CAUSAL GENESIS

(based on a talk to meditators on a retreat given by the Venerable Amatha Gavesi)

The law of cause and effect (hetu-phala), which the Lord Buddha explained at length in several of his discourses, as a doctrine intensely profound to be reflected upon , and understood by intelligent examination is a Universal Law that he disclosed to the world. It was   not as a divine revelation, the knowledge of which was obtained through  prayers and offerings, but percieved   through  mental development in which he understood the operation of the law of cause(hetu) and effect (phala).

The combination of mind (nama) and matter-the physical form (rupa) - conventionally recognised as a being , is not  the work of an almighty creator.  If there is someone who created the physical form (kaya or rupa) and infused life into it, or if  it has been put together  by oneself ( atma -a soul) within the e physical form, we can attribute  the responsibility of the creation either to that ‘someone’, or to a “self” within. But it not being so , a being is the result of one of its own past actions consequent to a thought (cetana) or in other words a being is the result of  its own past kamma.

Both, your physical form (rupa) and the mind  are the result or the effecte of your kamma which is the cause. Therefore, we  born with a body and a mind , as the result of a cause   are conventionally  accepted as  beings. But the teaching of the Lord Buddha goes beyond the conventional reality. There is  a form (rupa) and a mind(nama) but the form (rupa) by itself cannot do any thing, except breath- in, and breath- out. The form merely indicates whether it is  that of  an animal or a human being. It is the mind,(nama)that  has the  force to activate the body. How does this force in the mind activate the form ?

The mind(nama) is an intangible force, that gives rise to thoughts, that activates the body. The body cannot  act without a thought preceding(cetana) it. The thought is therefore the cause (hetu), and the act, the effect- result (phala).

The thoughts arise depending on each sense faculty(ayatana), and is called by the name of the respective sense faculty. The thought that arises depending on the eye- is called the eye consciousness (cakkhu vinnana), and enables  seeing. The thought that arises depending on the ear is called the ear consciousness(sota vinnana), and enables hearing. The thought that arises depending on the nose is called the nose consciousness (ghana vinnana), and enables smelling. The thought that arises depending on the tongue, is called the tongue consciousness(jivha vinnana), and enables  tasting. The thought that arises depending on the body is called the body consciousness( kaya vinnana) and enables  touch or feeling and activate different parts of the body, The thought that arises depending on the mind is called the mind consciousness (mano vinnana), and enables  thinking.

There is nothing  that a being – the “self”, can do on its own, without  the interaction of the mind with the body. How does the mind that activates the six sense faculties, generate this force ? As much as an effect or a result (phala) , originates from a cause(hetu), a thought as well  originates from a previous cause. Therefore, it follows that, where there is no cause, a thought does not arise.

Let us re-capitulate, the results that originate depending on the respective sense faculty. Depending on the sense faculty of eye there arises, the seeing. Depending on the sense faculty of ear arises, the hearing. Depending on the sense faculty of nose arises the smelling. Depending on the sense faculty of tongue arises, the tasting, depending on the sense faculty of body arises, the feelings, and depending on the sense faculty of mind arises the thinking. All these activities take place depending on thoughts which are the causes that give rise to them (results).

If none of these results occur depending on the six sense faculties consequent to a cause, what would happen ? Nothing. But the mind will remain calm an absolute force. Can we create this situation where the mind will remain calm as an absolute force ? Yes , we can. But the mind in that state has gone beyond “self”- the ego. The ‘self’ becomes non-existent. The mind is then absolutely silent. A silent mind may have insight into ultimate realities, beyond conventional realities of our day to day ewistence.

The body , the material form (rupa), as we have already seen is a result of an action , the karmic force of this action limits the time frame of the body. We must not forget, that the existence of the body within this limited time frame is its continuous interaction with the mind. During this limited existence, the six sense faculties take respective objects of their contact, giving rise to incessant thoughts. This, in fact , is what we do from the time we wake up in the morning, till we go to sleep in the night . But if one develops one’s mind to a higher level of concentration through meditation to allow the mind to be completely silent, unperturbed by thoughts we call that the attainment of Nibbana.
This attainment of the complete incomparable silence of the mind, is not easy. The reason is the inert desire, the thirst (tanha) , for the pursuit of worldly pleasure.

It is this desire or thirst (tanha) that motivates the eye to see, ear to hear and so on.. But once desire has been subdued , the thoughts of desire do not arise, and one sees only when one wants to see, otherwise the mind, bereft of thoughts arising through sense faculties of the body, remains calm and silenrt.
The difference between the one who has desire or thirst (tanha,) for worldly pleasures, and the one who has no such desire or thirst is, that the former, however much he may say, that he does not want to see, hear, taste, feel or think, will never-the-less, do so. Why? Because desire (tanha) which is beyond his control, will force him to see with his eyes, to hear with his ears, taste with his tongue, smell with his nose, feel with his body, and think with his mind. Whereas the latter, who has subdued desire will not react to what he sees, hears, smells, tastes, feels or thinks. How has this absence of reaction to the activities of the sense faculties come about ?

When the force of desire makes a person see with his eyes, put it in another way, when the external objects come in contact with a sense faculty it will activate the mind he may see, but will remain without reacting to what he sees. It is only, when his feelings (vedana) towards the external object are aroused that he will look. But there is no body to force him to do so except the thought process that is triggered of by that contact (passa) with the external object. If there is someone that claims ownership to the act of seeing, that one becomes completely inoperative if there is no reaction to the first contact with the external object. Is there some one to direct one to see ?

There is no person, that directs one to see, but it is simply the thoughts of attachment or aversion, both of which give rise to desire (tanha), which activates the eyesense (cakkhu vinnana) or the earsense (sota vinnana) (etc). The existence of a being that claims ownership to the eye (etc), is therefore a myth, they are simply the activities of the six sense faculties- seeing with the eye , hearing with the ears, tasting with the tongue, smelling with the nose, feeling with the body and thinking with the mind, as a result of a preceding cause. These are the activities, we have been continuing to do coming this long way from our birth. Because of the extreme rapidity of these activities we do not see them as an interaction between the mind and matter, but as activities performed by a person- a “self”, sometimes with great attachment or love, and sometime with hatred and dislike.

This mind without control, is led by thoughts of desire (tanha), to activate the sense faculties. This in itself is the existence. When you look at the past many years of your life, what remains to be seen other than what you have already seen, what you have already heard, what you have already tasted, what you have already felt or what you have already thought ? This long chain of unbroken activity has continued, with desire(tanha) as the principal cause, making it your lifestyle, whole of which can be broken down to the activities of seeing with the eyes, hearing with the ears, smelling with the nose, tasting with the tongue, feeling with the body and thinking with the mind.

There is nothing else, every thing that happens is determined according to the law of cause and effect, the sense faculties, had been activated as if taken over by this invisible force- the force of desire or thirst ( tanha). What is present is a mind and body combination( nama-rupa) – mentality and materiality, both resulting from a cause, and continue to exist depending on that cause, lead by the invisible force of desire, with a false view of a “ self ” doing these activities.
The activities resulting from different causes, which we carry on through the agency of our six sense faculties, create in us the impression that they are done by, ”me” “myself”. This false view is a self-delusion which is so strong, that one continues to exist believing that all sense door activities , are done by this person – “a self”, “I” or ‘me”.

What is actually going on is a series of causal activity. The mind which is a tremendous force in itself, has been accustomed to take sense objects incessantly from the time we get up in the morning, until we go to sleep in the night, lulling us into the belief that all the activities of the sense organs are done by ourselves. Even though, we cannot stop these activities all together we can nevertheless limit them. For instance we can limit the activity of the eye to the seeing, without reacting to what is seen, and stop all implications that follow the contact of the eye with the object . The sense faculty’s contact (passa) with an object gives rise to a series of thought-activity such as feeling (vedana), perception (sanna), consciousness(cetana) and mind factors (manasikara)
The sense faculties are the instruments for a chain reaction of mental activity.

