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This book is not a synopsis of the Abhidhamma which, in itself, comprises seven volumes of the Pali Canon. Here, some aspects of the Abhidhamma have been related to practice. If this little book helps the reader to appreciate that the teachings of the Enlightened One are never mere theories but always stand to reason and can be verified in the crucible of his or her experience, then its purpose will have been served.
The writer wishes to place on record:
— Dr. N. K. G. Mendis
Isaacs Harbour
Nova Scotia
Namo Sammaasambuddhassa
Namo Saddhammassa
Namo Buddhasanghassa
Homage to the Supremely Enlightened One
Homage to the Sublime Teaching
Homage to the Buddha's Community of Monks
The Abhidhamma forms the third part of the Pali Canon, the Tipi.taka. The other two parts are the Vinaya Pi.taka, the code of discipline for monks and nuns, and the Sutta Pi.taka, which contains the Buddha's discourses. The word "Abhidhamma" means the higher teaching because it treats subjects exclusively in an ultimate sense (paramatthasacca), differing from the Sutta Pi.taka where there is often the use of expressions valid only from the standpoint of conventional truth (vohaarasacca). In the Abhidhamma the philosophical standpoint of the Buddha is given in a pure form without admixture of personalities, anecdotes, or discussions. It deals with realities in detail and consists of numerous classifications. These may at first discourage the prospective student. However, if one perseveres one will be able to derive much benefit in life-situations from the practical application of the knowledge gained through study of the Abhidhamma.
Theravaada tradition holds that the Buddha conceived the Abhidhamma in the fourth week after his enlightenment, while still sitting in the vicinity of the Bodhi tree. Tradition also has it that he first preached the Abhidhamma to the assembly of deities in the Taavati.msa heaven; his mother, reborn as a deity, was present in the assembly. This can be taken to mean that the Buddha, by intense concentration, transcended the earth-bound mentality and rose mentally to the world of the deities, a feat made possible by his attainment of higher powers (abhiññaa) through utmost perfection in mental concentration. Having preached the Abhidhamma to the deities, he returned to earth, that is, to normal human consciousness, and preached it to the venerable Saariputta, the arahant disciple most advanced in wisdom.
From ancient times doubts have been expressed as to whether the Abhidhamma was really taught by the Buddha. What is important for us is to experience the realities described in the Abhidhamma. Then one will realize for oneself that such profound truths can emanate only from a source of supreme enlightenment, from a Buddha. Much of what is contained in the Abhidhamma is also found in the Sutta Pi.taka and such sermons had never been heard by anyone until they were uttered by the Buddha. Therefore those who deny that the source of the Abhidhamma was the Buddha will then have to say that the discourses also were not uttered by the Buddha. At any rate, according to the Theravaada tradition, the essence of the Abhidhamma, the fundamentals, the framework, is ascribed to the Buddha. The tabulations and classifications may have been the work of later scholars. What is important is the essence; it is this we should try to experience for ourselves.
The question is also raised whether the Abhidhamma is essential for Dhamma practice. The answer to this will depend on the individual who undertakes the practice. People vary in their levels of understanding and spiritual development. Ideally all the different spiritual faculties should be harmonized, but some people are quite content with devotional practice based on faith, while others are keen on developing penetrative insight. The Abhidhamma is most useful to those who want to understand, who want to know the Dhamma in depth and detail. It aids the development of insight into the three characteristics of existence-impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and no-self. It will be found useful not only during the periods devoted to formal meditation, but also during the rest of the day when we are engaged in various chores. When we experience realities then we are deriving benefit from the study of the Abhidhamma. A comprehensive knowledge of the Abhidhamma is further useful to those engaged in teaching and explaining the Dhamma to others.
The Abhidhamma deals with realities existing in an ultimate sense, called in Pali paramattha dhammaa. There are four such realities:
Citta, the cetasikas, and ruupa are conditioned realities. They arise because of conditions and disappear when their conditions cease to sustain them. Therefore they are impermanent. Nibbaana is an unconditioned reality. It does not arise and therefore does not fall away. These four realities can be experienced regardless of what name we give them. Any other thing — be it within ourselves or without, past, present, or future, coarse or subtle, low or lofty, far or near — is a concept and not an ultimate reality.
Citta, cetasikas, and nibbaana are also called naama. The two conditioned naamas, citta and cetasikas, together with ruupa make up naama-ruupa, the psycho-physical organism. Each of us, in the ultimate sense, is a naama-ruupa, a compound of mental and material phenomena, and nothing more. Apart from these three realities that go to form the naama-ruupa compound there is no ego, self, or soul. The naama part of the compound is what experiences an object. The ruupa part does not experience anything. When the body is injured it is not the body, which is ruupa, that feels the pain, but naama, the mental side. When we are hungry it is not the stomach that feels the hunger but again the naama. However, naama cannot eat the food to ease the hunger. The naama, the mind and its factors, makes the ruupa, the body, ingest the food. Thus neither the naama nor the ruupa has any efficient power of its own. One is dependent on the other; one supports the other. Both naama and ruupa arise because of conditions and perish immediately, and this is happening every moment of our lives. By studying and experiencing these realities we will get insight into: (1) what we truly are; (2) what we find around us; (3) how and why we react to what is within and around us; and (4) what we should aspire to reach as a spiritual goal.
Awareness is the process of cittas experiencing objects. For a citta to arise it must have an object (aaramma.na). The object may be a color, sound, smell, taste, something tangible, or a mental object. These are the six external objects. Strictly speaking a mental object can be an internal phenomenon, such as a feeling, a thought, or an idea, but as forming the objective sphere of experience they are all classed as external. Corresponding to these external objects there are six internal sense faculties, called "doors" since they are the portals through which the objects enter the field of cognition. These are the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. Each of the five physical sense faculties can receive only its appropriate object; the mind door, however, can receive both its own proper mental objects as well as the objects of the five physical senses. When a door receives its object, there arises a corresponding state of consciousness, such as eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, etc. The union of the object, the door or sense faculty, and the consciousness is called "contact" (phassa). There can be no awareness without contact. For contact to occur all three components must be present — object, door, and consciousness. If one is missing there will be no contact. The process of the arising of consciousness and the subsequent train of events is analyzed in detail in the Abhidhamma. A study of this analysis will show that only "bare phenomena" are taking place and that there is no "self" involved in this process. This is the no-self characteristic of existence.
Cittas are classified in various ways. One such classification is according to their nature (jaati). In this classification we have:
When we see a form, hear a sound, smell, taste, or touch, it is a vipaaka citta, a resultant consciousness, that functions as the actual sense-consciousness. This citta is the result of some previous kamma. Thus, for example, when we hear an unpleasant sound, the ear-consciousness which actually hears the sound is the result of an unwholesome deed (kamma) previously done by that continuum of experience called a "person"; it is an akusala-vipaaka citta. If one sees a pleasant sight it is the result of a wholesome deed; the eye-consciousness that sees it is a kusala-vipaaka citta. This is a "bare phenomenon" that is taking place and there is no power that can stop the arising of this resultant citta. However, this resultant citta, having arisen, perishes in a moment.
To be aware of the momentariness of this vipaaka citta is of great practical importance. If one does not recognize the disappearance of this citta — and this can be done only by the practice of mindfulness — then subsequent cognitive processes having the same object as the vipaaka citta (which has already passed) can occur in the mind-door, bringing defilements into play. If the vipaaka citta had an unpleasant object, aversion can arise; and if the vipaaka citta had a pleasant object, attachment can arise. To make spiritual progress one should try to avoid the arising of those causative cittas associated with either aversion or attachment, which are both unwholesome mental factors building up further unwholesome kamma. Mindfulness of the instant perishing of the vipaaka citta after it has arisen is of immense practical value. Only one citta can exist at a time. Thus the citta with mindfulness, occurring through the mind-door, taking the perished vipaaka citta as its object, will prevent the arising of causative unwholesome cittas that lead to future suffering.
When the mind is not experiencing objects through the five sense doors — the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body — it can still be active through the "mind door," taking as its object either something previously experienced through the five sense doors, recently or long ago, or some idea or image peculiar to itself. Past experiences are registered in the life-continuum (bhava"nga) in a subliminal form, where from time to time they can surface through the mind-door to serve as objects for the citta. Kammically active cittas can follow this mental activity, and here again the practice of mindfulness — that is, being aware that there is thinking — will prevent the arising of unwholesome causative cittas. On the other hand, if mindfulness is absent there can be unwholesome mental activity, such as longing for things of the past, worry, remorse, regret, grudge, and doubt.
Cittas exhibit certain other interesting features which are dealt with in the Abhidhamma. Some of these are as follows:
Association with "roots." Cittas may be associated with certain mental factors called "roots" (hetu, muula), or they may be dissociated from roots. The former kind of cittas are called sahetuka cittas, the latter ahetuka cittas; these are, respectively, rooted and rootless states of consciousness. The roots are particular mental factors (cetasikas) that arise together with the citta, often giving it a determinate ethical quality. Because the citta and its constituent factors, the cetasikas, arise together and because both have the same object and base, it is difficult to appreciate the subtle differences in their characteristics unless one's mindfulness and insight are very sharp.
There are six roots. Three are kammically unwholesome (akusala); the other three may be either kammically wholesome (kusala) or indeterminate (abyaa-kata), depending on the type of consciousness they arise in. The unwholesome roots are greed (lobha), hatred (dosa), and delusion (moha). The three roots which are wholesome in some cittas and indeterminate in others are greedlessness (alobha), hatelessness (adosa), and undeludedness (amoha). Though these last three roots are expressed negatively they have positive manifestations. Greedlessness manifests as generosity and renunciation, hatelessness as loving-kindness, and undeludedness as wisdom or understanding.
