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 13 - Upanissaya paccayo (or decisive support condition)

Upanissaya paccayo ti- purimā purimā kusalā dhammā pacchimānam pacchimānam kusalānam dhammānam upanissaya paccayena paccayo.

In upanissaya paccayo or decisive support condition there are dhammas such as purimā kusalā dhamma or foregoing wholesome dhamma. When such dhamma foregoes what follow them is called pacchimānam dhammānam or following dhamma or after dhamma back dhamma. If foregoing dhammas are kusala dhamma then following dhamma will be kusala dhamma.

Foregoing kusala dhamma serves as upanissaya paccaya or decisive support condition for the following kusala dhamma. The foregoing dhamma is paccaya dhamma or supporting dhamma or conditioning dhamma or causal dhamma and the following dhamma is paccayuppanna dhamma or supported dhamma or conditioned dhamma or resultant dhamma. The relationship between foregoing kusala dhamma and the following kusala dhamma is known as upanissaya paccaya or decisive support condition.

This kind of support can be learned in the junction between the first and the second, the second and the third, the third and the fourth, the fourth and the fifth, the fifth and the sixth, and the sixth and the seventh kusala javana cittas or wholesome mental impulsive consciousness. This is in kusala dhamma in kamavacara dhamma. This is not in rupakusala or arupakusala because they have their condition called jhana condition. In kusala javana cittas, there is decisive support condition between two kusala cittas.

Purimā purimā kusalā dhammā pacchimānam pacchimānam akusalānam dhammānam kesanci upanissaya paccayena paccayo.

There are instants that kusala dhammas are being developed as a good deed or wholesome deed or meritorious deed. So it can be said that the beginning is started with wholesome actions. This can be seen in case when we do great offering to others. When we are offering we are happy and we are sincere that we do good things to other people.

But sometimes during that wholesome actions or around that wholesome actions that arise thinking that are not appropriate for kusala dhamma and this may finally lead to opposite called akusala dhamma. When there is a good start but there is a bad ending. This happen sometimes and the foregoing wholesome actions or kusala dhamma serves as decisive support condition or upanissaya paccaya for later unwholesome actions or akusala dhammas.

Purima means front before foregoing. Here kusala dhamma such as offering and kusala cittas that do the offering are foregoing dhamma or purima dhamma. When they go before what follow after them is pacchima dhamma. Pacchima means back last following. Here pacchima dhammas are akusala dhamma. So kusala dhamma may serve as upanissaya paccaya for akusala dhamma in some way (kesanci).

Here the condition is not proximity condition or anantara paccaya or it is also not contiguity condition or samanantara paccaya. So it is not necessary that the foregoing kusala dhammas have to be immediately followed by akusala dhamma. This cannot happen. Because kusala dhamma and akusala dhamma cannot be neighbour and they never arise in proximity condition or contiguity condition.

But as explained above kusala dhamma may in some way support akusala dhamma and this sometimes happen. As in above example when offerings are being carried out there are kusala dhamma. But the merit doers may have inappropriate thinking on his own deeds. For example they may develop lobha or attachment to their own deeds and this attachment may further leads to other akusala dhamma.

Purimā purimā kusalā dhammā pacchimānam pacchimānam abyākatānam dhamānam upanissaya paccayena paccayo.

Purima means east before foregoing. So purimā purimā kusalā dhammā means if foregoing dhamma are wholesome dhamma,. Pacchima means west last back. Pacchimānam pacchimānam abyākatānam dhammānam means following dhamma will be abyākata dhamma.

So the above Pali sentence means if foregoing dhamma are wholesome dhamma then the following dhamma will be abyākata dhamma. Kusala dhamma are kusala cittas. There are 8 mahakusala cittas, 5 rupakusala cittas, 4 arupakusala cittas, and 4 lokuttara kusala cittas altogether there are 21 kusala cittas. 17 cittas are loki kusala cittas or mundane wholesome consciousness and 4 cittas are lokuttara kusala cittas or supramundane wholesome consciousness.

Abyākata dhamma are dhamma that are not kusala and that are also not akusala. There are 2 dhamma that are abyākata dhamma. They are vipāka dhamma or resultant dhamma and kiriya dhamma or inoperative dhamma. As vipāka dhamma are resultant dhamma there will not be any more results from those result. So vipāka dhamma are abyākata dhamma.

