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Why did the First Skandha happen?
The Five Skandhas
The five skandhas are ignorance, feeling, impulse and perception, concept, & consciousness. They are how consciousness manifests.
First there is complete Dharma. Clean and pure and eternal with no ego. But then something happens! Form is born from the paranoia that we might not actually exist. From the ignorance of our true nature. But it is not regular ignorance, it is a stubborn ignorance out to prove that we exist. The mandala begins.
It begins to probe... looking for space, creating projections so that we can *feel* *this* against *that*. If my projection exists then I exist! Feeling is born.
The ego now begins to develop. Perception is born now to handle all kinds of ways to deal with our projections. There are three kinds of strategies or *impulses* to handle projections: indifference, passion, & aggression.
Ignorance, feeling, impulse and perception all are instinctive processes. We operate a radar system which senses our territory.
But we cannot complete the ego without an intellect and the ability to conceptualize. We begin to categorize what is happening, naming them. We make it "official". *That* is now a "tree"! And since that over there is a tree then I can exist separate from that.
So concept is the next stage, the fourth skandha, but even this is not quite enough. We need a very active and efficient mechanism to keep the instinctive and intellectual processes of ego coordinated: the last development of ego, the fifth skandha, "consciousness."
Consciousness consists of emotions and irregular thought patterns, all of which taken together form the different fantasy worlds with which we occupy ourselves. These fantasy worlds are referred to in the scriptures as the "six realms".
So there you have it. The complete birth of ego.
My question was... how did it even begin? At what point in our ancient history as beings did we separate ourselves from the Dharma and why? Where we awake before we became paranoid and created ignorance?
In essence, Why did the Dharma itself become 1 (versus 0) and then 2, 3, 4... and in doing so created the whole phenomenal world? Not just beings. At some point the Dharma became ignorant and created the Universe. Is that a stretch?
What caused that little grain of sand to recognize the possibility of becoming an ego in the first place? What?
Good luck! :P
The five skandhas are ignorance, feeling, impulse and perception, concept, & consciousness. They are how consciousness manifests.
First there is complete Dharma. Clean and pure and eternal with no ego. But then something happens! Form is born from the paranoia that we might not actually exist. From the ignorance of our true nature. But it is not regular ignorance, it is a stubborn ignorance out to prove that we exist. The mandala begins.
It begins to probe... looking for space, creating projections so that we can *feel* *this* against *that*. If my projection exists then I exist! Feeling is born.
The ego now begins to develop. Perception is born now to handle all kinds of ways to deal with our projections. There are three kinds of strategies or *impulses* to handle projections: indifference, passion, & aggression.
Ignorance, feeling, impulse and perception all are instinctive processes. We operate a radar system which senses our territory.
But we cannot complete the ego without an intellect and the ability to conceptualize. We begin to categorize what is happening, naming them. We make it "official". *That* is now a "tree"! And since that over there is a tree then I can exist separate from that.
So concept is the next stage, the fourth skandha, but even this is not quite enough. We need a very active and efficient mechanism to keep the instinctive and intellectual processes of ego coordinated: the last development of ego, the fifth skandha, "consciousness."
Consciousness consists of emotions and irregular thought patterns, all of which taken together form the different fantasy worlds with which we occupy ourselves. These fantasy worlds are referred to in the scriptures as the "six realms".
So there you have it. The complete birth of ego.
My question was... how did it even begin? At what point in our ancient history as beings did we separate ourselves from the Dharma and why? Where we awake before we became paranoid and created ignorance?
In essence, Why did the Dharma itself become 1 (versus 0) and then 2, 3, 4... and in doing so created the whole phenomenal world? Not just beings. At some point the Dharma became ignorant and created the Universe. Is that a stretch?
What caused that little grain of sand to recognize the possibility of becoming an ego in the first place? What?
Good luck! :P
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Comments
wikipitaka seems like a nice project, but do all sutras lack the sutra number? (ie: SN 46.3)
Basically, for a Buddha, all the skandhas are experienced as empty and the state of ignorance stops arising from moment to moment due to wisdom, thus there is a transformation in the way the skandhas work for a Buddha. The rest of the skandhas will arise as they have beginningless fuel to keep arising, but it's platform for arising is now wisdom and compassion instead of ignorance and self clinging.
@Vincenzi
No, I don't believe any of them are numbered. However, since it is a Wiki it can be edited. If anyone wishes to take on the arduous task of numbering them, I'm sure it can be done.
when the translations are complete (or sooner), I'm interested in translating the sutras to italian and spanish.
if they were numbered it will be a little easier, in part because it will be easier to find the reference to the original pali sutra.
Also, didn't AN10.61 go on to say that although a first cause can not be concieved, a specific condition can be conceived? Namely, the five hindrances, three ways of wrong conduct, lack of sense-control, etc.?
As for ignorance, it is part of sankhara khandha. However, Buddhas still have khandhas. Khandhas are neutral. For example, what attains enlightenment is sankhara khandha.
It's a gradual process of the skandhas all developing into what we are. Form means the baby brain and body still must grow so it can support the mind. Perceptions become more than fuzzy colors and sounds and good and bad taste in the mouth. Memory helps the self identify perceptions and experiences of pain or pleasure, and we learn to avoid pain and seek pleasure.
And an immature self eventually comes into focus and becomes a self, with all the problems and potential that entails.
Consciousness is one of the skandhas. How about the subconscience?
Does the Heart Sutra or other teachings of the Buddha talk about the subconscience explicitly? Thanks.
This question could probably have its own thread imo.
the subconscience is western tought... a little naive IMO.
if anything, it should be peripheral and central* conscience.
*were consciousness is most focused.