In the ordinary unenlightened worldling these six roots can occur in various combinations. When one enters the path leading to enlightenment, the unwholesome roots are eradicated in stages until final emancipation is achieved. For the arahant, the liberated one, the cittas that arise in him can no longer be associated with any unwholesome roots. The cittas that the arahant experiences are neither wholesome nor unwholesome, as he does not generate any further kamma; his cittas are exclusively indeterminate. These indeterminate cittas can be functional (kiriya), as on occasions when he is mentally active, or resultants (vipaaka) when he is experiencing the effects of past kamma or abiding in the meditative attainment of fruition.
For spiritual progress it is important to be aware of the roots associated with the citta that we are experiencing at any particular moment. This is possible only by the practice of mindfulness as expounded in the Mahaa Satipa.t.thaana Sutta. This awareness helps us get rid of the unwholesome roots and cultivate the wholesome roots. This practice will enable one to purify moral virtue, to develop concentration, and to achieve insight.
Association with feeling. Cittas differ according to the feeling associated with them. Every citta has a concomitant feeling, but the quality of this feeling differs from citta to citta. Some cittas are accompanied by a pleasant feeling (sukhaa vedanaa), some by a painful feeling (dukkhaa vedanaa), some by an indifferent feeling (upekkhaa vedanaa).
It is important to recognize the feeling that accompanies each citta, for feelings serve as a condition for defilements to arise. The mind's natural tendency is to develop attachment to a pleasant feeling and aversion to an unpleasant one. Any attachment will eventually cause suffering; for everything within and around us is impermanent, so when inevitable separation takes place, if there is attachment the result will be sorrow, lamentation, and despair. Aversion, apart from giving further nourishment to the unwholesome roots, is a totally futile response. We cannot change the essentially unsatisfactory nature of sa.msaara, but we can alter our reactions to our experiences in sa.msaara. Therefore, the sanest attitude would be neither to get attached to anything pleasant nor react with aversion to anything displeasing. This would be an attitude of indifference. Indifference, however, is of two kinds. One is the callous indifference which is a total disregard for one's own well-being and that of others. This type of indifference is born of the unwholesome roots and obviously should not be cultivated by the spiritual seeker. The other type of indifference is a highly refined mental state which might be better referred to as equanimity. This attitude, born of wisdom pertaining to the real nature of phenomena, is an attitude of mental calmness amidst all the vicissitudes of life. This is the kind of indifference that we must try to cultivate.
Prompted and unprompted cittas. A prompted citta (sasankhaarika citta) is an act of consciousness that arises either as a result of deliberation and premeditation on one's own part or through the inducement of another. If it is an unwholesome citta resulting in unwholesome action, then the result of such action will rebound on the agent in proportion to the degree of deliberation involved; for the one who induced it, his unwholesome cittas will also rebound on him, causing him future suffering. Therefore it is important not only that one should refrain from unwholesome deeds oneself, but that one also refrain from inciting others to perform such deeds.
If the prompted citta is a wholesome one resulting from one's own wise consideration, the actions issuing from such a citta will bear good results for the doer; if it was induced by one with good intentions, his wholesome cittas will bring good results for him. Therefore, whenever possible, we should not only foster our own welfare by performing wholesome deeds but whenever possible should also try to bring out the goodness in others.
An unprompted citta (asankhaarika-citta) is one which arises spontaneously, without deliberation or premeditation on our own part and without inducement by others. These unprompted cittas, too, may be unwholesome or wholesome.
There are some people in whom greed and hate are so strong that the cittas that arise in them need no prompting from within or without. They spontaneously cling to what they think they possess and try to enhance their belongings by exploiting others. They do not know what generosity is, they are quick to criticize others; if they get a chance they will destroy everything that stands in the way of their attempts to boost their own ego. On the other hand, there are others who give willingly and joyfully, who do not hesitate to help their needy fellow beings, and who will even risk their own lives to save those in distress.
These divers characters — the misers, tyrants, murderers, heroes, and benefactors — are what they are because of their past tendencies built up in previous lives. However, the law of kamma and its fruit prevails at all times at all times and a change can occur for the better or worse, as in the cases of Angulimaala and Devadatta. The former started off as a vicious murderer but later became an enlightened saint; the latter, the Buddha's cousin, entered the Order as a monk but later attempted to kill the Buddha and take control of the Sangha himself.
The mind occurs in both passive and active modes. The passive gives way to the active when a stimulus is received through one of the sense doors. The passive state of mind is called bhava"nga, cuti, or paa.tisandhi, according to the occasion.
Bhava"nga. The bhava"nga citta, mentioned earlier, is the primary form of mind. It flows from conception to death except when interrupted by a stimulus through one of the sense doors. When a stimulus enters, consciousness becomes active, launching into a thought process (citta viithi). Thought processes have been analyzed in great detail in the Abhidhamma.
A complete thought process, occurring through the physical sense doors, is made up of seventeen thought moments (citta kha.na). These are:
These thought moments follow one another in extremely rapid succession; each depends on the previous one and all share the same object. There is no self or soul directing this process. The process occurs so rapidly that mindfulness has to be alert and brisk to recognize at least the determining thought moment — the vottapana — so that one can govern the javana thought moments by wholesome volition.
When the mind-door receives a mind-object, the sequence of events is a little different from that occurring through the physical senses. The mind-door-adverting citta is the same type of citta as the determining moment — the votthapana — that arises in a sensory process. This mind-door-adverting thought moment can cognize an object previously seen, heard, smelt, tasted or touched, thus making memories possible. Since the mind-object here has already been received and investigated, these functions need not be performed again and the mind-door-adverting thought moment gives way immediately to the javanas. These are, again, of great ethical significance. For example, unpleasant words previously heard can suddenly come to mind and, unless proper mindfulness (sammaa sati) is practiced, call up javana cittas rooted in hatred, i.e., unwholesome kamma.
When a person is about to die the bhava"nga is interrupted, vibrates for one moment and passes away. The interruption is caused by an object which presents itself to the mind-door. As a result of this a mind-door-adverting citta arises. This is followed by five javana thought moments which are weak, lack reproductive power, and serve only to determine the nature of rebirth consciousness. The javanas may or may not be followed by two registering thought moments (tadaalambana). After this comes the death consciousness (cuti citta), which is identical in constitution and object to the bhava"nga citta. The cuti citta merely serves the function of signaling the end of life. It is important to appreciate the difference between the cuti citta and the javanas that precede it. The cuti citta is the end of the bhava"nga flow of an existence and does not determine the nature of rebirth. The javanas that occur just before the cuti citta arises form a kammic process and determine the nature of the rebirth consciousness.
The object that presents itself to the mind-door just before death is determined by kamma on a priority basis as follows:
Dependent on one of the above mentioned four types of kamma, the object that presents itself to the mind-door could be one of three kinds:
This brief account of what will happen to us at death should impress on us the urgency of avoiding all evil acts by deed, word or thought and of performing wholesome meritorious acts. If we do not do so now, we cannot do so at the moment of death, which may come quite unexpectedly. As the Dhammapada states in verses 288 and 289:
— Dhp 288
This is called pa.tisandhi citta, literally "relinking consciousness." The pa.tisandhi citta is the act of consciousness which arises at the first moment of life, the moment of conception. It is determined by the last kammic citta of the preceding life.
This kammic factor for the arising of a being operates through the pa.tisandhi. The accumulated tendencies of past lives are carried on to the pa.tisandhi and so the process of being born, dying and being born again goes on. Each pa.tisandhi citta is a new one, not the continuation of the old one in the previous life. Thus there is no place for a soul concept in rebirth. In the course of one particular life there is only one pa.tisandhi citta. Once the function of linking two existences has been performed by the pa.tisandhi, consciousness in the newly formed embryo immediately goes into the bhava"nga state. This flows along in the new existence with infinite interruptions by various stimuli and ends as the cuti citta of that particular existence.
The practice of chanting Buddhist scriptures in the presence of a dying person is intended to evoke kusala kamma cittas in him so that the last thought process will be a wholesome one and lead to a favorable rebirth.
Regardless of the conditions into which humans are born, be they handicapped or favored in various ways, birth in the human plane is the result of kusala kamma. It is only in the human plane that one can make a start to end all suffering. The Buddha has told us that, having left this human existence, not many will return to it for a long, long time. Therefore, it is up to us to make the most of this opportunity we have as human beings.
The cittas that occur through the five physical sense doors, and the mind-door cittas taking sense objects, belong to the sensuous plane of consciousness. They are called kaamaavacara cittas. The jhaana cittas are meditative states of consciousness. Their object is not a sense impression but a meditation object experienced through the mind-door. The jhaana citta may depend on subtle materiality (ruupaavacara citta) or, if more refined, may be independent of materiality (aruupaavacara citta).
There are five stages of ruupa jhaana and four of aruupa jhaana. No attempt will be made to analyze these stages except to state that each is more refined than its predecessor.
It is extremely difficult to attain even the first stage of jhaana. To do so one has to be well established in virtue (siila) and eliminate the five mental hindrances, at least temporarily. These five hindrances are: sense desire (kaamacchanda), ill-will (vyaapaada), sloth and torpor (thiina and middha), restlessness and worry (uddhacca and kukkucca), and doubt (vicikicchaa).
