5 Monks Skill

1. Skill of Samadhi.
a. Momentary samādhi (khanikasamādhi).
b. Access concentration (upacārasamādhi).
c. Fixed concentration (appanāsamādhi).
- Jhana 1.
- Jhana 2.
- Jhana 3.
- Jhana 4.

2. Skill of Viriya.
a. the gift to restrain defilements
b. the gift to abandon defilements
c. the gift to develop wholesome states
d. the gift to maintain wholesome states

3. Skill of Saddha.
a. Unshakable faith in the fact of the perfect Enlightenment of the Buddha.
b. Unshakable faith in the perfect correctness of the true Dhamma.
c. Unshakable faith in the noble part of the Sangha.
d. Purified and perfectly unspotted precepts.

4. Skill of Sati.
a. Kayanupassana.
b. Vedananupassana
c. Cittanupassana.
d. Dhammanupassana.

5. Skill of Panna.

Leave The Past, Ignore The Future, Continue Peeling The Presence

A misinterpretation of Buddha's teaching:
Do not dwell in the past or future but just in present.
The result is: A monk doesn;t focus in past of future but focus on his present activities. That will make him reside in present, and creating like Buddha said: "Bhikkhus, how do you falter with things of the present? Bhikkhus, the not learned ordinary man, not clever in their Teaching, reflecting matters, ideas, apperceptions, feelings, consciousness as his recent activities."

The precise interpretation of Buddha's teaching:
Do not dwell in the past or future but just in present practices.
The result is: A monk doesn;t focus in past of future but focus on his present practices. This will make him not reside even in present, but keep peeling his presence like Buddha said: "Bhikkhus, how do you not falter with things of the present? Bhikkhus, the learned noble disciple, clever in their Teaching, and trained in their Teaching does not reflecting matters, ideas, apperceptions, feelings, consciousness as his recent activities."

It might be still difficult to grasp it, but in short way we can say Buddha's teaching is not about you reside in present or not, but its about you continue the practice by leaving the past and ignoring future, and keep peeling the presence.

The mindfulness on aggregates

Nonself of thoughts' constructions.
How one attached to thoughts' construction? When one want to do something on the consciousness he remembered. For example: He remember he want to download some music later.
How one detach from thoughts' construction? when one want to do something on the consiousness he remembered and moves in line of 8 foldnoblepath. He contemplates, "Is listening songs a right intention, since it contradict nekkhamma-sankappa (intention of renunciation)?" Knowing that, he stop doing it. He purifies one thought and he understand how such thought won't penetrate his consciousness again forever.

Nonself of feelings.
How one attached to feelings? Example: He hears a song and he carries tendency tone with it (more to like it, more to dislike it, more neutral about it).
How one detach from feelings? He sees his like-feelings and let them alone without proliferate actions on it, he sees dislike-feelings and let them alone without proliferate actions on it, he sees neutral feelings and let voices of his intuition arrives without proliferate actions on it.

Nonself of apperception.
How one attached to apperception? Example: He hears part of a song, and he want to repeat same pleasant feelings he remembered by listening it till finish.
One one detach from apperception? He hears part of a song and he doesn;t interested to repeat same experience. Other example: He learns buddhism and doesnt interested to dedicate himself only as a teacher, but continue it till he become a Buddha.

Nonself of consciousness.
How one attached to consciousness? Example: He has some wrong view that happens because have to follow traditions or local ethics, and he deliberately proliferate on it through mind, speech, deeds (even "right view is wrong view if it doesnt include the noble truth of life which says one must leave the life/Nibbana" - said the Buddha in Mahaparinibbana Sutta).
How one detach from consciousness? He has views about himself and life, wether it is right and wrong, he unlearn (mastering learning) all by meeting the end of noble path (fourth jhana) with the beginning of noble path (right understanding of cessation of consciousness), through right awareness/satipatthana.

Nonself of earth element.
He watch flesh and doesnt interested to proliferate on it, like to have a girl, to have children, etc.

Nonself of water element.
He watch water and doesnt interested to proliferate on it, like having only tasty water, etc.

Nonself of wind element.
He watch wind and doesnt interested to proliferate on it, like must live with air conditioner etc.

Nonself of fire element.
He watch his body metabolism and doesnt interested to proliferate on it, like must have supplemen, too depend on meat, too depend on vegetarian food, etc.

Causes and Cessation of Mental Hindrances

In order to progress in meditation, a meditator should know how the Five Mental Hindrances are formed and how they can be eradicated. This knowledge will be useful to one’s progress in meditation.

Causes of Mental Hindrances (Nivarana)

When cultivating Samadhi, the meditator has to know how the Five Mental Hindrances are formed so that they can be completely destroyed. In the same way, the doctor must know the real cause of an illness before he can cure it. If the causes of illnesses are known, then it is easier to prevent them than it is to cure them. For example, knowing that the carrier of malaria is the mosquito, that too much alcohol is the cause of cirrhosis, and that too much sugar in the blood causes diabetes, one can take measures to eliminate or prevent the causes before they yield the undesirable effects. With such knowledge a person can eliminate the disease, just as knowing the causes of mental hindrances will help the meditator rid himself of them.

In the Pancakanipata of Anguttaranikaya, the Buddha explained the five causes of mental hindrances as follows:

1. Subhanimitta—Delight in the beauty is the cause of Kamachanda or

Sensual desire.

2. Patighanimitta—Irritation or friction is the cause of Vyapada or Ill-will.

3. Arati—Not being pleased, Tandi—Laziness, Vijambhika—Weariness,

Bhattasammada—Intoxication from food, and Cetaso

linattam—Downheartedness. These five are the causes of Thina-

middha or Sloth and Torpor.

4. Cetaso avupasama—A restless mind is the cause of Uddhacca-kukkucca or

Restlessness and Worry.

5. Ayonisomanasikara—Unwise thinking is the cause of Vicikiccha or

Doubt.

Close examination of each cause of the Mental Hindrances shows that the reason for being depressed or being in daily turmoil is due to one of these hindrances. But they do not arise simultaneously; only one occurs at one moment in time. For example, if at one moment there is Vyapada, then the other four hindrances will not occur, or if at one moment Uddhacca-kukkucca appears, then the other four will not emerge. This is because the mind can be in only one state of feeling at one certain point in time. However, even though they do not occur together, each of the Mental Hindrances causes the mind to be in low spirits.

1. Subhanimitta—the cause of sensual desire. “Subha” means ‘beauty’, while “nimitta” means ‘fixing’. So “Subhanimitta” means ‘to fix a meaning of something as beautiful’. For example, if one is fixing on a beautiful body, then this refers to fixing on the form, the taste, the smell, the sound, and the touch on a body of either the same or opposite sex. To fix on the beauty of the body can be classified as follows:

A. To fix on the beauty of each organ,

B. To fix on the beauty of the body as a whole.

To fix on the beauty of each organ is to consider the beauty in details such as seeing that the complexion is fair, the face is pretty, the mouth is beautiful, the teeth are beautiful, the feet are beautiful, the fingers are beautiful, and the nails are beautiful, etc. Because of these thoughts, lustful desire or Kamachanda occurs.

To fix on the beauty of the body as a whole is to see that the whole body is shapely and the figure is beautiful. Thinking thusly, Kamachanda will arise. Therefore, Subhanimitta, which means ‘to fix on bodily beauty’, is the cause of Kamachanda or pleasure in sensual desire.

Also, to contemplate on sensual thought (Kamasankappa) arouses Kamachanda because desire is caused by such thinking. If one does not think of sex or the beauty of the object, then lustful desire will not be aroused. As the Buddha has said in the book of Mahanidesa:

“Oh! Kama, now that I know that you spring up just from thinking,

I will not think of you any more, Kama. So you will not have the chance

to occur to me again.”

(Khu. Maha. 29/45/72)

 This saying confirms the fact that sensual desire arises from thoughts. So if one does not want sensual desire, one should simply quit thinking about Subhanimitta, which is the cause of Kamachanda. Hence, no fire of passion can then occur to him.

