Sunday, February 11, 2018

Householder and renunciation equanimity in saḷāyatanavibhaṅgasuttaṃ and mahāsatipaṭṭthānasutta

Question:


The thirty-six states (6 x 6 classes of contact) to which beings are attached are described in Salayatana-vibhanga Sutta; I have made a caricature while reading each state as below, states 1, 2, 4 & 5 are easy to understand, however, I'm straggling to clearly identify the two type of equanimity and how they differ.
Quoted below is the definition given for each equanimity states in the Sutta, but it’s not clear to me how the foolish deluded householder equanimity is any different from the other. How do these two people react to a given situation?
I will give an example for the householder equanimity and If possible please try to use the same situation to represent the state of the renunciation equanimity and if possible beyond renunciation equanimity (atammayata) in which there is no act of intention, not even the intention underlying equanimity is said to be present.
For example, a householder loses his beloved son or a wife he could reason and say ‘I know I was only in love with a mortal and what has happened is natural’ and he remains calm without suffering. This equanimity, I take it, doesn’t go beyond form. With a wide open eye as I caricatured his state, he looks into pain and pleasure even death with equanimity without reasoning beyond form. Let them change he is just looking.
Many thanks.
"And what are the six kinds of household equanimity? The equanimity that arises when a foolish, deluded person — a run-of-the-mill, untaught person who has not conquered his limitations or the results of action 2 & who is blind to danger [3] — sees a form with the eye. Such equanimity does not go beyond the form, which is why it is called household equanimity. (Similarly with sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, & ideas.)
"And what are the six kinds of renunciation equanimity? The equanimity that arises when — experiencing the inconstancy of those very forms, their change, fading, & cessation — one sees with right discernment as it actually is that all forms, past or present, are inconstant, stressful, subject to change: This equanimity goes beyond form, which is why it is called renunciation equanimity. (Similarly with sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, & ideas.)
"And what is equanimity coming from multiplicity, dependent on multiplicity? There is equanimity with regard to forms, equanimity with regard to sounds...smells...tastes...tactile sensations [& ideas: this word appears in one of the recensions]. This is equanimity coming from multiplicity, dependent on multiplicity.
"And what is equanimity coming from singleness, dependent on singleness? There is equanimity dependent on the dimension of the infinitude of space, equanimity dependent on the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness... dependent on the dimension of nothingness... dependent on the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. This is equanimity coming from singleness, dependent on singleness.
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Answer:

There is nothing difference between equanimity, but the difference appear in householder and renunciation.
Don't judge a book by its cover.
For your example: the 3rd and 6th case react the same action. But one by unwholesome mind, another by wholesome mind. That's the difference.
However, because of the very difference between the mind factors of them. If the householder equanimity person doesn't try to fake, lie. He react by most of these mind factors: lobha, dosa, moha, diṭṭhi, māna, issa, macchariya, uddhacca, kukucca, vicikicchā,ahiri, anottappa, thīna, middha.
However, the wholesome action can react like that, too, such as the householder equanimity fall to sleep by thīna and middha. But the renunciation equanimity fall to sleep by sati-sampajañña. The householder equanimity may show or not their sleepy action. But the renunciation equanimity must not. However, the renunciation equanimity may have the tired-action which is physical, but it may looks like the physical action by thīna and middha as well.
So, don't judge a book by its cover.

Gehasita feeling (householder feeling; gehasita=with lobha) means the feeling going together with attaching the 12 āyatana, and 6 contacts (18 manopavicāra). The feeling and attaching are called taṇhā (samudayasacca;caving) and 18 manopavicāra are called 18/60 piyarūpa/sātarūpa in MN Mūlapaṇṇāsaka, mahāsatipaṭṭthānasutta.
Nekkhammasita feeling (renunciation equanimity; nekkhamma=without lobha) means the feeling going without attaching the 12 āyatana, and 6 contacts (18 manopavicāra). The feeling and non-attaching are called nekkhamma-sammāsaṅkappa (right thought in maggasacca) which appear in nirodha-sacca of MN Mūlapaṇṇāsaka, mahāsatipaṭṭthānasutta. as attachment cessation from 18/60 piyarūpa/sātarūpa.
(the kehasita = taṇhā-paṭiccasamuppāda)
And what, bhikkhus, is the dukkha-samudaya ariyasacca? It is this taṇhā leading to rebirth, connected with desire and enjoyment, finding delight here or there, that is to say: kāma-taṇhā, bhava-taṇhā and vibhava-taṇhā.
...
(6 inner-āyatana-paṭiccasamuppāda)
The eye ... ear ... nose ... tongue ... Kāya ... Mana in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles.
(rūpa-paṭiccasamuppāda; 6 inner-āyatana-paṭiccasamuppāda's objects; outer-āyatana)
Visible forms ... Sounds... Smells ... Tastes ... Bodily phenomena ... Dhammas in the world are pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles.
(6 viññāṇa-paṭiccasamuppāda)
The eye-viññāṇa ... ear-viññāṇa .. tongue-viññāṇa ... Kāya-viññāṇa ... Mana-viññāṇa in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles.
(phassa-paṭiccasamuppāda)
The eye-samphassa ... ear-samphassa ... nose-samphassa ... tongue-samphassa ... Kāya-samphassa ... Mana-samphassa in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles.
(vedanā-paṭiccasamuppāda)
The vedanā born of eye-samphassa... vedanā born of ear-samphassa ... vedanā born of nose-samphassa ... vedanā born of tongue-samphassa ... vedanā born of kāya-samphassa ... vedanā born of mana-samphassa in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles.
(nāma-paṭiccasamuppāda)
The saññā of visible forms ... saññā of sounds ...saññā of odors ... saññā of tastes ...saññā of bodily phenomena ... saññā of Dhammas in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles.
(kamma-bhava-paṭiccasamuppāda; saṅkhāra-paṭiccasamuppāda)
The intention [related to] visible forms ... intention [related to] sounds ... intention [related to] odors ... intention [related to] tastes ... intention [related to] bodily phenomena ... intention [related to] dhammas in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles.
(kehasita taṇhā)
The taṇhā for visible forms in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles. The taṇhā for sounds .. odors ... tastes ... bodily phenomena ... dhammas in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles.
[Mana = vitakka in saḷāyatana-vibhaṇgasutta because of upavicāra (vicāra often appear with vitakka), sammā-saṅkappa(right vitakka), and miccha-saṅkappa (wrong vitakka). So, the context force us to translate mana(of mana-upavicāra) as vitakka in saḷāyatana-vibhaṇgasutta]
(kehasita vitakka; kehasita mano)
The vitakka of visible forms in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles. The vitakka of sounds in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles. The vitakka of odors in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles. The vitakka of tastes in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles. The vitakka of bodily phenomena in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles. The vitakka of dhammas in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles.
(kehasita upavicāra)
The vicāra of visible forms in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles. The vicāra of sounds ... odors ... tastes ... bodily phenomena ... dhammas in the world is pleasant and agreeable, there taṇhā, when arising, arises, there when settling, it settles. This is called, bhikkhus, the dukkha·samudaya ariyasacca.
(See nirodhasacca-niddesa in the same way for nekkhammasita)
(Below word "saṅkappa" ofthen use "vitakka" instead in variant sutta, so this is nekkhammasita-vitakka)
And what, bhikkhus, are sammāsaṅkappas? Those, bhikkhus, which are saṅkappas of nekkhamma, saṅkappas of abyāpāda, saṅkappas of avihiṃsā, those are called, bhikkhus, sammāsaṅkappas.
This is not good enough explanation for abhidhammist, abhidhamma has more detail than I told above, but I think it is enough for you.

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