Kiriya cittas are those javana cittas or arahats. Arahats are totally free of any kusala or any akusala. So they are not creating any kamma at any time. They are not committing any kamma of good or bad at any time since they have been arahats. Their javana cittas or mental impulsive consciousness which lead to actions are just actions and they are inoperative. That is they do not operate any kamma at all. Or they can also be called as functional. because their javana cittas are just performing their actions and not creating any kamma at all. So all kiriya javana cittas are abyākata dhamma. Likewise non javana kiriya cittas are also abyākata dhamma.

When foregoing dhamma is kusala dhamma following dhamma may be abyākata dhamma. Example relationship can be seen in case of the relationship between 7th javana citta and the 1st tadārammana citta. 7th javana citta can be kusala citta when vithi vara is kusala javana. So foregoing dhamma is kusala dhamma. Tadārammana cittas are all abyākata dhamma. Because there are 11 tadārammana cittas and they all are vipaka cittas. 3 santirana cittas are ahetuka vipaka cittas and 8 mahavipāka cittas are sahetuka vipaka cittas. As all these 11 cittas are vipāka cittas they all are abyākata dhamma.

7th kusala javana citta is paccaya dhamma or causal dhamma or supporting dhamma or conditioning dhamma. The first tadārammana citta is resultant dhamma or paccayuppanna dhamma or supported dhamma or conditioned dhamma. They are conditioned by the way of decisive support condition or upanissaya paccaya. So the relationship between these two dhamma of kusala dhamma and abyākata dhamma is called upanissaya paccaya or decisive support condition.

Purimā purimā akusalā dhammā pacchimānam pacchimānam akusalānam dhammānam upanissaya paccayena paccayo.

When foregoing dhamma (purimā) are akusala dhamma or unwholesome dhamma and the following dhamma or pacchima dhamma is also akusala dhamma then the following dhamma has to depend on the foregoing dhamma. The foregoing dhamma is paccaya dhamma or causal dhamma or supporting dhamma or conditioning dhamma.

The following dhamma is resultant dhamma or supported dhamma or conditioned dhamma or pācyuppanna dhamma. The relationship between the foregoing dhamma and the following dhamma is called upanissaya paccaya or decisive support condition.

When in javana or mental impulsion there are 7 successive cittas and the foregoing citta conditions next following citta. There are other circumstances that akusala also support akusala even though these akusala are not in the vicinity immediately.

Purimā purimā akusalā dhammā pacchimānam pacchimānam kusalānam dhammānam kesanci upanissaya paccayena paccayo.

Foregoing akusala dhamma may in a way condition the following kusala dhamma. This is upanissaya paccaya and as it is not anantara paccaya these akusala dhamma and kusala dhamma do not have to be proximate each other. Example can be seen in the following case.

The foregoing cittas may be dosa cittas or lobha cittas. But after a while when the next following cittas become kusala cittas like offering then this may well be upanissaya paccaya. One may want something with expectation. With the expectation he or she may offer something to someone. But when he or she really offer something there may arise real kusala dhamma. In this case foregoing lobha conditions the following kusala dhamma.

Purimā purimā akusalā dhammā pacchimānam pacchimānam abyakatānam dhammānam upanissaya paccayena paccayo. Akusala dhamma can be followed by abyakata dhamma like vipaka cittas as in case of 7th javana akusala citta and the 1st tadārammana citta. But this abyakata is not kiriya dhamma. As there is no akusala or kusala in arahats, whose javana cittas are all kiriya javana cittas.

Purimā purimā abyākatā dhamma pacchimānam pacchimānam abyākatānam dhammānam upanissaya paccayena paccayo. Abyākata dhamma can be followed by abyākata dhamma. Examples are between pancadvaravajjana citta and pancavinnana citta and then pancavinnana citta and sampaticchana citta and so on.

Likewise when the foregoing dhamma is abyakata dhamma the following dhamma may well be kusala dhamma and it may equally be akusala dhamma. There are a wide range of dhamma that cover upanissaya paccaya or decisive support condition.

utubhojanampi upanissaya paccayena paccayo.

