221: Forty Supramundane Consciousness

 In this talk, we explore the forty types of supramundane (lokuttara) consciousness and how they arise through insight meditation. The teacher explains the relationship between jhāna, path consciousness, and fruition consciousness, showing how different meditation approaches can lead to the same stages of awakening. By understanding these mental processes, listeners gain insight into non-self (anattā) and learn how Buddhist psychology supports deep mindfulness and spiritual development. 

YouTube Video Link

YouTube Channel Link

Website:
www.satipatthana.ca

Donations and Memberships

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

Speaker 0:02

Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa,Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa, Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa. Theravada Buddhism series, Dhamma talk number forty four. Forty ultramundane consciousness. Forty Lokutra Jita We have discussed eighty one mundane consciousness and eight ultramundane consciousness in our past several talks.

Sayar Myat 1:01

Today we are going to discuss the forty Logra Jada. I will use the Pali word instead of ultra mundane. The twenty path consciousness megajita and twenty frucian consciousness palajeta make up the eight Logra Jeta. Eight on the basic level when expanded it becomes forty. So when expanded this path consciousness or mega jeta is called jnana mega jeta. One more word. We don't simply say mega chaita, we say jhana mega chaita. So to understand this jana mega chaita we need to go back and review what jnatha is and mega chaita is. Jana chaita is the mundane consciousness attained through concentration meditation, samatha meditation and it takes the concept conceptual object of materiality and mentality as object of meditation. It has a maximum of five, minimum of two jhana factors. I assume that you are familiar with all these words from the last few talks. I won't go back and explain again. And Meka Jeta is the ultramundane or lokotra jeta. Here it takes nickbana as an object, nikbana to contemplate, and it is achieved by practicing vipassana meditation on the true nature of mind and matter. Those two are entirely different. One is a concentration meditation, you use concentration meditation to attain jhana chaitat and you use vipassana meditation to attain mega chait. And it is sufficient to use simply mega mega chait when we are describing eight Lakotra Chaitak. If we want to just refer eight, saying the word mega chaitada is good enough. However, when expanded into twenty kinds, it is necessary to rename as jnana mega chaitata to explain the specific nature of each mega chitta part consciousness. Here it's important here. Does not mean jnat and mega chaita arise together. It does not mean that at all. Because according to the law of consciousness, mentality, two different types of consciousness cannot arise together. So jnajida is one thing, megajida is another thing. Entirely different, different process, different object, different levels. Mundane, ultra mundane. But a new term called jhana mega chaita. That is the Lokudra Chaitha. But when we want to discuss 20 types of mega chaitata, we must call that way. Jana Mega Chaitha. So let's see how it comes about. So one is practicing vipassana meditation and upon achieving all vipassana insight. You go through all the stages. At that moment one attains mega chitta, path consciousness. Before going through all the stages of vipassana, one cannot experience the path consciousness. Just for your information, this mega chita is associated with 36 Jitasika mental formation. Jitasika, mental malformation, mental associates, altogether 52 of them. And here there are 36 Jitasika arises together with this mega chitat. Out of this 36, a few chitta that we know are a few mental factors or mental formation or chitasikat that we know is eight from the eightfold part. And so on. You know what it is. And the five jhana factors. Remember jhana factors, applied application, sustained application, joy, happiness, and one pointedness. Those are the five mental factors. So those five plus eight from the eightfold part is already thirteen. Out of the thirty-six, thirteen are already there. I enumerate them because I'm quite sure you already know what they are. It is not jhana chaita arising with mega chitta. That's the most important thing. It is simply the occurrence of the five factors, occurrence of the five factors of the jhana with mega chitta. Maga chita arising and in there there are five factors what we call jhana factors are there. It is not jhana chaitata is there, it is just the factors, qualities are there. The appearance of the five jhana factors in the part consciousness is due to the contemplation on the nature of mind and matter. The method, the object that you use. Here you use the mind and matter, contemplation on mind and matter in Magga. Jhana, you use things like kasina for the objects of concentration meditation. Totally different objects to contemplate upon. Those are the distinctions. You still have this five jhana factors, but you get it by contemplating on the nature of mind and matter. That is the distinction. Yogi can attain the