Description:
Discover the Three Types of Thoughts (Vitakka) in Buddhism and learn how they bind us to Samsara. This guide offers a clear path to mindfulness and liberation from suffering
Introduction: The Human
Opportunity
Of all the realms of existence, the human world is the precious
ground for liberation from suffering and the attainment of Nibbana. It is here,
in our short lives, that we can directly experience the truth of suffering and
happiness, and understand their impermanent nature.
While one person can perform meritorious deeds to be reborn in a
heavenly realm, and another can perform unwholesome actions leading to rebirth
in a lower realm, a wise person understands a deeper truth. Through listening
to the Dhamma, they realize that no realm within Samsara offers true freedom.
All are temporary, and all are tinged with suffering.
This realization sparks a sense of urgency (appamāda). The wise
person resolves to stop creating the karmic conditions for continued rebirth.
But how is this done?
The Root of Bondage: "I" and "Mine"
The Buddha provides the answer in the Maññamāna Sutta:
"Bhikkhus, one
who conceives is bound by Mara; one who does not conceive is freed from the
Evil One." - Saṃyutta
Nikāya, Khandhavagga, Maññamāna Sutta
To conceive, or to hold the notion of "I,"
"me," and "mine" regarding the five aggregates, is to be
bound. To abandon this conceit is to be free.
But how does this sense of "I" and "mine"
arise? It is fueled by the Three
Types of Thoughts (Vitakka).
The Three Types of Thoughts That Rule Our Mind
Vitakka refers to the initial application
of the mind towards an object—the thoughts that arise in response to what we
see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and think.
The three unwholesome types of thought are:
1. Sensual
Thought (Kāma Vitakka):
Thoughts of craving, desire, and attachment.
2. Thoughts
of Ill-will (Vyāpāda Vitakka):
Thoughts of anger, hatred, aversion, and resentment.
3. Thoughts
of Harmfulness (Vihiṃsā Vitakka):
Thoughts of cruelty, violence, and wanting to harm.
Our lives are largely spent swimming in these currents of
thought. When left unchecked, they solidify into a powerful sense of self,
creating karma and binding us to the cycle of rebirth.
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1. The Bondage of Sensual Thought (Kāma Vitakka)
The Buddha explains the danger of being overwhelmed by sensual
desire:
"Brahmins,
overcome by sensual lust, devoured by mind, one intends for one's own
affliction, for the affliction of others, for the affliction of both... One
experiences mental pain and grief." - Aṅguttara Nikāya, Tika Nipāta, Ādittāgāra Sutta
When we obsess over pleasant sights, sounds, or feelings, we
develop greed and a strong sense of ownership. The desire to acquire and
possess creates suffering for ourselves—the pain of not getting what we want.
The struggle to obtain it often creates trouble and suffering for others. And
once we possess it, the fear of losing it creates more mental anguish.
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2. The Bondage of Ill-Will (Vyāpāda Vitakka)
The same sutta applies to the one overcome by ill-will:
"Brahmins,
overcome by ill-will... one intends for one's own affliction, for the
affliction of others, for the affliction of both..."
Holding onto thoughts of anger, jealousy, or hatred, and
constantly dwelling on them, allows a sense of "I" to solidify around
that negativity. A mind consumed by aversion is a destroyed mind. It burns from
within and can easily lead to actions that harm both oneself and others.
The Five Aggregates Subject to Clinging
The Buddha taught that our entire experience is a process of the
Five Aggregates (Pañcupādānakkhandha):
form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. When we cling
to these aggregates with desire or aversion, we create the fuel for future
existence.
"And why, Radha,
do you call them 'aggregates subject to clinging'? They are called 'aggregates
subject to clinging' because, Radha, a noble disciple... understands their
origin, their cessation, their satisfaction, their drawback, and the escape
from them." - Saṃyutta
Nikāya, Khandhasaṃyutta, Rādha Sutta
The "satisfaction" (assāda)
is the temporary pleasure we get from sensual thoughts or the grim satisfaction
from thoughts of ill-will. The "drawback" (ādīnava) is their
impermanent, unreliable, and ultimately painful nature. The "escape"
(nissaraṇa)
is freedom from clinging to them.
A Powerful Story: The Family Reborn
A profound allegory illustrates the danger of even
"innocent" clinging.
A family—mother, father, brother, sister, and younger
brother—lived simple lives. The father was content working in his muddy field.
The mother found her joy in the kitchen. The sister spent her days by a pond,
happily feeding the fish. The younger brother enjoyed a social life with
friends. The older brother, however, was different. He visited a monastery,
learned the Dhamma, understood the futility of Samsara, and ordained as a monk,
eventually becoming an Arahant.
Over time, the mother, father, and sister passed away. The
younger brother continued his heedless life.
Years later, the Arahant visited his village and saw his younger
brother, now a dead pig being carried along the road. He also accepted an
invitation for alms at his brother's house. Before the meal, he asked his
brother to bring the dead pig and cut it open. Inside its stomach was a lump of
dung. He then asked for the dung to be broken open, revealing a dead beetle.
The Arahant then explained:
·
The beetle was
their sister. She had done nothing wrong, but her mind was bound to the joy of
feeding fish by the pond. At death, that single-minded attachment led her to be
reborn as a beetle in that very pond.
·
The pig was
their father. His entire world was his muddy field. Reborn as a pig, he found
pleasure in the same environment. The beetle (their sister) was accidentally
eaten by the pig (their father).
·
The lump
of dung was their mother. Her universe was the kitchen.
With no other mental pursuits, she was reborn as a dung-beetle. The pig (their
father) consumed the dung, swallowing the dung-beetle (their mother).
This story powerfully shows how even neutral, habitual thoughts
can create powerful karmic bonds and lead to immense suffering in the endless
cycle of rebirth.
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The Path to Freedom: The Unbinding of Thoughts
So, how do we stop creating new karma? How do we practice
heedfulness (appamāda)?
The Buddha gives the direct method in the Girimānanda Sutta:
"Here, Ananda, a
monk does not tolerate an arisen sensual thought; he abandons it, dispels it,
removes it, and obliterates it." (This applies to all three unwholesome
thoughts).
This is the practice of mindfulness and meditation. The moment a
thought of craving, aversion, or harm arises, we:
1. Know
it with clear awareness.
2. Do
not tolerate it by dwelling on it or adding to it.
3. Abandon
it by not identifying with it.
4. Dispel
it by seeing its drawbacks.
5. Remove
and obliterate it by returning the mind to a
wholesome object, like the breath.
This is not a practice for the cushion alone, but for every
moment of life. By ceasing to fuel these thoughts, we cease to create the
karmic conditions that bind us to Samsara.
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Conclusion: Your Moment of Liberation
From this moment forward, you have a choice. You can continue to
be swept away by the three unwholesome thoughts, weaving the fabric of future
suffering. Or, you can practice heedfulness.
By applying mindfulness, you can see thoughts as they are—mere
mental events, not "you" or "yours." In that clear seeing,
they lose their power. In that unbinding, you find the path to the end of all
suffering.
May you be well, mindful, and free from bondage.
Sources
1 Maññamāna Sutta (Saṃyutta Nikāya)/ (Khandhavagga)
2 Ādittāgāra Sutta (Aṅguttara Nikāya), / (Tika Nipāta)
3 Rādha Sutta (Saṃyutta Nikāya) / (Khandhasaṃyutta)
4 Girimānanda Sutta (Aṅguttara Nikāya), / (Dasaka Nipāta)
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