2. Patighanimitta—the cause of Vyapada (ill-will or hatred). “Patighanimitta” is ‘irritation’ or ‘friction’ that has an emotional impact on the mind. Many people’s minds are like injured animals because a little touch, irritation, or impact will hurt them and will cause them pain. The mind under the power of Vyapada can be regarded as being wounded because any speech or action that causes friction and touches or stirs the feeling will cause anger to surface at once. Patighanimitta is the direct cause of anger or Vyapada. Knowing this, we have to destroy its cause (Patighanimitta) if we want to get rid of Vyapada.

3. Thina-middha – sloth and torpor are caused by the following:

A. Arati -- not being pleased. For example, not being pleased on working or in cultivating Samadhi. Such a feeling will be followed by dissatisfaction and the aspirant may become discouraged from doing mental practice. One does not feel like doing anything, hence, one becomes sleepy and loses one’s energy and zeal because of Arati or discontent.

B. Tandi – laziness. A person is downhearted. He does not want to work or to do any mental practice because of his laziness.

C. Vijambhika – weariness. One who is weary may idly stretch his body to show his feelings of laziness and drowsiness. This is also a cause of Thina-middha.

D. Bhattasamada – intoxication from food. Naturally, over-eating makes a person sleepy, so this feeling is called “intoxication from food.” It is advisable to consume just enough in order to avoid Thina-middha. Right after each meal, one should not make an attempt to cultivate Samadhi since the food will always cause Thina-middha.

E. Cetaso Linattam – downheartedness. Frustration in life will make one feel gloomy, depressed, and lacking will-power, thus Thina-middha follows.

4. Cetaso Avupasama – a restless mind is the cause of Uddhacca-kukkucca. Many kinds of feelings such as fear, worry, disappointment, and agitation make the mind restless like the waves of the ocean. The restless mind causes Uddhacca-kukkucca (restlessness and worry or annoyance) to arise.

5. Ayonisomanasikara – unwise thoughts are the cause of Vicikiccha or doubt. This is because one does not use wisdom (Panna) to consider the natural condition or the real characteristics of all objects. One is said to use Yonisomanasikara if one wisely contemplates on the natural phenomena and understands them rightly as they are. One who does not have a clear understanding of the truth or who makes no attempt to use analytical thinking to see the truth will be beset by doubt, for example, doubt about sin and merit, hell and heaven, or doubt about one’s own way of mental practice. Being doubtful as to whether one’s way of practice is right or not, because of improper consideration ( Ayonisomanasikara), that is, without using wisdom on consideration, gives rise to Vicikiccha, which is a hindrance to the cultivation of Samadhi. Hence, no progress is achieved because of Ayonisomanasikara.

Having thoroughly learned the cause of each of the Five Hindrances, one should make attempts to completely destroy them so that it will be hard, or even impossible, for the meditator to be overwhelmed by Mental Hindrances.

Cessation of Mental Hindrances

Also, in the Pancakanipata of Anguttaranikaya, the Buddha revealed five ways to cease Mental Hindrances:

1. Asubhanimitta – recollection on repulsiveness annihilates

Kamachanda.

2. Metta-cetovimutti – loving-kindness stops Vyapada.

3. Viriya – perseverance causes Thina-middha to cease.

4. Cetaso Vupasama – peace of mind erases Uddhacca-kukkucca.

5. Yonisomanasikara – analytical consideration extinguishes

Vicikiccha.

These five causes for the cessation of Mental Hindrances were explained in full detail in the scripture. Here is a brief explanation to be used as a guideline by meditators:

1. Asubhanimitta – recollection on repulsiveness. Whoever earnestly contemplates on the repulsiveness of the human body with the following quote in mind, “This body, from the soles of the feet upwards to the top of the hair, is full of manifold impurities”, will be able to rid oneself of Kamachanda.

It is an undeniable fact that the inside of the human body is full of impurities which continuously flow out of the body, day and night. There are nine major exits for impurities to flow out; excretions flow out of the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, the mouth, the urinary organ, and the anus. In addition to these nine major exits, it is said that there are over 99,000 pores in the skin for excreting perspiration impurities.

These physical impurities manifest themselves clearly if a person does not take a bath for a day (especially on a summer’s day); the body will begin to emanate a bad odor. The longer one refrains from bathing, the smellier the body becomes, until eventually one cannot stand one’s own bad odor.

There are also found, inside the human body, impurities that are consumed daily, including animal remains such as those of ducks, chickens, fish, oxen, cows, etc. Also, various kinds of diseases and microorganisms are sheltered in and on the body and if they are not treated, they can shatter and destroy the inside of the body, as well as the outside.

In reality, the body looks nice or pretty only because it is covered by the skin and clothing. Regarding repulsiveness, it is important to note that no differences exist between the king’s body and the outcast’s body. Such contemplation on the repulsiveness of the body is called Asubhanimitta, which annihilates Kamachanda.

2. Metta-cetovimutti – loving kindness. This method to combat ill-will and anger is easily understood since loving-kindness is the enemy of Vyapada. Those who always suffer from ill-will or anger should regularly extend loving-kindness to all beings since Metta not only extinguishes Vyapada, but also creates happiness as well as other benefits.

3. Viriya – perseverance. When sleepiness, drowsiness, down-spiritedness, or laziness arrives, a person who makes up his mind to fight them and who does not give way to them will finally conquer these defilements. Just like the Buddha on the night of his enlightenment, after spreading a carpet of grass under the Bothi Tree and sitting facing the East, who with determined resolution vowed:

“As long as I do not achieve what should be achieved from the

utmost attempt of a man by his utmost strength and energy, although my

flesh and blood go dry with only the skin tendons and bones left; I will

continue my perseverance under all circumstances.”

This is the most determined vow proclaimed before the Buddha’s ultimate attempt. In the face of attempt, how can Thina-middha rise? A degree of Thina-middha that had existed before will be eradicated by such an attempt. Most meditation masters are alert while making such an attempt, which is called “Jagariyanuyoga” (practice of watchfulness or wakefulness). Because they are wakeful all the time, Thina-middha cannot assert itself.

4. Cetaso Vupasama—peace of mind. The mind without Samadhi will be restless and annoyed and it is far from being peaceful. So cultivation of Samadhi will calm the mind and get rid of Uddhacca-kukkucca.

5. Yonisomanasikara—analytical consideration. This is the use of wisdom (Panna) to search for clear understanding such as seeking the answers to the questions: “Is it true that we are to be reborn? Is it right to do mental practice this way?” One must pay proper attention to determine the answers, either by asking a knowledgeable person or by using his wisdom to ponder over and realize the truth by cultivation of Samadhi so that Vicikicca will not exist.

If the meditator is overpowered by one of these Five Mental Hindrances, he must try to destroy it using the perceptions formulated by the Lord Buddha, i.e. the Dhamma appropriate for destroying each of them. Then he can be sure to make progress in the cultivation of Samadhi.

Mastering Rupa Jhanas, Arupa Jhanas, Lokuttara Jhanas

10 stages of meditation in Theravada School:
Rupa Jhana 1: The absence of desire.
Rupa Jhana 2: The subtraction of attention.
Rupa Jhana 3: The subtraction of rapture.
Rupa Jhana 4: The subtraction of happiness.
Arupa Jhana 1: The subtraction of object (the base of infinite space).
Arupa Jhana 2: The base of infinite consciousness on space.
Arupa Jhana 3: The base of nothingness.
Arupa Jhana 4: The base of infinite consciousness on nothingness (neither perception nor non-perception).
Lokuttara Jhana 1: The area of no perception/feelings (Sannavedayitanirodha).
Lokuttara Jhana 2: The area of no intention (Nibbana).

To master samadhi as the gate to meditation, you need to master vedananupassana.
To master material meditations, you need to master first part of Anapanasati.
To master nonmaterial meditations, you need to master emptiness.
To master holy meditations, you need to master last part of Anapanasati.


Mastering Samadhi:

1. Discerning painful or pleasant feeling so you can return it to neutral.
2. Discerning bodily painful or pleasant feeling so you can return it to neutral.
3. Discerning neutral feeling so you can return it to no emotion.
4. Discerning bodily neutral feeling so you can return it to no emotion.

Neutral feeling is when the mind moves for needs (human needs to have a proper home, aside of his feelings toward it).
No emotion is when the mind moves for the way of nature (like the earth will destroyed, wether human needs it or not).

