4. Illusory nature of viññ17a.

[좋은친구]

4.  Illusory nature of viññ17a.

How viññ17a deceives us and keeps us imprisoned in sa9s1ra.

T

he most outstanding contribution made by the law of Dependent Arising to the ethical, psychological and philosophical enquiries of all times, is the revelation that there is a vortex hidden beneath the flux of all mental life. ‘Consciousness’ and ‘name-and-form’ perpetually supporting each other and re-vitalising each other as they go doting round and round, make up the sa9s1ric vortex which is the rallying point of all existence.

     Since it is ‘in so far only’ that there is the range of wisdom (ett1vat1 paññ1vacara9), there is no possibility of going beyond. It is the very ignorance of this vortex that constitutes the first link in the formula and the deluded vortical interplay arising out of it, is the second link (i.e. formations). With the proper understanding of this situation the meaningless interplay is made to cease.

     The trends that set in with the vortical interplay between consciousness and name-and-form, continue through the subsequent links of the formula of Dependent Arising. The six sense-spheres bifurcate themselves precipitating a dichotomy of an ‘internal’ and an ‘external’ with its concomitant notions of a ‘here’ and ‘there’. Contact, in a specific sense, is a sequel to this very dichotomy. It implies a principle of discrimination between two things and consciousness fulfills this condition. With feeling, the split in experience[1] becomes sufficiently palpable as to call forth the notion : ‘I am’. “Where, friend, there is no feeling at all, would there be any such notion as : ‘I am’?” “there would not Lord.[2]”. The discriminative function of consciousness is seen here in the form of distinguishing three feeling-tones and hence sometimes one finds consciousness itself being defined in terms of knowing discriminatively (Vij1n1ti) the three grades of feeling – pleasant (sukha), ‘unpleasant’ (dukkha) and ‘neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant (adukkhamasukha). Out of this discrimination there arises craving (or ‘thirst’) for the pleasant. Owing to craving, consciousness finds itself enmeshed in name-and-form – its object (1ramma7a) and consequently, a reaching out – a ‘grasping’[3] for the same. In the process of ‘grasping’ there is involved a kind of ‘projection’ of desires whereby the split in experience widens into a definite gap between a subject and an object. ‘Becoming’ or ‘existence’ is the make-believe attempt to bridge this gap which, however, forever remains unbridged, for the material on which it relies is perpetually crumpling up underneath. Yet it somehow props up the conceit of view of the ego, the things clung to (up1d1na) appear as assets (upadhi) and one takes pride in the very things one depends on. Thus liabilities are looked upon as positive assets and an abject slavery becomes a petty mastery.  The topsy-turvydom is complete and the double-bind becomes a faita ccompli. The ego now finds itself ‘born’ into a world of likes and dislikes, subject to decay-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair.

           This illusory nature attributed to consciousness by the Buddha is, in a sense, a recognition of its reflexive character. Like a mirror it reflects the five aggregates, the fifth of which is consciousness itself.

           The five aggregates of grasping which are said to be ‘compounded’ or ‘concocted’ (sa}khata) are but accumulated sense-experience fermented by ignorance. Due to egotistic clinging in the form of ‘conceiving’ (maññan1) sense-data become impregnated with this dynamic ferment and proliferation (papañca) follows. It is in view of this state of affairs the particular emphasis is laid on the necessity of viewing sense-data with detachment.

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[1] This is also breaking point for practice it will be treated in Chap 5.

 When feeling arises just observe it.

[2] D.II. 67. Mah1nid1na S

[3] This is second breaking point for practice, in detail in Chap 5