Patthana Dhamma

by Htoo Naing | 2005 | 57,704 words

This ebook is about Patthana Dhamma, the 7th text of abhidhamma pitaka or tipitaka, reffering to the teachings of The Buddha, also known as: the Exalted One, Fully Enlightened One, Tathagata, Well Gone One; 623 BC. The materials are from a small booklet of Chatthasangayanamula Patthana Pali and Abhidhammatthasangaha text written by Venerable Anur...

Chapter 25 - Atthi paccayo (or presence condition)

Atthi paccayoti

cattaro khandhā arūpino annamannam atthi paccayena paccayo.

There are cattaro khandhā arūpino or 4 nāmakkhandhas and they each serve as atthi paccaya to each other. As they arise together at the same time they are serving as sahajātatthi paccaya or conascence presence condition to each other. These 4 namakkhandha are vedana, sanna, sankhāra and vinnāna. Example is a dosa citta. These is a citta with angriness. That citta is vinnānakkhandha. As that citta is dosa citta and angry there is vedana of angriness and it is vedanakkhandha. Aversive mind cognises what to be angry and it is sanna and it is sannakkhandha. According to the condition there also other cetasika like cetana etc and they are sankharakkhandha. As they arise together at the same time they (4 namakkhandhas) serve as presence condition to each other and it is sahajāta atthi paccaya or conascence presence condition to each other.

Cattāro mahābhūtā annamannam atthi paccayena paccayo.

As in case of 4 namakkhandha these 4 mahabhuta rupa serve as atthi paccaya for each other rūpa. There are 4 mahabhuta rūpa and they are pathavi, tejo, vayo and apo. Each mahabhuta rūpa serve as presence condition for other 3 co existing rūpa. As they arise together they are sahajāta āthi paccaya or conascence presence condition to each other as in nama case of 4 namakkhandhas.

Okkantikkhane nāma rūpam annamannam atthi paccayena paccayo.

Okkantikkhana = okkanti + khana ; at the time of rebirth or at the time of patisandhi there are patisandhi rūpa and patisandhi nāma. These are 4 patisandhi namakkhandha and katattā patisandhi rūpa of hadaya vatthu. Each serves to other as atthi paccayo or presence condition. As they arise at the same time they are serving as sahajāta atthi paccaya or conascence presence condition to each other.

Citta cetasikā dhammā citta samutthānānam rūpānam atthi paccayena paccayo.

There are citta and its associated cetasikas. They serve as atthi paccaya for cittaja rūpa or consciousness born rūpa. This presence condition means that when there is no presence condition there is no conditioned dhamma of this presence condition. So if there is no citta and cetasikas, there will not be any cittaja rūpa at all.

Mahābhūtā upādārūpānam atthi paccayena paccayo.

There are 4 mahābhūta rūpas and 24 upādā rūpas. 4 māhā bhūta rūpas serve as atthi paccaya or presence condition for 24 upādā rūpas. This means that when there are no 4 mahabhuta rūpa there will not be any of these 24 upādā rūpas. The conditioning dhamma are 4 mahabhuta rūpa and conditioned dhamma are 24 upādā rupā. 4 mahabhuta rupa and 24 upādā rūpa have been explained in rūpa section.

Cakkhāyatanam cakkhuvinnāna dhātuyā tam sampayuttakānanca dhamānam atthi paccayena paccayo.

Cakkhāyatana or cakkhu pasada rūpa or cakkhu vatthu serves as presence condition or atthi paccayo for cakkhuvinnāna citta and its associated 7 cetasikas. This means that when there is no cakkhu pasada rūpa there will not be any of cakkhuvinnana citta and 7 cetasikas of contact, feeling, perception, volition, one pointedness, mental life, and attention.

Likewise

  1. sotāyatanam to sotavinnāna dhātu and associates
  2. ghānayatana to ghanavinnāna dhātu and associates
  3. jivhāyatana to jivhāvinnāna dhātu and associates
  4. kāyayatana to kāyavinnāna dhātu and associates serve as atti paccaya or presence condition.

The conditioning dhamma are ayatana dhamma and conditioned dhamma are pancavinnāna dhātu and their associated dhamma cetasikas.

Rūpāyatanam cakkhuvinnāna dhātuyā tam sampayuttakānanca dhammānam atthi paccayena paccayo.

Rūpayatana or rupa which is vanno or colour or form or shape serves as atthi paccaya or presence condition for cakkhuvinnāna citta and its associated 7 cetasikas.

