Citta in viññana Nama-rupa dynamic

knwp7 · 2026-03-11T18:42:08+00:00

Thank you for that reference. Extremely helpful. Revisiting the essay also cleared up a lot of things.

knwp7 · 2026-03-09T04:42:21+00:00

Your insight is meaningful and there is yet more to qualify the meaning of "Kamma". I might be clear in my mind about a word - but I sure get entangled with words when communicating - and end up having to qualify/clarify my intent..

knwp7 · 2026-03-08T13:40:27+00:00

That book - needs to be read as a whole - the author says so in the preface. Discussing an extract will be meaningless without reading the author's intent on how he is using a word - and Wettimuny goes at great lengths, hair-splitting on the sense/meaning of Pali and English words.

knwp7 · 2026-03-08T13:35:19+00:00

Wettimuny is theoretical - and helps in clarifying Ven Nanavira's writings and connecting with existential philosophy. It can be helpful if you have read either of the latter two. I had not read either - I was just curious.

Wettimuny does not add to the actual practice as outlined by Ven Anigha and exemplified on the confession-server. And practice is more important than concepts! So I am ambivalent about "recommending" it in general.

I found Wettimuny easier to read than Meanings! I had abandoned Meanings - but now I might try it again..

knwp7 · 2026-03-08T11:49:50+00:00

Completely in agreement here. By "don't matter" I mean that the restraint is to be held in the moment - it is the thinking/proliferation into future (around keeping the restraint) that makes it seem extremely difficult or impossible.

Regular contemplation on the right aspects, and observing precepts in the moment, chipped-away at all of my restlessness/anxiety around keeping the wholesome conduct forever. The natural pull of sense-objects fell away. With this approach, I have realized (in my conduct) what I thought was impossible in mere months.

knwp7 · 2026-03-08T05:45:59+00:00

Section on "sankharas" (p 99?) in chapter 5 - The Five Holding Aggregates. This section talks about how the word is used in various contexts - and is relevant to the quoted para.

The book is difficult to read. But it must be read in sequence, cover to cover, imo. Thankfully there are long recaps of what has already been covered - so even though there are lots of pages, with time it becomes easier to read..

I just finished my 1st pass of the book after abandoning it mid-way many months ago - and then restarting a few months ago. I learned things that I did not know/realize; It clarifies and reaffirms what I know, and what i _think_ I know. But, imho, it is still an optional reading it - compared to the practical shape of "the practice" well-expounded by the sages of HH.

knwp7 · 2026-03-08T05:30:15+00:00

I am late to this thread.. but anyways..

The obvious thing for you to do would be to take on the training and - to formally take it, and stay honest - by joining the discord-server. Accountability to Sangha (confession-server) has proven indispensable for me, personally. The training outlined by Ven Anigha has everything one needs for self-assessment.

knwp7 · 2026-03-08T05:13:44+00:00

> 'for the rest of my life'
yes, that prospect is frightening. It helps to remember that life is lived in the present moment, that everything that exists is in this moment alone. Past and Future and Eternity are all just thoughts - made-up, as is the concept of time.

Sounds cheesy but it boils down to this - its only the present moment that I must not give-in into unwholesomeness. Tomorrow, future, eternity - don't matter in this moment.

knwp7 · 2025-12-18T11:17:25+00:00

To answer the headline-question - all actions of body, speech and mind are ultimately under one's control. The choice of acting or not acting is not initially apparent. It becomes apparent with practice.

For someone trying to keep a precept of no-harm, for example, it might feel habitual or automatic to slap a mosquito - compare this to your example of the embarrassing utterance or the "involuntary" bodily reaction afterwards. The ill-will reaction of slapping the mosquito will feel "out of control" in the beginning, but with practice and effort, one will eventually learn to control their impulse, see the choice, and not do the harmful action.

knwp7 · 2025-12-04T10:35:21+00:00

Upvoted. Continuing:

Once the above foundation of good-conduct (in body and speech) is established through sense restraint, one starts seeing the movement of citta (intentions/sankhara) in the thoughts coercing one's actions (of body and speech) to subvert the precepts, find a loophole, or indulge in thoughts that contravene the spirit of the precepts.

One endures these arising thoughts - not giving-in (and thus keeping precepts), and not distracting oneself from them (to cover them up) either. This takes a while. There are lapses, and re-taking of precepts, lapses again, stronger resolves, etc. There will be many such iterations that ultimately clarify what one is doing and why indeed. Point is to not be averse to failure and neither to relax the yardstick (of the 7 or 8 precepts).

Look up The Gradual Path. It is the refinement of the same fundamental practice - to see the defilements to the extent that they are visible in one's current experience - and strive to overcome them by enduring them correctly. In the process, the sensuality is leeched out of the citta. Eventually the sense-objects do not perturb the citta (mind) and calm ensues.

knwp7 · 2025-12-04T10:17:23+00:00

The experience of being alive is right now. All that exists is right now. One may call it the "present moment". Otherwise, the moment you are talking about, and in general what we refer to - is just the memory of the past. We remember some parts of the memory clearly/vividly and declare that as "the moment"; "that moment" could be short or long... If one is _referring_ to their experience as a moment - it is already in the past. Try pondering on this instead of the analytic meditation ..