Mastering Rupa Jhanas:

5. Breathing in and out, be aware that the breath is long.
Breathe, and watch the sensations at the tip of the nose. There is no need to be obsessed with how long a long breath is. If you watch the breath in a relaxed way, it will lengthen naturally.

6. Breathing in and out, be aware that the breath is short.
This may not occur naturally and does not affect progress to the next step. It is recommended that you experiment with forcing the breath to be short to understand how it feels in comparison to the long breath.

7. Breathing in and out, be aware of all bodies.
Entry to this stage is often accompanied by an easing of the effort required to meditate - it becomes very enjoyable and easier to sit. While breathing naturally, the breath will lengthen and an experience will arise of how the breath is affecting, or conditioning, the physical body. It is sometimes suggested that concentration be extended to include feelings within the body in tandem with the sensations of breathing at the tip of the nose.

8. Breathing in and out, calm the breath.
While breathing, the breath will become finer and more refined naturally. An image may appear in the mind, positioned at the tip of the nose where you are concentrating. The focus of concentration can then be shifted from the breath to the image. This can lead to a stage known as the first jhana where strong pleasant feelings arise.

9. Breathing in and out, be aware of the flavour of piti.
Piti is a Pali term for the strong pleasant feelings that have now arisen. This is a similar principle to stage 1, though with a different meditation object. In time, the rather coarse feeling of piti subsides into a more subtle feeling.

10. Breathing in and out, be aware of the flavour of sukha.
Sukha being the term for the more subtle feeling. Take this as the new object of meditation.

11. Breathing in and out, be aware of the mind conditioner.
Just as the breath conditions the body, so piti and sukha condition the mind. Alow the experience how they do this to arise.

12. Breathing in and out, calm the mind conditioners.
Using the newly experienced understanding of the feelings, calm them.


Mastering Arupa Jhanas:

13. Begin with contemplation of village - this is a simple mindfulness exercise. Be aware of your surroundings, as they actually are, the room, the furnishings, any other people. Don't analyze or judge or compare. Just hold the surroundings in mindful awareness. When this is established, extend your imagination beyond the visible surroundings to take in the immediate area, the street etc., extending only as wide as is comfortable for you. ("village" is used in the Pali as a word for the quotidian human environment)

14. Next, move on to contemplation of forest. Simply remove all human constructions from the previous mind-field and focus only on the natural world, the plants and trees especially. Remember, selective non-attention. You don't add anything, you subtract. The "forest" was a part of the first contemplation, now you make it the foreground by non-attention to "village." Allow the field of your imaginative awareness to extend to take in the locality where you live, beyond your range of vision. If you live in a city, there are still lawns and parks to focus on.("forest" is used in the Pali as a word for the natural environment)

15. Next, by selective non-attention to the living world you move on to contemplation of earth. By non-attention to the living growth, become aware of the wide earth-element underlying things. Be aware in the imagination of the hills and valleys, bowls for any nearby lakes, etc. Allow your field of imaginative awareness to gradually expand until you are holding the whole globe of this planet in awareness. Focus on the solidity of the earth-element.

16. Next, by non-attention to earth one should become aware of boundless space. At first, this will be the space occupied by the earth. Removing the earth from awareness, space becomes the foreground. (Again note it was present all along - we subtract and do not add) Space by it's nature has no boundaries, so the idea of an earth-sized area should quickly dissolve into boundlessness. Hold the awareness of boundless space.

17. Your consciousness is now filling boundless space. Okay, stop noticing space and only pay attention to the boundless consciousness. Mind without limit.

18. In the next contemplation, we stop paying attention to boundless mind and let your awareness rest on the nothingness that remains.

19. If you're able to take it this far, eventually even nothingness starts to seem "busy". In the next step we remove the concept of nothingness from our field of awareness and rest in the field called "neither-perception-nor-nonperception."
It is not perception, because there is no perceiver and no perceived, but it is also not non-perception because it is not a blank annihilation. But don't try to figure it out. The name is not important, it's essentially meaningless, it's best to simply think of it as what's left when you remove nothingness.


Mastering Lokuttara Jhanas:

20. Breathing in and out, contemplate the character of the mind.
Is the mind free from anger, aversion or greed? Is the mind distracted or not? Is the mind in a superior state or not?

21. Breathing in and out, delight the mind.
Using the understandings of the feelings, generate delight in the mind. This frees the mind from anger, aversion and greed.

22. Breathing in and out, concentrate the mind.
A mind free from anger, aversion and greed will achieve higher levels of concentration.

23. Breathing in and out, liberate the mind.
By contemplating the penalties of attachment and the value of non-attachment, allow the mind to cease grasping.

24. Breathing in and out, contemplate impermanence.
Returning to step 1, progress through all steps remaining aware of the impermanence of every stage.

25. Breathing in and out, contemplate fading away.
Being aware of any remaining attachments, allow them to dissolve.

25. Breathing in and out, contemplate the cessation of attachment.
 Be aware of the process of the quenching of attachments.

26. Breathing in and out, contemplate 'throwing back'.
In the cessation of attachment, be aware that there nothing that was attached to was 'ours' in any way, and allow it all to be returned to nature.

27. Emptiness doesnt mean devoid of content, it means devoid of self. Emptiness also not the highest attainment, we have to subtract that too from bodhi (intelligence). In Alagaddupama Sutta Buddha said to remove Consciousness, the monks then replied, "no Lord, it is already without self", but Buddha said, "remove that too, it will speed up the liberation." So, emptiness that devoid of self, like pure consciousness, should also be removed. Leaving us only no mind or Nibbana, the blowing out of all ideas.
"Good Knowing Advisors! Do not become attached to emptiness after listening to my explanation of emptiness. The first and most important thing to remember is not being attached to emptiness. If you claim that everything is empty, that your mind and body are empty, that the world is empty, and with that, sit in silent meditation, you will end up in the state of undifferentiated emptiness. If you do, you will sit like a dead person. In cultivation of the Way, there is wonderful existence beside emptiness." - Dharma Jewel platform sutra from zen. What is existence between emptiness and forms? Bodhi.

Those are 27 steps to prepare a correct meditation to suit you before you do real meditation using an object.

Meditation in Theravada School:
Rupa Jhana 1: The absence of desire.
Rupa Jhana 2: The subtraction of attention.
Rupa Jhana 3: The subtraction of rapture.
Rupa Jhana 4: The subtraction of happiness.
Arupa Jhana 1: The subtraction of object (the base of infinite space).
Arupa Jhana 2: The base of infinite consciousness on space.
Arupa Jhana 3: The base of nothingness.
Arupa Jhana 4: The base of infinite consciousness on nothingness (neither perception nor non-perception).
Lokuttara Jhana 1: The area of no perception/feelings (Sannavedayitanirodha).
Lokuttara Jhana 2: The area of no intention (Nibbana).

Meditation from Various Schools

Meditation from 3 Different Schools.

Theravada Buddhism:
Lv1 (jhana 1): The absence of desire.
Lv2 (jhana 2): The releasing of attention.
Lv3 (jhana 3): The releasing of rapture.
Lv4 (jhana 4): The releasing of happiness.
Lv5 (arupa jhana 1): The releasing of object (the base of infinite space).
Lv6 (arupa jhana 2): The base of infinite consciousness on space.
Lv7 (arupa jhana 3): The base of nothingness.
Lv8 (arupa jhana 4): The base of infinite consciousness on nothingness (neither perception nor non-perception).
Lv9 (supramundane jhana 1): The area of no perception/feelings.
Lv10 (supramundane jhana 2/Nibbana): The area of no intention.

Israel Buddhism:
Lv1: The absence of desire.
Lv2: The releasing of attention.
Lv3: The releasing of rapture.
Lv4: The releasing of happiness.
Lv5: The base of nothingness.
Lv6: The area of no feelings.
Lv7: The area of no intention.

Zen:
Lv1: The absence of desire.
Lv2: The releasing of attention.
Lv3: The releasing of rapture.
Lv4: The releasing of happiness.
Lv5: The base of nothingness.

Mount Meru

Mt. Sineru is simply the North Pole at the top of the world, the highest point viewed from the side.

