Re: sankhara
From:
Dimitry A. Ivakhnenko (Дмитрий Алексеевич Ивахненко)
Message:
5302
Date:
2004-08-18
Dear Benjamin,
This interpretation by Nanavira Thera is too general.
BJ> This message is about the meaning of san.khaara.
The good point to start exploring the meanings of this word is the
article:
http://jbe.gold.ac.uk/3/harvey2.html
http://buddhism.org.ru/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2404
and the appropriate article in the Pali-English dictionary
http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/
Another prerequisite for understanding of the fine points is the
diagram of dependent co-arising:
http://dhamma.ru/lib/paticca.pdf
My understanding is as follows:
1. Firstly, 'sa"nkhara' is one of the 'khandha' which is sometimes
also called 'cetanaa' or 'kamma'.
(see
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/samyutta/sn22-056.html
)
2. Secondly, it is three types of counstructing processes,
'kaaya-sa"nkhaara', 'citta-sa"nkhaara" and "vaci-sa"nkhaara",
(see
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/majjhima/mn044.html
)
which includes all khandhas except vi~n~naa.na . In this quality
'sa"nkhaara' is a second nidana (link) in the twelve-link formulation
of dependent co-arising chain.
(see
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/samyutta/sn12-002.html
)
3. Thirdly, "sa"nkharaa" can generally mean "sa"nkhata", i.e. all
constructed phenomena.
Best wishes,
Dimitry