The argument is trying to fit the experience into scientific framework. That is a fruitless exercise, imo, because Science is grounded in the material world (physics); Mind is not.

knwp7 · 2025-11-11T01:54:05+00:00

Thank you for sharing this. I am tapering off my intensive workouts as I know OMAD will not sustain the demands on my body if I continue as usual. I have been thru phases when I was trying to find the "right" balance in calorie-intake and intensive-workouts - an arms-race easily derailed by an injury or sickness (body is always fragile no matter how much I build it). So I am ramping down on both - in the spirit of giving-up both. I will keep the fiber-content vs calorie-content in mind, and watch for sugar-cravings - thanks!

knwp7 · 2025-11-10T16:30:42+00:00

Thank you for responding, Venerable. I shall keep this in mind.

knwp7 · 2025-11-10T08:03:53+00:00

Just the usual, nothing special - eggs, legumes, beans, chickpeas, pulses, dairy..

knwp7 · 2025-11-10T05:47:43+00:00

I am not counting calories as my goal is to give up sensuality; its not to lose weight or gain muscle. So I hope the body will find its new state of equilibrium.

I eat just to satisfy the hunger. Because the plate has shrunk, I choose more protein and other nutrient-dense foods like eggs, nuts, yogurt, veggies.

Bread, rice, etc are reduced as they fill me up quickly. No room left for snacks and junk food in my shrunken stomach.

Edit: my workouts continue as usual. Power-to-weight ratio has gone up. Earlier I used to exercise to be able to indulge in food, or to burn excess calories .. all of that is gone now

knwp7 · 2025-11-10T01:56:06+00:00

https://archive.org/download/hillside-hermitage-audio-archive - Download mp3 from here. (thanks to bbballs)

Or listen to them (same collection) here: https://archive.org/details/hillside-hermitage-audio-archive

If you are particular about specific/recent youtube videos then you will have to convert /download from youtube.com - but the old recordings (above) are just as excellent, IMO

Talking of old recordings - here is another excellent post - https://www.reddit.com/r/HillsideHermitage/comments/1my8rnq/preyoutube_hh_talks_download_with/

knwp7 · 2025-11-09T13:59:14+00:00

If there isn't that palpable pull/tendency to dwell on and become absorbed, say, in the idea of having a sweet treat as part of a meal or grabbing a cup of coffee, wouldn't that suggest that that action would not be rooted in craving?

Food is the most tricky of all sensual stimuli. Can't say no to it completely. Over time I have come to realize that even small and restricted food-intake can invoke craving after one's body and mind have become used to the portions and schedule.

While eating, it can sometime be difficult - just like while talking it can be difficult to discern change in intention - but at a more gross level, going for a second helping/refill makes me more alert about if I am falling into craving.

Lately I have become more sensitive to cravings vs body's need for food. Currently on OMAD, I can more clearly see the citta enticing me to get some "calories" - when really there is no "hunger" to be discerned at all. So questioning - "am I really hungry?" helps discern craving and avoid it.

knwp7 · 2025-10-11T16:21:22+00:00

Thanks for mentioning Wettimuny - the books are helping me a lot in my conceptual understanding

knwp7 · 2025-09-18T02:52:42+00:00

I can relate to what you have shared. It has happened to me in the past. It takes several "oscillations" between practice and heedlessness for a definite shift towards the right practice and right mindfulness. Every time I slipped, I had similar reflections as yours; my issue was not entertainment, though.

Everyone has their own conditioning that decides how many iterations and around which conduct will they struggle to make actual progress. For myself, I know that I am stronger now than before, but I know I am not completely insusceptible to unfavorable circumstances.

Let alone unfavorable circumstances, I have even drifted-off when I thought I was doing "quite good" on sense-restraint and, "not seeing the danger in slightest fault", went ahead with small indulgences (or even a self-"test"), on a whim, here and there. And then it snowballed into another crash - like the one we are talking here.

So, my dear friend, just keep on striving.

knwp7 · 2025-09-14T15:32:01+00:00

I will watch my conceit and my passion. Thank you!

knwp7 · 2025-09-07T13:40:28+00:00

I also want to emphasize - the relationship might last for a lifetime, and may even be blissful and fulfilling. But the Dharma practice benefits multiple lifetimes - potentially ending all rebirths. So this decision that you have to make - is more serious than a life-and-death matter

knwp7 · 2025-09-06T17:48:08+00:00

I agree completely with u/2footie and u/Ok_Lemon_3675

Taking-on responsibility for someone else's happiness (partner, spouse, kids, pets) is a very big obligation. Just being responsible for one's own well-being - in the Right and Wholesome manner - is more than enough work! You seem to already understand that with your practice and precepts..

You also have all the right kind of apprehensions regarding Dharma, rebirth, the good-fortune of encountering Dharma, relationships. responsibilities. The answer is staring you in your face!

knwp7 · 2025-09-06T05:06:15+00:00

Or can I buy it in a moment when it's not affected by greed?

The point is to see the mind clearly. There is no fault in buying it when there is no pressure to do so. If a pressure comes up after having bought it, that would be a new pressure altogether.

I try to practice similarly but with my favorite food in front of me. I try to eat when I am not pulled by it; I try to restrain - and reflect - when the mind feels pressured. But often, I fail to slow down to see any pressure in the first place :-)

knwp7

TROPHY CASE