Sumeru (Sanskrit) or Sineru (Pāli) is the name of the central world-mountain in Buddhist cosmology. Etymologically, the proper name of the mountain is Meru (Pāli Neru), to which is added the approbatory prefix su-, resulting in the meaning "excellent Meru" or "wonderful Meru".

The legends, puranas, and Hindu epics frequently state that Surya, the sun-God, circumnambulates Mount Meru every day. In late 19th c. when it was believed that Aryans may have had their original home, Urheimat, in Northern Europe, it was thought that Mount Meru might refer to the north pole. Some beliefs, local to that area of the Himalayas, associate mythical Mount Meru with Mt. Kailasa near Lake Manasarovar in Tibet. It is the equivalent central mountain in Buddhist cosmology.

Sineru is the axis mundi. It refers to the North Pole. It will be seen that all that is said about it only makes sense in terms of this. The belief that it is Mt. Kailash which appears to be the greatest peak in the Himalayas or the actual highest peak is an attempt to make sense of what is visible with human eyes, but the mystical revelation is in fact from the perspective of a satellite. When the North Pole is understood, not as a "mountain," but as a bulge on the planet steeped in a great expanse of ocean. The sun indeed travels around it (or seems to) causing night and day. Other mountain ranges and land masses (roughly 2,000 in all) are more or less distributed around that.
.
Sineru is a great mountain forming the center of the human world, plaent earth. Every earth (i.e., every planet) has a similar pole. Sineru is said to be submerged in a sea to a depth of eighty-four thousand yojanas. Similarly, it rises above the marine surface to the same height. (A mathematically inclined person might convert yojanas to feet and compare that factor with the height of Mt. Kailash, K2, Mt. Everest, and the average distance from the shore to the North Pole. The exercise might at least fix the length of the ancient "yojana" which is in dispute).

Sineru is said to be surrounded by seven mountain ranges:

Yugandhara

Isadhara

Karavīka

Sudassana

Nemindhara

Vinataka

Assakanna

(SNA.ii.443; Sp.i.119; Vsm.206; cp. Mtu.ii.300; Dvy.217). Its breadth is eighty-thousand leagues, A.iv.100).

At the peak of Sineru is Tāvatimsa, the "Heaven of the Thirty-three" (SNA.ii.485f). At its foot is the Asurabhavana, the Place Where Asuras Live, which is 10,000 leagues. (The Asurabhavana was not originally there, but sprang up by the power of the Asuras when they were cast out of Tāvatimsa by the "King of Kings," Sakka (DhA.i.272; see, e.g., SNA.i.201).

In the middle are the four "continents" (Mahādīpā, literally "great islands") with their two thousand smaller land masses (dīpā).

Sineru is often used in similes, its chief characteristic being its unshakeability (sutthuthapita) (e.g., SN. vs.683). It is also called Meru or Sumeru (e.g., Cv.xlii.2), Hemameru (e.g., Cv.xxxii.79), Mahāneru (M.i.338), and Neru (J.iii.247).

Each "World System" (Cakkavāla) has its own Sineru (A.i.227; v.59), and a time comes when even Sineru is destroyed (S.iii.149).

When the Buddha visited Tāvatimsa, he is said to have covered the distance between the earth and his destination in three supernormal strides. He set his right foot on top of the Yugandhara mountain range, his left on Sineru, and the next step brought him to Tāvatimsa (suggesting that Tavatimsa extends high beyond Sineru). The whole distance covered is said to have been sixty-eight hundred thousand leagues (DhA.iii.216).


NAME Sumeru (Sanskrit) or Sineru (Pāli) is the name of the central world-mountain in Buddhist cosmology. Etymologically, the proper name of the mountain is Meru (Pāli, Neru), to which is added the approbatory prefix su- resulting in the meaning "excellent Meru" or "wonderful Meru." The concept of Sumeru is closely related to the Hindu mythological concept of a central world mountain, called Meru, but differs from the Hindu concept in several particulars.

SIZE According to Vasubandhu's Abhidharma-kośabhāṣyam, Sumeru is 80,000 yojanas tall. The exact measure of the yojana is uncertain, but some accounts put it at about 24,000 feet, or approximately 4 1/2 miles. It also descends beneath the surface of the surrounding waters to a depth of 80,000 yojanas, being founded upon the basal layer of Earth. Sumeru is often used as a simile for both size and stability in Buddhist texts.

Sumeru is said to be shaped like an hourglass, with a top and base of 80,000 yojanas square, but narrowing in the middle (i.e., at a height of 40,000 yojanas) to 20,000 yojanas square. (Interestingly, this would make it the symbol of Jainism, which conceives of the universe as having a definite shape -- an hourglass like tower).

Sumeru is the polar center of a mandala-like complex of seas and mountains. (In fact, the great Angkor Wat was laid out, as many temple bases are, in a pattern reflecting this conception of the universe and the known worlds and levels, with central pagodas emulating Sumeru and the lower heavenly worlds corresponding to it). The square base of Sumeru is surrounded by a square moat-like ocean, which is in turn surrounded by a ring (or rather square) wall of mountains, which is in turn surrounded by a sea, each diminishing in width and height from the one closer to Sumeru.

There are seven seas and seven surrounding mountain-ranges, until one comes to the vast outer sea which forms most of the surface of the world, in which by comparison the known continents are merely small island-like land masses. The known world, which is located on the continent of Jambudvīpa (the Indian subcontinent flanked by the great mountain wall that is the Himalayan range), is directly south of Sumeru. The dimensions stated in the Abhidharma-kośabhāṣyam are:

NAME........................................WIDTH..................Height/Depth
Mt. Sumeru................................80,000 yojanas.....80,000 yojanas
Sea............................................80,000 yojanas.....80,000 yojanas
Yugandhara mountains.............. 40,000 yojanas.....40,000 yojanas
Sea............................................40,000 yojanas.....40,000 yojanas
Iṣadhara mountains................... 20,000 yojanas....  20,000 yojanas
Sea............................................20,000 yojanas.... 20,000 yojanas
Khadiraka (Karavīka) range.......10,000 yojanas.....10,000 yojanas
Sea............................................10,000 yojanas.....10,000 yojanas
Sudarśana (Sudassana) range....  5,000 yojanas.......5,000 yojanas
Sea.............................................5,000 yojanas.......5,000 yojanas
Aśvakarṇa (Assakaṇṇa) range.....2,500 yojanas.......2,500 yojanas
Sea..............................................2,500 yojanas.......2,500 yojanas
Vinadhara (Vinataka) range........  1,250 yojanas.......1,250 yojanas
Sea........................................... ..1,250 yojanas.......1,250 yojanas
Nimindhara range......................  ....625 yojanas..........625 yojanas
Outer Sea..................................32,000 yojanas.................shallow
Cakravāḍa (Cakkavāḷa)*............312.5 yojanas.......312.5 yojanas
*(Circular edge of the world)

The 80,000 yojana square top of Sumeru constitutes the "heaven" (deva-loka) of the Thirty-three godlings, which is the highest plane in direct physical contact with the earth. The next 40,000 yojanas below this heaven consist of a sheer precipice, narrowing in like an inverted mountain until it is 20,000 yojanas square at a heigh of 40,000 yojanas above the sea.

From this point Sumeru expands again, going down in four terraced ledges, each broader than the one above. The first terrace constitutes the "heaven" of the Four Great Kings, and is divided into four parts, facing north, south, east, and west. Each section is governed by one of these Four Great Kings, who faces outward toward the quarter of the world he oversees.

Forty-thousand yojanas is also the height at which the Sun and Moon circle Sumeru in a clockwise direction. This rotation explains the alteration of day and night: When the Sun is north of Sumeru, the shadow of the mountain is cast over the Indian subcontinent of Jambudvīpa, and it is night there. At the same time it is noon in the opposing northern continent of Uttarakuru, dawn in the eastern continent of Pūrvavideha, and dusk in the western land mass of Aparagodānīya. Half a day later, when the Sun has moved to the south, it is noon in Jambudvīpa, dusk in Pūrvavideha, dawn in Aparagodānīya, and midnight in Uttarakuru.

