“Death seems to be not death any more. It is a continuity of consciousness”- Pim van Lommel, M.D. (part 1)

“Death seems to be not death any more. It is a continuity of consciousness”- Pim van Lommel, M.D. (part 2)

The anatomy of a being...

Figure 1

Figure 2

Imagine there is a factory continuously working from the time it is built (Figure 1). There are the six cooperations within this factory. They are the main machinery responsible for the production of this factory. The the raw materials are supplied by out side. The power supply is generated within as the raw materials flow in toward the six cooperations. The is products from the previous factory stands as its main structure. This is also the base and function of six cooperations.

There these four products dependently arisen through a series of reactions. One of these products are responsible for making investments for a future new factory. There many by-products and they pollutes the factory and environment it resides. It looks like there is a CEO who is in total control of running the entire factory. However when you investigate closely the seat of the CEO is empty. One day the the entire factory is going to be closed together with the six cooperations. However the blue print for the information for a new factory will be transferred and a new factory that begins somewhere else. Then this process stars all over again.

In this simile:

1. The being is compared to a person.

2. Six cooperations are compared to the six senses.

3. The raw materials are compared to objects, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and mental objects.

4. The power supply or the fuel is compared to craving.

5. The four main products are compared to the the four of the five aggregates, feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness.

6. The main structure is compared to the form or the body (with its six senses) shown in Figure 2 but not in Figure 1.

7. The four products are compared to feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness (Figure 1 and 2).

8. The products responsible for investment of a new company are compared to the volitions of the mental formations. This is the resultant kamma responsible for becoming of a new life (Figure 2).

9. The by-products are compared to multitude of emotional states, for example anger, envy and grief.

10. The apparent CEO is compared to the illusion called the "I" that feels that it is in control of this entire process.

11. Closing the factory is compared to death of the being.

12. The blue print for the information for the new factory is compared to the transfer of the rebirth consciousness (stream of consciousness) to a new life.

13. The beginning of a new factory is compared to rebirth.

If you follow the flow diagram in the mind works model you can see how this happens (Figure 2). Only the by-products are are not shown in Figure 2.

In this simile, if the being wants to bring this factory to halt it has to do one thing. It needs to cut off the power supply or the energy source. This is the ending of all craving. It sounds easy but in reality it is somewhat difficult but not impossible. To do this one has to first find the craving and where this it is generated. This is work of insight meditation or Vipassana. It is also important to find and remove misconception on this factory is based on. This is the ignorance of the being. It sees everything as permanent, satisfactory and self (see Figure 2).

Now we will examine a sutta fom the Buddha that talks about a being and see how craving works in relation to the five aggregates.

Satta Sutta: A Being translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

In this sutta Buddha describes the definition of a "being" ("Satta" in Pali)

He says "Any desire, passion, delight, or craving for:

1. Form(body)

2. Feeling

3. Perception

4. Fabrications (Mental formations)

5. Consciousness

"When one is caught up there, tied up there, one is said to be 'a being.'

These are the five aggregates we have discussed in other posts in detail. We are fettered to the five aggregated by craving. This gives us a false sense of illusion that there being or a person in control of this. This is called the Personality view or self Identity view (sakkaya-ditthi[sakkaaya-di.t.thi*]) is one of the main fetters that binds us to samsara.

The human being is nothing but a collection of five aggregates, a process of complex and rapidly changing (impermanent) psycho-physical organism(name-and-form), sustained by nutriments, driven by craving in the background of ignorance. However "it' perceives, feels, thinks and cognizes (working of the mind or name) that there is is a real person, permanent soul or a being in control of it. This is a false sense of being or an illusion. This is why "it" calls "itself" this is this is "mine", this is "me" and this is,"my-self". Everything around us driven around the the false sense of "I." However there no real "I" in it. Some may call this the Ego. This is the CEO of the simile about "the factory of being" above.

Buddha give a beautiful simile about how we should regard these five aggregates in this sutta.

"Just as when boys or girls are playing with little sand castles: as long as they are not free from passion, desire, love, thirst, fever, & craving for those little sand castles, that's how long they have fun with those sand castles, enjoy them, treasure them, feel possessive of them. But when they become free from passion, desire, love, thirst, fever, & craving for those little sand castles, then they smash them, scatter them, demolish them with their hands or feet and make them unfit for play.

"In the same way, ... you too should smash, scatter, & demolish the

1. Form(body)

2. Feeling

3. Perception

4. Fabrications (Mental formations)

5. Consciousness

... the ending of craving,... is Unbinding."

In this sutta the Buddha gives a very clear definition of Nirvana (Nibbana). He says the "ENDING OF CRAVING IS NIRVANA (UNBINDING)".