first Magga and Palat Jaida. Magat Palat Frution. Yogi can attain the first Magga and Palat Jaida. In a many different approaches or various ways. We'll discuss a few of them here. Those who practice pure vipassana or dry vipassana meditation and they do not practice jhana at all. They go straight into the pure vipassana. No jhana. Those people contemplate on the nature of the mind and matter directly and they have or they attain thirty six mental formation jitasiga when attaining the first mega or sotapati jita the first stream enterer, the consciousness of the first stream enter. By practicing pure vipassana without any jhana, they attain the part consciousness with thirty six jitasika and out of the thirty six we already say the five Vitaka Initial implication vichara sustained application Biti Joy Sukha Happiness and Ikakata one pointedness. Out of the thirty six, those five are there. When you become a Sautapana you have these five mental qualities. As they have these five mental qualities, the first part consciousness resembles the word is resemble. The first part consciousness resemble the first jhana jita of the fine material Ram Rupawasara Ram Fine Material Ram Brahma Ram. In terms of the five jhana factors, not the jhana itself, the factors. These five jhana factors jhanas are mostly arising in the five material brahma ram. And when you become Satapana you have all the qualities of those things, but not as a jhana consciousness. I'm stressing this point from various angles. Therefore, the first mega jita is called the first jhana mega chaitta. As soon as you get the path, whether you put the name or not, the word jhana, you have the qualities of the first jhana with it. For the first mega or path consciousness. So that's one way, straight, dry, pure vipassana. Some yogi practice vipassana by contemplating on miscellaneous mind and matter formation, which means you might be meditating on rising and falling of the abdomen or the breath or the feelings, pain, and so on. Those are called miscellaneous mind and matter formation of various types. In other words, you can use any one of these methods, even though they have attained the first jhana. So the difference is the dry one, they have no jhana at all. But this second group of yogis already have attained the first jhana. But they don't use it at all and go and observe the nature of mind and matter. And their mega chaitata will be exactly the same, which is the first jhana mega chaitata. Whether you go by the dry run or whether you have attained jhana and then the miscellaneous formation, the end results are the same, the first jhana, mega chaitata. And there's another method or another approach. Some they have already attained the jhana. In other words, they practice concentration, meditation, and have attained first jhana. And what they do was they enter into the jhana and emerge out of it, get out of it, purposely get into it and get out of it, and then contemplates on the five aggregates. With that approach, with that method, they are mega chaita is the same thing, the first jhana mega chaita. It's just the different types of yogis approach different ways. Let's go to another approach. A yogi who already has attained first jhana. A yogi may enter the jhana and emerge out of it and practice vipassana. This time he takes the first jhana jita as the object of meditation. He doesn't take formations or five aggregates. He takes the first jhana consciousness itself, use it as an object of meditation, and contemplate upon it to see the three characteristics in the jhana jita itself. So they don't observe too many objects, they observe the first jhana consciousness itself, contemplate upon it to see the anicadukhanata, and they will achieve the same goal, the first jhana magacita. So these are the few approaches based on the yogis, wishes, desire or capability. Without any jhana, you can get it. Without using jhana, you can get the same satapana. With the jhana you contemplate upon the jhana conscious itself, you can still become the suttapana. And that sottapana is called the first jhana megachita. So we are only talking about the Sautapana, the first noble person, stream enterer. So as a stream enterer, this sottapana, they have the path consciousness. So depending on the predisposition of the yogi, some yogi have attained first jhana, some may have attained second jhana, some may have attained third jhana, fourth jhana, or even fifth jhana, because they practice jhana. So some have access to first, some second, third, fourth, fifth. Because of that, depending on the predisposition of the yogi in terms of jhana, when they attain the sotapada mega chaita, one will be with first jhana mega chitta, another person will be second jhana mega chaita, third jhana megachita, fourth and then fifth jhana megachita. So based on the association of the jhana factors are different, there are five kinds of satapana. Five kinds of sapana. That's how one sapana become five based on the content of the jhana factors. And similarly you can apply the same principle to the sagadagami, one's returna. So sagadagami mega chita, they have the five kinds based on the quality of the jhana factors. And also anagami, non returner. From one it can expand