The next three terraces down the slopes of Sumeru are each longer and broader by a factor of two. They contain the subjects of the Four Great Kings, namely nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, and kumbhāṇḍas. The names and dimensions of the terraces on the lower slopes of Sumeru are:

NAME......................Height above sea.. ..Breadth......... .....Length (on side)
Cāturmahārājika.... ...40,000 yojanas....... 2,000 yojanas... .24,000 yojanas
Sadāmada............ .. .30,000 yojanas.... ...4,000 yojanas.. ..32,000 yojanas
Mālādhara........... ... .20,000 yojanas..... ..8,000 yojanas.....48,000 yojanas
Karoṭapāni......... ......10,000 yojanas......16,000 yojanas.. ..80,000 yojanas
Yojana: 1 yojana = approximately 11 km. The queue was thus approx. 3,300 km long and had together rolled a diameter of approx. 3.5 km.

Below Sumeru, in the seas around it, is the abode of the Asuras who are at war with the Thirty-three gods. [Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sineru, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Meru_%28Mythology%29]

Mount Meru or Mount Sumeru is a sacred mountain in Hindu and Buddhist mythology considered to be the center of this "world system" [earth, its many heavens, and subterranean worlds]. It is believed to be the abode of Brahma and other deities of both religions. The mountain is said to be 80,000 leagues (450,000 km) high and located in Jambudvipa, one of the continents on earth in Hindu mythology. Many Hindu temples, including Angkor Wat, the principal temple of Angkor in Cambodia, have been built as symbolic representations of the mountain.

Mount Meru is mentioned innumerable times in Hindu mythology. Some of the better known legends are recounted here:
1. This mythical mountain of gods was mentioned in Tantu Pagelaran, an Old Javanese manuscript written in Kawi language from 15th century Majapahit period. The manuscript is describing the mythical origin of Java island, and the legend of moving some parts of mount Meru to Java. The manuscript explained that Batara Guru (Shiva) has ordered the god Brahma and Vishnu to fill the Java island with human beings. However at that time Java island was floating freely on the ocean, ever tumbling and always shaking. To make the island still, the gods decided to nail the island upon the earth by moving the part of Mahameru in Jambudvipa (India) and attaching it upon Java. The resulting mountain is Mount Semeru, the tallest mountain of Java.
2. Legends say that Mount Meru and the wind deity Vayu were good friends. However, the sage Narada approached Vayu and incited him to humble the mountain. Vayu blew with full force for one full year, but Meru was shielded by Garuda with his wings. After one year, however, Garuda took a respite for some time. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Vayu increased its force. Thus the apex of the mountain was broken and it fell into the sea and created the island of Sri Lanka.
3. Another Indian legend well known to this day is regarding the daily circumnambulation of the Sun around Mount Meru, and involves the sage Agastya. The legend goes that the Vindhya mountains that separate north and south India once showed a tendency to grow so high as to obstruct the usual trajectory of the sun. This was accompanied by increasing vanity on the part of that mountain range, which demanded that Surya, the sun-God, also circumnambulate the Vindhya mountains daily, just as was done for Mount Meru (identified by some as being the north pole). The need arose to subdue, by guile, the Vindhyas, and Agastya was chosen to do that. Agastya journeyed from north to south, and on the way encountered the now impassable Vindhya mountains. He asked the mountain range to facilitate his passage across to the south. In reverence for so eminent a sage as Agastya, the Vindhya mountains bent low enough to enable the sage and his family to cross over and enter south India. The Vindhya range also promised not to increase in height until Agastya and his family returned to the north. Agastya settled permanently in the south, and the Vindhya range, true to its word, never grew further. Thus, Agastya accomplished by guile something that would have been impossible to accomplish by force.

The earth was not generally considered round but flat. And a flat world seen from the side (from the spheres) would appear to have a massive "mountain," a "peak" above which the spheres are visible. Attempts to describe it in ancient times led to drawings and depictions by those who had not seen it but still assumed the world flat. Therefore, mandalas, surrounding a wide central white mass (stupa) appear flat in drawings. In modern times, with a modern understanding that the world is a globe (more or less), the assumption is that Sineru must be an ordinary mountain. But the dimensions and descriptions of it are far too large for it to be a protrusion into the ionosphere. Sineru simply refers to the standing high point of the planet as it revolves on its axis. It is indeed, the axis mundi.

Khanda

The Aggregates

Having expounded the contemplation of mental objects by way of the five hindrances, the Master said, "And, further, o bhikkhus," in order to explain the contemplation of mental objects by way of the fivefold aggregation.

Pañcasu upadanakkhandhesu = "In (the mental objects of) the five aggregates of clinging." The five aggregates of clinging are the groups that grasp life. The congeries of mental objects become the condition of clinging, is the meaning. This is a brief indication of these aggregates. For the statement about the aggregates at length the talk on the aggregates in the Path of Purity should be read.

Iti rupam = "Thus is material form." So far is there material form and no further. In this way the bhikkhu perceives material form according to nature. In regard to feeling and the things that come afterwards the same is the method of exegesis. This is the brief indication of meaning of the matters referred to here. For the lengthy explanation on these things one should read the talk on the aggregates in the Path of Purity.

Iti rupassa samudayo = "Thus is the arising of material form." The arising of material form and the other aggregates should be known according to the fivefold way (mentioned in the Section on the Modes of Deportment) through the arising of ignorance and so forth.

Iti rupassa atthangamo = "Thus is the disappearance of material form." The disappearance of material form and the other aggregates should be known according to the fivefold way (mentioned in the Section on the Modes of Deportment) through the passing away of ignorance and so forth. One should read the talk on the aggregates in the Path of Purity for further explanation.

Iti ajjhattam = "Thus internally." In this way the bhikkhu lives contemplating mental objects by laying hold of the fivefold aggregation of clinging amongst his own mental objects or amongst the mental objects of another or at one time in his own and at another time in another's mental objects.
The origination and dissolution of the fivefold aggregate should be brought forward and connected by way of the fifty characteristics of the five groups, with the extended application of the words: "From the arising of ignorance the arising of material form comes to be."
From here on according to the method already stated by the commentator should the exposition be.

According to nature means: according to the nature of breaking-up, according to the nature of the eye, color and the like in regard to material form, and according to the nature of experiencing, the nature of pleasure and the like in regard to feeling. In this way all other connected things should be interpreted.

Paccaya, 24 Modes of Conditionality

Buddhism views the world, with the exception of Nibbana and pannatti, to be impermanent, liable to suffering, and without soul-essence. So Buddhist philosophy, to elaborate the impermanency as applied to the Law of Perpetual Change, has from the outset dissolved all things, all phenomena both psychical and physical, into a continuous succession of happenings, of states (sabhava) of mind and matter, under the Fivefold Law of Cosmic Order (niyama). And the happenings are determined and determining, both as to their constituent states and as to other happenings, in a variety of ways, which Buddhist Philosophy expresses by the term 'paccaya' or 'relations.' One complex happening of mental and material states, with its three phases of time--genesis or birth, cessation or death and a static interval between--is followed by another happening, wherein there is always a causal series of relations. Nothing is casual and fortuitous. When one happening by its arising, persisting, cessation, priority, and posteriority, is determined by and determining another happening by means of producing (janaka), supporting (upathambhaka), and maintaining (anupalana), the former is called the relating thing (paccaya-dhamma), the latter the related thing (paccayuppanna-dhamma), and the determination or the influence or the specific function is called the correlativity (paccayasatti). As the various kinds of influence are apparently known, the relations are classified into the following 24 species:


The 24 modes of conditionality are:

    1. Root condition: hetu paccaya
    2. Object: ārammana
    3. Predominance: adhipati
    4. Proximity: anantara
    5. Contiguity: samanantara
    6. Co-nascence: sahajāta
    7. Mutuality: aññamañña
    8. Support: nissaya
    9. Decisive Support: upanissaya
    10. Pre-nascene: purejāta
    11. Post-nascene: pacchājāta
    12. Repitition: āsevana
    13. Kamma: kamma
    14. Kamma-result: vipāka
    15. Nutriment: āhāra
    16. Ability: indriya
    17. Jhāna: jhāna
    18. path: magga
    19. Associaton: sampayutta
    20. Dissociation: vippayutta
    21. Presence: atthi
    22. Absence: natthi
    23. Disappearance: vigata
    24. Non-disappearance: avigata

1: Root-condition hetu-paccaya is that condition that resembles the root of a tree. Just as a tree rests on its root, and remains alive only as long as its root is not destroyed, similarly all kammically advantageous and disadvantageous mental states are entirely dependent on the simultaneity and presence of their respective roots, i.e, of greed lobha, hate dosa confusion moha or greedlessness alobha hatelessness adosa unconfusedness amoha For the definition of these 6 roots, see: mūla

The roots are a condition by way of root for the mental phenomena associated with a root, and for the material phenomena produced thereby e.g. for bodily expression; Patth.

