-jā-vedanā” we discuss next arises automatically and instantaneously based on one’s gati.

8. But if one has cravings or repulsion to such pictures, one will start generating “samphassa-jā-vedanā,” or feelings that arise due to “samphassa” (“saŋ” + “phassa” or contacts with “saŋ” that is in one’s mind); see, “What is “Saŋ”? Meaning of Sansāra (or Saṁsāra).”

▪It is easy to understand this when one contemplates some examples. Upon seeing person X, an enemy of X will generate what are called “domanassa vedanā” or bad feelings, whereas a friend of X will generate “somanassa vedanā” or good feelings.

▪The same is true for sounds, tastes, and smells. Even though there appear to be “universally good” tastes, that is not true for an Arahant. We cannot comprehend it at this stage. But we know that some foods enjoyed by some could be repulsive to others, for example.

▪In Akusala-Mūla Paṭicca Samuppāda, the “phassa paccayā vedanā” step, the vedanā that arises is really “samphassa-jā-vedanā”; see, “Akusala-Mūla Paṭicca Samuppāda.”

9. Three more types of mentally generated vedanā can arise in those on the Noble Eightfold Path. These arise by suppressing or eliminating those āmisa vedanā or “samphassa-jā-vedanā” discussed above.

▪At the beginning of this section we discussed how heat or tāpa in mind arise due to “saŋ” which are greed (lobha), hate (dosa), and ignorance (moha); see “Suffering in This Life – Role of Mental Impurities” and “Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta – Relevance to Suffering in This Life.”

10. When one constantly is attached to or repulsed by all those sensory inputs one experiences in a given day, one’s mind can get stressed out. An average human being may not even be aware of this heat (tāpa) in mind; see those two posts mentioned above, and others at the beginning of the “Living Dhamma” section.

▪Even if one is generating somanassa vedanā, those inevitably lead to the stress in the mind. However, the effect is easily seen with domanassa vedanā.

▪This is very important to grasp. You may want to go back and read those posts.

11. When one stays away from generating too many “samphassa-jā-vedanā” of both kinds, one will start feeling three more types of vedanā. These are called nirāmisa vedanā, because they arise from staying away from cravings (and repulsion) to worldly objects.

▪When one prevents the mind from heating up by comprehending the adverse effects of “saŋ” and staying away from them, one’s mind starts “cooling down.” This is the nirāmisa sukha vedanā that we have discussed in many posts.

▪This is what is emphasized by “ātāpi sampajāno” in the Mahā Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta; it means “remove the fire or heat from one’s mind by being aware of the ‘saŋ’ or “immoral tendencies”; see, “Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta – Structure.”

▪The pleasant feelings one feels during jhānā are also nirāmisa sukha vedanā. They are devoid of tāpa or heat.

▪Such feelings can also be experienced when doing a meritorious deed, such as giving or helping out someone in need. Those are also devoid of tāpa or heat and are nirāmisa sukha vedanā.

▪Nirāmisa sukha can, of course, be experienced while engaging in meditation, especially Mettā Bhāvanā. This is optimized when one does Mettā Bhāvanā with comprehension of anicca, dukkha, and anatta, i.e., when one does it with the comprehension of “ātāpi sampajāno.”

12. There are two more types of vedanā that one experiences when proceeding on the Noble Eightfold Path.

▪Sometimes, one gets discouraged by not advancing “fast enough” on the Path. One thinks about “why am I not getting to the Sotāpanna stage?” or “Is there anything I am missing to make progress?”, etc.

▪Those are not domanassa vedanā (because they are devoid of paṭigha anusaya); they are nirāmisa dukha vedanā. It is common for one to experience such vedanā.

▪If a vedanā is not that strong one may generate neutral feelings about it; that is nirāmisa upekkhā vedanā.

13. The key to vedanānupassanā in the Satipaṭṭhāna bhāvanā is to be able to recognize which type of vedanā one feels.

▪If it is a dukha (vipāka) vedanā, one understands that one needs to bear it (after reducing it as much as possible with medicines, etc). One needs to understand why such a vipāka vedanā arises, and remedy it as much as possible. After all, our goal is to stop any type of suffering.

▪A good example is the pain one feels when sitting cross-legged at meditation retreats. Just saying, “I feel this vedanā” will not be of any use. That vedanā can be removed by shifting one’s posture. I have seen some instructors advise people to bear the pain, saying it will go away. It may go away because the nerves may become numb. That is not good in the long term.

▪Also, one needs to understand why one should stop generating domanassa and somanassa vedanā, per the above discussion.

▪And one should, of course, cultivate nirāmisa sukha vedanā that arise when one starts on the Path (primarily upon comprehending Tilakkhaṇa to some extent) and reduces the tendency to generate domanassa and somanassa vedanā.

14. Vedanānupassanā is all about first identifying the types of vedanā one is experiencing, and then deciding what to do about them. Getting rid of all vedanā — as some people believe — is the wrong thing to try to do.

Vipāka vedanā do not have lobha, dosa, moha, but vipāka vedanā can lead to samphassa-jā-vedanā which will have lobha, dosa, moha.

▪vipāka vedanā needs to be experienced with upekkhā.

▪samphassa-jā-vedanā are the ones to be stopped.

▪Nirāmisa vedanā are the ones to be cultivated.

15. In summary, try to avoid vipāka dukha vedanā by trying not to make conditions for them to appear; see, “Anantara and Samanantara Paccayā.” Do not indulge in vipāka sukha vedanā when those arise. Suppress and gradually eliminate samphassa-jā-vedanā and cultivate nirāmisa vedanā, which is what the “Living Dhamma” section is all about.

▪That is — in brief — what vedanānupassanā is all about.

More details on vedanā can be found at: Vedanā (Feelings) Arise in Two Ways” and “Feelings: Sukha, Dukha, Somanassa, and Domanassa.”