Though difficult, it is well worth attempting to attain jhaana by regular and ardent practice of samatha bhaavanaa, i.e., concentration-meditation. Even if we do not reach the first stage of jhaana, even a brief elimination of the five mental hindrances will give us a taste of a happiness which far surpasses that derived from the senses. When restlessness, anxiety and worry try to overwhelm us in our daily lives we will benefit by sitting for a period and developing concentration. We will realize that nothing is more satisfying than the ability to keep a check on the frivolous, fickle mind.
The word lokuttara is derived from loka and uttara. In this context loka refers to the five aggregates; uttara means beyond. Thus lokuttara applies to those states of consciousness that transcend the world of mind and body, i.e., they are supra-mundane.
These states of supra-mundane consciousness are possessed by those who have developed insight into the three aspects of existence — impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and no-self. As a result of this insight, such a person passes beyond the level of a worldling (puthujjana) and becomes a Noble One (ariya puggala). With this transformation there is a radical change in the person's life and nature because a determinate number of defilements are totally eradicated, never to arise again. These defilements go to form the ten fetters (sa.myojanaa) that bind a person down to the wheel of existence. They are eradicated in stages as one becomes, in succession, a stream-winner (sotaapanna), once-returner (sakadaagaamii), non-returner (anaagaami) and arahant. We shall refer to these states of supra-mundane consciousness again when we discuss nibbaana.
The second reality or paramattha dhamma is the cetasikas. The cetasikas are the mental factors or concomitants that arise and perish together with consciousness (citta), sharing its object and basis.
The Abhidhamma lists 52 kinds of cetasikas. One is feeling (vedanaa), another is perception (saññaa). The remaining 50 are grouped together under the term sa"nkhaaraa.
In the Abhidhamma context the word "feeling" signifies the affective experience of an object; it does not imply emotion, which comes under a different heading. Feeling is associated with every type of consciousness. Like the citta itself it is of momentary duration, arising and perishing in an instant. This arising and perishing occur in rapid succession, so much so that they create an illusion of compactness and stability obscuring the momentariness. But the momentariness can be experienced through the practice of mindfulness. It will then be realized that there is no self or agent that experiences the feeling. There is only the arising and disappearing of an impersonal process. As long as we do not see how this impersonal process occurs we will be led to believe that feeling is the self, or the self possesses feeling, or feeling is in the self, or the self is in feeling. These beliefs keep us bound to suffering — to sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair.
Feelings are commonly classified into three types: pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. Pleasant feeling, in the absence of wise consideration (yoniso manasikaara), leads to attachment, unpleasant feeling to repugnance, and neutral feeling to ignorance. A pleasant feeling is pleasant while it lasts but when it changes, as it must, it yields to displeasure — i.e., an unpleasant feeling. An unpleasant feeling is unpleasant while it lasts, but when it passes a shallow satisfaction arises which misleads the average person into thinking: "Now, I am all right." A neutral feeling, in the absence of wise attention, can foster ignorance and a callous indifference to one's own and others' welfare. If, however, one has developed wholesome awareness based on insight, when a neutral feeling arises the mind remains in equanimity, undisturbed in all circumstances. This balanced state of mind is one of the highest forms of happiness.
Relevant to the Abhidhamma, two other classifications of vedanaa must be mentioned.
Perception is awareness of an object's distinctive features. It becomes six-fold in relation to the five physical sense objects (color, sound, smell, taste, touch), and mental objects. It is sañña that enables us to recognize an object previously perceived.
As in the case of feeling, perception is an impersonal process which arises and perishes in a moment. If the momentariness and impersonal nature of perception are not appreciated by insight, here again, wrong conceptions will result that perception is the self, or the self possesses perception, or perception is in the self, or the self is in perception.
There are four perversions (vipallaasa) that distort perception — the perversions of regarding:
These distortions, born of ignorance, increase craving, grasping, and suffering. Only by the practice of mindfulness can one see through these perversions and avoid them.
Perception and memory. Memory occurs not through a single factor but through a complex process in which perception plays the most important role. When the mind first cognizes an object through the senses, perception "picks out" the object's distinctive mark. When the same object is met with on a subsequent occasion, perception again notices that its distinctive mark is identical with the previous one. It "grasps" the identity of the distinctive marks. This "grasping" is a complex series of thought processes, one of which connects the present object with the previous one and another attaches to the present object the previous one's name. Memory will be good if this "grasping" functions well, and "grasping" will function well if the initial "picking out" of the object's distinctive marks was clear, not obscured by irrelevant thoughts. Clear perception comes through attention. As the Buddha says: "In what is seen there must be just the seen, in what is heard there must be just the heard, in what is sensed there must be just the sensed, in what is thought there must be just the thought."
Sa"nkhaaraa is a collective term for the other fifty cetasikas. These fall into four groups:
The universal mental factors. There are seven mental factors which are called universals because they are common to every state of consciousness. Two are feeling and perception mentioned above. The order in which the other five are given has no sequential significance as they all co-exist in any state of consciousness. They are:
The particular mental factors. Six mental factors are called particulars for, unlike the universals, they need not exist in every citta. The six are:
The universals and particulars are, in themselves, ethically indeterminate but become wholesome, unwholesome, or neither, depending on the state of consciousness in which they occur.
The unwholesome mental factors. There are fourteen unwholesome mental factors. The first four listed below are present in all unwholesome states of consciousness. The others are variable.
The beautiful mental factors. There are twenty-five beautiful factors. Nineteen are common to all beautiful thoughts, six are variable. The latter are the three "abstinence factors," two "illimitables," and the wisdom factor.
The common beautiful factors (sobhanaa saadhaaranaa) are as follows:
The abstinence factors (virati) restrain a person from committing evil acts. These are three in number:
The illimitable factors (appamaññaa) are compassion and sympathetic joy; they are called illimitable because they are boundless and extend to all living beings.
Compassion and sympathetic joy, together with goodwill and equanimity, form the Four Sublime Abodes (brahma vihaara). Goodwill and equanimity were mentioned under the common beautiful factors.
It is important to know the unwholesome and wholesome mental factors that operate in our minds. If we do not know them for what they are we will not be able to recognize them when they arise. But when our insight develops, we can understand that it is not a "self" that commits unwholesome and wholesome acts but just these mental factors.
In Dhamma practice our aim should be to get rid of the unwholesome factors and cultivate the wholesome ones. This has been outlined by the Buddha under Rechte Anstrengung (sammaa vaayaama), the fifth factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, in terms of four practices. The disciple rouses his will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts the mind, and strives to:
Regarding the unwholesome thoughts, to prevent them from arising or to abandon them as soon as they have arisen, we have to be mindful of the state of the mind, i.e., whether the mind is with greed, hate and delusion or not. By the constant practice of mindfulness we can learn to catch the unwholesome mental factors as soon as they arise. This mere recognition is often enough to prevent them from gaining ground, from leading to action by deed, word or thought. If this is done on a regular basis, these unwholesome thoughts can become attenuated and eventually cease.
Sometimes, however, unwholesome thoughts keep recurring and mere observation of the state of the mind may not be enough to deal with them. In such situations there are five methods proposed by the Buddha, described in the 20th Middle Length Discourse (Majjhima Nikaaya), MN 20. These are, briefly, as follows:
Meditation is an important aspect of Buddhist practice. There are forty subjects of samaadhi meditation to suit different individual temperaments and also many types of insight meditation. To select a suitable subject of meditation it is best to seek the help of a competent teacher. If such a teacher is not available, then one has to make a sincere and honest search of one's temperament and character and find guidance in a standard book on meditation. A few examples are given below:
The ultimate aim should be to develop wisdom (pañña). This is achieved by insight meditation (vipassanaa bhaavanaa), which leads to fully comprehending by direct experience the three characteristics of existence — impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and selflessness.
The third reality or paramattha dhamma is ruupa, matter or material form. In its analysis of matter the Abhidhamma recognizes twenty-eight kinds of material phenomena. Four of these are called primary, twenty-four secondary. The secondary kinds are dependant on the primary.
These are metaphorically referred to under their ancient names but signify distinct properties of matter:
There is no unit of matter that does not contain these four elements in varying proportions. The preponderance of one element over the other three gives the material object its main characteristic.
The solid element gives consistency to matter varying from hardness to softness. The more predominant the solid element, the firmer the object. This is also the element of extension by virtue of which objects occupy space. It has the function of supporting the other material phenomena.
The adhesion element has a cohesive function. It holds the particles of matter together and prevents them from scattering. It predominates in liquids because, unlike solids, liquids unite when brought together. This adhesion element is intangible.
The heat element accounts for an object's temperature. An object is hot or cold depending on the amount of heat element. This element has the function of maturing or vitalizing. It accounts for preservation and decay.
The motion element imparts motion and causes expansion and contraction.
In the Mahaa Raahulovaada Sutta (MN 62) the Buddha explains these four elements in concrete terms to his son, the Venerable Raahula. He says:
"The earth element may be internal (i.e., referable to an individual) or it may be external. Regarding the internal, whatever is hard, solid, or derived therefrom, such as hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, and various organs, is the earth element. Whatever is an internal earth element and whatever is an external earth element are just earth element.
"The water element may be internal or external. Regarding the internal, whatever is liquid and derived therefrom, such as bile, phlegm, pus, and blood is the water element. Whatever is an internal water element and whatever is an external water element are just water element.
