Presentation on Anatta Anatta and the 5 Skandhas The Wheel of Samsara and the 12 links of dependant orignination

“The Dhammapada says: ’All is transient’ When one sees this, he is above sorrow. This is the clear path. ‘All is sorrow’ When one sees this.he is above sorrow This is the clear path. ‘All is unreal’ When one sees this he is above sorrow. This is the clear path Dhammapada 20 : The object is an object for the subject. The subject is a subject for the object. Know the relativity of the two Rests on emptiness In one emptiness the two are not distinguished And each contains in itself ten thousand things When no discrimination is made between this and that How can a one sided and prejudiced view arise?

Task 1.

If Buddhists believe in anatta then what happens when a person dies? Buddhists would argue that kamma precipitates a rebirth after bodily death like chemists talk about chemical equations where nothing is added or taken away but everything changes e.g.2 HCl + Mg CO 3 => MgCl +CO 2 + H 2 O Hydrochloric acid + Magnesium Chloride +> Magnesium Chloride + Carbon Dioxide + Water Acid added to a metal produces a solid, a gas and a liquid. Nothing remains the same but nothing disappears.

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The 12 Links of dependant Origination The Buddhist wheel of life is a pictorial representation of the wheel of samsara. At its hub is the 3 poisons or fires Surrounding this is the path of kamma – both positive and negative The 6 realms surround this path On the outside of the wheel are the 12 links of dependant origination which all unenlightened beings travel around.

1. Ignorance – A blind man hobbling along This is shown as a feeble blind man stumbling from one difficulty to another. He can’t see where he is going because he is blinded by his own ignorance. He is completely mistaken about the way things really are – being unaware that nothing is permanent including the self. He is feeble because although ignorance can have a powerful hold over people (and ignorance is seen as the source of all suffering), it can be overcome by wisdom.

.2. Predispositions (kammic formations) - A potter at his wheel From the standpoint of ignorance you engage in actions of body, speech and mind. All of these have kammic consequences, not just now but in the future too. All of these shape a new life just like the potter takes a lump of clay and creates a new pot.

3. Consciousness – A monkey scampering up a tree Consciousness arises from intentional activities. Consciousness remains after the death of the physical body unless it is ended with liberation – nibbana at the point of death. The monkey climbing up and down the tree symbolises the movement from one life to the next.

.4. Name and form – Two people carried in a boat From consciousness come names and forms. Name and form refer to the newly conceived being’s embryonic mind and body. One traveller stands for ‘Name’, the mental consciousness that is coming from a previous life to join the sperm and egg. The other traveller symbolises ‘Form’, the small embryo that will grow into the new body for this consciousness.

.5. Sensations – An empty house From names, forms and consciousness come the senses – sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and mental activity. They are shown as an empty house because at this point the senses are not functioning: complete on the outside but empty on the inside.

6. Contact – A man and woman embracing The senses develop – seeing things, hearing things, smelling things, tasting things, touching things and mental activity. Naturally they do not all develop at the same time. This is shown as a man and woman embracing or kissing to symbolise the initial contact that happens to each of the senses in order to begin to develop.

7. Feeling – A person with an arrow in his eye Through contact with external things (seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, tasting and mental activity), feelings and emotions begin. These feelings and emotions include things like pain, pleasure, love, hatred, likes and dislikes. Feelings and emotions create attachments or aversions to things in the world

8. Craving – A person drinking alcohol Feelings create cravings. When you experience pleasure you want it to continue. You seek further pleasure. When you experience pain you want it to stop and you try to avoid it. A person drinking alcohol symbolises this link as you seek pleasurable experiences to make you feel good and try to separate yourself from bad experiences. This is a powerful addiction. It has a hold over you. You are compelled to act this way.

9. Attachment (grasping) – A monkey snatching fruit From cravings come attachments. You attach to ideas and objects in the world and how they make you feel. You cling to desires to have and to hold or avoid and escape from. These are not thought-out actions, they are the automatic response of craving and grasping that you have been accustomed to throughout your life. The monkey snatching fruit symbolises that: as your desire grows, you tend to grasp at pleasurable objects, just as a monkey snatches at fruit.

10. Being (becoming) – A pregnant woman From the attachments come being or becoming. As your craving and grasping increase in strength throughout your life, rebirth or rebecoming is assured. All of this is leading to the next life coming into existence; it is almost like kammic seeds being planted. A pregnant woman symbolises this new life. 10. Being (becoming) – A pregnant woman From the attachments come being or becoming. As your craving and grasping increase in strength throughout your life, rebirth or rebecoming is assured. All of this is leading to the next life coming into existence; it is almost like kammic seeds being planted. A pregnant woman symbolises this new life. 10. Being (becoming) – A pregnant woman From the attachments come being or becoming. As your craving and grasping increase in strength throughout your life, rebirth or rebecoming is assured. All of this is leading to the next life coming into existence; it is almost like kammic seeds being planted. A pregnant woman symbolises this new life. 10. Being (becoming) – A pregnant woman From the attachments come being or becoming. As your craving and grasping increase in strength throughout your life, rebirth or rebecoming is assured. All of this is leading to the next life coming into existence; it is almost like kammic seeds being planted. A pregnant woman symbolises this new life. 10. Being (becoming) – A pregnant woman From the attachments come being or becoming. As your craving and grasping increase in strength throughout your life, rebirth or rebecoming is assured. All of this is leading to the next life coming into existence; it is almost like kammic seeds being planted. A pregnant woman symbolises this new life. 10. Being (becoming) – A pregnant woman From the attachments come being or becoming. As your craving and grasping increase in strength throughout your life, rebirth or rebecoming is assured. All of this is leading to the next life coming into existence; it is almost like kammic seeds being planted. A pregnant woman symbolises this new life. 10. Being (becoming) – A pregnant woman From the attachments come being or becoming. As your craving and grasping increase in strength throughout your life, rebirth or rebecoming is assured. All of this is leading to the next life coming into existence; it is almost like kammic seeds being planted. A pregnant woman symbolises this new life.

11. Birth (rebirth/rebecoming) – A woman giving birth Birth arises from the previous link. The kammic seeds come to fruition. Your dying consciousness, clinging to life and wanting new life, and your kamma, are pushed into a new life

12. Ageing and death – A person carrying a corpse From rebirth or birth comes the whole experience again. From ignorance you are forced to carry the burden of unwanted suffering. A person carrying a corpse symbolises carrying this burden. Remember birth will be in one of the six realms.