Dear Johnny,
Op 4-jul-2007, om 18:18 heeft johnny pruitt het volgende geschreven:
> What object does wrong view take and what object does conceit take.
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N: These two akusala cetasikas take many kinds of objects but they
are different. I shall clarify this with examples, quoting from my
'Cetasikas' you find on Rob K's web, where you can find details in Ch
18, wrong view and Ch 19 Conceit.
<
http://www.vipassana.info/cetasikas19.html>
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N: There are many kinds of wrong views and they are of different
degrees. There kinds of wrong view are unwholesome courses of action,
akusala kamma patha, through the mind, and these are capable of
causing an unhappy rebirth. They are the following three views:
1) There is no result of kamma (natthika-ditthi)
2) There are no causes (in happening, ahetuka-ditthi)
3) There is no such thing as kamma ( akiriya-ditthi)
Although these three views are distinct from each other, they are
nevertheless related. When one does not see kamma as cause one does
not see its result either, and when one does not see the result of
kamma, one does not see kamma as cause either ...
There are many other kinds of wrong views and, although they
are not akusala kamma patha, they are still dangerous. The scriptures
often refer to the eternalistic view and to the annihilationistic
view. Eternalism is the belief that there is a "self" who is
permanent. Annihilationism is the belief that there is a "self" who
will be annihilated after death. There is also a "semi-eternalistic
view": one holds that some phenomena are eternal while others are
not. One may sometimes cling to the eternalistic view and sometimes
to the annihilistic view.
In the Brahma-jala-sutta ("The All-Embracing Net of Views" 1,
The Dialogues of the Buddha I, no, 1) sixty-two kinds of Wrong view
are mentioned. Of these there are eighteen speculative theories
concerning the past, and forty-four concerning the future. There are
speculative theories about the world being finite or infinite, about
the origin of the " soul" or the world. There are speculations about
good and evil and about nibbana.
"Personality-belief" or "sakkaya-ditthi" is a basis for many kinds of
wrong views.
There are four kinds of the wrong view of personality-belief,
sakkaya-ditthi, concerning each of the five khandhas, thus, there
are twenty kinds of this wrong view in all (1 Dhammasangani, 1003).
One may take each of the khandhas for self, regard the self as
possessing them, the khandhas as being in the self or the self as
being contained in the khandhas.
One may cling with wrong view to the idea of "I see", "my body",
"my will". But they are only khandhas, conditioned elements which
arise and fall away.
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Conceit: We read in the Dhammasangani (1116) :
What is the Fetter of conceit?
Conceit at the thought "I am the better man" conceit at the
thought "I am as good (as they)"; conceit at the thought "I am
lowly"- all such sort of conceit, overweening conceitedness,
loftiness, haughtiness, flaunting a flag, assumption, desire of the
heart for self-advertisement- this is called conceit.
Even when we do not compare ourselves with someone else we may find
ourselves important and then there is conceit. Conceit always goes
together with attachment, with clinging. It can arise with the four
types of lobha-mula-citta which are not accompanied
by wrong view. Conceit and wrong view are different realities which
do not arise at the same time. When one takes a reality for permanent
or for self there is wrong view and there cannot be at the same time
conceit, which is pride or self-assertion. This does not mean that
there is conceit every time lobha-mula-citta without wrong view
arises. Lobha-mula-citta without wrong view may sometimes be
accompanied by conceit, sometimes not.
The Book of Analysis (Vibhanga, Chapter 17, 832) gives a very
revealing list of the objects on account of which pride and
conceit can arise (2 Pride is the translation of "mada", which
literally means intoxication. In 843, 844, the same list of objects
is mentioned as being objects for pride (mada) and
conceit. In 845 pride is defined in the same way as conceit.):
Pride of birth; pride of clan; pride of health: pride of youth;
pride of life; pride of gain; pride of being honoured; pride of being
respected; pride of prominence; pride of having adherents; pride of
wealth; pride of appearance; pride of erudition; pride of
intelligence: pride of being a knowledgeable authority; pride of
being (a regular) alms collector; pride of being not despised; pride
of posture (bearing); pride of accomplishment; pride of popularity:
pride of being moral; pride of jhana; pride of dexterity: pride of
being tall; pride of (bodily) proportion; pride of form; pride of
(bodily) perfection...
All these objects can be a source of intoxication and conceit and we
should consider them in daily life, that is why they are enumerated.
Conceit can arise on account of each of the objects which are
experienced through the senses. When we experience a pleasant object
through one of the senses we may have conceit because of that; we may
think ourselves superior in comparison with someone else who did not
receive such a pleasant object. At that moment we forget that the
experience of pleasant objects through the senses is only vipaka,
conditioned by kamma. Thus, there is no reason to be proud of a
pleasant experience. But ignorance covers up the truth, it conditions
the arising of all sorts of akusala dhammas. Conceit can arise not
only on account of the objects experienced through the senses, but
also on account of the senses themselves. When we see someone who is
blind there may be pride on account of our eyesense.
One may be proud because of one's birth, because of the family
into which one is born. Or conceit may arise on account of the race
one belongs to, on account of one's nationality or the colour of
one's skin. Some people may find the colour of their skin better that
the colour of someone else's skin. That is conceit. Conceit may also
arise because of beauty, possessions, rank or work. Or because of
one's skills, knowledge, education or wisdom. There may be the wish
to "advertise" oneself because of these things. We like to be
honoured and praised and the worst thing which can happen to us is to
be forgotten, to be overlooked. We think of ourselves as "somebody"
and we do not want to be treated as "nobody". Our actions, speech and
thoughts are often motivated
by an idea of competition; we may not want other people to be better
than we are, even with regard to kusala and right understanding. >
Perhaps these examples make it clear that wrong view and conceit are
different.
Nina.
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