"The fire element may be internal or external. Regarding the internal, whatever is heat, warmth, and derived therefrom, such as that by which one is vitalized, consumed, or burnt up, and that by which the ingested food is digested, this is the fire element. Whatever is an internal fire element and whatever is an external fire element are just fire element.
"The wind element may be internal or external. Regarding the internal, whatever is motion, wind, and derived therefrom, such as the winds going up and down, winds in the belly, winds that shoot across the limbs, inbreathing and outbreathing, is the wind element. Whatever is an internal wind element and whatever is an external wind element are just wind element."
In this sutta the Buddha also describes the space element (aakaasa dhaatu) which, he says, may likewise be internal or external: "Regarding the internal, whatever is space, spacious and derived therefrom, such as the different orifices and cavities in the body, is the space element. Whatever is the internal space element and whatever is the external space element are just space element."
It will be noted that in each instance the Buddha pointed out a fundamental identity between the internal and the external elements. The significance of this will be discussed later.
The twenty-four secondary elements are divided into two groups. Like the four primary elements, fourteen are directly caused (nipphanna). These are essentially particles of matter. The other ten are indirectly caused (anipphanna). These are only the properties of the directly caused elements and are not particles of matter. Therefore, this classification covers both the physical and functional aspects of matter.
Directly caused secondary elements comprise the following:
Indirectly caused secondary elements are:
These elements are responsible for health, vigor and activity of the body. They are brought about by wholesome thought, moderation in eating habits and favorable climate.
These are stages in the life duration of an element in a continual process of change.
The material elements never occur in isolation but in groups or clusters called kalaapas. A kalaapa can contain from eight to thirteen material elements. There is no cluster of matter without at least eight elements, the four primary elements and four secondary elements — namely color, taste, smell, and nutriment. A unit containing only these is called a Pure Octad.
Material phenomena arise through four causes: kamma, consciousness, heat, and nutriment.
The proximate cause of aging or decay is the maturing of matter, which occurs through the continuing action of the heat element on the kalaapas generated at various times. There are two forms of decay. One, which is invisible, occurs continuously in each cluster from its arising to its ceasing. The other, which is visible, manifests itself as decrepitude, brokeness of the teeth, gray hair, wrinkled skin, etc. Material decay is paralleled by a failing of the sense faculties and the dwindling of the life span as the Buddha points out in the suttas.
Like decay, death too has two forms. One is the continual dissolution of matter which is invisible; the other is the visible form of death (mara.na), characterized by the vanishing of the life element, the heat element and consciousness.
Physical death may be due to one of the following four causes:
The first three causes are responsible for "timely" deaths (kaala mara.na), the fourth for "untimely" deaths (aakaala mara.na). The four may be illustrated by the extinguishing of an oil lamp, which may be due to any of four causes: exhaustion of the wick, exhaustion of the oil, simultaneous exhaustion of both wick and oil, or some extraneous cause like a gust of wind.
The word khandha means group, mass, or aggregate. The Buddha often described a "person" as a composite of the five groups of existence. He qualified the description with the term upaadaana, meaning "grasping" or "clinging." So we have the term pañcuupaadaanakkhandhaa, translated as "the five groups of existence which form the objects of clinging." The five are:
The Buddha described each group as being connected with the aasavas. An aasava is a canker, taint, corruption, intoxicant, or bias. There are four aasavas, namely that of sense desire (kaamaasava), desire for existence (bhavaasava), wrong views (di.t.thaasava), and ignorance (avijjaasava).
It must be emphasized that these five groups do not exist in their totality simultaneously. They form a classificatory scheme filled only by single members that are evanescent and occur in various combinations at any particular time. The Buddha illustrated the emptiness and insubstantial nature of each group by comparing corporeality to a lump of froth, feeling to a bubble, perception to a mirage, mental formations to a coreless plantain stem and consciousness to a conjuring trick (SN 22.95).
Earlier we saw that the Buddha stressed the uniformity of the four great primary elements by stating that the internal and external both share the same nature. He then said: "By means of perfect intuitive wisdom it should be seen as it really is, thus: 'this is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.'" This instruction shows that there is nothing special about this body we are accustomed to think of as "mine" and sometimes believe to be a special creation. It is, in essence, the same as the outer material world.
The Venerable Saariputta, one of the Buddha's two chief disciples, makes the same point in a different way.[1]
Having described the four great primary elements as the Buddha did, he then declares that there comes a time when each of the external elements gets agitated and destroyed, so "what of this short lived body derived from craving?"
When the solid element in the body gets agitated all kinds of growths form, from a wart to a cancerous tumor. When the fluid element is agitated dropsy results — swelling due to an accumulation of fluid. The heat element causes fever, frostbite, etc.; the wind element flatulence and colic. The geologist tries to find the reasons for physical disturbances and the medical researcher the causes for bodily disorders. But, wherever the four primary elements are found, agitation is, too, and the result is dis-ease — a state of disorder. Regarding the space element, the Venerable Saariputta said: "Just as, dependent on stakes, creepers, grass and clay, space is enclosed and the designation 'a dwelling' is used, in the same way, dependent on bones, sinews, flesh, and skin, space is enclosed and the designation 'material form' (body) is used."
The parts of the body also serve as a subject of meditation. Such meditation gives understanding of the body's nature without morbidity or fascination. The contemplation of the body mentions thirty-two parts — none of which, considered separately, is the least bit attractive, not even the hair, skin, nails, and teeth, which are generally tended for personal beautification. Though a man considers a woman to be beautiful on account of her "lovely hair," if he should find one of her hairs in his breakfast cereal, he will find it repulsive rather than attractive. Since non of these parts has beauty of its own, it is impossible that they can make an attractive whole. The meditation on the parts of the body aims to dispel the common perverted perception (sañña vipallaasa) of seeing the unattractive as attractive. It is practiced not to repress desires or to build up an emotional revulsion but solely to help us understand the body's nature.
Another meditation, the analysis of the body into the four primary elements, helps to dispel the delusion of the body's compactness. The Mahaasatipa.t.thaana Sutta gives a simile of a butcher who, having slaughtered a cow and cut it into various parts, sits at the junction of four high roads. The butcher, the commentary explains, thinks in terms of a "cow" even after the animal has been slaughtered, as long as he sees the carcass on the floor. But when he cuts up the carcass, divides it into parts, and sits at the cross roads, the "cow percept" disappears and the perception "meat" arises. He does not think he is selling "cow" but "meat." In the same way, if one reflects on the body by way of the elements, the "person-percept" will disappear, replaced by the perception of the elements.
Once an elderly householder named Nakulapitaa approached the Buddha and said: "Venerable Sir, I am an old man, far-gone in years, I have reached life's end, I am sick and always ailing." He wanted the Buddha to instruct and advise him. The Buddha said: "So it is, householder, so it is, householder! Your body is sick and cumbered! Householder, he who, carrying this body around, would consider that it is healthy even for a moment, what else is he but a fool? Therefore, householder, this is how you must train yourself: 'My body may be sick but my mind shall not be sick.' Thus, householder, should you train yourself."
Pondering on these incontrovertible truths about the body will help us:
According to the Abhidhamma there are thirty-one planes of existence, only two of which are commonly visible to us: the animal and human planes. In order to understand the nature of the other planes of existence it is necessary to:
The thirty-one planes of existence go to form sa.msaara, the "perpetual wandering" through the round of birth and death we have been caught in with no conceivable beginning. These planes fall into three main spheres:
The sense desire sphere (kaama loka) comprises eleven planes as follows:
Rebirth into these planes takes place on account of unwholesome kamma. Beings reborn there have no moral sense and generally cannot create good kamma. However, when the unwholesome kamma that brought them to these planes is exhausted, some stored up good kamma can bring them rebirth in some other plane. Only stream-enterers and other ariyans can be sure they will never again be born in these planes of misery.
The human plane — birth in this plane results from good kamma of middling quality. This is the realm of moral choice where destiny can be guided. (5)
Birth into these heavenly planes takes place through wholesome kamma. These devas enjoy aesthetic pleasures, long life, beauty, and certain powers. The heavenly planes are not reserved only for good Buddhists. Anyone who has led a wholesome life can be born in them. People who believe in an "eternal heaven" may carry their belief to the deva plane and take the long life span there to be an eternal existence. Only those who have known the Dhamma will realize that, as these planes are impermanent, some day these sentient beings will fall away from them and be reborn elsewhere. The devas can help people by inclining their minds to wholesome acts, and people can help the devas by inviting them to rejoice in their meritorious deeds.
The fine material sphere (ruupa loka) consists of sixteen planes. Beings take rebirth into these planes as a result of attaining the jhaanas. They have bodies made of fine matter. The sixteen planes correspond to the attainment of the four jhaanas as follows:
These five realms, called suddhaavaasaa or Pure Abodes, are accessible only to those who have destroyed the lower five fetters — self-view, sceptical doubt, clinging to rites and ceremonies, sense desires, and ill-will. They will destroy their remaining fetters — craving for fine material existence, craving for immaterial existence, conceit, restlessness and ignorance — during their existence in the Pure Abodes. Those who take rebirth here are called "non-returners" because they do not return from that world, but attain final nibbaana there without coming back.