It is not the eye that sees, but the mind. There are three elements involved in the act of seeing , the eye , the eye-consciousness (cakkhu vinnana), and the external object(arammana). Eye is ,therefore, only an instrument for the mind to see and so are all othersense faculties. If we shut off the eye, seeing becomes inoperative. It is not the ear that hears, if we shut off the ear, hearing becomes inoperative. It is not the nose that smells , if we can shut off the nose smelling becomes inoperative. It is not the tongue that tastes, if we shut off the tongue tasting becomes inoperative, similarly all sense doors could be shut off which makes the mind silent. By shutting off the sense faculties can we control the mind ? Perhaps we may be able, at least to a greater extent. But why cannot we do it now?

In the lifestyle that we lead a force has been introduced to the mind, which has taken control of it – this force is desire (tanha), resulting from attachment or aversion . The mind is now bound by desire. Bound to this force of desire, it clings(upadana) to the object to which it has developed an attachment(lobha) or aversion (dosa), like the fire holding on to dry wood. Because of this clinging (upadana) to an object, several things take place such as, sexual desire, accept false views, believe in the presence of a self or a soul. Clinging (upadana) is intense desire (tanha),that which activates desire – a force unleashed by desire. What is desire ? It is a state of mind, created by the mind itself, using the myth of “I”, “me” and “myself”. It is the mind that has made us slaves of desire (tanha).

If it is the mind caught in the grip of desire , that has made slaves of us, the mind itself has got caught in the trap it had laid to ensnare us. As we have become slaves of the mind , by becoming dependent on it, the Lord Buddha showed us a way to escape from this slavery by freeing the mind from the chains of slavery.

The mind’s natural propensity is only to see with the eyes, and that is all, to hear with the ears, and that is all, to taste with the tongue and that is all. Similarly with all sense organs . But any act beyond just seeing, hearing, tasting etc, is done for other purposes by an uncontrolled habit to which the mind has got accustomed. We see an object and either like it or dislike it, we have made a habit of doing this. And forming of habits is the error we have committed, and it is this error, that has made us slaves to desire, which keeps us entrenched in the samsara- the chain of birth, death and rebirth. Both likes and dislikes feed desire( tanha.)

We  see an object and leave it at that as the natural activity of the eye, but when we react to the object we see , we either  like it or dislike it. This additive- the reaction is the work of the thoughts (vedana, sanna,cetana and manasikara) that arise subsequent to the first natural act of seeing. So it is with the objects, that come in contact with the other sense faculties. This subsequent function of reacting to seeing is what gives rise to desire (tanha) . Isn’t it now clear that this reaction to what we see is going beyond the natural function of the eye which is just seeing  ?

The desire arose only after the mind, which we did not control properly through mindful awareness, was tempted by the force of desire. This force is so strong that the sense faculties, ears, nose , tongue etc. take in objects mechanically. It sees and gives rise to a series of thoughts and, as it has been repeatedly said before, if what is seen is pleasant gets attached to it or if it is unpleasant develops an aversion to it. It is the attachment and aversion, that gives rise to desire (tanha).

We have let the mind cultivate habits , and through these habits allowed the desire to infiltrate into our existence. Let us try to understand what are habits. These are the acts which we have got accustomed to doing over and over again for a long period of time without reflection allowing them to become mechanical . You introduce a new habit and eventually the mind develops a longing for it and, this “longing” is the desire( tanha) created by the habit. Initially a habit may not have been a pleasant experience. If we think of one of your habits you will observe that it was not some thing that you had willingly accepted. Even though the mind may not have liked it at the begining, once introduced the mind demands the repeated indulgence in the habit, making you get used to it, which thereafter becomes a habit of which the mind will eventually as something normal . This is the result of your giving into the minds desire for the performance of the habit. Therefore to stop a habit you should go against it , by not giving into the desire to perform it.

An habit is therefore, not a normal activity of the mind, but one that has been introduced. As you continue to go on with a certain habit you had cultivated in respect of a particular object or activity, you desire the fulfilment of that habit each time the object comes in contact with the respective sense faculty. And when a habit extends to many spans of lives in the past, it becomes extremely difficult to change it. But if one day you will have the force to say “no” to go on with a habit, its strength will begin to diminish, little by little and eventually disappear. This change of mental attitude not to give into habits, results in the diminution of the accumulation of desire(tanha). This is the way to nibbana taught by the Buddha .

The four foundations of mindfulness teach that stopping a habit is something you have to do mindfully, leading a suitable way of life, averting attachment or aversion , respectively to desirable or undesirable feelings of your own body or towards , that of others. Or to thoughts arising in the mind , or the development of mental states. Living mindfully is therefore , living a way of life counter to habits.

Living according to habits is to live without forethoughts. The mind avcts on its own according to set pattern it had been performing regularly day in and day out , mechanically without reflection. On the other hand acting mindfully is to do any activity thoughtfully weighing the consequences of the activities.

The normal activities of our sense faculties are seeing with the eyes, hearing with the ears, smelling with the nose, tasting with the tongue, feeling with the body and thinking with the mind. If one were to do these six activities mindfully, limiting seeing to see, hearing to hear, smelling to smell, tasting to taste, feeling to feel and thinking to think, desire, attachment or aversion not being gratified may cease to exist.

This breaking away from habits is difficult for the simple reason that they have taken root in one’s mind. Therefore, the mind cannot just see and stop at that, just hear and stop at that, just smell and stop at that, just taste and stop at that, just feel and stop at that, just think and stop at that, a habit takes root having existed not only in this life but also through innumerable past lives in our existence through samsara.

Both habits and each life span, are impermanent entities. But the habits become part of the mental continuum identified with the character of the individual.. Thus having taken objects through the six sense faculties the mind gives into the samsaric habit of either attachment or aversion. Because of this compelling force of habit man continues his perilous journey from one existence to another. Thus the Lord Buddha told the wise Bahia, see with the eyes without letting the mind indulge in what is seen , and similarly with what ever is taken in from the rest of the sense faculties, let not the mind get beyond the primary activity of the sense faculties The wise Bahia followed the advise of the Lord Buddha, and attained Nibbana. This is the very advise , that the Lord Buddha gave to wise Bahia that we have to follow .

But we have not the strength to do what the wise Bahia did. This is because of the weakness of our minds. When we take in an object from any one of the six sense faculties by force of habit, we invariably give rise to a series of strong thoughts connected with the object in relation to ourselves, creating attachment or aversion. The wise Bahia had an already developed mind and understood the advise of the Buddha- seeing is bare seeing , hearing is bare hearing there is nothing more to it.

As it is difficult for us to resist desire, the Lord Buddha taught us to do something different when confronted with the thoughts that have taken root as habits. On seeing think immediately of what you have seen as impermanent (anicca), unsatisfactory(dukkha) and without a self (anatma) or just impermanent(anicca), and avoid attachment to the object, and so with the rest of the sense faculties. Immediately after hearing , think of what is heard as impermanent (anicca) stop at that and mindfully avoid conflicting thoughts from arising . That is all we have to do, stay mindful, for that is the path to Nibbana. To remain thoughtfully aware in Buddhist term is to remain mindful (sati).
Mindful of what ? Mindful of what you see, what ever the object, see it as impermanent, continuously changing, subject to flux and without substance, therefore, unsatisfactory and without a self. Do so with what you hear, smell, taste, feel and think. If you continue to contemplate on the impermanence of these objects and thoughts arising because of them , the mind will not get attached to any of the objects coming in contact with the six sense faculties, nor have conflicts nor aversion. The mind is therefore constantly under survey.
But sometimes by force of habit mind may escape to follow its habitual pattern. Therefore, Lord Buddha said


Kayé kayanupassana viharati,
Atapi sampaññano satima
Vineyya loke, abiñña domanassan°

When thoughts about one’s own body or that of another arise, see it mindfully with concentrated effort, with attention, wisely (not merely saying impermanent, unsatisfactory and without self), without allowing the mind to get entrapped in attachment or aversion .

