Personal identity view

There is this sutta in Majjima Nikaya (MN 148) by name Chachakkasutta which beautifully explains on how “sakkaya” or personal identity view gets created and start to recognise as “mine”, “belongs to me”, “I-self” (etaṁ mama, esohamasmi, eso me attā’ti)

Let us now investigate on how to get rid of this view so as to attain nibbana right now and right here which also lays a foundation to reach Sotapanna stage and work towards Arahat and if that fails, reach Anagami stage.

Buddha explains about 6 internal recognisable/awareness faculties, 6 external objects creating a sense perception, 6 consciousness connecting them, 6 classes of contacts, 6 classes of feelings, 6 classes of craving which needs to be penetrated thoroughly in order to get rid of personalisation.

Let us start to understand, contemplate and put to experiment here.

The 6 internal recognisable faculty that helps in identifying are:
Cakkhāyatanaṁ, sotāyatanaṁ, ghānāyatanaṁ, jivhāyatanaṁ, kāyāyatanaṁ, manāyatanaṁ.

Let us first understand this awareness/recognition. These senses do not connect to anything else apart from their recognisable objects. Which means, eyes cannot taste, nose cannot see, ears cannot taste etc.,

Let us now understand the term “ayatana“. Ayatana represents sense awareness and that which knows the type of object as indicated above. What is there to be aware of here? It is what is coming into eye, ears, nose etc.,
This, then turns itself into “i’m seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, tasting and thinking” and hence become their own faculty when impinged with “raga”, “dvesha” and “moha” due to association with sense objects creating different feelings due to contact.

Thus, when we say “person” or “personal” etc., what is being said is about seeing, tasting, smelling etc., and when added together, becomes a personality.
This is what internal is all about.

Now, the external objects which creates a sense experience. They are Rūpāyatanaṁ, saddāyatanaṁ, gandhāyatanaṁ, rasāyatanaṁ, phoṭṭhabbāyatanaṁ,  dhammāyatanaṁ. Since the person is already created in senses, he/she will now be able to recognise the sight, sound, taste, touch, smell and thoughts through consciousness making them come together thus creating dependency. This then becomes 6 types of consciousness.

Each one of the above faculties would now become dependent on the objects which gets connected through consciousness. Now this dependency creates touching which is called as “phassa” or contact. These becomes 6 types depending upon the ayatana, object and vinnana.

When there is a contact or touching of these delicate senses, there arise feeling. These feelings would be of “pleasure”, “painful” and “neutral” in all the 6 senses depending upon the ayatana, object, vinnana, and contact.

Now this feeling created due to touching, creating conscious experience, object and ayatana, generates “craving” which be of “desiring again and again” or “resisting again and again”.

Now comes to investigation:

1. Eye sense – The “I” is created due to seeing action. Thus one says that it is “I” who is seeing. But when when the object is moved, or the head is moved, then the “eye” goes away and one can discern that easily. One could also observe the arising and passing away of it and one cannot “wish” otherwise as it is conditioned by the object which is hitting the senses. Thus, if one were to say, Eye as a person, that becomes like saying “person arose in eye and departed in eye” which is untenable. Thus, there is no person in eye, eventhough one does a “seeing” and it is just a process and no individual there.

2. Sight – The wrong view of “I’m seeing this object” gets created due to object hitting the eye. When the object moves away, there is no longer any seeing of that object or when another object comes in its place, one cannot wish to get it back. Thus, if one were to say “sight is a person or personal or enjoyer” then it is like saying that “person arose when the sight came and departed when sight went off” which is untenable. Thus, there is no person or personal or enjoyer in the eye, eventhough ones does seeing the object and is a process and no individual there.

3. Consciousness – The consciousness has arisen dependent on eye and sight and hence the personal feeling of “I’m consciously seeing the object” would not be tenable since ” a person arose when consciousness came to eye and sight, then departed when the sight and eye are gone”

4. Contact – Contact is dependently originated due to eye, sight, consciousness. Remaining explanation as above.

5. Feeling – Feeling is dependently originated due to eye, sight, consciousness and contact.

6. Craving – Craving is dependently originated due to eye, sight, consciousness, contact and feeling.

When the manasikara is not yonsio-manasikara, then a person gets created then and there which makes an enjoyer and sufferer out of it. This then gets into origin of identity or personification or individualisation of experience as in “etaṁ mama, esohamasmi, eso me attā’ti” in all 6 senses, 6 objects, 6 consciousness, 6 contact, 6 feeling and 6 craving.

While one were to apply yoniso-manasikara, the personal or individual or person is not created and does not make one to say “an individualised experience” and removes the doership from this equation as one can penetrate on what is happening and understand “netaṁ mama, nesohamasmi, na meso attā’ti” in all
6 senses, 6 objects, 6 consciousness, 6 contact, 6 feeling and 6 craving.

Thus when touching or contact happens in any of these 6 sense doors along with the 6 sense objects through consciousness, there would be feeling of “pleasurable”, “painful” and “neutral”. When one creates a person as in enjoyer approves it, welcomes it and attaches to “pleasurable” feeling due to this association, then “raga” gets created, developed and becomes “wanting” more and more.

When the feeling of “painful” arises, that person who is created now “sorrows” “start to wail” and “laments for losing” that pleasurable feeling and is unconsolable in the heart. This creates a “patigha” or “aversive or “hateful” or “resentment” or “repulsive” tendency in order to do something to remove it.

When the feeling is “neither pleasurable nor painful” that person does not truly understand that feeling’s origin, ending, gratification, drawback, and escape. That is the cause of ignorance and the being seemingly do not react to any of these senses, but does not know anything either.

Thus, without giving up the underlying tendency to greed for pleasant feeling, without dispelling the underlying tendency to repulsion towards painful feeling, without eradicating ignorance in the case of neutral feeling, without giving up ignorance and without giving rise to knowledge, it’s simply impossible to make an end of suffering in the present life.

When does not welcome when feeling pleasurable, does not create hatredness when feeling painful and truly understand that feeling’s origin, ending, gratification, drawback, and escape, then there does not arise raga, dvesha and moha.

After giving up the underlying tendency to greed for pleasant feeling, after dispelling the underlying tendency to repulsion towards painful feeling, after eradicating ignorance in the case of neutral feeling, after giving up ignorance and giving rise to knowledge, it’s totally possible to make an end of suffering in the present life.

Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with the eye, sights, eye consciousness, eye contact, feeling, and craving. The same with other five senses.

Being disillusioned, desire fades away. When desire fades away they’re freed. When it is freed, they know it is freed. They understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is no return to any state of existence.

Here is the video on how to experience it.