to five based on the qualities of the jhanic factors. And finally of course Rhatta Megat, destroyer of the all mental defilements. They also have a five different types of Arhatta Megat Consciousness. And we have already said the first jhana mega chaita associated with thirty six mental formation or mental factors. The second associated with thirty five, the third with thirty four, the fourth with thirty three, and the fifth with thirty three. Because whenever the jhana got higher and higher, the factors become less and less. First jhana five factors. Second jhana four factors, third jhana three factors, fourth jhana two factors, fifth jhana two factors. Because of that, these Jitasika mental factors become less and less. The higher you go, the less they become. We talk about the fourth and the fifth. Fourth and fifth only have two jhana factors. Why fourth and fourth? The same two two because in the fourth jhana there is happiness and one pointedness. Sukha and Igagata of the fourth Rupa Jana. Accompany the fourth jhana megacheta. Happiness and one pointedness accompany the fourth jhana mega chaita. And in the fifth jhana maga chaita is accompanied by aquanimity and one pointedness. Sukha happiness is replaced by equanimity. They are different, but in terms of the jhana factors they are the same two and two. And these two these two megajita resemble the jhana factors of the fifth rupa wasra jana, fine material jhana and arupawasra jana in material jhana. They resemble that. They are not it, but they resemble. resembled it. Even though the four Arupa Jhana and Material Jhana are normally placed as six, seven, eight, nine. The first rupa material one is one to five. Immaterial is six to nine nine jhanas. Even though they are positioned like that because of the types of objects and so on or difficulty to practice. Equanimity and one pointedness is called the fifth jhana because fifth rupa jhana has two mental factors and also fifth arupa all arupa jhanas are called the fifth because they only have two mental factors. So they all fall into the fifth jhana factors. The same principle is valid for the palat jaida fruition consciousness. The full fruition consciousness palat ja can be expanded into twenty palat jaitat the same way we had explained in the Megat Jita based on the association with the jhana factors of the five kinds of jnana. So it's interesting to know arupa jhana when it looks from the point of jhani factors they are considered the fifth jhana even though they might be called six seven eight and nine a little extra information the above is the simplest explanation of attaining different jhana magat jaita or path consciousness and how eight types of ultramundane consciousness become forty ultramundane consciousness. We have gone through all eighty nine and hundred and twenty one consciousness. The purpose of going through all these 121 consciousness and fifty two types of jid seca mental factors or mental formation what's the purpose why do we go through that is to show that consciousness and mental factors are not a soul it's not a self but it's simply a mental phenomenon that operates with its specific law not random very specific we have gone through all these things so you can see their inner workings just like a machine just like a computer a mental computer they are operating like a clockwork with all its rules and regulations and system when it is operating like that you can see that it is not a soul you can see it's not a self which we call attacking of these complexity of their inner workings and operation give you the understanding of the concept of natha no soul non-self the concept of anatta no soul non-self Anatta is one of the three characteristics annicha is one dukkha is another Anatta is the third nata is one of the three characteristics of mind and matter or simply put what we call a living being living being that's why we said or the Buddha said there is no self and there is no soul by intricately understanding all these in details give you the understanding this is not random this is operating according to a specific law we know the material law because of the physics and chemistry no argument but nobody can touch the mental law and this is how Buddha explained us the law of the mind consciousness and mental factors by understanding it number one you come closer to understanding of the no sun self and also by understanding these in detail about mind about consciousness types of consciousness especially types of mental fractures for serious practitioners who are fairly advanced you can screen your mind you can strain oneself and figure out what kind of unwholesome consciousness are still with you what kind of consciousness you have already abandoned what kind of unwholesomeness that you need to walk on in a very specific nature one can analyze oneself of the wholesomeness unwholesomeness things to abandon and what things you have already abandoned and work your way through and you can figure out where you are by yourself you don't need anybody to tell you if you know how to gauge it may all of you be able to practice mindfulness inside meditation and may you be able to attain ariya status as soon as possible sadu sadu sa tu thank you very much