Vedana vedana passi viharati
Atapi sampaññano satima,
Vineyya loké abippa domanassan°

Feelings arising from the eye , feelings arising from the ear, feelings arising from the nose, feelings arising from the body , and feelings arising from the mind, any such feeling arising , look at them with concentrated effort , wisely, mindfully, protecting the mind from falling into attachment or aversion to feelings.

Citté cittampassi viharati
Atapi sampaññano satima
Vineyya loké abippa domanassan°


In the case of a mind with thoughts of passion, a mind with desire and attachment , a mind with anger and ill-will, watch the arising of these emotions, carefully, wisely, mindfully. Understand that the thoughts have arisen taking an object which is impermanent. Why should it be desirable and passionate if it is impermanent. When from an object which is impermanent, anger or ill-will arises, look at the object wisely, mindfully and ask why should one generate anger or ill-will towards it ? Is that not impermanent, unsatisfactory and without self ? Thinking thus remove thoughts of anger. Continue to contemplate, understanding , wisely, mindfully that the five aggregates of clinging (panca upadanakkandha) are impermanent , unsatisfactory and without self.


In the course of bodily functions notice the activities of the sense faculties, seeing with the eyes, hearing with the ears , smelling with the nose, tasting with the tongue, feeling with the body and thinking with the mind, know that in them, there is nothing else other than a series of causal activity , without a “me” or “ I”. Contemplate on this mindfully, wisely and resolutely. When continuing to contemplate on this the seven mental factors (bhojjanga) will develop and the mind will attain the sublime state of Nibbana. The five aggregates of clinging (pancaupadanakkandh)are mind made. All thoughts that arise are also mental constructions, and they are also impermanent, unsatisfactory and without self.
Contemplating according to the four foundations of mindfulness and seeing wisely and mindfully, as impermanent, unsatisfactory and without self all objects coming in contact with the six sense doors, eye, ear, nose , tongue, body and mind ,desire and attachment will be seen as the root cause of unsatisfactoriness (dukkha)

Atapi samaññana satima
Veneyya loké abappa domanassan°

The mind should be protected from getting tied up with attachment or aversion. Every thing is in a continuous flux, constantly changing and thus impermanent, and without any intrinsic value. What happens, when seeing every thing as impermanent ?

There is no food for desire(tanha), which is the result of attachment(lobha) and aversion(dosa). Desire arises from the cultivation of habits. A habit continues to exist as long as it is allowed to follow a pattern of behavior. For example one smokes cigarettes because one has fallen into the habit of smoking. But if one were to stop smoking , the desire to smoke will ware off and the habit will cease to continue. Another example is that of taking alcohol. One takes alcohol because he has taken a great liking to it, and continues to drink making it a habit . The habit has taken hold of the mind and he continues to drink. But if he were to discontinue the habit and stops taking alcohol , the mind will release its grip on the habit of drinking, and he will gradually disassociate from the habit and eventually stop taking alcohol altogether.

Similarly, you can stop any habit, by going against it, as much as you can make one by giving into it. Once a habit has been formed, the mind will continually make demands to satisfy the habit. A mind that has been made to accept a habit will demand its satisfaction automatically. If deprived the mind will yearn to taste what it has been made to taste. It is the same with feelings(vedana), the mind will look for the satisfaction of the feelings it has been made a habit to feel. These incessant demands of the mind to indulge in habits will increase desire ( tanha)

But action contrary to habits according to which the mind acts, will weaken the desire for habits, which will eventually cease to exist.. This cessation of desire (tanha) is the attainment of Nibbana. It is the result of the progress along the eight fold path (sila, samadhi, pañña) the Lord Buddha has instructed us to follow. It is not a teaching, that can be developed just by sitting. We have a weak unstable mind, like an untamed wild horse. It has become a slave of the habits created by itself . To release the mind from this slavish state, it has to be coaxed and induced to free itself from the bondage of slavery. How can this be done ? It has to be done by bringing the mind to one pointed concentration through meditation and allowing it to attain Jhana absorptions.

Jhanas are the higher states of concentration the mind can attain through meditation. In one pointed concentration (Samadhi) the mind can attain four states of purity- first ,second, third and the fourth. A mind that has absorbed into the forth Jhana is serene, calm and clear.

A mind so concentrated has been released from the habits of the past. The force here is the force of concentration (Samadhi). It is through the force of a concentrated mind trained to insight meditation( vipassana) that one can actually see impermanence (anicca), unsatisfactoriness( dukkha), and no-self(anatma). The wisdom (pañña) of seeing the reality of all things cannot be attained through any other means. A “mind that is thinking” cannot see the three signata of impermanence (anittya), unsatisfactory state (dukkha), and no-self ( anatma). On the otherhand a mind that has been concentrated through meditation after the absorption of the first, second, third and the forth Jhana will attain a state of purity to enable it to see impermanence, unsatisfactoryness and no-self and attain the sublime state of Nibbana.

Having seen this reality one should cultivates this force to protect the mind from falling back into its old habits, when seeing with the eyes, hearing with the ears, smelling with the nose, tasting with the tongue, feeling with the body or thinking with the mind, allow it instead to see the impermanence of what is seen, what is heard, what is smelt, what is tasted , what is felt and what is thought. This will bar the revitalizing of old habits and eventual destruction of desire which gave rise to unsatisfactoriness (dukkha).

පන්චුපාදානස්ඛන්ධයේ අනිත්‍ය භාවනාව                                                                                    

(ඕනෑම ඉරියව්වකින්  සිට සෑම වේලෑවේ ම කළහැකියි)

රුප

අතීතයේදී  නිරුද්ධවිගිය යම් රුපයක් ඇද්ද ඒ රුපය අනිත්‍යයි.

හටනොගත් අනාගතයේ යම් රුපයක් ඇද්ද  ඒ රුපය අනිත්‍යයි.

හටගත් වර්තමානයේ යම් රුපයක් ඇද්ද  ඒ රුපය අනිත්‍යයි.

මේ ශරීරයතුල යම් රුපයක් ඇද්ද ඒ රුපය අනිත්‍යයි.

බාහිර යම් රුපයක් ඇද්ද ඒ රුපය අනිත්‍යයි.

ගොරෝසු යම් රුපයක් ඇද්ද ඒ රුපය අනිත්‍යයි.

සියුම් යම් රුපයක් ඇද්ද ඒ රුපය අනිත්‍යයි.

හීනවූ යම් රුපයක් ඇද්ද ඒ රුපය අනිත්‍යයි.

ප්‍රනීත  යම් රුපයක් ඇද්ද ඒ රුපය අනිත්‍යයි.

දුර හටගන්නා රුපයක් ඇද්ද ඒ රුපය අනිත්‍යයි.

ළඟ හටගන්නා යම් රුපයක් ඇද්ද ඒ රුපය අනිත්‍යයි.

වේදනා

අතීතයේදී  නිරුද්ධවිගිය යම් වේදනාවක්  ඇද්ද ඒ වේදනාව අනිත්‍යයි.

හටනොගත් අනාගතයේ යම් වේදනාවක්  ඇද්ද  ඒ වේදනාව අනිත්‍යයි.