The immaterial or formless sphere (aruupa loka) includes four planes into which beings are born as a result of attaining the formless meditations:
Many may doubt the existence of these planes, but this is not surprising. Such doubt was known even in the Buddha's time. The Sa"myutta Nikaa (II, 254; SN 19.1) records that once, when the venerable Lakkhana and the venerable Mahaa Moggallaana were descending Vulture's Peak Hill, the latter smiled at a certain place. The venerable Lakkhana asked the reason for the smile but the venerable Mahaa Moggallaana told him it was not the right time to ask and suggested he repeat the question in the Buddha's presence. Later when they came to the Buddha, the venerable Lakkhana asked again. The venerable Mahaa Moggallaaana said:
"At the time I smiled I saw a skeleton going through the air. Vultures, crows and hawks followed it and plucked at it between the ribs while it uttered cries of pain. It occurred to me: 'How strange and astonishing, that a being can have such a shape, that the individuality can have such a shape!'"
The Buddha then said: "I too had seen that being but I did not speak about it because others would not have believed me. That being used to be a cattle butcher in Rajagaha."
The question may be asked how we can develop supernormal hearing and super-normal vision so as to perceive sounds and sights beyond normal range. To understand how, we must consider three factors: spatial dimensions, the relativity of time, and the levels of consciousness. Every object in our plane of existence must possess at least four dimensions. The first three are length, width, and depth. It is as if a point were to first trace a line giving length, then turn off at a level angle giving area, then turn off at a vertical angle giving volume. Each deviation from course brings not only a change of direction but also a new dimension with new attributes. But these three dimensions are not exhaustive, for no object is totally static. Even an object apparently still will reveal, at an atomic level, a turbulent mass of activity. Therefore, a fourth dimension is necessary — time. The dimension of time turns "being" into "becoming" — a passage through the phases of past, present, and future. Our sense of the passage of time does not depend on "clock time," but results from the activity of the senses and the mind. The incessant arising and passing of thoughts is sufficient to give a cue to time's movement. Even in the absence of sensory stimulation the flow of thoughts would create the sense of time and keep us geared to this plane of existence. But if thoughts could be stilled, as they are in the higher jhanaas, the sense of time would cease to exist. A different kind of awareness would replace it — a level of awareness expanded far beyond the one we are tied to under ordinary conditions. This new awareness can be called the fifth dimension. As in the case of the other four dimensions, this new one would add a new dimension, a new direction, and new attributes. For such an expanded awareness sounds and sights would be perceived, unknown and inaccessible to us locked up in our limited sense of time.[2]
The Abhidhamma teaches us that:
The Buddhist texts recognize five laws holding sway over the natural order.
The doctrine of dependent origination shows that the sentient being is nothing but a flow of mental and physical phenomena which arises and continues in dependence on conditions. The layout of these conditions brings to light the cause of suffering and shows how suffering can be ended.
The doctrine is based on the following principle:
When THIS is present, there is THAT,
With the arising of THIS, THAT arises.When THIS is not present, there isn't THAT,
With the cessation of THIS, THAT ceases.
Dependent origination is set forth in a series of relations:
The sequence of events covered by the doctrine falls into three existences — the immediately past, the present, and the future one. The first two factors in the sequence refer to the past life, the last two to the future life, and the rest to this present existence. However, these events intersect, so the factors assigned to the past and future existences also can be found in the present. The doctrine indicates how and why we came into this present existence and where we came from, confuting two erroneous interpretations of our nature and destiny:
Dependent on ignorance there are activities. From an inconceivable beginning we have performed activities of body, speech, and mind dominated by ignorance. Ignorance is lack of insight into the Four Noble Truths. Any volitional action performed through ignorance becomes kamma with a potential to react, to bring about rebirth, and other consequences in accordance with the kammic law. Only the arahant, who has ended ignorance, can perform volitional acts without forming kamma.
Dependent on activities there is consciousness. After death the five aggregates disintegrate but kamma remains with its potential intact. This residual kamma helps form the embryo in the new existence. It is responsible for the rebirth consciousness, the first citta of the new life. The ovum and the sperm constitute the body of the embryo, kamma contributes the mind and mental functions. A kamma formation of the previous existence manifests itself as the passive consciousness which, from the very first moment of conception, receives all the potentialities resulting from past volitional actions. No consciousness passes over from one existence to the next but the stream of consciousness goes on, a flux, constantly becoming.
Dependent on consciousness there is mentality-materiality. The union of the ovum, sperm and rebirth consciousness brings the mental-material compound into being. Mentality (naama) signifies the mental factors conascent with passive consciousness — feeling (vedanaa), perception (saññaa), volition (cetanaa), contact (phassa), and attention (manasikaara). Materiality (ruupa) comprises the four primary elements of matter and their derivatives, described earlier. It must be noted that kamma plays a role in the arising of materiality too. At the moment of conception kamma generates three units of matter: the decads of sex, body, and the mind basis. In the course of life kamma causes and sustains the functioning of the senses and vitality. Rebirth consciousness is a conascent condition for the arising of materiality. Thereafter, consciousness conditions materiality via a number of relationships, to be given in the section on conditioning relationships below. Thus mentality and materiality are mutually dependent.
Dependent on mentality-materiality there are the six bases. Once generated and nourished by the mother, the embryo starts to grow. As it grows it acquires four other physical sense bases — the eye, ear, nose, and tongue. The body base appeared at conception as did the sixth sense organ, the mind-base (a collective term for all forms of consciousness).
Dependent on the six sense bases there is contact. Each physical sense base can be stimulated only by its appropriate sense object, i.e., eye-base by forms, ear-base by sounds, nose-base by smells, tongue base by tastes, and the tactile-base by touch. The mind-base can be stimulated by any thought or idea whether past, present, future, or timeless, whether real or imaginary, sensuous or abstract. When the sense base is stimulated, conditions are present for the appropriate consciousness to arise. The combination of the three — base, object, and consciousness — is called "contact."
Dependent on contact there is feeling. When contact is made with an object through the senses, feeling must also arise. Contact is a conascent condition feeling. The feeling may be agreeable, disagreeable, or neither. It is through feeling that we reap the results of previous kamma. Since kamma resultants differ from one person to another we each experience different feelings.
Dependent on feeling there is craving. Craving is of three kinds — craving for sense pleasures (kaamata.nhaa), craving for existence (bhavata.nhaa), and craving for non-existence (vibhavata.nhaa). We crave pleasant sensations experienced through the senses. When one pleasant object passes, as it must, we seek another, thirsting for a new pleasant sensation to replace the old. So the search goes on as craving knows no satiation. Besides pleasures, we also crave existence. In our ignorance we believe there is an abiding self within. Thence we strive and struggle to preserve this self and to provide it with the best conditions. But, at times, we also crave non-existence, as when in a mood of dejection we wish for annihilation, thinking death to be the end. Even if this craving does not become so drastic, it still springs up as the desire to destroy the causes of our distress.
Dependent on craving there is clinging. Clinging is an intensified form of craving. It has the nature of grasping and takes on four forms:
Dependent on clinging there is becoming. Clinging conditions volitional activities, unwholesome and wholesome, which set the stage for a new existence where they can ripen.
Dependent on becoming there is birth. The unexhausted kammic activities of this life bring about birth into a new existence, finding appropriate conditions to manifest themselves.
Dependent on birth there is old age and death. Once a person is born, decay and death inevitably follow, bringing in their trail sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair.
In order to cure any disease its cause must be known and removed. All other treatments are symptomatic. The Buddha taught dependent origination to point out the cause of suffering and to show how it can be uprooted.
To end suffering the cycle of causal origination must be broken at the right link. We cannot end suffering by destroying the psycho-physical organism we inherited as a result of past kamma; this is not the answer to the problem. We cannot prevent the contact of the senses with their objects, nor the arising of feeling from contact. But our reactions to the feelings we experience, that is different, that is something we can control. We can control them through wisdom. If we understand the feelings that arise to be momentary and without a self, we will not react to them with craving. Thus the right link in the sequence that can be broken is the link between feeling and craving. Suffering ends with the destruction of craving.
The complete destruction of craving is a formidable task. But, though difficult, it can be approached by degrees. Craving can be gradually weakened and this will start us on the path towards the ideal. The less we crave, the fewer the disappointments; the less the suffering, the greater the peace. In the Four Noble Truths the Buddha teaches us all we need to know: the cause of suffering is craving; the way to achieve this is to follow the Noble Eightfold Path.
Buddhism teaches that all phenomena, mental and physical, arise through conditions. In the Abhidhamma the modes of conditionality are analyzed into twenty-four types of relationship, each representing a tie between a condition and the phenomena it conditions. A brief account of these is as follows:
Root condition (hetu paccaya). The three unwholesome roots — greed, hate, and delusion — are root conditions for their associated unwholesome mental states and the material form they originate. Likewise, for the wholesome and indeterminate states — greedlessness, hatelessness, and undeludedness.
Object condition (aaramma.na paccaya). Any state that is an object for consciousness and its factors is an object condition. Consciousness is of six kinds by way of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind; each can arise only with its appropriate object.
Predominance condition (adhipati paccaya). This assists in the manner of being foremost, thereby exercising a dominating rose over the other mental states. It may be a conascent mental state or it may be an object which is given special importance by the mind.
& 5. Proximity and Contiguity conditions (anantara paccaya, samanantara paccaya). In our analysis of a thought process we saw that seventeen thought moments follow each other in rapid succession. Each thought moment, with its factors, stands to the next thought moment and its factors in the relation of proximity condition and contiguity condition. These two modes of conditioning are different only in name but not in essence.
The doctrine of dependent origination (pa.ticca samuppaada) teaches us that our mental and physical components are effects resulting from causes. The conditions (paccayas) show that a variety of specific relationships obtain between these effects and their causes. A few examples will be given to illustrate how this knowledge helps us to understand the Buddha's teaching and to put it into practice.