To read the full sutta follow the link below:

Satta Sutta: A Being translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

* sakkaya-ditthi [sakkaaya-di.t.thi]:

Self-identification view. The view that mistakenly identifies any of the khandha as "self"; the first of the ten fetters (samyojana). Abandonment of sakkaya-ditthi is one of the hallmarks of stream-entry (seesotapanna).

Ignorance makes it almost impossible for us to see things clearly as they really are

Figure 1

Figure 2

In ordinary day to day life when we see something our instantaneous reaction is to respond with like, dislike or just a neutral feeling towards what we have seen. This will cause passion (craving) or dispassion (aversion) or neutral feelings towards the object or the person.

All of these events happen at a tremendous speed in ordinary life and we may only be aware of lingering likes and dislikes, when we see an object. However they are a series of events, dependently arisen that cannot be separately seen under ordinary circumstances to an untrained person. The main reason for this is our distorted perception of the reality. We see everything as permanent, satisfactory and self (Figure 1).

Now how do we see this process as separate events, step by step or with precise clarity? This is what we train during insight practice, the observation of these separate events with precise clarity.

However before insight practice begins we usually need to bring the mind to a state of one pointed concentration (samadhi) through a form of meditation. This is commonly done through breath meditation (Anapana Sati). This sets the stage for the insight practice or Vipassana practice.

Buddha said:

"But how does a monk know, how does a monk see, so that ignorance is abandoned and clear knowing arises?"

"There is the case, monk, where a monk has heard, 'All things are unworthy of attachment.' Having heard that all things are unworthy of attachment, he directly knows every thing. Directly knowing every thing, he comprehends every thing. Comprehending every thing, he sees all themes as something separate.

"He sees the eye as something separate. He sees forms as something separate. He sees eye-consciousness as something separate. He sees eye-contact as something separate. And whatever arises in dependence on eye-contact — experienced either as pleasure, as pain, or as neither-pleasure-nor-pain — that too he sees as something separate.

"He sees the ear as something separate...

"He sees the nose as something separate...

"He sees the tongue as something separate...

"He sees the body as something separate...

"He sees the intellect as something separate. He sees ideas as something separate. He sees intellect-consciousness as something separate. He sees intellect-contact as something separate. And whatever arises in dependence on intellect-contact — experienced either as pleasure, as pain, or as neither-pleasure-nor-pain — that too he sees as something separate.

"This is how a monk knows, this is how a monk sees, so that ignorance is abandoned and clear knowing arises."

In a another sutta Buddha shows us the way to contemplate on these, when we see these events as separate steps, dependently arisen. Although this is a very short sutta, this I think gives us the main clue of the method of getting rid of ignorance with insight meditation.

At Savatthi. "Then a certain bhikkhu approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said to him:"Venerable sir, how should one know, how should one see, for ignorance to be abandoned and true knowledge to arise?""Bhikkhu, when one knows and sees the eye as impermanent, ignorance is abandoned and true knowledge arises. When one knows and sees forms (object) as impermanent. When one knows and sees as impermanent whatever feeling arises with eye-contact as condition - whether pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant (neutral) - ignorance is abandoned and true knowledge arises. When one knows and sees thus, bhikkhu, ignorance is abandoned and true knowledge arise." -Avijja Pahana Sutta - Abandoning Ignorance-translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi:SN 35.53

( The same applies to the other senses too)

The Figure 2 shows the possible points of action that can be applied to this model that help to get rid of ignorance. The Foundations of Mindfulness: (Satipatthana Sutta), the contemplation of the body (kayanupassana), feeling (vedananupassana), mind (cittanupassana), and mental objects (dhammanupassana) which is shown in yellow bubbles in the flow chart. The contemplation of impermanence of the six senses and their respective stimuli is one of the main sections of the forth part of The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (dhammanupassana) is the key to abandon ignorance as said in sutta above. With wise attention (Yoniso manasikara), we can now contemplate onThe Three Characteristics (ti-lakkha.na), Impermanence (Anicca),Suffering or Unsatisfactoriness (dukkha) and Not-self or Insubstantiality (anattaa) and this is the is final common pathway of contemplation of insight. The ignorance and craving is completely destroyed after cutting through all the ten Fetters and by after ending of the Fermentations or Taints.

"This too shall pass"... Your feeling is impermanent.

“If someone were to say,... 'The root of that great, standing tree — possessed of heartwood — is inconstant & subject to change, its trunk is inconstant & subject to change, its branches & foliage are inconstant & subject to change, but as for its shadow, that is constant, everlasting, eternal, & not subject to change': would he be speaking rightly?"

"No, venerable sir.

Why is that?

