Essay name: Ahara as depicted in the Pancanikaya
Author:
Le Chanh
Affiliation: Savitribai Phule Pune University / Department of Sanskrit and Prakrit Languages
This critical study of Ahara (鈥渇ood鈥�) explores its significance in Buddhism, encompassing both physical and mental nourishment. The Panca Nikaya, part of the Sutta Pitaka, highlights how all human problems, including suffering and happiness, are connected to Ahara. Understanding this concept is crucial for comprehending and alleviating suffering, aiming for a balanced, enlightened life.
Chapter 6 - Cultivation of four kinds of Ahara
30 (of 38)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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hindrances overspread the heart of a person, weaken his insight, and
cause the wrong wishes and activities.
In order to control and erase from them, one should cultivate his
wishes or Activities aggregate through the practice of two conditions of
meditation: Calm (samatha) and Insight (vipassan膩) as Lord Buddha
showed in the Discourse on "The Applications of Mindfulness"
(Satiptth膩nasutta,) and 鈥淭he Uninterrupted" (Annupadasutta) - Middle
Length Sayings Vol. I and Vol. III and many other discourses in Middle
Length Sayings.
The cultivation according to those suttas will help us to eliminate the
volitional food that cause the suffering and develop the food of volition
that cause true happiness in this life and next.
6.4.
Cultivation of food of consciousness
In the four foods, food of consciousness is the fourth, this does not
mean it is less important than the former, but it governs and accepts all
the good or bad results that have been done by the three foods former, it
is the foundation of operation of psychological and biological life. It is
like a king who lives into his palace commands the subordinate and he
must choose good inferiors who are devoted to a country. This is the
reason why both the Therav膩da and Mah膩y膩na Buddhism hold "all
originates from consciousness (citta).鈥�
According to the psychology of Ther膩v膩da Buddhism, consciousness
is divided into the six groups of consciousness as mentioned in the part
鈥渢he sense of vi帽帽膩峁嚹乭膩ra鈥� of the fourth chapter, but in Mah膩y膩na, our
consciousness is divided into eight parts, including mind consciousness
(manovij帽ana) and store consciousness (alayavij帽ana.) Although the
groups of consciousness is different in division, the two Buddhist
traditions described consciousness as a field in which every kind of seed