First Cause. Buddhism does not postulate a first cause. The world is beginningless, a continuous arising and passing away of phenomena dependent on conditions. The assumption that the world must have had a beginning is due to our limited understanding. Buddhism teaches that the world consists of a countless number of world-systems arising, evolving, and disintegrating in accordance with natural laws. To this cosmic process there is no first point or outside cause. As the Buddha says: "Inconceivable, O monks, is this sa.msaara. Not to be discovered is any first beginning of beings, who obstructed by ignorance and ensnared by craving, are hurrying and hastening through this round of rebirths." In fact, it is our ignorance, resulting in craving, that creates us over and over again.
'Nor from a single cause arise
One fruit or many, nor one fruit from many;
'Tis helpful, though, to utilize
One cause and one fruit as representative.'
The twenty-four conditions are so intricately related that nothing can stand by itself as a sufficient cause. Even ignorance arises and continues through conditions such as wrong companionship and wrong views. It is placed first, not because it is temporally first, but because it is the most fundamental condition for suffering.
Selflessness. In a doctrine that teaches all phenomena to be conditionally arisen there is no place for any form of abiding personality. Until, by insight meditation, one penetrates this truth, the delusion of a self will persist, obscuring the Four Noble Truths.
Free Will. Someone might say: "If all phenomena are conditionally arisen, then Buddhism is a form of fatalism, for we have no free will to control our destiny." Such a statement would not be correct. Will is volition (cetanaa), a mental state, determined ethically by its root condition (hetu paccaya). If the root is unwholesome, we can either restrain or indulge the volition; if the root is wholesome, we can encourage it or neglect it. In this exercise of will lies our freedom to guide our destiny.
Root condition. Buddhist training is directed towards eliminating the defilements (kilesaa). The foremost defilements are the three unwholesome roots — greed, hate, and delusion. From these spring others: conceit (maana), speculative views (di.t.thi), skeptical doubt (vicikicchaa), mental torpor (thiina), restlessness (uddhacca), shamelessness (ahirika), lack of moral fear or conscience (anottappa). These defilements function at three levels:
Predominance condition. This is of two kinds, a mental state or an object.
Decisive-support condition. This acts by virtue of its cogency. It is of three kinds:
These three types of decisive support conditions have a bearing on our practice if we wish to fulfill the four preliminary conditions to stream entry (sotaapattiyanga). These are: (i) companionship with those of merit and good character (sappurisa sa.mseva); (ii) hearing the Dhamma (saddhamma savanna); (iii) wise reflection (yoniso manasikaara); and (iv) living in conformity with the Dhamma (dhammaanudhammapatipatti).
Nibbaana is the fourth ultimate reality (paramattha dhamma). Whereas the other three realities — consciousness (citta), mental formations (cetasikaa), and material phenomena (ruupa) — are conditioned, nibbaana is not. It is neither created nor formed.
When the wanderer Jambukhaadaka asked his uncle, the Venerable Saariputta, what the word "nibbaana" means, the Venerable Saariputta replied that nibbaana is the extinction of greed, hate, and delusion. But nibbaana is not the mere extinction of these defilements. It is a state to be attained in this very existence by the extinction of greed, hate, and delusion.
Nibbaana is the summum bonum of Buddhist practice, to be achieved only by following the Noble Eightfold Path. For most of us the journey along the Path will be long and arduous, but there are sign-posts on the way that will indicate we are going in the right direction. We will recognize these sign-posts when the fetters that bind us are broken in succession. When the first three fetters — personality view, doubt, and clinging to mere rules and rituals — are broken one becomes a "stream enterer" (sotaapanna), one who has entered the stream to nibbaana. The fetters, once broken, will never bind such a person again. This is the truth he knows without uncertainty. The stream-enterer will not be reborn in the four lower planes of existence. He will take rebirth seven times at the most, either in the human or heavenly planes.
When the next two fetters — sensuous craving and ill-will are attenuated, one becomes a "once-returner" (sakadaagaamii), due to return only once to the sense sphere world and then attain nibbaana.
When all the lower five fetters are eradicated, the disciple becomes a "non-returner" (anaagaami), who will never return to the sense sphere world but, after death, will be reborn in a pure divine abode and attain nibbaana there.
One who takes the next major step and eradicates the five higher fetters — desire for existence in fine material planes, desire for existence in the immaterial planes, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance — reaches the final goal. He is the arahant, free from all future becoming.
Each of these four supramundane stages involves two phases. One is the "path" (magga) that eradicates the fetters, the other is the "fruit" (phala), moments of supramundane consciousness that result from the path, made possible by the path's work of eradication. The fruit is the enjoyment made available by the work of the path. The fruit can be entered and enjoyed many times after the appropriate path has been reached. The noble disciple determines to enter the fruit, then develops insight until he does so. The highest fruit is the fruit of arahantship. The arahant knows with certainty that his mind is devoid of defilements. He has penetrated the Four Noble Truths. He becomes neither despondent nor elated through contact with the eight worldly conditions — gain and loss, honor and dishonor, happiness and misery, praise and blame. He is free from sorrow, stainless, and safe. "Free from sorrow" because he no more weeps and laments; "stainless" because he has no more defilements; "safe" because there is no more birth for him.
Though the mind of the arahant is free from defilements, his body is still subject to decay, disease and injury, to pain and discomfort. He can overcome these by inducing supramundane consciousness, which is always at his disposal, but it would be impracticable for him to do so for any length of time. Therefore, during life, the arahant can enjoy only an intermittent release from suffering. This is called sa-upaadi-sesa-nibbaana, nibbaana with the groups of existence still remaining, since he still exists as an individualized personality subject to the results of residual kamma. Thus, the Buddha met a foot injury when Devadatta hurled a rock at him, the Venerable Mahaa Moggallaana was battered to death by professional criminals, and the Venerable Angulimaala was hit by sticks and stones while on his alms round.
When the arahant dies he attains an-upaadi-sesa-nibbaana, nibbaana without the aggregates remaining. He will not be reborn anywhere. Earlier he severed the chain of dependent origination at the link where feeling is followed by craving. Now he severs it at the link where becoming leads to new birth.
There has been much speculation as to what happens to the arahant after death — whether he exists, or does not exist, or both, or neither. This confusion arises from thinking in terms of an abiding entity that passes from life to life. The Buddha taught that such an abiding entity does not exist. It is an illusion. Life is a process of becoming, perishing at every moment, generated by kamma. Since there is no ego-entity, there is nothing to be annihilated and nothing to enter a state of eternal existence. When the arahant dies, the physio-mental process comes to an end for lack of the "fuel" needed to keep it going. This fuel is craving (ta.nhaa), which leads to grasping, which in turn leads to further becoming. If craving is totally extinguished, there can be no further becoming. When the body dies at the expiration of the life span, no new rebirth takes place. If there is no rebirth in any plane, then there is no decay, disease, and death; there is no sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, or despair. This is the end of suffering.
To conclude we shall recall those four existential aspects mentioned at the outset:
What are we? Each of us is a mind-body combination whose constituent parts arise and perish from moment to moment, depending on conditions. There is no abiding entity found in this process of becoming. The mind and the body are reciprocal. With death, the body disintegrates into the four primary elements but the flow of consciousness goes on finding a material base in another existence in accordance with kamma. We are owners of our kamma, heirs to our kamma, kamma is the womb from which we are born, kamma is our friend, our refuge. The present mind-body combination will last as long as the reproductive kamma supports it, but this could be cut off at any time by a strong opposing kamma. In spite of the transient happiness we enjoy, there is no means by which we can avoid decay, ill-health, association with the unpleasant, dissociation from the pleasant, and not getting what we desire.
What do we find around us? Around are sentient and non-sentient objects which provide stimuli for our senses and minds. The material nature of our bodies is the same as that of the objects around us, all made up of the four primary elements and their derivatives.
How and why do we react to what is within and around us? We react in response to the six kinds of stimuli that we make contact with through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. The nature of our reaction depends on our defilements which manifest as craving and grasping.
What should we aspire to reach as a spiritual goal? We should aspire to eliminate craving and thereby end this process of repeated becoming, always fraught with suffering. This is the attainment of nibbaana. The way is the Noble Eightfold Path.
The arahant Ra.t.thapaala told King Koravya why he went forth from the home life into homelessness. He said that life in any world:
Facts are stubborn, often unpalatable. No purpose is served by behaving like the proverbial ostrich or by sweetening the true taste of existence with a sprinkling of ambrosia. But there is no need to be despondent. Peace and happiness are possible, always available to us, if we make the effort to find them. To find them we have to get to know "things as they really are." "Things as they really are" is the subject dealt with in the Abhidhamma. By studying the Abhidhamma and turning these studies into personal experience by meditation, we can reach the liberating knowledge that gives peace.
Dr. N.K.G. Mendis graduated from the Medical Faculty of the University of Sri Lanka in 1946 and did his post-graduate training in India and the U.K. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He specialized in thoracic surgery and practiced in Sri Lanka, England and Ghana. Since 1972 he has been in general practice in Nova Scotia, Canada. He acknowledges that, though born to devout Buddhist parents, he has been devoted to Dhamma practice only since 1975, when the circumstances of his life led him to seek refuge in the Triple Gem. He is a supporter of the Buddhist Vihaaras in Washington D.C. and Toronto, and is the author of Wheel Nos. 268 and 279.


