Dear Piya,
PT> "Apperception" may be an accurate translation for sa~n~naa, would it be
PT> awkward to say:
PT> "the realm of neither-apperception-nor-non-apperception"?
Gomez uses similar formulas in translation of Kalahavivada sutta:
When he has not an apperception of apperceptions,
when he had not an apperception of non-apperception,
when he does not not apperceive, when he does not
have apperceptions without an object, for him who has
attained to this, form ceases, for apperception is
the cause of dispersion and conception.
http://sino-sv3.sino.uni-heidelberg.de/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/gomez.htm
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/suttanipata/snp4-11.html
At least such formulation is understandable, for trying to understand
what traditional 'neither-perception-nor-non-perception' means twisted
my brain and blew my socks off ;)
Without apperception:
"In reference to the seen, there will be only the seen. In reference to
the heard, only the heard. In reference to the sensed, only the
sensed. In reference to the cognized, only the cognized."
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/udana/ud1-10.html
In psychological terms this would roughly correspond to absence of
outcome expectations (ta.nhaa), and cognitive conceptions and
evaluations (sa~n~naa) (see excerpt below).
The general overview of dependent co-arising can be seen at:
http://users.i.com.ua/~sangha/dharma/lib/paticca.pdf
Sukhi,
Dimitry
"According to Davey (1992), the new learning-behavioral theories
suggest a conditioning-cognitive sequence is like this:
1 Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
|
2 Outcome Expectations
|
3 Cognitive conception of Unconditioned Stimulus
|
4 Evaluation of the Unconditioned Stimulus
|
5 Conditioned Response (CR)
Steps 2 and 4 are places where cognitive factors can affect the
conditioned response (CR). How it can be done? Consider this example,
if your lights dim slightly before a very loud noise, what you think
all this means makes a great difference in how you respond. If you
think the dimming lights and noise means an earthquake is occuring or
that your house is falling on you or the electrical system may set the
house on fire, you will probably have a strong panic reaction. If,
with a little experience, you learn that your huge new sound system
dims the lights right before the favorite music blasts forth, you will
soon be having a pleasant reaction to the dimming lights. If someone
has told you to expect the lights to dim, your startle or fear
response would be slight even the first time. If you believe the
dimming of lights is perfectly normal and poses no danger, you have a
different reaction tha if you believe that you have overloaded the
circuit and caused a fire hazard. Beyond all this cognitive influence
on a classically conditioned response, recent research has found that
experience with the UCS (in this case an unexpected loud sound blast)
without the dimming lights (during the daytime) can affect your
conditioned reaction too. Being told by the expert that loud sounds
damage your hearing permanently will also affect your conditioned
reaction. Likewise, observing your reactions to the CS or the UCS as
well as using various coping strategies can alter your conditioned
response (CR) to the conditioned stimulus (CS). So it is far from a
simple mechanical reaction. The huge brain wasn't added to your spinal
cord for nothing."
- from "Psychological Self-Help" by Clay Tucker-Ladd