හටගත් වර්තමානයේ යම් වේදනාවක්  ඇද්ද  ඒ වේදනාව අනිත්‍යයි.

මේ ශරීරයතුල යම් වේදනාවක්  ඇද්ද ඒ වේදනාව අනිත්‍යයි.

බාහිර යම් වේදනාවක්  ඇද්ද ඒ වේදනාව අනිත්‍යයි.

ගොරෝසු යම් වේදනාවක් ඇද්ද ඒ වේදනාව අනිත්‍යයි.

සියුම් යම් වේදනාවක්  ඇද්ද ඒ වේදනාව අනිත්‍යයි.

හීනවූ යම් වේදනාවක්  ඇද්ද ඒ වේදනාව අනිත්‍යයි.

ප්‍රනීත  යම් වේදනාවක් ඇද්ද ඒ වේදනාව අනිත්‍යයි.

දුර හටගන්නා වේදනාවක්  ඇද්ද ඒ වේදනාව අනිත්‍යයි.

ළඟ හටගන්නා යම් වේදනාවක් ඇද්ද ඒ වේදනාව අනිත්‍යයි.

සඤඤා

අතීතයේදී  නිරුද්ධවිගිය යම් සඤඤාවක් ඇද්ද ඒ සඤඤාව අනිත්‍යයි.

හටනොගත් අනාගතයේ යම් සඤඤාවක් ඇද්ද  ඒ සඤඤාව අනිත්‍යයි.

හටගත් වර්තමානයේ යම් සඤඤාවක් ඇද්ද  ඒ සඤඤාව අනිත්‍යයි.

මේ ශරීරයතුල යම් සඤඤාවක් ඇද්ද ඒ සඤඤාව අනිත්‍යයි.

බාහිර යම් සඤඤාවක් ඇද්ද ඒ සඤඤාව අනිත්‍යයි.

ගොරෝසු යම් සඤඤාවක් ඇද්ද ඒ සඤඤාව අනිත්‍යයි.

සියුම් යම් සඤඤාවක් ඇද්ද ඒ සඤඤාව අනිත්‍යයි.

හීනවූ යම් සඤඤාවක් ඇද්ද ඒ සඤඤාව අනිත්‍යයි.

ප්‍රනීත  යම් සඤඤාවක් ඇද්ද ඒ සඤඤාව අනිත්‍යයි.

දුර හටගන්නා සඤඤාවක් ඇද්ද ඒ සඤඤාව අනිත්‍යයි.

ළඟ හටගන්නා යම් සඤඤාවක් ඇද්ද ඒ සඤඤාව අනිත්‍යයි.

සංස්කාර

අතීතයේදී  නිරුද්ධ්විගිය යම් සංස්කාරයක්  ඇද්ද ඒ සංස්කාරය අනිත්‍යයි.

හටනොගත් අනාගතයේ යම් සංස්කාරයක් ඇද්ද  ඒ සංස්කාරය අනිත්‍යයි.

හටගත් වර්තමානයේ යම් සංස්කාරයක් ඇද්ද  ඒ සංස්කාරය අනිත්‍යයි.

මේ ශරීරයතුල යම් සංස්කාරයක් ඇද්ද ඒ සංස්කාරය අනිත්‍යයි.

බාහිර යම් සංස්කාරයක් ඇද්ද ඒ සංස්කාරය අනිත්‍යයි.

ගොරෝසු යම් සංස්කාරයක්  ඇද්ද ඒ සංස්කාරය අනිත්‍යයි.

සියුම් යම් සංස්කාරයක් ඇද්ද ඒ සංස්කාරය අනිත්‍යයි.

හීනවූ යම් සංස්කාරයක් ඇද්ද ඒ සංස්කාරය අනිත්‍යයි.

ප්‍රනීත යම් සංස්කාරයක්  ඇද්ද ඒ සංස්කාරය අනිත්‍යයි.

දුර හටගන්නා සංස්කාරයක් ඇද්ද ඒ සංස්කාරය අනිත්‍යයි.

ළඟ හටගන්නා යම් සංස්කාරයක් ඇද්ද ඒ සංස්කාරය අනිත්‍යයි.

විඤඤාණය

අතීතයේදී  නිරුද්ධවිගිය යම් විඤඤාණයක් ඇද්ද ඒ විඤඤාණය අනිත්‍යයි.

හටනොගත් අනාගතයේ යම් විඤඤාණයක් ඇද්ද ඒ විඤඤාණය අනිත්‍යයි.

හටගත් වර්තමානයේ යම් විඤඤාණයක් ඇද්ද  ඒ විඤඤාණය අනිත්‍යයි.

මේ ශරීරයතුල යම් විඤඤාණයක් ඇද්ද ඒ විඤඤාණය අනිත්‍යයි.

බාහිර යම් විඤඤාණයක් ඇද්ද ඒ විඤඤාණය අනිත්‍යයි.

ගොරෝසු යම් විඤඤාණයක් ඇද්ද ඒ විඤඤාණය අනිත්‍යයි.

සියුම් යම් විඤඤාණයක් ඇද්ද ඒ විඤඤාණය අනිත්‍යයි.

හීනවූ යම් විඤඤාණයක් ඇද්ද ඒ විඤඤාණ අනිත්‍යයි.

ප්‍රනීත  යම් විඤඤාණයක් ඇද්ද ඒ විඤඤාණය අනිත්‍යයි.

දුර හටගන්නා විඤඤාණයක් ඇද්ද ඒ විඤඤාණය අනිත්‍යයි.

ළඟ හටගන්නා යම් විඤඤාණයක් ඇද්ද ඒ විඤඤාණය අනිත්‍යයි.

MANASIKARA (Mental attention)

MANASIKARA

(Mental attention)

Manasikara is a  Pali word in the language in which the Buddha made his  discourses.   It is defined variously as attention, mental advertence and reflexion. It  belongs to the  mental formations group( sankharakkhandha).  It is one of the seven mental factors( cetasika) inseparably associated with all states of consciousness(cetana).  It is the mind’s first confrontation with an object. It binds the other associated mental factors to the object. It is a prominent factor in advertence (avajjana) at the five sense doors and at the mind door.( Buddhist Dictionary-Nyanatiloka)

In the word Sankharakkhandha: sankhara is defined as formations, mental formations (cetasika) , volition (cetana) and so on  in the context of where it is used. Kahandha is defined as aggregates, clinging objects  or as a collected whole. Buddha says  on kahanadha: " where there exists  of corporeal things, whether past, present or future, one's own or external, gross or subtle, lofty or low, far or near, all that belong to the corporeal group.  Here there exists of feeling... of perception... of mental formation,s...of consciousness... all that belong to the consciouness group (vinnanakkhandha)."

The following is a translation of a Dhamma talk given in Sinhala by the late Venerable Amata Gavesi on 29 March, 1997 at the Meditation Centre at Kurunegala on  Manasikara.

( A word to the reader, Please read the article reflecting on what is read trying to understand the sense of what has been said-some times there is a repitition of the same thing .  That is to help concentration and  understanding.)

Today, I will speak to you on  Mind.  In a discourse of the Buddha in Samyutta Nikaya it is said  that the Mind (manasa), consciousness(vinnana) and thoughts (citta)  are the same.  But it is difficult for us to accept it.

Because  by activating the eye a thought arises

            …by activating the ear a thought arises

            …by activating the tongue a thought arises

            …by activating the nose a thought arises

            …by activating  the body a thought arises

But  if we were to  say that  by activating the sense faculty a thought arises;it is wrong , because the thought arises in the mind. Seeing for instance is a natural function of the eye. We see many thing without paying attention. Then there is no seeing. We can say by activating the mind a thought arises. Because the  mind (manasa) like the five sense faculties  eye, ear ,tongue and nose , is also a place where the  thoughts arise. It is only when we pay attention to what is seen that the consciouness arises to see the object.