Likewise

  1. saddāyatana to sotavināna dhātu and associates
  2. gandhāyatana to ghanavinnāna dhātu and associates
  3. rasāyatana to jivhavinnana dhātu and associates
  4. photthabbāyatana to kāyavinnāna dhātu and associates

The conditioning dhamma are pancāyatana rūpa that is rūpa or forms, sadda or sound, gandha or smell, rasa or taste, photthabba or touch sense (pathavi, tejo, vayo) and conditioned dhamma are pancavinnāna cittas and their associated cetasikas. The relationship between the causal dhamma or paccaya dhamma and the resultant dhamma or paccayuppanna dhamma is called atthi paccaya or presence condition.

Paticcasamuppāda does not show such relationship like in patthana dhamma. Paticcasamuppāda just reveals this is the cause and this is the resultant.

Rūpāyatanam saddāyatanam gandhāyatanam rasāyatanam photthabbāyatanam manodhātuyā tam sampayuttakānanca dhammānam atthi paccayena paccayo.

There are 5 āyatana all of which are rupa dhamma and they are

  1. rūpāyatana or rupa rupa or form, shape, colour
  2. saddāyatana or sound
  3. gandhāyatana or smell
  4. rasāyatana or taste
  5. photthabbāyatana or touch (pathavi, tejo, vayo ).

All these 7 rūpas ( 4 first ayatana rūpa and pathavi, tejo, vayo ) serve as atthi paccayo or presence condition for manodhātu and its associated dhamma.

Manodhātus are

  1. panca dvara avajjana citta or 5-sense door adverting consciousness
  2. ahetuka akusalavipaka sampaticchana citta or receiving consciousness of akusalavipaka
  3. ahetuka kusalavipaka sampaticchana citta or receiving consciousness of kusalavipaka

Unlike other manovinnāna cittas these 3 cittas do not fully know all about the object. For example pancadvaravajjana citta just adverts and does not know what the object is. 2 sampaticchana cittas also just receive and transfer the object to santirana cittas or investigating consciousness and they do not fūly know the object. So these 3 cittas are not called manovinnāna cittas but they are called manodhātu.

In a vithi vara or in an event of apperception of an object there are 17 cittakkhana or 17 moments. As soon as pancāyatana or pancarammana arise they cannot serve as an object in their initiation or in their upāda khana of 1 out of 51 anukhana or 51 submoments. So in that very first submoment or anukhana vithi citta cannot arise. So bhavanga citta has to arise in that place at that time. That citta is called atita bhavanga citta.

Bhavanga cittas are very subtle and they are like continuous flow of river water. Like a running man bhavanaga cittas cannot stop immediately as soon as object, which signals consciousness, arise. Instead the man has to overshoot one or two another steps. Atita bhavanga citta passes away. When attita bhavanga citta arise in the 2 of the 3 anukhana of the 1st 17th of rūpa signals that here is an object and you consciousness arise. But that signal has to pass away with atita bhavanga citta. As soon as the signal has been received the flow of bhavanga citta has to stop but there are 2 extra steps.

The signal shakes the flow and the 1st extra step is called bhavanga calana citta or vibrating bhavanga citta. Then this is followed by the last bhavanga citta called bhavanguppaccheda citta or arresting bhavanga citta. All these 3 bhavanga cittas are not vithi cittas and they are still not in procession. At that time there left 14 cittakkhana or 14 moments left as rūpa ( arammana/object).

The first vithi citta is pancadvaravajjana citta or 5-sense door adverting consciousness and it is manodhātu. There are 10 associated cetasikas and they are phassa or contact, vedana or feeling, cetana or volition, sanna or perception, ekaggata or one pointedness, jivitindriya or mental life, manasikāra or attention, vitakka or initial application, vicāra or sustained application, and adhimokkha or decision. Pancāyatana serving as pancarammana do the job of conditiong dhamma as atthi paccayo or presence condition for manodhātu and its associated 10 cetasikas.

This pancadvaravajjana citta is followed by pancavinnana citta and pancavinnāna cittas are also conditioned by pancarammana as atthi paccaya or presence condition. Next arises sampaticchana cittas. And they are manodhātu. Pancayatana serving as pancarammana do the job of conditioning dhamma as atthi paccaya or presence condition for manodhātu of sampaticchana cittas. This means that without pancayatana or pancarammana there is no reason to arise sampaticchana cittas.

Yam rūpam nissāya manodhātu ca manovinnāna dhātu ca vattanti, tam rūpam manodhātuyā ca manovinnāna dhātuyā ca tam sampayuttakānanca dhammānam atthi paccayena paccayo.

