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05-08-2010, 06:13 AM
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sallythetolly
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Nanaviro on birth & death is as follows:
The fundamental upādāna or 'holding' is attavāda (see Majjhima ii,1 ), which is holding a belief in 'self'. The puthujjana takes what appears to be his 'self' at its face value; and so long as this goes on he continues to be a 'self', at least in his own eyes (and in those of others like him). This is bhava or 'being'. The puthujjana knows that people are born and die; and since he thinks 'my self exists' so he also thinks 'my self was born' and 'my self will die'. The puthujjana sees a 'self' to whom the words birth and death apply.[d] In contrast to the puthujjana, the arahat has altogether got rid of asmimāna (not to speak of attavāda—see MAMA), and does not even think 'I am'. This is bhavanirodha, cessation of being. And since he does not think 'I am' he also does not think 'I was born' or 'I shall die'. In other words, he sees no 'self' or even 'I' for the words birth and death to apply to. This is jātinirodha and jarāmarananirodha. (See, in Kosala Samy. i,3 , how the words birth and death are avoided when the arahat is spoken of.
Notes
Here, Nanavira places the emphasis of 'self-view' at attachment where as Buddhadasa places the emphasis on self-view at birth.
Such blind want (tanha) will give birth to attachment (upadana). Attachment arising from blind or ignorant want, then, is ignorant in itself. There is attachment to anything that comes into contact with it, including attachment to this meaning or that meaning of words and attachment to that thing as "mine" and this thing as "I."
Such attachment gives rise to existence (bhava). This is the becoming of something - the illusive "self." The becoming of the "self" arises from attachment. There is attachment to an illusive thing by illusive thought and so we come to have illusive becoming (bhava). At this point there exists the "self," even in the stage of infancy. We call it bhava, or
becoming.
Becoming gives rise to birth (jati). Here the "self" is full bloomed as a "self" that is proper and suitable to its case: to be one "I," one "man," one "self." At this moment here is a self - the thing which is imagined to be the "self" or the "I." Now the illusive "I" takes place in the process of Idappaccayatā.
The "I" thinks, acts and speaks in the way of attachment. Then the "I" begins to act and speak in ignorant ways, such as "this is I" or "this is my possession"; and even "this is my birth, this is my decay, this is my disease and this is my death." All things come to be problems for such a self. This brings problems to the mind, so that the mind suffers and has suffering and disatisfactoriness of all kinds in whatever case. This is Idappaccayatā in the way or process of giving rise to the problem of mental suffering. In reality the suffering happens to the mind, but as we said, it is imagined as happening to the man.
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