To the eye  -form(rupa) is an object

To the ear –sound (sota)is an object

To the tongue – taste(rasa) is an object

To the nose –a smell (gandha) is an object

To the body –touch (pottabbha) is an object

To the mind  - thought (mano) is an object

Hence as I have explained to you before when the eye sees a form the third factor that arises is the consciousness(vinnana). The three elements: eye-object-consciousness and the act of seeing takes place.  When the ear hears a sound the third factor that arises  is the consciousness(vinnana). Similarly the tongue with a  taste, nose with a smell, body with a feeling, and mind with a thought,  the third factor that arises is the consciousness (vinnana).

This same consciousness(vinnana) arising with the activation of each of the six  sense faculties is named after the respective sense organ.

Eye     -     eye consciousness ( cakkhu vinnana)

Ear      -    ear consciousness (sota vinnana)

Nose    -    nose consciousness ( Ghana vinnana)

Tongue-    tongue consciousness (jivha vinnana)

Body    -   body consciousness (kaya vinnana

Mind -    mind consciousness (mano vinnana)

As the eye has a sensitive corporeality ( pasada rupa) like the iris (kalu ingiriyawa) it connects with the form(rupa). As the ear has a sensitive corporeality it connects with the sound and so on.  There are no sensitive corporeality in the hair or the nails, except those there are sensitive corporealities all over the body.

How do mind and mind objects get connected ?

It is through Manasikara.  Manasikara comes in contact with the object. When the mind comes in contact with the object it becomes an object of the mind (mano arammana). It is the connection of the mind object with the mind , which results in mental advertence (manasikara).

How does it happen ?

Normally each one  of our  thoughts arises along  with five mental factors(cetasika): Contact (passa),feeling (vedana), perception (sanna), volition (cetana), and mental attention or advertence (manasikara). These five mental factors (cetasika) arise along with a thought arising as a result of a sence faculty coming in contact with an object.

It is the mental factor of  contact (phassa) that brings together the  eye, the visual object (rupa rammana) , and the eye consciousness( cakkhu vinnana).

It is the mental factor of  contact (phassa) that  brings together the  ear, the object of sound (saddhaarammana), and the ear consciousness( sota vinnana).

It is the mental factor of  contact (phassa) which  brings together the  tongue, the object of taste( rasaaramana) , and the tongue consciousness(jivha vinnana).

It is the mental factor of  contact (phassa) which  brings together the  nose, the object of smell( ghanaarammana) , and the tongue consciousness( cakkhu vinnana).

It is the mental factor of  contact (phassa) which  brings together the  body, the object of feeling( potthabbhaarammana) , and the body consciousness( kaya vinnana).

It is the mental factor of  contact (phassa)  which  brings together the  mind, the object of the mind( mano arammana) , and the mind consciousness( mano vinnana).

It is with that activity, that the mental factor of attention (manasikara) performs its own part to complete the activity of bringing the sense faculty, in contact with the external  object, to perform the function of the respective sense faculty. If this activity of the  Manasikara  is absent then we cannot see, hear , taste, smell or feel. Manasikara is therefore a function of the respective sense faculty. The Mind is also a place that gives rise to thoughts.  If there is not such place there would be no place and  opportunity for a thought to arise.

Thoughts arise  because of the sense faculties- eye, ear, tongue , nose,  and  body coming in contact with an external object. But it is wrong to say that  thoughts arise because of thoughts .

What is a thought (sithak or citta ) ?

A thought is that which arises in the mind  in relation to an object which comes in contact with one of the  sense faculties.  When the mind and the mental object meet, a mind consciousness arises, bringing these three elements the Mind + mental object + mind consciousness together which is the function of the  mind factor of contact( passa cetasika)

Consciousness is the thought force. Mind is one of the sense faculties like the eye, ear, nose etc. that gives rise to a thought when it comes in contact with a "thought object".  In the  meeting of the three elements-the sense faculty +object+ consciousness of that sense faculty, a thought arises along with five common mental factors: contact (phassa), feeling (vedana),perception(sanna), volition (cetana) and  attention or mental advertence (manasikara).

Manasikara does not take an external object, but takes an object from within the mind to activate itself.  What is the feeling  one has when one has  a thought ? What takes place when  there is a thought in the mind ?

Then there is the  idea that there is some one who sees, and that it is the one who sees thaty does the act of seeing.  There are many factors necessary for the act of seeing. First the eye+object+eye  consciousness(vinnana),  have to come together . The consciousness (vinnana) is an energising force.

The consciousness by itself cannot see. To enable the consciousness to see, the five common mental factors
( sadharana sithivili) should be present.

Immediately the image of the  object falls on to the sensitive corporeality( pasada rupa) which is the iris in he case of the szense faculty of eye, the consciousness arises as the third factor and along with it arises a thought with  the five common mental factors.)

In the first instance, as it has alreadyu been said, what the contact (phassa) does is to bring together the  sense faculty or sense door (eye) , the object and the conscience. Then there is the one who experiences, the one who sees, then the  consciousness that sees arises. But still the object cannot be seen. Next the mental factor of feeling (vedana) recognises the object as pleasant or unpleasant,  good or bad. ( Every thing  exists in  two extremes in contrast to one and the other: good and bad , black and white, negative and positive.) Next  the  mental factor of  perception (sanna) arises and recognises the object as a stone or a tree, man or a woman etc.

If the object is not recognised, the question “what is it” ? is posed. Therefore recognition is essential. Without recognising  the object thoughts such as like and dislike, good or bad cannot arise.  If some one were to say it is a “Japanese plane”, then  perception (sanna) takes a note of it  and recognises it as a “Japanese plane”.  Thereafter if  in another place that same object is seen again,  it is recognised as a “Japanese plane” from the "notes" taken by the perception(sanna) when the object was seen first. 

That is how we develop our knowledge.  It is how one increases from birth the group of perceptions ( sannanakkhandha).  There are such recognition of  objects at all the six sense doors- the sense faculties. They fall into the group of perceptions.  Next  preceded by volition(cetana)  follows the activities  of the six sense doors.

Let us look again at perceptions (sanna)

If we see an object, and if we cannot recognise that object, what do we do ? We ask some one  what is it ? That is the nature. It is important that we recognise the object.  It is that way  from the birth that  we increase the number of  perceptions. All those items  recognised through the six sense faculties fall into the group of perceptions (sannanakkhandha).

If some thing is floating in the sky, and if we cannot recognise what it is, we ask “ What is it ?”  If then some one were to say , “it is a Japanese plane”, then  the form and the colour of it fall into our group of perceptions so that if that we were to go some where and if a crowd of people show an object floating in the sky and ask “what is it ?” we would at once say “it is a Japanese plane” knowing it from  what we had recognised the other day and stored in our  group of perceptions . We accepted what some one had said. 

The mind is also a place where the thoughts arise. It  is  activated  by the mind, mind consciousness and the mental objects. 

There is no moment  from the time we get up in the morning  until we got to sleep that the mind is without thoughts. That is the way with the life of human beings.  But those noble ones who have developed their minds have the ability to  silence the mind by suspending the activities of all the sense faculties and live serenely without rising and falling away of thoughts.

There are six places that give rise to thoughts: eye, ear, tongue, nose, body and mind. These six sense faculties take six different types of objects, but  the  consciousness  gives rise to the same five common mental factors and raise different thoughts. 