2: Object-condition ārammana-paccaya is called something which, as object, forms the condition for consciousness and mental phenomena. Thus, the physical object of sight consisting in colour and light 'light-wave', is the necessary condition and the sine qua non for the arising of visual-consciousness cakkhu-viññāna etc.; sound 'sound wave' for ear-consciousness sotā-viññāna etc.; further, any object arising in the mind is the condition for mind-consciousness mano-viññāna The mental-object may be anything whatever, material or mental, past, present or future, real or imaginary.

3: Predominance-condition adhipati-paccaya is the term for 4 things, on the preponderance and predominance of which are dependent the mental phenomena associated with them, namely: concentrated intention chanda, energy viriya, consciousness citta and investigation vīmamsā In one and the same state of consciousness, however, only one of these 4 phenomena can be predominant at a time.;Whenever such phenomena as consciousness and mental properties are arising by giving preponderance to one of these 4 things, then this phenomenon is for the other phenomena a condition by way of predominance; Patth.. Cf. iddhi-pāda

4-5: Proximity and contiguity or immediacy-condition anantara and samanantara-paccaya - both being identical - refer to any state of consciousness and mental phenomena associated with them, which are the conditions for the immediately following stage in the process of consciousness. For example, in the visual process, visual-consciousness is for the immediately following mindelement - performing the function of receiving the visible object - a condition by way of contiguity; and so is this mind-element for the next following mind-consciousness element, performing the function of investigating the object, etc. Cf. viññāna-kicca.

6: Co-nascence condjtion sahajāta-paccaya i.e. condition by way of simultaneous arising, is a phenomenon that for another one forms, a condition in such a way that, simultaneously with its arising, also the other thing must arise. Thus, for instance, in one and the same moment each of the 4 mental groups feeling, perception, mental constructions and consciousness is for the 3 other groups a condition by way of co-nascence or co-arising; or again each of the 4 physical elements solid, liquid, heat, motion is such a condition for the other 3 elements. Only at the moment of conception in the mother's womb does materiality physical base of mind serve for the 4 mental groups as a condition by way of conascence.

7: Condition by way of mutuality aññāmañña-paccaya All the just mentioned associated and co-nascent mental phenomena, as well as the 4 physical elements, are, of course, at the same time also conditioned by way of mutuality,;just like three sticks propped up one by another.; The 4 mental groups are one for another a condition by way of mutuality. So also are the 4 elements, and also mentality and materiality at the moment of conception.

8: Support-condition nissaya-paccaya This condition refers either to a pre-nascent see: 10 or co-nascent see: 6 phenomenon which is aiding other phenomena in the manner of a foundation or base, just as the trees have the earth as their foundation, or as the oil-painting rests on the canvas. In this way, the 5 sense-organs and the physical base of the mind are for the corresponding 6 kinds of consciousness a prenascent, i.e. previously arisen, condition by way of support. Further all co-nascent see: 6 phenomena are mutually see: 7 conditioned by each other by way of support.

9: Decisive-support or inducement condition upanissaya-paccaya is threefold, namely a by way of object ārammanūpanissaya-paccaya b by way of proximity anantarūpanissaya c natural decisive support pakatupanissaya These conditions act as strong inducement or cogent reason.

    a Anything past, present or future, material or mental, real or imaginary, may, as object of our thinking, become a decisive support, or strong inducement, to moral, immoral or kammically neutral states of mind. Evil things, by wrong thinking about them, become an inducement to immoral life; by right thinking, an inducement to moral life. But good things may be an inducement not only to similarly good things, but also to bad things, such as self-conceit, vanity, envy, etc.

    b; is identical with proximity condition No. 4.

    c Faith, virtue, etc., produced in one's own mind, or the influence of climate, food, etc., on one's body and mind, may act as natural and decisive support-conditions. Faith may be a direct and natural inducement to charity, virtue to mental training, etc.; greed to theft, hate to murder; unsuitable food and climate to ill-health; friends to spiritual progress or deterioration.

10: Pre-nascence-condition purejāta-paccaya refers to something previously arisen, which forms a base for something arising later on. For example, the 5 physical sense-organs and the physical base of mind, having already arisen at the time of birth, form the condition for the consciousness arising later, and for the mental phenomena associated therewith.

11: Post-nascence-condition pacchā-jāta-paccaya refers to consciousness and the phenomena therewith associated, because they are - just as is the feeling of hunger- a necessary condition for the preservation of this already arisen body.

12: Repetition-condition āsevana-paccaya refers to the kammical consciousness, in which each time the preceding impulse moments javana-citta are for all the succeeding ones a condition by way of repetition and frequency, just as in learning by heart, through constant repetition, the later recitation becomes gradually easier and easier.

13: Kamma-condition kamma-paccaya The pre-natal kamma i.e kamma-intentions, kamma-cetanā in a previous birth is the generating condition cause of the 5 sense-organs, the fivefold sense-consciousness, and the other kamma-produced mental and material phenomena in a later birth. - Kammical intention is also a condition by way of kamma for the co-nascent mental phenomena associated therewith, but these phenomena are in no way kamma-results.

14: Kamma-result-condition vipāka-paccaya The kamma-resultant 5 kinds of sense-consciousness are a condition by way of kamma-result for the co-nascent mental and material phenomena.

15: Nutriment-condition āhāra-paccaya For the 4 nutriments, see: āhāra

16: Ability-condition indriya-paccaya This condition applies to 20 abilities indriya, leaving out No. 7 and 8 from the 22 abilities. Of these 20 abilities, the 5 physical sense-organs 1 - 5, in their capacity as abilities, form a condition only for unmaterial phenomena visual-consciousness etc.; physical vitality 6 and all the remaining abilities, for the co-nascent mental and material phenomena.

17: Jhāna-condition jhāna-paccaya is a name for the 7 so-called jhāna-factors, as these form a condition to the co-nascent mental and material phenomena, to wit: 1 thought-conception vitakka 2 discursive thinking vicāra 3 interest pīti 4 joy sukha 5 sadness domanassa 6 indifference upekkhā 7 concentration samādhi For definition s. Pāli terms.

1, 2, 3, 4, 7 are found in 4 classes of greedy consciousness see: Tab. I. 22-25; 1, 2, 5, 7 in hateful consciousness ib. 30, 31; 1, 2, 6, 7 in the classes of confused consciousness ib. 32, 33.

This condition does not only apply to jhāna alone, but also to the general intensifying 'absorbing' impact of these 7 factors.

18 path-condition magga-paccaya refers to the 12 path-factors, as these are for the kammically advantageous and disadvantageous mental phenomena associated with them, a way of escape from this or that mental constitution, namely: 1 knowledge paññā = sammāditthi right understanding, 2 right or wrong thought-conception vitakka 3 right speech sammā-vācā 4 right bodily action sammā-kammanta, 5 right livelihood sammā-ājīva 6 right or wrong energy viriya 7 right or wrong awareness or mindfulness sati 8 right or wrong concentration samādhi 9 wrong views micchāditthi 10 wrong speech micchā-vācā 11 wrong bodily action micchā-kammanta 12 wrong livelihood micchā-ājīva Cf. magga

19: Association-condition sampayutta-paccaya refers to the co-nascent see: 6 and mutually see: 7 conditioned 4 mental groups khandha as they aid each other by their being associated, by having a common physical base, a common object, and by their arising and disappearing simultaneously; Patth. Com..

20: Dissociation-condition vippayutta-paccaya refers to such phenomena as aid other phenomena by not baving the same physical base eye, etc. and objects. Thus material phenomena are for mental phenomena, and conversely, a condition by way of dissociation, whether co-nascent or not.