text:
Supporters of President Donald Trump are planning on holding rallies this weekend in Washington, D.C.
In what's being called the Million MAGA March, supporters of the president are expected to show support of Trump's claims of voter fraud. No credible evidence of voter fraud has been exposed. Several lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign claiming irregularities in the 2020 election have been dismissed.
A handful of groups are posting on social media about gathering in locations around D.C. and the country Saturday afternoon. Groups include March for Trump, Stop the Steal, and Women for America First, according to local media.
Some are suggesting they will march from the Supreme Court to the White House on Saturday, and there is a permit application for a gathering in Freedom Plaza.
When asked Thursday about the rallies, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said she expected a large turnout.
"I think it's going to be quite large, um, from what I'm hearing, don't have an estimate for you," McEnany said during an interview on Fox News.
D.C.'s mayor said the city is preparing for Saturday, same as they did last weekend after the Associated Press and others called the presidential election in favor of Joe Biden.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
At the University of Basel's Department of Art History, doctoral students can complete a PhD in the following fields:
- Medieval Art History; from late antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages (Professor Aden Kumler)
- Early Modern Art History; the production of art from the early Renaissance to Classicism (Professor Dr. Andreas Beyer)
- Modern Art History, tracing the development of art from the late eighteenth centuryto the twenty-first century (Professor Ralph Ubl)
- Theory of Art, examining questions of art theory, methodology and image theory (Professor Markus Klammer, Schaulager Professor)
The Laurenz Professor of Contemporary Art provides the Department of Art History with scholarly expertise on developments of contemporary art.
The Department of Art History is an internationally recognized center for scholarship on the theory and history of the image. This is reflected in the university's establishment of the focal area visual studies, a field devoted to the empirical and historical conditions of visual communication that supports theoretical work on the foundations of image criticism (cf. eikones – The Center for the Theory and History of the Image). The promotion of PhD research represents a key factor in maintaining the vitality and innovation capacity of art historical scholarship in Basel.
The eikones graduate school offers outstanding doctorate students who are pursing an interest in the history and theory of images a structured program of study characterized by sustained advising, internationality, interdisciplinarity, regular exchange with visiting scholars, and career-related opportunities.
In addition to the information below, we recommend students from abroad to read the information sheet step by step – Preliminary information for international PhD candidates at the University of Basel.
Admission and matriculation
To be admitted to a doctorate, applicants must hold a master's degree in a field related to the desired subject of doctoral research with an average grade of at least 5.0 rounded to the nearest tenth (the Swiss system awards grades from 1 to 6 with 6 being the highest grade and 4 being a "pass"). Other degrees from a higher education institution recognized by the University of Basel may be deemed partially or fully equivalent on the condition that the applicant acquires any missing credits. Acontinuing education program qualification from a university (e.g. Master of Advanced Studies) does not entitle an applicant to be admitted to a doctorate.
Admission applications must be submitted online to the university's Student Administration Office. Applications can also be submitted after the official application deadline has passed. However, there is no guarantee that the application will be processed in time for the desired semester, or that the applicant will be able to attend courses in the current semester.
Admission to a doctoral program
Before you can be accepted onto a doctoral program, you must successfully apply for admission to doctoral studies in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Basel. Once you have been admitted, you can begin your search for a place on a doctoral program. For application information, please see the website of the relevant doctoral program.
Cotutelle de thèse
The University of Basel website provides information about how to conduct a doctoral project at the University of Basel and at a second university in a foreign country, leading to a double doctoral degree or "cotutelle de thèse".
Language requirements
The main languages of instruction in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences are German and English (with the exception of the Department of Languages and Literatures). To ensure your studies are successful, you should be proficient in the languages of instruction for your doctoral subject to at least C1 level as defined in the European Framework of Reference. The Language Center at the University of Basel helps students to attain the required level of proficiency.
Office of the Dean of Research
Student Administration PhD
A doctorate usually lasts between three and five years and includes a dissertation, curriculum-based courses, and the doctoral examination. Curriculum-based courses make up at least 12 credit points in individual doctorates and at least 18 credit points in doctoral programs. First, however, a doctoral committee must be formed that will define the framework for the doctorate and work with you to draw up a Doctoral Agreement including an individual study plan.
Doctoral committee
Structure and tasks
Every doctorate is supported by a doctoral committee. This committee usually consists of a first and second supervisor but can also include a third person. The first supervisor is primarily responsible for making sure that the doctoral project is conducted correctly and that suitable supervision is provided. The doctoral committee defines the curriculum-based courses to be completed and provides the doctoral candidate with feedback on the quality and progress of his or her work during regular supervisory meetings. All members of the doctoral committee produce an independent, graded evaluation report on the dissertation submitted.
Forming and appointing the committee
The first supervisor must be appointed when the application for admission to a doctorate is submitted. The application to act as first supervisor must be submitted to the Student Administration Office together with the application for admission. Ideally, all other supervisors should be appointed by the time the doctorate begins. However, the doctoral committee must be named and appointed by the doctoral board at the latest 12 months after the start of the doctorate. The deadline by which the doctoral committee must be appointed is provided to the doctoral candidate along with their admission letter.
Any Group I professor in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Basel can serve as first supervisor. Members of Group II (assistant professors without tenure track, honorary professors who hold a doctorate, and private lecturers with a postdoctoral qualification from the faculty) can serve as first supervisor provided the second supervisor is a Group I professor. In this case, the second supervisor must be named in the first supervisor's application when the application for admission to a doctorate is submitted. Upon request to the doctoral board – the doctoral agreement shall suffice in this case – honorary professors from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences who hold a doctorate and Group I members from a different faculty at the University of Basel may be deemed equivalent to Group I members from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in matters concerning the doctoral committee.
Any of the Group I and II faculty members mentioned above may serve as second supervisor. Upon request – the doctoral agreement shall suffice in this case – the doctoral board may also permit a second supervisor to be appointed from outside the faculty or outside the University of Basel. This person must hold a comparable qualification and position as internal second supervisors and hold the right to confer doctorates at their home institution. All contact details for the external second supervisor requested must be specified in the doctoral agreement (connection to their university, postal and email addresses). The doctoral board decides whether to approve the external second supervisor.
The doctoral candidate may apply to the doctoral board to add a third supervisor to the doctoral committee. In the case of a three-person committee, either the second or third supervisor does not need to hold the right to confer doctorates; however, this person must have a demonstrable link to a higher education institution or possess a high level of expertise in the doctoral topic. An informal application letter must be submitted to the doctoral board explaining why the supervisor has been chosen and providing details of their position, institutional connection, and addresses (postal and email address). The application must be supported by the first supervisor. The doctoral board decides whether to approve three-person committees.
For more information about the process for completing a doctorate, visit the website of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Registering for the doctoral examination
Once doctoral candidates have written their dissertation, passed all curriculum-based courses, and fulfilled all other requirements, they can apply for admission to the doctoral examination. Each candidate must complete the following steps:
- Submit a copy of the dissertation manuscript to each supervisor. The faculty does not bear any of the costs incurred in sending out dissertation manuscripts.
- Submit a written application for admission to the doctoral examination (via Phil App or email) containing all documents specified in the information provided about registering for the doctoral examination.
Candidates should register for the doctoral examination at the latest four months before the desired oral examination date. Doctoral examinations cannot be held during master's examination sessions. Doctoral candidates are admitted to the doctoral examination once their dissertation has been accepted by the supervisors. The Dean's Office must be informed of their decision to accept or refuse the dissertation within the four months after the dissertation was submitted. The candidate will be provided with confirmation that the dissertation has been accepted and they have been admitted to the exam when they receive their examination invitation and schedule.
Exam organization and doctoral examination
The examination is held at the latest within two months of acceptance of the dissertation. Doctoral candidates must remain matriculated until the exam takes place. The examination is organized by the Student Administration Services of the Dean's Office. The doctoral examination is accepted by the supervisor who is chiefly responsible; where possible, the other supervisors on the doctoral committee should always take part in exams. Examiners may participate via Skype upon request, provided that they are participating from a foreign country and that the first supervisor and the candidate attend in person. For an examiner to participate via Skype, all exam participants must provide informal, written consent to the Student Administration Services of the Dean's Office. The candidate is responsible for the technology required. The Dean's Office is usually able to provide the necessary devices and internet access.
Doctoral examinations last for 60 minutes and are not usually open to the public (exceptions must be arranged beforehand with the Student Administration Services of the Dean's Office). The exam includes a dissertation defense based on the evaluation report provided in advance. The defense starts with a presentation lasting around 15 minutes followed by a discussion, which can cover the wider subject area to which the dissertation belongs. Once the candidate has passed the doctoral examination, the examination chairperson confers the provisional doctorate. Until the doctorate becomes legally binding, the candidate may use the title Dr. phil. des. (Doctor philosophiae designatus).
Doctoral degree transcript and graduation ceremony
The degree transcript is presented at the graduation ceremony. Candidates who pass their exam between February 1 and July 31 attend the ceremony held the following September; candidates who pass between August 1 and January 31 attend the ceremony held the following March. Candidates who are unable to attend the ceremony in person may receive their graduation documents by post upon request.
Publication, doctoral certificate, and right to bear title
The doctoral process is not deemed complete until the candidate has fulfilled their duty of publication and the certificate has been presented. The candidate is obliged to deliver the dissertation in the format specified in the faculty publication guidelines within three years of the doctoral examination. The university library's instructions for printing and binding dissertations must also be taken into account. Detailed instructions on how to publish dissertations in electronic format can be found in the E-Dissertation section of the university library's edoc document server.
