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February 18, 2017; this is being replaced by Vedanā and Samphassa Jā Vedanā – More Than Just Feelings

1. Vedanā is conventionally translated as “feelings”, but it is much more than just feelings. The Buddha said that vedanā can be analyzed in many ways, with simple or deeper meanings. Here we will analyze vedanā in a way that will be most helpful at this stage (for those who have been following the “Living Dhamma” section from the beginning.

▪In this analysis we will discuss 9 types of vedanā (highlighted in bold italic red).

▪By understanding these 9 types of vedanā, we can understand how to correctly do vedananupassana in the Satipaṭṭhāna bhāvanā.

2. At the very fundamental level vedanā means “veema danaveema” 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 simply is aware of a sense input, and does not ADD anymore vedanā in his/her mind to that sense input.

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

▪An Arahant will bear them all with a neutral mind even though the dukha or sukha sensation cannot be avoided.

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

3. It is important to realize that sukha and dukha vedanā due to kamma vipāka are felt by the physical body. 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 sahagatham kaya vinnanam,” and kusala kamma vipāka coming though the body are listed as, “sukha sahagatham kaya vinnanam.”

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

4. A normal human being will mentally generate three more type 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 amisa 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 amisa 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 just generate neutral feelings about it; that is amisa upekkha 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 to materialize by trying to minimize CONDITIONS (paccaya); see, “What Does “Paccaya” Mean in Paṭicca Samuppāda?.” That is why kamma vipāka can be avoided by being mindful and taking precautions.

▪Once an illness starts, all one can do is to take medicines and also take any possible actions 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 one is 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.

7. Kamma vipāka also lead 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 sense doors are listed as, “upekkha sahagatham cakkhu vinnanam,” “upekkha sahagatham sota vinnanam,” “upekkha sahagatham ghana vinnanam,” and “upekkha sahagatham jivha vinnanam.”

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

8. But if one has cravings or repulsion to such pictures, one will start generating “samphassa ja 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 on 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 just cannot comprehend it at this stage. But we know that some foods enjoyed by some could be repulsive to others, for example.

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

▪In the beginning of this section we discussed how heat or tāpa in the 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 or repulsed by all those sense inputs that one experiences in a given day, one’s mind can get really stressed out. A normal human being may even not be aware of this heat (tāpa) in the mind; see those two posts mentioned above, and other posts in 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 due to 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 one is doing a meritorious deed, such as giving or helping out someone in need. Those are also devoid of thāpa 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 those bhāvanā with comprehension of anicca, dukkha, anatta, i.e., when one does it with full 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 a bit 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 that I am missing in order 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 just generate neutral feelings about it; that is nirāmisa upekkha vedanā.

13. The key to vedananupassana 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 arise, 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 by saying “I feel this vedanā” will not of any use. That vedanā can be removed by shifting one’s posture. I have seen some instructors advice people to just bear the pain saying that 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 above discussion.

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

14. Vedananupassana 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 believe — is the wrong thing to try to do.

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

▪Vipāka vedanā needs to be experienced with upekkha.

▪Samphassa ja vedanā are the ones to be stopped. [ja, （-°） [adj. -suffix from jan, see janati； cp. °ga； gacchati] born, produced, sprung or arisen from]

▪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 Paccaya.” Do not indulge in vipāka sukha vedanā when those arise. Suppress and gradually eliminate samphassa ja vedanā and cultivate nirāmisa vedanā, which is what the “Living Dhamma” section is all about.

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

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