What is the origination and the ending of the "World"?

Figure 1

Figure 2 (model #1)

Figure 3 (model #2)

Today I found an excellent sutta that supports our "mind works" model.

This is how the sutta starts:

Buddha:

"I will teach you the origination of the world & the ending of the world.

1. "What is the origination of the world?"

Dependent on the eye & (object)forms there arises eye-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth as a requisite condition, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair come into play. This is the origination of the world.

The same applies to other senses too...

"Dependent on the ear & sounds there arises ear-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the nose & aromas there arises nose-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the tongue & flavors there arises tongue-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the body & tactile sensations there arises body-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the intellect & mental qualities there arises intellect-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth as a requisite condition, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair come into play. This is the origination of the world.

This passage from the sutta basically confirms the vertical flow of our "mind works" model #1 in Figure 2. The unwise attention is an addition step I added on purpose to show the step where we go wrong and how we can fix it. The "world" here is referred to our six sensors (figure 1). It is not the physical world what we normally refer to as the world. Through the six senses we communicate with the connect external things around us. Therefore this is our sensory world. The Buddha sometimes called the six senses the "ALL".

Pleas read these posts to learn more about this:

What is the "All"

When the eye meet an object...

Not seeing how the six senses work, we recycle ourselves in the samsara.

2. What is the ending of the world?

Dependent on the eye & forms there arises eye-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. Now, from the remainder-less cessation & fading away of that very craving comes the cessation of clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the cessation of birth, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress & suffering. This is the ending of the world.

The same applies to other senses too...

"Dependent on the ear & sounds there arises ear-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the nose & aromas there arises nose-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the tongue & flavors there arises tongue-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the body & tactile sensations there arises body-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the intellect & mental qualities there arises intellect-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. Now, from the remainder-less cessation & fading away of that very craving comes the cessation of clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the cessation of birth, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress & suffering. This is the ending of the world."

The ending of the world mean no more birth. The end of suffering. The ultimate bliss. The Nirvana. No more birth of the six senses.

This passage from this sutta basically confirms the vertical flow of our "mind works" model Model#2 in Figure 3. The 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 (Figure 2), is the training and will enable us to see things clearly. With wise attention (Yoniso manasikara), an addition step I added in my model is to show the point of we can now contemplate on The 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 craving is completely destroyed by by insight or vipassana meditation.

To read the full sutta

Loka Sutta: The World

translated from the Pali by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.044.than.html

Another sutta witha a similar theme:

Loka Sutta: The World

It is the change in the contact changes our feelings, perceptions and thoughts.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

"...Eye-contact is inconstant, changeable, alterable. Ear-contact is inconstant, changeable, alterable. Nose-contact is inconstant, changeable, alterable. Tongue-contact is inconstant, changeable, alterable. Body-contact is inconstant, changeable, alterable. Intellect-contact is inconstant, changeable, alterable.

"One who has conviction & belief that these phenomena are this way is called a faith-follower: one who has entered the orderliness of rightness, entered the plane of people of integrity, transcended the plane of the run-of-the-mill. He is incapable of doing any deed by which he might be reborn in hell, in the animal womb, or in the realm of hungry shades. He is incapable of passing away until he has realized the fruit of stream-entry.

"One who, after pondering with a modicum of discernment, has accepted that these phenomena are this way is called a Dhamma-follower: one who has entered the orderliness of rightness, entered the plane of people of integrity, transcended the plane of the run-of-the-mill. He is incapable of doing any deed by which he might be reborn in hell, in the animal womb, or in the realm of hungry shades. He is incapable of passing away until he has realized the fruit of stream-entry.

"One who knows and sees that these phenomena are this way is called a stream-enterer, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening."

In this short sutta Buddha talks about the importance seeing contact as impermanent and is subject to change as the sense stimuli arise and pass away. The person who has the true conviction that these phenomena behave in such a way is called faith-follower (Saddhānusāri). The person who is able to grasp and comprehend after reflecting on the them, how contact arise and pass away will gain access to a stage of enlightenment before stream entry called Dhamma-follower (Dhammānusārī). Finally Buddha said both these individuals are incapable of passing away till they realize fruits of stream entry (stream winner).

The fruits of stream entry (stream winner) is discussed in other posts.

Please see labes. Here are some examples.

Who is a stream-winner ?

stream-winners...never again destined for states of woe

The number of rebirths remaining for the stream-winner...

In ordinary day to day life we are bombarded with contact through our six senses all the time (Figure 2) chewing us away and we are unable to see this. Buddha gave an excellent simile for contact in one sutta. He compared contact to a flayed cow.

"And how is the nutriment of contact to be regarded?

Suppose a flayed cow were to stand leaning against a wall. The creatures living in the wall would chew on it. If it were to stand leaning against a tree, the creatures living in the tree would chew on it. If it were to stand exposed to water, the creatures living in the water would chew on it. If it were to stand exposed to the air, the creatures living in the air would chew on it. For wherever the flayed cow were to stand exposed, the creatures living there would chew on it. In the same say, I tell you, is the nutriment of contact to be regarded."

Puttamansa Sutta: A Son's Flesh

In the mind works model if you follow the flow chart you can see how contact arises. The contact is basically a union of thee things. For example the eye, the object and the eye-consciousness make the eye contact (Figure 1). The same principal applies for other five senses too (Figure 2). As the object changes, eye consciousness changes and so does the eye contact. These changes happen at such a rapid speed and it is almost impossible for us to see them clearly unless you train yourself. So in ordinary life with no training, we get caught up with different feelings (pleasant, unpleasant...) perceptions and mental formations (thoughts). However we fail to recognize that only the change in the contact caused all these changes in feelings, perceptions and thoughts in us Failure to recognize this results in suffering and continuous existence in the smasara (see the flow chart, Figure 2). This is the result of the unwise attention (Ayoniso manasikara) of the mind.

