Skip to main content

DN 15: 7 planes of existence, what does it mean to have unified body and unified perception?


DN 15: 7 planes of existence, what does it mean to have unified body and unified perception?
I had a similar question to OP, so I ask in here instead of starting a new thread. I'm also curious as to how it corresponds to 4 jhanas and their rebirth in brahma kayika realm on up.
It seems like being "unified in body" would probably mean they all look like clones of each other? From some other source, perhaps commentary, they say in brahma realm there's no gender, and no breathing (as humans, animals, devas have).
But what does it mean to be unified in perception? For brahma kayika, it could mean they're only interested in 4 jhanas and 4 brahmaiharas (rather than the diversity in deva realms where they could have differences in liking various divine pleasures of music, sex, food, etc). But then why is the next realm above Brahma kayika have diversity of perception?
Also Brahma kayika beings, some could be Buddhists, some Hindu, etc, so that seems like quite a diversity of perception right there.

✴️DN 15 Mahā-nidāna : The Great Discourse on Causation: 1. Dependent Origination 2. Describing the Self 3. Not Describing the Self 4. Regarding a Self 5. Planes of Consciousness 6. The Eight Liberations
5. Sattaviññāṇaṭṭhiti
5. Planes of Consciousness
Satta kho, ānanda, viññāṇaṭṭhitiyo, dve āyatanāni.
Ānanda, there are seven planes of consciousness and two dimensions.
Katamā satta?
What seven?
Santānanda, sattā nānattakāyā nānattasaññino, seyyathāpi manussā, ekacce ca devā, ekacce ca vinipātikā.
There are sentient beings that are diverse in body and diverse in perception, such as human beings, some gods, and some beings in the underworld.
Ayaṃ paṭhamā viññāṇaṭṭhiti.
This is the first plane of consciousness.
Santānanda, sattā nānattakāyā ekattasaññino, seyyathāpi devā brahmakāyikā paṭhamābhinibbattā.
There are sentient beings that are diverse in body and unified in perception, such as the gods reborn in Brahmā’s Group through the first jhāna.
Ayaṃ dutiyā viññāṇaṭṭhiti.
This is the second plane of consciousness.
Santānanda, sattā ekattakāyā nānattasaññino, seyyathāpi devā ābhassarā.
There are sentient beings that are unified in body and diverse in perception, such as the gods of streaming radiance.
Ayaṃ tatiyā viññāṇaṭṭhiti.
This is the third plane of consciousness.
Santānanda, sattā ekattakāyā ekattasaññino, seyyathāpi devā subhakiṇhā.
There are sentient beings that are unified in body and unified in perception, such as the gods replete with glory.
Ayaṃ catutthī viññāṇaṭṭhiti.
This is the fourth plane of consciousness.
Santānanda, sattā sabbaso rūpasaññānaṃ samatikkamā paṭighasaññānaṃ atthaṅgamā nānattasaññānaṃ amanasikārā ‘ananto ākāso’ti ākāsānañcāyatanūpagā.
There are sentient beings that have gone totally beyond perceptions of form. With the ending of perceptions of impingement, not focusing on perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite’, they have been reborn in the dimension of infinite space.
Ayaṃ pañcamī viññāṇaṭṭhiti.
This is the fifth plane of consciousness.
Santānanda, sattā sabbaso ākāsānañcāyatanaṃ samatikkamma ‘anantaṃ viññāṇan’ti viññāṇañcāyatanūpagā.
There are sentient beings that have gone totally beyond the dimension of infinite space. Aware that ‘consciousness is infinite’, they have been reborn in the dimension of infinite consciousness.
Ayaṃ chaṭṭhī viññāṇaṭṭhiti.
This is the sixth plane of consciousness.
Santānanda, sattā sabbaso viññāṇañcāyatanaṃ samatikkamma ‘natthi kiñcī’ti ākiñcaññāyatanūpagā.
There are sentient beings that have gone totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness. Aware that ‘there is nothing at all’, they have been reborn in the dimension of nothingness.
Ayaṃ sattamī viññāṇaṭṭhiti.
This is the seventh plane of consciousness.
Asaññasattāyatanaṃ nevasaññānāsaññāyatanameva dutiyaṃ.
Then there’s the dimension of non-percipient beings, and secondly, the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.
Tatrānanda, yāyaṃ paṭhamā viññāṇaṭṭhiti nānattakāyā nānattasaññino, seyyathāpi manussā, ekacce ca devā, ekacce ca vinipātikā.
Now, regarding these seven planes of consciousness and two dimensions,
Yo nu kho, ānanda, tañca pajānāti, tassā ca samudayaṃ pajānāti, tassā ca atthaṅgamaṃ pajānāti, tassā ca assādaṃ pajānāti, tassā ca ādīnavaṃ pajānāti, tassā ca nissaraṇaṃ pajānāti, kallaṃ nu tena tadabhinanditun”ti?
is it appropriate for someone who understands them—and their origin, ending, gratification, drawback, and escape—to take pleasure in them?”
“No hetaṃ, bhante” … pe …
“No, sir.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Advice to younger meditators on jhāna, sex, porn, masturbation