21: Presence-condition atthi-paccaya refers to a phenomenon - being pre-nascent or co-nascent - which through its presence is a condition for other phenomena. This condition applies to the conditions Nos. 6, 7, 8, 10, 11.

22: Absence-condition natthi-paccaya refers to consciousness, etc., which has just passed, and which thus forms the necessary condition for the immediately following stage of consciousness by giving it an opportunity to arise. Cf. No. 4.

23: Disappearance-condition vigata-paccaya is identical with No. 22.

24: Non-disappearance-condition avigata-paccaya is identical with No. 21.


Read more:
http://www.dhammaweb.net/html/view.php?id=3

Tanha

Taṇhā (Pāli; Sanskrit: tṛṣṇā, also trishna) literally means "thirst," and is commonly translated as craving or desire. Taṇhā is defined as the craving or desire to hold onto pleasurable experiences, to be separated from painful or unpleasant experiences, and for neutral experiences or feelings not to decline. In the first teaching of the Buddha on the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha identified taṇhā as a principal cause in the arising of suffering. Taṇhā is also identified as the eighth link in the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination.

Overview

Taṇhā is the craving or desire to hold onto pleasurable experiences, to be separated from painful or unpleasant experiences, and for neutral experiences or feelings not to decline.
In the first teaching of the Buddha on the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha identified taṇhā as a principal cause in the arising of suffering. Walpola Rahula states:

It is this ‘thirst’, desire, greed, craving, manifesting itself in various ways, that gives rise to all forms of suffering and the continuity of beings. But it should not be taken as the first cause, for there is no first cause possible as, according to Buddhism, everything is relative and inter-dependent. Even this ‘thirst’, taṇhā, which is considered as the cause or origin of dukkha, depends for its arising (samudaya) on something else, which is sensation (vedanā), and sensation arises depending on contact (phassa), and so on and so forth goes on the circle which is known as Conditioned Genesis (Paṭicca-samuppāda)... So taṇhā, ‘thirst’, is not the first or the only cause of the arising of dukkha. But it is the most palpable and immediate cause, the ‘principal thing’ and the ‘all-pervading thing’. Hence in certain places of the original Pali texts themselves the definition of samudaya or the origin of dukkha includes other defilements and impurities (kilesā, sāsavā dhammā), in addition to taṇhā ‘thirst’ which is always given the first place. Within the necessarily limited space of our discussion, it will be sufficient if we remember that this ‘thirst’ has as its centre the false idea of self arising out of ignorance.

Taṇhā is also identified as the eight link in the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. In the context of the twelve links, the emphasis is on the types of craving "that nourish the karmic potency that will produce the next lifetime."
Taṇhā is a type of desire that can never by satisfied. Ajahn Sucitto states:

However, taṇnhā, meaning “thirst,” is not a chosen kind of desire, it’s a reflex. It’s the desire to pull something in and feed on it, the desire that’s never satisfied because it just shifts from one sense base to another, from one emotional need to the next, from one sense of achievement to another goal. It’s the desire that comes from a black hole of need, however small and manageable that need is. The Buddha said that regardless of its specific topics, this thirst relates to three channels: sense-craving (kāmataṇhā); craving to be something, to unite with an experience (bhavataṇhā); and craving to be nothing, or to dissociate from an experience (vibhavataṇhā).

Three types of craving

The Buddha identified three types of craving (taṇhā): sense-craving, craving to be, craving not to be.

Sense-craving

• Pali: kāma-taṇhā
• Also referred to as craving for "sensuality" or "sensual pleasures"
• This is a craving for sense objects which provide pleasant feeling, or craving for sensory pleasures.
• Walpola Rahula states that tanha includes not only desire for sense-pleasures, wealth and power, but also "desire for, and attachment to, ideas and ideals, views, opinions, theories, conceptions and beliefs (dhamma-taṇhā)."

Craving to be

• Pali: bhava-taṇhā
• Also referred to as craving for "becoming" or "existence"
• This is craving to be something, to unite with an experience.
• Ron Leifer states: "The desire for life is present in the body at birth, in its homeostatic, hormonal, and reflexive mechanisms... At the more subtle level of ego, the desire for life is the ego's striving to establish itself, to solidify itself, to gain a secure foothold, to prevail and dominate, and so to enjoy the sensuous delights of the phenomenal world. The desire for life manifests itself in all of ego's selfish, ambitious strivings..."
• Ajahn Sucitto states: "Craving to be something is not a decision, it’s a reflex... So the result of craving to be solid and ongoing, to be a being that has a past and a future, together with the current wish to resolve the past and future, are combined to establish each individual’s present world as complex and unsteady. This thirst to be something keeps us reaching out for what isn’t here. And so we lose the inner balance that allows us to discern a here-and-now fulfillment in ourselves."

Craving not to be

• Pali: vibhava-taṇhā
• Also referred to as craving for "no becoming" or "non-existence" or "extermination"
• This is craving to not experience the world, and to be nothing.
• The Dalai Lama states that craving for "destruction is a wish to be separated from painful feelings".
• Ron Leifer states: "As the desire for life is based on the desire for pleasure and happiness, the desire for death is based on the desire to escape pain and [suffering]... The desire for death is the yearning for relief from pain, from anxiety, from disappointment, despair, and negativity."
• "The motive for the desire for death is most transparent in cases of suicide. Clearly, people with terminal illnesses who commit suicide are motivated by the desire to escape from physical pain and suffering. In so-called "altruistic" suicide, such as hari-kari, kamakazi, and other forms of socially conditioned suicide, the motive is to avoid mental suffering–shame, humiliation, and disgrace."

Contrast between "tanha" and "chanda"

The Buddhist teachings contrast the reflexive, self-centered desire of taṇhā with the wholesome type of desire for well-being, called chanda.
Ajahn Sucitto states:

Sometimes taṇhā is translated as “desire,” but that gives rise to some crucial misinterpretations with reference to the way of Liberation. As we shall see, some form of desire is essential in order to aspire to, and persist in, cultivating the path out of dukkha. Desire as an eagerness to offer, to commit, to apply oneself to meditation, is called chanda. It’s a psychological “yes,” a choice, not a pathology. In fact, you could summarize Dhamma training as the transformation of taṇhā into chanda. It’s a process whereby we guide volition, grab and hold on to the steering wheel, and travel with clarity toward our deeper well-being. So we’re not trying to get rid of desire (which would take another kind of desire, wouldn’t it). Instead, we are trying to transmute it, take it out of the shadow of gratification and need, and use its aspiration and vigor to bring us into light and clarity.

Effects of tanha

Taṇhā is said to be a principal cause of suffering in the world. Walpola Rahula states:

According to the Buddha’s analysis, all the troubles and strife in the world, from little personal quarrels in families to great wars between nations and countries, arise out of this selfish ‘thirst’. From this point of view, all economic, political and social problems are rooted in this selfish ‘thirst’. Great statesmen who try to settle international disputes and talk of war and peace only in economic and political terms touch the superficialities, and never go deep into the real root of the problem. As the Buddha told Raṭṭapāla: “The world lacks and hankers, and is enslaved to “thirst” (taṇhādāso).’

In the Maha-nidana Sutta (The Great Causes Discourse), Buddha said:

Now, craving is dependent on feeling, seeking is dependent on craving, acquisition is dependent on seeking, ascertainment is dependent on acquisition, desire and passion is dependent on ascertainment, attachment is dependent on desire and passion, possessiveness is dependent on attachment, stinginess is dependent on possessiveness, defensiveness is dependent on stinginess, and because of defensiveness, dependent on defensiveness, various evil, unskillful phenomena come into play: the taking up of sticks and knives; conflicts, quarrels, and disputes; accusations, divisive speech, and lies.

Qualities

Non-deliberate

Chogyam Trungpa states:

[Craving] is like someone who is extremely hungry. Such a person doesn't actually think in terms of eating the food, chewing it and swallowing it. Instead the food just goes into his stomach. It's very simple, there's no effort involved, it just goes into him... Craving in this case is not so much what the weightwatcher's club talks about, but it's genuine craving. It actually just happens. We could actually say to somebody literally, "I don't know what happened, I just did it. It just happened to me. It just happens to me constantly." ... So it's instant craving, rather than deliberate craving as such. At that level, there's no intellectualization at all involved.

