Upādāna
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''Upādāna'' is a Sanskrit and Pali word that means "fuel, material cause, substrate that is the source and means for keeping an active process energized". It is also an important Buddhist concept referring to "attachment, clinging, grasping". It is considered to be the result of ''
taṇhā (Pāli; Sanskrit: tṛ́ṣṇā तृष्णा IPA IPA commonly refers to: * India pale ale, a style of beer * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA may also refer ...
'' (craving), and is part of the '' dukkha'' (dissatisfaction, suffering, pain) doctrine in
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
.


Buddhism

Upādāna is the
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and
Pāli Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
word for "clinging", "attachment" or "grasping", although the literal meaning is "fuel". Upādāna and
taṇhā (Pāli; Sanskrit: tṛ́ṣṇā तृष्णा IPA IPA commonly refers to: * India pale ale, a style of beer * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA may also refer ...
(Skt. ''tṛṣṇā'') are seen as the two primary causes of suffering. The cessation of clinging leads to
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
.


Types of clinging

In the Sutta Pitaka,
the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
states that there are four types of clinging: *sense-pleasure clinging (''kamupadana'') *all views clinging (''ditthupadana'') *rites-and-rituals clinging (''silabbatupadana'') *self-doctrine clinging (''attavadupadana''). The Buddha once stated that, while other sects might provide an appropriate analysis of the first three types of clinging, he alone fully elucidated clinging to the "self" and its resultant suffering. The Abhidhamma and its commentaries provide the following definitions for these four clinging types: #sense-pleasure clinging: ''repeated'' craving of worldly things. #view clinging: such as eternalism (e.g., "The world and self are eternal") or nihilism. #rites-and-rituals clinging: believing that rites alone could directly lead to liberation, typified in the texts by the rites and rituals of "ox practice" and "dog practice." #self-doctrine clinging: self-identification with self-less entities (e.g., illustrated by MN 44, and further discussed in the skandha and anatta articles). According to
Buddhaghosa Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in t ...
, the above ordering of the four types of clinging is in terms of decreasing ''grossness'', that is, from the most obvious (grossest) type of clinging (sense-pleasure clinging) to the subtlest (self-doctrine clinging).


Interdependence of clinging types

Buddhaghosa further identifies that these four clinging types are causally interconnected as follows: This hierarchy of clinging types is represented diagrammatically to the right. Thus, based on Buddhaghosa's analysis, clinging is more fundamentally an erroneous core belief (self-doctrine clinging) than a habitualized affective experience (sense-pleasure clinging).


Manifestations of clinging

In terms of consciously knowable mental experiences, the Abhidhamma identifies sense-pleasure clinging with the mental factor of "greed" (''lobha'') and the other three types of clinging (self-doctrine, wrong-view and rites-and-rituals clinging) with the mental factor of "wrong view" (''ditthi''). Thus, experientially, clinging can be known through the Abhidhamma's fourfold definitions of these mental factors as indicated in the following table: To distinguish craving from clinging, Buddhaghosa uses the following metaphor: :"Craving is the aspiring to an object that one has not yet reached, like a thief's stretching out his hand in the dark; clinging is the grasping of an object that one has reached, like the thief's grasping his objective.... ey are the roots of the suffering due to seeking and guarding." Thus, for instance, when the Buddha talks about the " aggregates of clinging," he is referring to our grasping and guarding physical, mental and conscious experiences that we falsely believe we are or possess.


