13
votes
Scientific approach of Kamma
The concept of Kamma implies that information is stored in the mind
No, it does not! Information and storage are concepts. Not realities! The issue here is, we make the assumption that for causes to ...
- 25.6k
8
votes
Accepted
Could Lobha(craving) and Dosa(aversion) be working in tandem?
If you want an abhidhamma answer, you have to speak in abhidhamma terms. "Wishing for pain to go away" is a sutta statement. It involves a wisher, and describes a sutta action.
lobha and ...
- 23.8k
8
votes
Accepted
Nibbāna in The Progress of Insight
This passage is according to the abhidhamma treatment of the attainment of nibbana. The two to three mind moments (yes, that's what it means) are called anulomañāṇa ("anuloma~naa.na") - ...
- 23.8k
8
votes
Accepted
Consciousness in Nibbana
There are two types of nirvana: saupādisesa-nibbāna (nirvana with remainder) and anupādisesa-nibbāna (nirvana without remainder) (Iti. 44).
It is true that for one who has attained anupādisesa-...
- 23.8k
6
votes
Consciousness in Nibbana
When the mind takes Nibbana as the object, all experiencing cease. But when enlightened beings do day to day activities, Nibbana is not the object of the mind. They do feel pain since there is ...
- 25.6k
6
votes
Accepted
Why are "Fear and Shame" listed among the beautiful cetasikas?
It's a translation issue. The Pali terms are Hiri and Ottappa, and they are hard to translate into English because they have no one word equivalents.
Hiri refers to the feeling of not wanting to do a ...
- 7,366
6
votes
Is it necessary to study Abhidhamma?
1st Q:
Is the knowledge of Sutta Pitaka enough to realize nirvana?
For some people even the gist is enough
Then Sariputta the wanderer spoke
thus to the Ven. Assaji:
Speak a little or a lot, but ...
- 63
5
votes
Accepted
Sankharas, once eliminated. Do they have a chance of coming back?
There are ten fetters eliminated in Vipassana meditation. Elimination does not occur before you reach the Sothapanna(stream enterer) state. Until then, fetters are only subdued. Once a fetter is ...
- 25.6k
5
votes
Without an enduring quid between lifes, how to explain past life recalling?
A self wouldn't help in this case; a self is an untenable entity - it is permanent yet able to change to know multiple objects, an illogical paradox.
The very idea that a memory can be stored isn't ...
- 23.8k
4
votes
Accepted
What are Bhavanga and Javana?
According to the Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi's book A Comprehensive manual of Abhidhamma, Chapter 3 Guide to §8 :
The word bhavanga means “factor (anga) of existence (bhava),” that
is, “the indispensable ...
- 7,366
4
votes
Text request--Abhidhamma
The "Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma" is an excellent translation of the Abhidhammattha Sangaha with extensive explanation / charts by Bhikkhu Bodhi. It can be legally downloaded from:
CMA
There ...
- 1,368
4
votes
How to understand "Four great elements" in real life objects?
The Manual of Abhidhamma says,
With His supernormal knowledge the Buddha analysed
this so-called paramàõu and declared that it consists
of paramatthas—ultimate entities which cannot further be
...
- 43.2k
4
votes
Is the determining thought moment (vottopana) based entirely off of past karma?
Vottapana is a Citta(thought moment) that has the function of determining or decision making. It is not a result of past Kamma. But it is not a self either. There's no 'I' in it. Why? Because it is ...
- 25.6k
4
votes
single word for metta in English language
Mettā:
Commonly translated as Loving Kindness which is simply because a group at PTS chose that over a century ago and that just stuck. The problem with that is that sometimes people already have ...
- 611
4
votes
Accepted
Do all words belong to conventional truth (Sammuti Sacca)?
All words are like sign posts. The meaning of it is an idea that is in the mind of the person who is speaking it. And the communication will take place if the person who hears it has assigned the same ...
- 480
4
votes
Accepted
Where does the consciousness (cittas) originate inside the body?
Space is a derived quality of matter, so consciousness cannot be said to take up or exist in space. To say that the mind arises here or there is not really proper in an ultimate sense. Consciousness ...
- 23.8k
4
votes
Accepted
Was the Abhidhamma taught by the Buddha?
Mendis refers to “Theravāda tradition”. His source is the introduction to the Atthasālinī, which was compiled by Buddhaghosa in about 400 AD based on earlier texts that no longer exist.
The ...
- 1,368
4
votes
How does buddhism describe what exactly, or where exactly, or how exactly, consciousness exists?
As a computer scientist you are bringing some baggage with you that will continue to get in the way of what you want to find in the Dharma. I am speaking from the perspective of a computer scientist ...
- 2,401
4
votes
Abhidhamma: can dependent origination arise without any sense bases?
DO describes development of defiled subjective world, defiled mind and defiled sense of self.
"nama" is an idea of an object, a concept, a mental label. For example, when an infant sees the ...
- 55.2k
3
votes
Vipassana on arupa worlds
In the arupa worlds you cannot hear the Dhamma as you do not have this faculty, also the mental process is too subtle making it not possible to meditate on it. But if you have experiences even the 1st ...
3
votes
In a Buddhist perspective how do we recall memories of this life and beyond?
From my understanding of Buddhism, there are no memories from beyond. Everything including memories are impermanent. There is no permanent memory-self that remains from moment to moment.
- 1,163
3
votes
Accepted
Is there an English translation of the Abhidhamma?
As far as I know, there is no single compiled translation of all the volumes of the Abhidhamma but they are separately translated by several people.
You can find an index of these translations in ATI'...
- 3,726
3
votes
Conventional versus Ultimate
The distinction goes back all the way to Buddha's students' original Maha-Sangha and its two sub-schools Bahushrutiya and Prajnaptivada. From Wikipedia:
According to Paramārtha, the Bahuśrutīya ...
- 55.2k
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