There are 5 rupa āyatana or 7 rūpas serving as ārammana. When they are serving as presence condition they are serving to manodhātu ( pancadvaravajjana citta ) and its associated 10 cetasikas, pancavināna cittas and thier associated 7 cetasikas, manodhātu ( sampaticchana citta ) and its 10 associates, and manovinnāna dhātu ( santirana cittas and 10 or if somanassa santirana 11 cetasikas, votthapana citta or manodvaravajjana citta and its 11 associates namely phassa, vedana, cetana, sanna, ekaggatā, jivitindriya, manasikara, vitakka, vicara, viriya, and adhimokkha , 29 kāma javana cittas and their associates, and 11 tadārammana cittas and their associates) with presence condition or atthi paccayo.

There are 5 atthi paccaya. They are

  1. sahajāta atthi paccayo
  2. purejāta atthi paccayo
  3. pacchājāta atthi paccayo
  4. āhāra atthi paccayo
  5. indriya atthi paccayo

1. sahajātatthi paccayo

In this paccayo or condition there are 3 examples that dhamma behave in this way.

a) 89 cittas and their associated 52 cetasika serve as conditioning dhamma to patisandhi kammaja rūpa and patisandhi vipaka namakkhandha with sahajātatthi paccayo or conascence presence condition.

b) 4 mahābhūta rūpa serve as conditioning dhamma to 4 mahābhuta themselves each other and other 24 upāda rūpa with sahajātatthi paccayo or conascence presence condition.

c) Patisandhi hadaya rūpa and 4 vipaka namakkhandha serve as conditioning dhamma to patisandhi hadaya rūpa and 4 vipāka namakkhandha with sahajātatthi paccayo or conascence presence condition.

2. purejātatthi paccayo

There are 2 examples of purejātatthi paccayo or prenascence presence condition.

a) In this condition, 6 vatthu rūpa serve as conditioning dhamma to 7 vinnāna with purejātatthi paccayo or prenascence presence condition.

b) Another example is there are 7 rūpas serving as 5 rupa āyatana to 10 pancavinnāna cittas. 7 rūpa namely vanna, sadda, gandha, rasa, pathi, tejo, vayo serve as conditioning dhamma to 10 pancavinnāna cittas with prenascence presence condition or purejātatthi paccayo.

3. pacchājātatthi paccayo

In this condition, 85 cittas after exclusion of 4 arūpavipaka citta that do not deal with rūpa at all and these 85 cittas together with their associated 52 cetasikas serve as conditioning dhamma to pre existing rūpas like patisandhi hadaya vatthu and hadaya vatthu that arise 17 cittakkhana from cuti citta and other vatthu rūpa in the course of life serve as pacchājātatthi paccayo or postnascence presence condition. This happens because nāma dhamma arise a bit later than rūpa dhamma. So they are preborn and prenascent. As they are present they serve as prenascence presence condition. This again means that without these conditions the conditioned dhamma cannot arise.

4. āhāratthi paccayo

a) There are rūpa āhāra and nāma āhāra serving as conditioning dhamma to their supported dhamma. Rūpa āhāra is kaballinkaro āharo or āhara rūpa or oja in food and it serves as conditioning dhamma to āhāraja rūpa.

b) There are 3 nāma āhāra and they serve as conditioning dhamma to their supported dhamma. These 3 nāma āhāra are

  1. phassa āhāra or contact nutriment
  2. manosancetana āhāra or cetana nutriment
  3. vinnāna āhāra or consciousness nutriment

Phassa or contact feeds all nāma dhamma with arammana. Without phassa no nāma dhamma can arise and phassa serves as ārāha paccaya for all nama dhamma.

There are 29 cetana in the past when kusala or akusala dhamma were committed. They serve as āhāra paccaya or nutriment condition to nāma dhamma. Without these manosancetana āhāra nāma dhamma cannot arise.

There are vinnāna āhāra. These vinnāna serve as āhāra paccaya to associated nāma dhamma and when these vinnāna dhamma are not there then their conditioned dhamma will not arise any more.

5. indriyatthi paccayo

In this condition there are indriya as conditioning dhamma. They are

  1. manindriya or 89 cittas
  2. jivitindriya or mental life ( cetasika )
  3. vedana cetasika ( as sukhindriya, dukkhindriya, somanassindriya, domanassindriya, upekkhindriya)
  4. saddha cetasika as saddhindriya
  5. viriya cetasika as viriyindriya
  6. sati cetasika as satindriya
  7. ekaggatā cetasika as samadhindriya
  8. pannindriya cetasika as pannindriya
  9. rūpajivitindriya
  10. 5 pasada rūpa as pancindriya

They serve as conditioning dhamma to 89 cittas, 52 cetasikas, cittaja rūpas or consciousness born rūpa, and patisandhi kammaja rūpa according to the dhamma that present in the examples.

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