Someone asked: Is porn considered harmful sexual.activity? I don't have a sex life because I don't have a partner and I don't wish to engage in casual sex so I use porn to quench the biological urge to orgasm. I can't see that's it's harmful because nobody is being forced into it. The actors are all paid well and claim to enjoy it etc. The only harm I can see is that it's so accessible these days on smart devices and so children may access it but I believe that this is the parents responsibility to not allow unsupervised use of devices etc. Views? Frankk response: In another thread, you asked about pleasant sensations and jhāna.  I'm guessing you're young, so here's some important advice you won't get from suttas   if you're serious about jhāna.  (since monastics are already celibate by rule)   If you want to attain stable and higher jhānas,   celibacy and noble silence to the best of your ability are the feedstock and prerequiste to tha...
Post a Comment
Read more

SN 48.40 Ven. Thanissaro comments on Ven. Sunyo's analysis

This was Ven. Sunyo's analysis of SN 48.40: https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2024/05/exciting-news-honest-ebt-scholars-like.html And here is Ven. Thanissaro's response to that analysis: I think there’s a better way to tackle the issue of SN 48:40 than by appealing to the oldest layers of commentarial literature. That way is to point out that SN 48:40, as we have it, doesn’t pass the test in DN 16 for determining what’s genuine Dhamma and what’s not. There the standard is, not the authority of the person who’s claiming to report the Buddha’s teachings, but whether the teachings he’s reporting are actually in accordance with the principles of the Dhamma that you know. So the simple fact that those who have passed the Buddha’s teachings down to us say that a particular passage is what the Buddha actually taught is not sufficient grounds for accepting it. In the case of the jhānas—the point at issue here— we have to take as our guide the standard formula for the jhānas, a...
Post a Comment
Read more

1min. video: Dalai Lama kissing boy and asking him to suck his tongue

To give more context, this is a public event,  * everyone knows cameras are rolling  *  it's a room full of children * the boy's mom is standing off camera a few feet away watching all of this * the boy initiated contact, he had already had a hug with Dalai Lama earlier and then asked Dalai Lama for another hug which triggered this segment  17 min. video showing what happened before that 1 min. clip and after, with some explanation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT0qey5Ts78 16min talk from Ajahn Acalo with his thoughts on Dalai Lama kissing boy, relevance to Bhikkhu monastic code, sexual predators in religion in general, and how celibate monastics deal with sexual energy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK2m0TcUib0 The child's comments about the incident in a filmed interview later https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/world-news/2023/04/18/643eba5d46163ffc078b457c.html The child: It's a great experience It was amazing to meet His Holiness and I think it's a great ex...
Post a Comment
Read more