What the mind does is to connect itself with a mental object and reflect on it giving rise to thoughts of the past, present and future. In the meantime  if necessary takes another object from the six sense doors and lets thoughts flow continuously like the waters of a river.  What are the waters in the river ? They are the objects taken by the sense doors. The river of thoughts flow nonstop.  In between one  raises thoughts to feed ones desire falling into the two extremes of attachment and aversion to the objects.  They are the thoughts of attachment and thoughts of aversion- likes and dislikes.  

How and from where is it done ?

Now from Manasikara we think of something we have eaten. In the meantime  such an object from manasikara could be suddenly introduced to the mind. Then it holds on to the object and think of the taste it gives and give rise to thoughts.  These thoughts are of two categories, They are thoughts of attachment or aversion. Both of these categories of thoughts feed  desire or craving(tanha).  Therefore, this river of thoughts flowing  from the six sense faculties  raise thoughts of attachment or aversion.  

Now in this mind of ours there is a flowing river of thoughts.  If one were to see a beautiful object  one will not only get attached  but also go home and sit comfortably on a chair and mentally look at the object from all sides raising thoughts of  attachment to it. In hearing from the ear a song, one thinks of all the tunese one remembers and raises thoughts of attachment, it is the same with objects taken from other sense faculties. That is how one carries through out one's life.

Who is it then that does these things ?

Let us say that the ear came in contact with an object ( a sound) and with that arose the  consciousness of the ear. In bringing together the ear+ the object + the consciousness a  thought arose .  The   thought brings along with it the mind factor of feeling (vedana) which gives rise to attachment(tanha) or  aversion (dosa) .  As this object  has different characteristics, different qualitites of attraction or repulsion we cannot ascertain the number of thoughts that arose and passed away. 

 It happens according to ones state of mind. If you are one who has reduced craving (tanha) to a great extent you will not raise thoughts of attachment and aversion that would fortify craving (tanha).   But in living according to the way of the world , you have a river of thoughts flowing from all the six sense faculties. This is the same with every one of the six sencs faculties.

Now from that form of action (hearing)  a doer (one who hears) has to be created.  In the course of  raising a thought in the action of hearing , a doer (a  self that hears) has still not been created . Because  to create a self that hears  there should be five active mental factors.

Who gets together first to create  a doer ( a self)?

First the form(rupa) . Immediately  a consciousness arises in contact with an object and sees the object. Immideately it creates a self- I see . there arises feelings (vedana) around the object.... and so on..  

It happens in case of  any form(rupa)  taken from any one of the sense faculty/
                                                                the object –and the eye

                                                                the object- and the ear

                                                                the object- and the tongue

                                                                the object- and the nose

                                                                the object- and the body

                                                                the object- and the mind

immediately they come in contact, the first to arise is the consciousness(vinnana).  Then the five mental factors arise along with it: contact (passa): feeling(vedana), perception(sanna), volition(cetana) , advertance (manasikara) and mind factors (sanskara)

How is this self formed ? Who assists in it ?

The  characteristic of the “ doer” the self, one who sees, hears,smells, tastes, or think is the physical form.  We make use of our physical form-body(rupa). Based on this physical form (rupa)-as a human being  we act creating a  self as the doer of the action. It is the mind that does it. When the mental factor of contact ( phassa) brings together the  object(rupa)+ eye + eye consciousness (cakkhu vinnana) it creates a “doer” a self.." I see". This creation of a self  is done with the arising of the consciousness at  all the six sense faculties or sense doors.

Friends,  when your mind-mind object- mind consciousness, come together giving rise to the five mental factors they create the self that thinks.  This creation is further developed by the mental factor of feeling (vedana). Here is now the "one"-the self which feels, pleasant feelings, unsatisfactory feelings, or neither pleasant nor unsatisfactory feelings.  It is followed by  the mental factor of perception (sanna) which recognises the object as I see a flower.......  Then the mental factor of volition(cetana) recognises the self as the  one who activates the action.( heard, saw etc.) It is then the  mental formations (sankhara) which result in kamma formation.. 

Without the consciousness (vinnana) of contact(phassa), feeling (vedana) perception (sanna) and attention (manasikara) will not arise. It is the consciousness (vinnana) that gives rise to the 5 common mental factors. Every one of these thoughts( consciousness of contact (phassa), consciousness of feeling (vedana) consciousness of perception (sanna), consciousness of volition (cetana) and the consciousness of attention (manasikara). These five consciousness reate a self .

First of all  it is the  consciousness (vinnana)that arises,  without the consciousness there would be  no consciousness of contact, consciousness of feeling, consciousness of perception , consciousness of volition, consciousness of attention or mental advertence or mental formations (snskhara).  All these thoughts have  the same force of consciousness. It is this consciousness (vinnana) that creates the self or the being.   Who is this being- the self ?

It is the five panca upadanakkhanda- the five clinging groups of existence [form (rupa), feeling (vedana)perception (sanna), mental formations(sankhara) and the consciousness (vinnana)]

How did all this happen on the arising of a thought ?

Let us take the eye. The eye and the object (rupa) of the eye get connected( when the image of the form(rupa) of the object falls on the sensitive corporeality of the eye -the iris) the consciousness (vinnana) arises and gives rise to the five common mental factors. The arising of the  mental factor of contact(phassa) immediately gives rise to the form (rupa) , as a result  arises the feeling (pleasant, unsatisfactory or neither pleasant nor satisfactory),then  arises the mental factor of  perception (sanna) which recognises what the object is,  which creates volition (cetana) it is followed by mental  formations(  sankhara) with the object seen with  the eye.  Every one of the rising thoughts have these five groups of existence (pancakkhandha).

How did these five groups of existence( pancakkhandha) became  the five clinging groups of existence (panca  upadanak khanda) ?

It is when  the  being  with the  five groups of existence (pancakkhandha) develops an intense desire- a craving (tanha) for an external object which it comes in contact with its sense faculties.  Through that contact arises pleasant or unpleasant feeling. If the feelings are pleasant the being develops an intense desire -a clinging to possess the object and enjoy it, which is Upadana.  There are four kinds of clinging(upadana) (i) sensuous clinging (kama upadana), (ii) clinging to views(ditthi upadana),(iii)clinging rules and rituals (silabbatupadana) (iv) clinging to the personality belief( atta vapaupadana)

What is it which develops that  intense desire to possess ? It is the form( rupa), feeling (vedana), perception (sanna), mental formations (sankhara) and the consciousness (vinnana) ,all pût together to make the being-a self(pancaupadanakkhandha)

The nature of craving is  intense  attachment to pleasant feelings which   creates a being- a self  who feels and enjoys the pleasant feelings, and believing that there is this  being or a self that feels, the mind  holds onto that belief of a being or self  with intense desire creating the five clinging groups of existence
( pancaupadanakkhandha).

Then when the consciousness (mind) that activates your eye, the consciousness that activates your ear ( i.e the consciousness that activates all the six  sense doors), created a being- a self.   It is that self  you (your mind)  so created which got attached to an object  or developed an aversion to it.  Because of that desire for the enjoyment of the object you like you created a self who enjoys by binding together these five groups of existence(pancakkhandha) into a group of clingings (panca upadanakkhandha)..  Because of this activity of the ordinary human beings there exist five groups of clinging. (panca upadanakkhandha)

Why do we call this  five aggregates of clinging, a human being ?  

It is not necessarily a human being it could be any being , because all beings are of the five clinging groups of existence (panca upadanakkhandha).  A being is only a concept a conventional reality, which does not exist in ultimate reality. It is only a mental formation

Why does not the nature of the human being  change  in a different way ?

Friends, Do not  we accept that “listening” is a thought ? Is not “seeing”  also a thought ?  The activities of all the six sense doors are thoughts which is the nature of a human being.  Are not the whole of these activities done by the  mind ? Now the mind  having created a being or  a self, cling on to the activities as they have been done by  this being.