As part of the causal chain of suffering

In the
Four Noble Truths In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones". aggregates_of_clinging")_as_one_of_the_core_experiences_of_suffering.__The_Second_Noble_Truth_identifies_craving_('' aggregates_of_clinging")_as_one_of_the_core_experiences_of_suffering.__The_Second_Noble_Truth_identifies_craving_(''Taṇhā">tanha'')_as_the_basis_for_suffering._In_this_manner_a_causal_relationship_between_craving_and_clinging_is_found_in_the_Buddha's_most_fundamental_teaching. In_the_twelve-linked_chain_of_Dependent_Origination_(Pratitya-samutpada.html" ;"title="Taṇhā.html" ;"title="Skandha.html" ;"title="Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encycl ...
, the First Noble Truth identifies clinging (''upādāna'', in terms of "the Skandha">aggregates of clinging") as one of the core experiences of suffering. The Second Noble Truth identifies craving (''Taṇhā">tanha'') as the basis for suffering. In this manner a causal relationship between craving and clinging is found in the Buddha's most fundamental teaching. In the twelve-linked chain of Dependent Origination (Pratitya-samutpada">Pratītyasamutpāda, ''also see''
Twelve Nidanas Twelve or 12 may refer to: * 12 (number) * December, the twelfth and final month of the year Years * 12 BC * AD 12 * 1912 * 2012 Film * ''Twelve'' (2010 film), based on the 2002 novel * ''12'' (2007 film), by Russian director and actor Nikita ...
), clinging (''upādāna'') is the ninth causal link: *Upādāna (Clinging) is dependent on (Craving) as a condition before it can exist. :"With Taṇhā, Craving as condition, Clinging arises". *Upādāna (Clinging) is also the prevailing condition for the next condition in the chain, Becoming (
Bhava The Sanskrit word bhava (भव) means being, worldly existence, becoming, birth, be, production, origin,Monier Monier-Williams (1899), Sanskrit English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Archiveभव bhava but also habitual or emotional te ...
). :"With Clinging as condition, Becoming arises." According to Buddhaghosa, it is ''sense-pleasure'' clinging that arises from craving and that conditions becoming.


Upādāna as fuel

Professor Richard F. Gombrich has pointed out in several publications, and in his recent Numata Visiting Professor Lectures at the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
,
School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...
(SOAS), that the literal meaning of ''upādāna'' is "fuel". He uses this to link the term to the Buddha's use of fire as a metaphor. In the so-called
Fire Sermon Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are ...
(''Āditta-pariyāya'') ( Vin I, 34-5; SN 35.28) the Buddha tells the bhikkhus that everything is on fire. By everything he tells them he means the five senses plus the mind, their objects, and the operations and feelings they give rise to — i.e. everything means the totality of experience. All these are burning with the fires of greed, hatred and delusion. In the nidana chain, then, craving creates ''fuel'' for continued burning or becoming (bhava). The mind like fire, seeks out more fuel to sustain it, in the case of the mind this is ''sense experience'', hence the emphasis the Buddha places on "guarding the gates of the senses". By not being caught up in the senses ('' appamāda'') we can be liberated from greed, hatred and delusion. This liberation is also expressed using the fire metaphor when it is termed ''nibbāna'' (Sanskrit: ') which means to "go out", or literally to "blow out the flames of defilement". (Regarding the word '', the verb ''vā'' is intransitive so no agent is required.)'' Probably by the time the canon was written down (1st Century BCE), and certainly when Buddhaghosa was writing his commentaries (4th Century CE) the sense of the metaphor appears to have been lost, and ''upādāna'' comes to mean simply "clinging" as above. By the time of the
Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
the term ''fire'' was dropped altogether and greed, hatred and delusion are known as the "three poisons".


Hinduism

The term ''Upādāna'' appears in the sense of "material cause" in ancient Vedic and medieval Hindu texts. For medieval era
Vaishnavism Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
scholar
Ramanuja Ramanuja (Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents o ...
, the metaphysical Hindu concept of
Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...
(as
Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
) is the ''upadana-karana'' (material cause) of the universe. However, other Hindu traditions such as the Advaita Vedanta disagree and assert alternate theories on the nature of metaphysical Brahman and the universe while using the term ''upadana'' in the sense of "substrate, fuel". More generally, the realist Hindu philosophies such as
Samkhya ''Samkhya'' or ''Sankya'' (; Sanskrit सांख्य), IAST: ') is a Dualism (Indian philosophy), dualistic Āstika and nāstika, school of Indian philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, ''purusha, puruṣa' ...
and
Nyaya (Sanskrit: न्याय, ''nyā-yá''), literally meaning "justice", "rules", "method" or "judgment", The philosophies within the Buddhist schools have denied Brahman, asserted
impermanence Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy it is notable for its role in the Buddhist three marks of existence. It ...
and that the notion of anything real is untenable from a metaphysical sense. The Hindu traditions such as those influenced by Advaita Vedanta have asserted the position that everything (
Atman Atman or Ātman may refer to: Film * ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto * ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo People * Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian hand ...
, Brahman, Prakriti) is ultimately one identical reality. The concept ''Upādāna'' also appears with other sense of meanings, in
Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...
philosophies, such as "taking in".