Bipolar

Taṇhā encompasses both the desire to get something and its opposite, the desire to get rid of it.
Ron Leifer states:

...taṇhā itself is bipolar, divided into greed and hatred, or passion and aggression. On the one hand is the desire to have something, to possess it, to experience it, to pull it in, to own it. On the other hand is the desire to avoid something, to keep it away, reject it, renounce it, destroy it, and separate it from oneself. If we call these two poles desire and aversion, we can see more clearly that the represent the antithetical poles of taṇhā–the desire to possess and the desire to get rid of.

Unsatisfactory, unquenchable, addictive

Taṇhā is represented in the bhavacakra by a group of people drinking beer or partying. The more they drink, the more their craving keeps growing.
Ron Leifer states:

Desire [i.e. taṇhā] causes suffering by its own nature because it is inherently unsatisfactory. Desire means deprivation. To want something is to lack it, to be deprived of it. We do not want things we have, we only want things we don't have. Thirst is the desire for water and it occurs in the absence of water. Hunger is the feeling of lacking food. Desiring means not having, being frustrated, suffering. Craving is suffering. This is a most important insight, one which we drive into secrecy by our refusal to acknowledge it, thus creating the esoteric knowledge we then seek.

Most people tend to act under the assumption that if one's desires are fulfilled it will, of itself, lead to lasting happiness or well-being. However, the Buddhist teachings state that desire for conditioned things cannot be fully satiated or satisfied, due to their impermanent nature. This is expounded in the Buddhist teaching of impermanence.

Relation to the three poisons

Taṇhā and avidya (ignorance) can be related to the three poisons as follows:

• Avidya (ignorance), the root of the three poisons, is also the basis for taṇhā.
• Raga (attachment), the second of the three poisons, is equivalent to bhava-taṇhā (craving to be) and kāma-taṇhā (sense-craving).
• Dvesha (aversion), the third of the three poisons, is equivalent to vibhava-taṇhā (craving not to be).

Cessation

The third noble truth teaches that the cessation of taṇhā is possible.

Bhikkhus, there is a noble truth about the cessation of suffering. It is the complete fading away and cessation of this craving; its abandonment and relinquishment; getting free from and being independent of it.”

Cessation is possible by following the Noble Eightfold Path. Within this path, contemplating the impermanent nature of all things is regarded as a specific antidote to taṇhā.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ta%E1%B9%87h%C4%81

Upadana

Upādāna is the Sanskrit and Pāli word for "clinging," "attachment" or "grasping", although the literal meaning is "fuel." Upādāna and taṇhā are seen as the two primary causes of suffering. The cessation of clinging leads to Nirvana Types of clinging In the Sutta Pitaka, the Buddha states that there are four types of clinging:

• sense-pleasure clinging (kamupadana)
• wrong-view clinging (ditthupadana)
• rites-and-rituals clinging (silabbatupadana)
• self-doctrine clinging (attavadupadana).

The Buddha once stated that, while other sects might provide an appropriate analysis of the first three types of clinging, he alone fully elucidated clinging to the "self" and its resultant suffering.
The Abhidhamma and its commentaries provide the following definitions for these four clinging types:

1. sense-pleasure clinging: repeated craving of worldly things.
2. wrong-view clinging: such as emotional contation or nihilism.
3. rites-and-rituals clinging: believing that rites alone could directly lead to liberation, typified in the texts by the rites and rituals of "ox practice" and "dog practice."
4. self-doctrine clinging: self-identification with self-less entities (e.g., illustrated by MN 44, and further discussed in the skandha and anatta articles).

According to Buddhaghosa, the above ordering of the four types of clinging is in terms of decreasing grossness, that is, from the most obvious (grossest) type of clinging (sense-pleasure clinging) to the subtlest (self-doctrine clinging).

Interdependence of clinging types

self-doctrine clinging
↓
wrong-view clinging
↓		↓
rites-and-rituals clinging		sense-pleasure clinging

Buddhaghosa further identifies that these four clinging types are causally interconnected as follows:

1. self-doctrine clinging: first, one assumes that one has a permanent "self."
2. wrong-view clinging: then, one assumes that one is either somehow eternal or to be annihilated after this life.
3. resultant behavioral manifestations:
   1. rites-and-rituals clinging: if one assumes that one is eternal, then one clings to rituals to achieve self-purification.
   2. sense-pleasure clinging: if one assumes that one will completely disappear after this life, then one disregards the next world and clings to sense desires.

This hierarchy of clinging types is represented diagrammatically to the right.
Thus, based on Buddhaghosa's analysis, clinging is more fundamentally an erroneous core belief (self-doctrine clinging) than a habitualized affective experience (sense-pleasure clinging).

Manifestations of clinging

In terms of consciously knowable mental experiences, the Abhidhamma identifies sense-pleasure clinging with the mental factor of "greed" (lobha) and the other three types of clinging (self-doctrine, wrong-view and rites-and-rituals clinging) with the mental factor of "wrong view" (ditthi). Thus, experientially, clinging can be known through the Abhidhamma's fourfold definitions of these mental factors as indicated in the following table:

	characteristic	function	manifestation	proximate cause
greed (lobha)	grasping an object	sticks, like hot-pan meat	not giving up	enjoying things of bondage
wrong view (ditthi)	unwise interpreting	presumes	wrong belief	not hearing the Dhamma

To distinguish craving from clinging, Buddhaghosa uses the following metaphor:

"Craving is the aspiring to an object that one has not yet reached, like a thief's stretching out his hand in the dark; clinging is the grasping of an object that one has reached, like the thief's grasping his objective.... [T]hey are the roots of the suffering due to seeking and guarding."

Thus, for instance, when the Buddha talks about the "aggregates of clinging," he is referring to our grasping and guarding physical, mental and conscious experiences that we falsely believe we are or possess.

As part of the causal chain of suffering

In the Four Noble Truths, the First Noble Truth identifies clinging (upādāna, in terms of "the aggregates of clinging") as one of the core experiences of suffering. The Second Noble Truth identifies craving (tanha) as the basis for suffering. In this manner a causal relationship between craving and clinging is found in the Buddha's most fundamental teaching.
In the twelve-linked chain of Dependent Origination (Pratītyasamutpāda, also see Twelve Nidanas), clinging (upādāna) is the ninth causal link:

• Upādāna (Clinging) is dependent on Tṛṣṇā (Craving) as a condition before it can exist.

"With Craving as condition, Clinging arises".

• Upādāna (Clinging) is also the prevailing condition for the next condition in the chain, Becoming (Bhava).

"With Clinging as condition, Becoming arises."

According to Buddhaghosa, it is sense-pleasure clinging that arises from craving and that conditions becoming.

Upādāna as fuel

Professor Richard F. Gombrich has pointed out in several publications, and in his recent Numata Visiting Professor Lectures at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), that the literal meaning of upādāna is "fuel". He uses this to link the term to the Buddha's use of fire as a metaphor. In the so-called Fire Sermon (Āditta-pariyāya) (Vin I, 34-5; SN 35.28) the Buddha tells the bhikkhus that everything is on fire. By everything he tells them he means the five senses plus the mind, their objects, and the operations and feelings they give rise to - i.e. everything means the totality of experience. All these are burning with the fires of greed, hatred and delusion.
In the nidana chain, then, craving creates fuel for continued burning or becoming (bhava). The mind like fire, seeks out more fuel to sustain it, in the case of the mind this is sense experience, hence the emphasis the Buddha places on "guarding the gates of the senses". By not being caught up in the senses (appamāda) we can be liberated from greed, hatred and delusion. This liberation is also expressed using the fire metaphor when it is termed nibbāna (Sanskrit: Nirvāṇa) which means to "go out", or literally to "blow out". (Regarding the word Nirvāṇa, the verb vā is intransitive so no agent is required.)
Probably by the time the canon was written down (1st Century BCE), and certainly when Buddhaghosa was writing his commentaries (4th Century CE) the sense of the metaphor appears to have been lost, and upādāna comes to mean simply "clinging" as above. By the time of the Mahayana the term fire was dropped altogether and greed, hatred and delusion are known as the "three poisons".

source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up%C4%81d%C4%81na