In reality all this had been done by the mind. The six sense doors by themselves cannot do  the acts of seeing or hearing .  However much real  a being seems to be, it cannot do any nothing without the consciousness (vinnana or the mind).

If “seeing” is done by the mind, then the “one who sees” should also be mind made. If “hearing “ is done by the mind, then the “one who hears” should also be mind made.  So it is with regard to all the six sense doors. Hence putting together all sense doors you get a being -a self.

Can you, friends, in order to do the activities of the six sense doors, raise a thought  without  creating a self ?  No, but why not ? Because they are the same tools that were used to seeing with the eyes, hearing with the ears etc.,  that created a self.  Without this creation seeing cannot be done by the eyes or activate any of the sense doors . Therefore the mind  created a self.

In short when we stay without thoughts( without contact of objects), we think that  our mind has gone silent. The mind is silent .  There is a force in the mind.  The mind is there, without thoughts.  Is the mind now silent ? No mind is watching the mind.  It is the time that the mind gets hold of objects and makes mental reflexions (manasikara)

If the mind were to be silenced it is  by giving up all physical activity.  As long as a person has a mind can he silence it ? No, By silencing the mind no one can stop the natural functions of  the six sense doors from receiving  external objects.  As long as the sense doors are kept open,  sounds are heard, form are seen, pleasant an unpleasant smells are smelt, these are normal activity of the sense faculties.  They do not activate the arising of  thougthts as there is absense of attention (manasikara).  The natural primary activities of the six sense faculties cannot be stopped by any one.  It happens automatically – suddenly.

A laud thump on the table.

What happened ? Momentarily a consciouness arose and noted a sound.

That was hearing a  sound which was not expected.  Can we stop   hearing it ?  It happens by itself  cannot stop it. If it is to be stopped we have to stop its activity  by piercing the ear drums !! As long as the ears are kept open  we cannot stop it from receiving  external objects.?  It does no harm to you. 

It is through the bad habit of running after thoughts that we cause danger to ourselves.  It is because of running after sounds that we developed attachment and  aversion.  It is the same with other sense doors. Because of your foolish  act of attachment and aversion you  created a “doer” (a self)and enjoyed a feeling.  We can stop the thoughts of attachment and aversion that created that pleasant or unpleasant feeling.  Then if we stopped at "hearing" we have only heard.  if we see , we have only seen.  By that there is no harm to you.  As an object is it not the same activity  of the sense faculties that the Buddha proposed to Bahia ?

Bahia was seeking Nibbana during the Piyumatura Buddha. He with five others climbed onto a mountain and meditated with the firm determination  that they will not descend until they have attained Nibbana. One of them became an Arahat, one became a stream entrant, and the others died. Daruviya or Bahia was one of those that died.  During the period of our Buddha he was living in a forest in Patna thinking that he had become a Buddha.  He had developed  his mind to such an extent that he was wearing long strips of wood. A forest deity came to him and told him, “ Bahia you are not a Buddha, the Buddha Gotama is in the village near by.  He is gone for his alms round, go to him and speak to him and at least listen to a sermon by the Buddha”.

Bahia on hearing it hastened to see the Buddha.  He pleaded the Buddha  to give a short sermon for him. After three such pleadings the Buddha  said:

 "Bhaiya, thus must you train yourself. In the seen there will be just seen, in the heard, just the heard, in the sensed, just the sensed, in the cognized, just cognized. Then Bahiya, you will not be reckoned by it, you will not be in it. And when Bahiya you will not be in it. Then Bahiya, you will not be here nor there nor midway between. This itself is the end of suffering."

What was said was not to reflect on the objects that come in contact with the six sense doors and get attached to them or create aversion.

Bahia understood what was said and soon attained the state of an Arahant and going out was killed by a bull that rammed on to him.  The Buddha seeing the body of Bhaia on his way back from alms round , told that he had attained the sainthood of an Arahant and asked that the body be removed and cremated.

From what the Buddha told Bahia, we understand that the most dangerous thing we do is running after objects seen, heard, smelt, tasted, felt,  and getting attached to them or having  aversion to them., is developing craving (lobha) through attachment and hatred (dosa) through aversion

Though the words Craving (lobha) and hatred(dosa) sound  dangerous , one does not realise at the time one is attached to an object that one  develops craving and when one dislikes an object  one creates aversion(dosa).  Attachment is the desire and aversion dislike.  The danger is that through attachment  you create a craving(lobha).

Once a Brhamana asked the Buddha, “Lord when did craving (lobha)develop in man ?” The Buddha said, “ The craving started from the  day the human beings developed attachment with desire and aversion  with hatred to the objects taken from the six sense doors.”

Then  can we stop the activities of the six sense doors such as the thoughts of hearing and the thoughts of seeing ?

No. It is giving attention  to the activity of sense faculties that give rise to thoughts. What we can stop from the six sense doors are the arising of thoughts of desire and the thoughts of  hatred, by not allowing the mind to go beyond the initial contact of an object  with the sense faculty.  By stopping that one stops arising of mental factors of feeling, perception, mental advertence, mental formations..  That stops attachment and craving.

Is there craving (tanha) in  any of the thoughts arising at the six sense doors when they come in contact  for the first time with an object ?

                                                                 No

Then from where does the craving (tanha) arises ?

Craving arises from the second mental factor(vedana cetasika) arising after the  first contact ( passa cetasika) with the object. After a sense door has been activated by a thought, craving (tanha) commences with the arising of  thoughts  of attachment or aversion in respect of the object. If there is no attachment or aversion then there is no craving(tanha)

The habit of smoking persists because the smoker continues with his habit of smoking.  If he gives up smoking it would be the end of the desire (tanha) to smoke.

Similarly to stop craving, which is a deep attachment ,  after taking  objects through the six sense doors you should reflect (manasikara) on the objects and  stop the arising of the second mental factor (vedana cetasika) to stop the arising of  attachment or aversion to the object.

Now Is there a being  in the first action of seeing, in other words  is there some one that sees ?

Yes there is but not a being created at the moment, but the nature of a being created  by habit in the long journey of existence (samsaric habit) and living assuming the existence of a self. In the process of existence the birth  creats a self -a being with a form and a mind, that is the natural consequence of birth..

I will tell you some thing about it. At the moment of your death in this life, there arises the last  Kamma consciousness or the death consciousness.  It is this consciousness that departs from you.  Cuti is that departure. Cuti Citta is the departing consciousness.

With the arising of the death  consciousness  at the last moment of your life what kamma do you see ? It is a kusala or an akusala kamma and  with  that arises consciousness of a self - the doer of the kamma,I, Me,. the action I did, the offering I made on such and such occasion,, or the cow that I killed on a particular day. The person who did the action appear along with the Kamma.  It is the kamma conciousness you prepare imposing yourself as the doer of the particular Kamma   that departs from your body as the cuti citta. The being or the self that you had  consciously  created also departs along with the cuti citta.

This self or the being that had been created does not go dressed like a gentleman, in shirt, coat and trousers, but only as a thought (five aggregtes of existence-panca upadanaskhandha) . There was in that thought the five mental facors: form(rupa),feeling(vedana),perception(sanna) mental formations(sankhara) and consciousness(vinnana).  Thsese five depart as the death consciousness.  Then it is this five aggregates of existence –panca upadanakkhandha,  that joins with the  relinkin consciouness (patisandhi citta) in the new existence.

Who or what was there in the thought that joined with the re-linking consciousness (pataisandhi citta) ?