Because the root of that great, standing tree — possessed of heartwood — is inconstant & subject to change, its trunk is inconstant & subject to change, its branches & foliage are inconstant & subject to change, so how much more should its shadow be inconstant & subject to change."

"In the same way, .... if someone were to say, 'My six external media are inconstant, but what I experience based on the six internal media — pleasure, pain, or neither pleasure nor pain — that is constant, everlasting, eternal, & not subject to change': would he be speaking rightly?"

"No, venerable sir.

Why is that?

Because each feeling arises dependent on its corresponding condition. With the cessation of its corresponding condition, it ceases."

-Nandakovada Sutta: Nandaka's Exhortation translated from the Pali by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

If you look at the mind works model below (Figure 1) you can see feeling depends on contact which is impermanent. Contact depends on the union of three, the eye, an object and the eye-consciousness which are also impermanent. The eye is impermanent and the object too is impermanent. Therefore it is impossible for the feeling to be permanent as it depends on series of dependent conditions which are all impermanent. The same applies to all the other senses too. This is our "world".

So all the feeling pleasant, unpleasant or neural that arises as a result of of our senses which are impermanent. Same is true for body (form), perception, mental formations, consciousness. These are the five aggregates. The human being is nothing but a collection of five aggregates, a process of complex and rapidly changing (impermanent) psycho-physical organism (name-and-form), sustained by nutriments, driven by craving in the background of ignorance. However "it' perceives, feels, thinks and cognizes (working of the mind or name) that there is is a real person, permanent soul or a being in control of it. This is a false sense of being or an illusion. This is why "it" calls "itself" this is this is "mine", this is "me" and this is,"my-self". Everything around us driven around the the false sense of "I." However there no real "I" in it. Some may call this the Ego.

If something is impermanent it is subject to change. So for example if you try to hold on to pleasant feelings this it will invariably change with time and will bring you suffering, dissatisfaction or stress. This is the basis of our suffering when we get old, sick and when we loose our loved ones.

The same is true when we experience and unpleasant feeling. Therefore there is no need to worry too much if you know that your feeling is not permanent. Even if it is difficult to understand this entire process we can simply say, "this too shall pass" and let it be. If we start worrying about it can lead to too much mental proliferation and eventually unhappiness and mental suffering. This may even lead us to depression.

Buddha wanted us to contemplate on this often to realize the true nature of impermanence. This is the "gate way" to the liberation from suffering in this world. This is one of the key contemplations of insight meditation or vipassana Meditation.

(green bubble, Figure 2).

Figure 1

Figure 1

Wandering mind not a happy mind. About 47% of waking hours spent thinking about what isn’t going on

People spend 46.9 percent of their waking hours thinking about something other than what they’re doing, and this mind-wandering typically makes them unhappy. So says a study that used an iPhone Web app to gather 250,000 data points on subjects’ thoughts, feelings, and actions as they went about their lives.

The research, by psychologists Matthew A. Killingsworth and Daniel T. Gilbert of Harvard University, is described this week in the journal Science.

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/11/wandering-mind-not-a-happy-mind/

Other news reports on the study:

Wandering mind may lead to unhappiness

Wandering mind not an escape: study

Study Finds Wandering Mind is Not a Happy...Say, I Need New Shoes

Also read my post on ....

Unhappiness (stress or suffering) is caused by Mental Proliferation-it is like a 'cancer' in the mind

The figure shows shows the path of mental proliferation. The numbers from 1-4 indicates the direction of the flow of this process. Also thoughts can be retrieved from the memory to add to this process.

About 2600 years ago Buddha discovered this phenomenon of the wandering mind stated above and he called it "papanca" in Parli. It is translated as Thought Proliferation or Conceptual Proliferation by some Buddhist scholars. In some forms of Buddhism it is called the "monkey mind."

Thanissaro Bhikkhu says "What one feels, one perceives (labels in the mind). What one perceives, one thinks about. What one thinks about, one "papañcizes." Through the process of papañca, the agent then becomes a victim of his/her own patterns of thinking: Based on what a person papañcizes, the perceptions & categories of papañca assail him/her with regard to past, present, & future forms cognizable via the eye [as with the remaining senses]".

To see the rest of the post follow the link below:

Unhappiness (stress or suffering) is caused by Mental Proliferation-it is like a 'cancer' in the mind

Not only Buddha discovered this process of mental proliferation (papanca) he also gave a solution to how to fix it. This is Mindfulness Meditation.

Mindfulness meditation has been adopted in modern medicine for the past 30 years as a secular form and has been used in treatment of depression, anxiety and many other forms mental disorders. It called now called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and has been used in many hospitals around the world. See the last two posts for more current clinical applications and research in this area.

Please see the links below:

Mindfulness and the Brain by Philippe Goldin

Cognitive Neuroscience of Mindfulness Meditation