See also

* Anatta * Five Skandhas *
Detachment (philosophy) Nonattachment, non-attachment, or detachment is a state in which a person overcomes their emotional attachment to or desire for things, people or worldly concerns and thus attains a heightened perspective. It is considered a wise virtue and ...
**''
Nekkhamma ''Nekkhamma'' (Sanskrit: नैष्क्राम्य, Naiṣkrāmya) is a Pali word generally translated as "renunciation" or "the pleasure of renunciation" while also conveying more specifically "giving up the world and leading a holy life" ...
'' *
MacGuffin In fiction, a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin) is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. The term was originated by Angus MacPhail for ...
* Pratitya-samutpada *
Twelve Nidanas Twelve or 12 may refer to: * 12 (number) * December, the twelfth and final month of the year Years * 12 BC * AD 12 * 1912 * 2012 Film * ''Twelve'' (2010 film), based on the 2002 novel * ''12'' (2007 film), by Russian director and actor Nikita ...


Notes


Bibliography

* Bodhi, Bhikku (2000a). ''A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma: The Abhidhammattha Sangaha of Acariya Anuruddha''. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. . *Bodhi, Bhikkhu (trans.) (2000b). ''The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya''. Boston: Wisdom Publications. . *Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2005). ''In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pāli Canon''.Boston: Wisdom Pubs. . *
Buddhaghosa Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in t ...
, Bhadantācariya (trans. from Pāli by Bhikkhu ) (1999). ''The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga''. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. . *Gombrich, Richard F. (2005). ''How Buddhism Began: The Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings.'' Routledge. . *, Bhikkhu (trans.) ''Anatta-lakkhana Sutta: The Discourse on the Not-self Characteristic'' ( SN 22.59). Retrieved from "Access to Insight" a
Anatta-lakkhana Sutta: The Discourse on the Not-self Characteristic
*, Bhikkhu (trans.) & Bhikkhu Khantipalo (ed.) (1993). ''Kukkuravatika Sutta: The Dog-duty Ascetic'' ( MN 57). Retrieved from "Access to Insight" a
Kukkuravatika Sutta: The Dog-duty Ascetic
*, Bhikkhu (trans.) & Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.) (1993). ''Cula-sihanada Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Lion's Roar'' ( MN 11). Retrieved 2007-11-19 from "Access to Insight" (1994) a
Cula-sihanada Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Lion's Roar
*, Bhikkhu (trans.) & Bhikkhu Bodhi (ed.) (2001). ''The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya''. Boston: Wisdom Publications. . *Olendzki, Andrew (trans.) (2005). ''The Healing Medicine of the Dhamma (excerpt)'' ( Miln 5 erse 335. Retrieved from "Access to Insight" a
The Healing Medicine of the Dhamma
* Rhys Davids, Caroline A.F. (
900 __NOTOC__ Year 900 ( CM) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Abbasid Caliphate * Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are ...
2003). ''Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics, of the Fourth Century B.C., Being a Translation, now made for the First Time, from the Original Pāli, of the First Book of the Abhidhamma-Piaka, entitled Dhamma-Sagai (Compendium of States or Phenomena)''. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing. . * Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary''. Chipstead:
Pali Text Society The Pali Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts". Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The ...
. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available from "U. of Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997a). ''Paticca-samuppada-vibhanga Sutta: Analysis of Dependent Co-arising'' ( SN 12.2). Retrieved from "Access to Insight" a
Paticca-samuppada-vibhanga Sutta: Analysis of Dependent Co-arising
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). ''Samaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life'' ( DN 2). Retrieved from "Access to Insight" a
Samaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998a). ''Culavedalla Sutta: The Shorter Set of Questions-and-Answers'' ( MN 44). Retrieved from "Access to Insight" a
Culavedalla Sutta: The Shorter Set of Questions-and-Answers
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998b). ''Upadana Sutta: Clinging'' ( SN 12.52). Retrieved from "Access to Insight" a
Upadana Sutta: Clinging
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1999). ''Ratha-vinita Sutta: Relay Chariots'' ( MN 24). Retrieved from "Access to Insight" a
Ratha-vinita Sutta: Relay Chariots
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2000). ''Life isn't just Suffering''. Retrieved from "Access to Insight" a

*Walshe, Maurice O'Connell (trans.) (1995). ''The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya''. Somerville: Wisdom Publications. .


External links



{{Buddhism topics Hindu philosophical concepts Twelve nidānas Sanskrit words and phrases