It is the being who did the kamma. If a dog had been killed one who is born in the womb of the bitch may be the one who killed the dog.  If due to a good kamma  one who became a deity is the self  we created with the five clinging aggregates of existence-(panca upadanakkhanda).  This being  is within us in our consciousness, it is whic accompanies us in the long  journey of our  existence.  It is this self that we created  that  does the sense door activities such as seeing with the eyes.  The being while he does the act in order to indulge in it,  created attachment and aversion, and then the  clinging  desire(upadana).

What is there in your present existence ?

It is the being  the mind created with the physical form the five  aggregates of clinging (panca upadanakkhandha).  This being with the activities of the five sense doors enjoyed or suffered creating the clinging desires( upadana).  It is how now you have become the  five clinging desires ( panca upadana khandha)

Let us  say, if you listen to Buddhist discourses, meditate and get rid of attachment and aversion  and with a great effort became  an Arahat and attain Nibbana, then as an Arahat you will have only five aggregates (without upadana). That is because the Arahats are noble ones (aryans) without attachments, hence without desires.

Where is clinging (upadana) ?

It is in the mind. It can be removed  with the development of seela (discipline), Samadhi(concentration) and the arising of panna (wisdom)  With the development of the force of  thoughts (citta) through meditation the habit of attachment  and aversion to objects taken by the six sense doors disappear.  Because of this cutting off of the attachment and aversion  clinging (upadana) disappear.  Clinging was the result of craving( tanha).  It is because of this clinging (upadana) that the process of  existence continue.

Now Friends you are all in a process of existence.  Why do I say that ?   Because you have the five clinging aggregates(pancaskhandha).   Once you stop the force of  clinging,   then you have stopped your process of existence (bhava pavetma).  As long as your life span determined by your kamma  lasts you continue with your  five aggregates of existence  as an Arahant..  

It is with that serene compassion of an Arahat you were able to  rid yourself of the force of clinging (upadana). Even if you develop the compassion of an Arahant and rid yourself of the force of clinging you will continue your existence as the  five aggregate as long as the span of life determined by your kamma lasts. The end of the life spn is the end of  an Arahant.  That is the end of the five aggregates of existence.  That was th end of the mind, form and the world that is the attainment of Nibbana.

At the moment of death what goes over  to be reborn is the five aggregates of clinging. It  is the  craving (tanha) that determines departure of the mind in  that manner-with the five aggregates of clinging..  Craving  created the clinging.  It is a force that helps you to go from one process of  existence to another.  We can stop clinging through  meditation. If we stop craving, then there will be no clinging. Then there is no becoming or a process of existence (bhava)  Then you have attained Nibbana.  As Nibbana is the end of the mind going from on process of existence (bhava) to another it is the  end of birth.

Then there is no suffering (Dukkha) There is suffering (dukka) only if there is birth. If birth is stopped there is nothing. That is the end . That is the way of Dhamma..

Can we stop the force of clinging easily with the mind ?

What is the primary reason for the arising of the force of Clinging ?

It is the activity of a being -a self. It is this self identity  built within you in two ways which gives rise to clinging.

One is  the self identity based on your  physical form (rupa) the personality belief. Sakkhayaditthi.  It is with this physical form  that the people call you giving you a name and a clan  identifying you as a son or a daughter of such an  such father or such and such mother.  When this personal identity goes deep into you every thought you raise at the six sense doors when they  come in contact with an external object this personal identity of I , me and   mine  also arises.  It is the  view of the five aggregates of clinging (panca ubadanaskhandha ditthi)

The personality belief (sakkhaya ditthi) created based on the physical form can be eliminated  through meditation. On attaining  the state of a stream entrant (sotapanna) the  personality belief is completely eliminated . It is the elimination of the “ self” view created by you  based on your physical form and lived with it during all your life.

It is the realisation that every action you  had been doing had been done with a thought  preceding  the action,  not by a self -a "I" or "Me". They were merely  acts resulting from a cause.

Take for instance  the four physical postures , if you stand  it is cause and effect. A  thought arose  and that activated the body to make it stand.

If you sit  down it is also cause and effect.  A thought that arose (cause)  activated to bend the legs to sit down (effect).

Lying down is also cause and effect .  A thought that arose(cause) activated the body to lay down (effect).

Walking is also cause and effect a thought that arose wanted to walk and moved the legs about and made the body walk.

All the four postures are the result of a cause, not done prompted  by a “ a self or  a being”, but the body acts on a thought that preceded the act.

When you see that every action is the result of a cause -a reason, it is a universal reality of cause and effect( hetu-phala). Then  you realise that there is no “self or  being”  that does the act, but merely a cause and an effect  by the mind (nama) and body(rupa).  With the realisation of that truth  personality belief (sakkhaya ditthi) is eliminated.

But as I said before with the arising of  every thought at the six sense doors there is the  personality consciousness, that the thought comes from a being –a self. This is the “me, mine” concept that had been acted upon for a long time in the process of  existence (bhava).  It is the view of a five clinging aggregates of existence.( panca upadanakhandha Ditthi) This personality view can be stopped when craving(tanha) has been completely eliminated after attaining the status of non-returner(anagami).  

In truth what should be the state  that one should reach
before the liberation of the mind from the self view?

It is  the  view that the five clinging existence is  created by the mind, the self, the personality view of “me and mine” is no more here. We hold on to this process of existence as long this personality view  of “me and mine” exists.

Friends there are two views that create the self or the personality view of “me and mine”

1. the personality view (sakkhaya ditthi) based on  the body( the physical existence)
2. the view of five clinging existence based on  the Mind.

Both these views do the same thing  creating within you a personality identity of  self or a being ,“me and mine”.

In brief, the personality belief based on physical form is eliminated in becoming a stream entrant (sotapanna); Secondly , the  view of the five clinging aggregates based on mind Is eliminated in attaining to be a non returner( anagami).  Now as craving (tanha) is eliminated  in being a non-returner (anagami), it stops the process of becoming (bhava).  He does  not accumulate any more Kamma therefore there  would not be a causal Kamma for a rebirth.  If he dies after being an anagami –a non-returner  he will be born in a pure abode. He will eventually attain Nibbana from there.

Therefore understand that it is in this way that the personality belief and the view of the five clinging existence came into being. A thought  arising from a thought  is created within the mind.  That is that thought had taken  as an object a mental object-which is also a thought. The mind object, the mind and the mind consiousness ( mano vinnan) when they get together they can create a thought.( then the  five common mental factors arise in the mind to create a thought.)

My friends it may  now be  clear to you what are the   five clinging aggregates of existence( pancha upadanaskhandha)

Who has five aggregates of existence  ?

An Arahant a Noble one.

 What is it ?

Pancaskhandha- five aggregates of existence  are:  Rupakhandha, Vedana skahnadha, sanna sskhandha, sankhara skhnadha and the vinnanaskhandha.

An Arahants exists activating these aggregates having fully eliminated Kilesa-the defilements: He exists in a state of Kilesa Parinibbana or Saupadisesa nibbana.  They have the process of existence (bhava)  The six sense doors are active.  They see with the eyes , hear with the ears etc.  But they have no attachment or aversion to six sense door activities. If seen he only sees, if heard he only hears.  It is the same with the rest of the sense doors.  At the end of the life span of  an Arahant  there is a full extinction of  the groups of existence-Khandha –parinibbana or Anupadisesa Parinibbana.  There is no rebirth.  He has eliminated craving  on becoming an Arahant. A Kamma Nimitta or Gati Nimitta does not appear for an Arahant.  The six sense doors function naturally  with out mental reaction to what is seen, heard , smelt, tasted or felt. 

The Arahants are fulfilling the demand made by the Buddha to his followers, that with compassion for the worldly beings  without  two of them taking the same path, each one taking  a different path,  give what they have  understood of the  truth of the Dhamma for the benefit of all beings and for their  freedom from the bonds of samsara .