However Buddha said:

"When the nutriment of contact is comprehended, the three feelings [pleasure, pain, neither pleasure nor pain] are comprehended. When the three feelings are comprehended, I tell you, there is nothing further for a disciple of the noble ones to do."

Puttamansa Sutta: A Son's Flesh

The TheFoundations 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 (Figure 3), is the training and will enable us to see things clearly. With wise attention (Yoniso manasikara) we can now contemplate on The Three Characteristics (ti-lakkha.na), Impermanence (Anicca), Suffering or Unsatisfactoriness (dukkha) and Not-self or Insubstantiality (anattaa) and this is the final common pathway of contemplation of insight.

Not seeing how the six senses work, we recycle ourselves in the samsara.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Buddha said: "Not knowing, not seeing the eye as it actually is present; not knowing, not seeing forms as it actually is present, consciousness at the eye as it actually is present, contact at the eye as they actually are present; not knowing, not seeing whatever arises conditioned through contact at the eye — experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-pain — as it actually is present, one is infatuated with the eye... forms... consciousness at the eye... contact at the eye... whatever arises conditioned by contact at the eye and is experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-pain.

"For him — infatuated, attached, confused, not remaining focused on their drawbacks — the five clinging-aggregates head toward future accumulation. The craving that makes for further becoming — accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now this & now that — grows within him. His bodily disturbances & mental disturbances grow. His bodily torments & mental torments grow. His bodily distresses & mental distresses grow. He is sensitive both to bodily stress & mental stress.

(Same applies to other senses and their respective stimuli).

Maha-salayatanika Sutta: The Great Six Sense-media Discourse

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.149.than.html

Now lest us examine this passage from the Great-sense-media sutta and see how it will apply to "mind works model" (Figure 3).

We will take first the eye as the example (Figure 3) as we know that exact same thing happens at other senses (Figure 2) too.

When Buddha said "Not knowing, not seeing the eye as it actually is present..." he meant was ordinarily are not aware of the true working of of the eye in relation to our mind. We are not normally aware of the eye meeting the form (object), how eyes consciousness arises and (meeting of the three- the eye , eye-consciousness and the form/object) when contact arises and so on. These things happen at an incredible speed multiple times as long you have the attention (Manasikara) on the object. From contact arises feeling (pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-pain) and from that craving arises as we are ordinarily in a mode of unwise attention (Ayoniso manasikara). We therefore we cling to the five aggregates saying this "mine", this is "me" this is "my-self" (please see the post below)

This body not "mine", not "me" and not "myself"...

If you follow the flow chart in the "mind works model" (Figure 3) it will make clear how it all happens, theoretically.

Once craving arises it continues on the Dependent Origination (Please see labels) path to end up with another round of becoming and a birth. Then he is subjected to bodily suffering such as old age, sickness as well as mental suffering as sorrow, lamentation, and distress.

And that is what Buddha meant when he said:

"For him — infatuated, attached, confused, not remaining focused on their drawbacks — the five clinging-aggregates head toward future accumulation. The craving that makes for further becoming — accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now this & now that — grows within him. His bodily disturbances & mental disturbances grow. His bodily torments & mental torments grow. His bodily distresses & mental distresses grow. He is sensitive both to bodily stress & mental stress.

Now how can be aware of the actual working of the eye (and other senses) and the five aggregates in real life? Not easy, but can be done. This needs training... lots of training! This is the practice of insight or vipassana meditation. The wise attention (Yoniso manasikara*) is the key. Please see labels on six fold senses and vipassana for further detail discussions on these subjects in relation to suttas.

*Yoniso manasikara - translated in English as wise attention. This can be broken down to (Yo+Nisi+Manasikara) Yoniso manasikara means the correct understanding of how the mind works. This is reason for the name I chose for my model "the mind works."

Here are examples some more posts on six senses in relation to sutta:

How does a monk guard the doors to his sense faculties?

How should one know, how should one see, for ignorance to be abandoned and true knowledge to arise?

How to stop this craving...

What is the "All"

How do you examine completely, in every detail "the All" (six senses)?

Dependent Origination (DO): How do we apply it?

Other related posts on Vipassana:

The party is cancelled!

Our six senses are responsible for our own existence

Life is like whatching a "movie".....check out how it works !

A model- how the mind works and more...

Model #1

Model #2

These are two preliminary models designed by me after researching Buddhists texts (suttas). I am open to any suggestions to edit these models. I may keep editing these models as I go along researching more Suttas. The model#1 shows how a mind works in an ordinary person. Yellow bubbles in Model#2 shows the points of application of TheFoundations of Mindfulness: (Satipatthana Sutta) and how it may work in a fully enlightened being. The green bubble shows The Three Basic Facts of Existence (The Three Characteristics (ti-lakkha.na), Impermanence (Anicca), Suffering or Unsatisfactoriness (dukkha) and Not-self or Insubstantiality (anattaa). This is the final common pathway of contemplation to insight (vipassana).

( Please see labels for more posts on these subjects)

Please Note:

*Yoniso manasikara - translated in English as wise attention. This can be broken down to (Yo+Nisi+Manasikara) Yoniso manasikara means the correct understanding of how the mind works. This is reason for the name I chose for my model "the mind works."

Wise attention (Yoniso manasikara) is a critical point in the flow chart in the model.

Buddha has treated dependent origination many ways. In some suttas has started examining it from the middle. In my flow chart too I am not using the conventional 12 step formula. However I am treating the organism as is and start I from the 6 sense bases as they are ones that connect us to the external world. Please see other posts for detail examinations of dependent origination (se labels on dependent origination).