Once the candidate has fulfilled their duty of publication, the doctoral certificate will be issued, ideally within two months. The doctoral certificate entitles the bearer to use the academic title «Dr. phil.», or «PhD» in English. The doctorate will be announced in the Kantonsblatt Basel-Stadt.
Financing options for doctorates
A doctorate usually lasts between three and five years. It is important to start thinking about financing for a doctorate at an early stage and to work with your first supervisor to find a solution before you start your studies.
Doctoral students should consider preparing a competitive application for a scholarship or a project position during the first project phase in order to continue and successfully complete their doctorate within the framework of third-party funding. Information on funding opportunities (Doc.CH, Swiss National Science Foundation, University of Basel research fund, foundations, etc.) and the University of Basel advisory services can be found on the relevant webpage of the Career Advancement Office. The Research Professional database is anotherstructured tool for identifying suitable financing options.
Printing cost contributions for dissertations
The Max Geldner Dissertation Fund grants contributions to the printing costs of dissertations at the Faculty of Philosophy and History. In addition to costs incurred in the printing of monographic dissertations, contributions are also made for articles published in the open access procedure for cumulative dissertations. Furthermore, applications for language editing can be submitted if the dissertation was not written in the author's first language or if the author's language skills are not sufficient for a high-quality final editing.
The application form (see below) must be submitted together with a recommendation from the first supervisor before going to press.
Applications received by the Office of the Dean of Research by February 15 or September 15 at the latest will be considered at the following meeting in February/March or September/October respectively. For more details, please see the information sheet.
Applications and documents should be sent to:
Max Geldner-Dissertationenfonds
Dekanat der Phil.-Hist. Fakultät
Bernoullistr. 28
4056 Basel
Subsidies for doctorate printing costs can also be requested from the Vice President's Office for Research at the University of Basel.


text: When it comes to choosing flowers there are so many options and lovely flower types that it can be difficult to know what the best option is. That is why we have taken the bestselling bouquets and arrangements and displayed them all on the one page. We hope by knowing which flower bouquets and arrangements are popular, you will have an easier time choosing for yourself


text:
In general, our website may be used anonymously. Providing personal data is purely voluntary and you will always be informed if and for what purpose we want to store your data. If you make use of other services, the processing of personal data may be necessary or even mandatory. Personal data are data that enable us to identify you personally and/or to contact you, such as your name, address or e-mail address.
We evaluate your visit to our website statistically with Google Analytics, to which you can object, see under "Google Analytics".
Anonymous Use Of Our Website
You may use our website anonymously. When you visit our website, your web browser tells our web server your IP address so that communication is possible. Your IP address may be used to identify you. However, we do not store your IP address. You remain completely anonymous to us when visiting our website.
Logging And Evaluation In Case Of Attacks
Error messages – usually caused by attack attempts – are recorded and evaluated for reasons of security. Only the following data that may allow identification are used with respect to the recording of error messages: Your IP address, date and time, exact name (URL) of the requested data file(s), HTTP status code, volume of data transferred, referrer (website from which the file was requested), browser identification string that is sent from your browser (User Agent String). Such data shall be deleted after seven days if they are no longer useful (possibly for evidence).
The legal basis for data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 subpara. 1 letter f GDPR. The legitimate interests in processing on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 para. 1 letter f GDPR are ensuring of the functionality and security of our website as well as defence against attacks and other abuses.
Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics, a web analysis service provided by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA ("Google"). For more information on how Google uses data when you use websites or apps provided by Google's partners, click here: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites?hl=en
Google Analytics uses "cookies", small text files that are stored in your web browser and that permit to analyse how you use our website. The information generated by the cookie regarding your use of our website is normally transferred to a Google server in the USA, and is stored there. As the IP anonymize function is activated on our website, your IP address will, within Member States of the European Union or other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area, first be shortened by Google. Only in exceptional cases will Google transfer the full IP address to a Google server in the USA, and will shorten it there. On behalf of us, Google will use this information in order to analyse your usage of our website, to compile reports on website activities, and to provide further services to us relating to the usage of the website and the internet. The IP address transferred by your browser within the framework of Google Analytics will not be combined by Google with other data.
You can prevent the storage of cookies by setting your browser software, however, in such case, you may possibly not be able to fully use all features on our website. Furthermore, you can prevent collection by Google of the data generated by the cookie and relating to your use of our website (including your IP address), as well as processing of these data by Google, by downloading and installing the browser plug-in provided under the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.
The legal basis for data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 subpara. 1 letter f GDPR. The legitimate interests in processing on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 para. 1 letter f GDPR are our interest in the analysis, optimization and economical operation of our website and of our marketing and a better promotion of the sale of our products and services.
Google is certified under the Privacy Shield and thus offers an adequate level of data protection as decided by the EU Commission in an adequacy decision:
Data Processing Upon Contact
If you call us or send us a message, for example via the contact form or by e-mail, we need your e-mail address, your postal address or a telephone number if you want us to reply to you. You may also use a pseudonym instead of your name. We will use this data as well as data and time of your contact exclusively to handle your request. Your data will not be passed on to third parties but only internally to the department responsible for your particular request. We will delete your data as soon as it is no longer needed for this purpose, i.e. usually three months after the last contact with you. If you have any further questions, please contact us again within three months. The legal basis for the data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 subpara. 1 letters b and f GDPR. The legitimate interest in processing on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 subpara. 1 letter f GDPR is to fulfil your request.
Exceptions: We are required to retain business and commercial letters and other tax-relevant documents in order to fulfil our commercial and tax law archiving obligations; we will delete them by 31 March of the seventh calendar year following their creation, and in the case of booking receipts of the eleventh calendar year following their creation. Our accounting department has access to these data. The legal basis for tax law retention is Art. 6 Para. 1 Para. 1 Letter c GDPR in connection with sections 147 AO, 257 HGB.
If your request is for a special purpose (e.g. ordering, quotation request, newsletter order), only the explanations in the respective section for that special purpose apply to data processing in this context.
Data Processing For Newsletter Subscription
If you subscribe to one or more of our newsletters, we need your e-mail address, otherwise we cannot send you the newsletter. All other information is voluntary. Your data will not be passed on to third parties, and we use it only for sending our newsletter. You will first receive an email with a link you must click to confirm that you want to receive the newsletter ("Double-Opt-In"). This will prevent others from subscribing to the newsletter in your name. We will analyze which links you click on in order to tailor the newsletter to your specific preferences and when you read the newsletter so that we can send it to you at your favourite time. In addition, we store your registration for the newsletter, your consent to the usage analysis and your confirmation to be able to prove that you have registered and agreed. For the purpose of sending the newsletter and analyzing its use, we will store your data until you revoke your consent or until the newsletter is permanently discontinued; for the purpose of customer service, we will delete your data as soon as you object or by 31 March of the fifth calendar year following your last order or enquiry or expression of interest; for the purpose of proof of consent by 31 March of the fourth calendar year following the last newsletter dispatch.
We use MailChimp as our marketing automation platform. By subscribing to our newsletter, you acknowledge that the information you provide will be transferred to MailChimp for processing in accordance with their Privacy Policy and Terms.
For the processing for the purpose of sending the newsletter and for the usage analysis, the legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 para. 1 letter a GDPR. For processing for the purpose of proof of consent, the legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 subpara. 1 letter c in connection with. Art. 5 para. 2 GDPR, Art. 7 para. 1 GDPR and Art. 24 para. 1 GDPR as well as Art. 6 para. 1 para. 1 letter f GDPR. The legitimate interests in processing on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 para. 1 letter f GDPR are the promotion of the sale of our products and services, corresponding advertising, and the proof of your consent, i.e. the defence against legal claims.
Video Surveillance
Safety-relevant areas of our premises and grounds may be video-monitored. Cameras are installed open. Video-monitored areas are marked with visible signs at least at the entrance. Recordings are made which are deleted after 72 hours unless they are further needed due to an incident. Recordings can only be viewed by employees responsible for corporate security. Every access to the recordings is logged to prevent misuse.
The legal basis for data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 subpara. 1 letter f GDPR. Legitimate interests are the exercise of our domestic authority, the avoidance or prosecution of abusive conduct, the clarification of cases of damage and the establishment or exercise of legal claims or the defence against legal claims. Video recordings will not be used for any other purposes.
Your Rights
You have a right of access, to rectification or erasure, restriction of processing, to object to processing and to data portability under the respective statutory preconditions with regard to the personal data concerning you. In particular, you have the right to object to the processing of your data for advertising purposes at any time without incurring costs other than the transmission costs according to the basic rates of your provider (e.g. the costs of an e-mail = usually none). This applies, for example, if you were our guest and do not want to receive offers for similar stays. If the data processing is based on a consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of the processing carried out on the basis of consent until the withdrawal or of the processing on another legal basis. If you want to exercise these rights, you can simply write to email@example.com or click on the unsubscribe link in any email to unsubscribe. If we call you, you can of course also tell us directly in the conversation.
Your Right To Object To Processing
To the extent that processing of your personal data is based on Art. 6 para. 1 subpara. 1 lit. e or f GDPR, you have the right to object to processing in accordance with Art. 21 GDPR. If your objection is made for reasons arising from your particular situation, we will no longer process your personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms of or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. If your objection is directed against direct marketing, including profiling, insofar as it is connected with such direct marketing, we will no longer process your personal data for these purposes.