Suitable weather is a good support for arising of dhamma and utu decisively support the dhamma. Likewise āhāra or bhojana also support dhamma in a way of decisive support condition.

puggalopi upanissaya paccayena paccayo. Suitable individuals may well be serving as decisive support condition for arising of dhamma. Likewise suitable edifice, robe, food, medicine etc etc are all serving as decisive support conditions for dhamma. There is a wider sense of upanissaya paccaya and they are endless.

Upanissaya paccayo pana tividho hoti. Ārammanupanissayo, anantarupanissayo, pakatupanissayo ceti.

There are 3 sub conditions under decisive support condition or upanissaya paccayo. They are

  1. ārammanupanissaya paccayo or object decisive support condition
  2. anantarupanissaya paccayo or proximity decisive support condition
  3. pakatupanissaya paccayo or natural decisive support condition

Tattha ārammanameva garukana.m ārammanupanissayo. There are objects that should be highly regarded and they are

  1. 18 ittha nipphanna rūpas or 18 desirable conditioned rūpas
  2. 84 cittas ( after exclusion of 2 dosa mūla cittas or 2 aversive consciousness, 2 moha mūla cittas or ignorant consciousness, 1 dukkha kayavinnana citta; 89 - 5 = 84 cittas) These 5 cittas are not desirable and they are actually undesirable consciousness.
  3. 47 cetasikas ( 52 - 5 that is dosa, issa, macchariya, kukkucca, moha = 47 )
  4. 1 nibbana

These 4 dhammas are ārammanādhipati or object predominent dhamma and they also serve as ārammanupanissaya paccayo or object decisive support condition..

Anantara niruddhā citta cetasikā dhammā anantarupanissayo.

With the exception of vanishing cuti citta of arahats all other cittas of 89 cittas and their 52 associates namakkhandhas or mental aggregates all serve as anantarupanissaya paccayo to next arising 89 cittas and 52 cetasikas. This is the vanishing consciousness and next arising consciousness do not have any gap and they are
in contact and like proximated.

Rāgādayo pana dhammā saddhadayo ca sukha.m dukkha.m puggallo bhojana.m utu senāsananca yathā raham ajjhattanca bahiddhā ca kusalādhi dhammāna.m , kamma.m vipākānanti ca bahudhā hoti pakatupanissayo.

  1. rāga, dosa, moha, māna, ditthi, pattanā
    (sensuous desire, aversion, ignorance, conceit, wrong view, expectation attachment
  2. saddhā, sīla, suta, cāga, panna
    (faith, moral conduct, heaving heard or well learned, offering, wisdom)
  3. kāyika sukha or physical pleasure
  4. kāyika dukkha or physical pain
  5. puggala to be depended on
  6. bhojana or food to be eaten
  7. suitable environmental condition of weather
  8. suitable abode, bed, places

All these dhamma serve as natural decisive support condition or pakatupanissaya paccayo for the dhamma of
ajjhatta or internal and bahiddha or external of 21 kusala dhamma, 12 akusala dhamma, 36 vipāka dhamma, 20 kiriya dhamma.

21 kusala dhamma are

  1. 8 mahakusala cittas
  2. 5 rupakusala cittas or 5 rupa jhānas
  3. 4 arupakusala cittas or 4 arūpa jhānas
  4. 4 lokuttara kusala cittas or 4 magga cittas or 4 path consciousness

12 akusala dhammas are 12 akusala cittas and they are 8 lobha cittas, 2 dosa cittas, and 2 moha cittas.

36 vipāka dhamma are

  1. 7 ahetuka akusalavipāka cittas
  2. 8 ahetuka kusalavipāka cittas
  3. 8 sahetuka mahavipāka cittas
  4. 5 rupavipāka cittas
  5. 4 arupavipāka cittas
  6. 4 lokuttara vipāka cittas or 4 phala cittas or 4 fruition consciousness

20 kiriya dhamma are

  1. 3 ahetuka kiriya cittas
  2. 8 sahetuka mahakiriya cittas
  3. 5 rupakiriya cittas
  4. 4 arupavipaka cittas
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