{"id":1127,"date":"2025-06-19T11:48:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T08:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samatha-vipassana.com\/?p=1127"},"modified":"2025-06-19T12:36:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T09:36:33","slug":"sankappa-rago-purisassa-kamo-gatha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samatha-vipassana.com\/en\/article\/sankappa-rago-purisassa-kamo-gatha\/","title":{"rendered":"Sa\u1e45kappa r\u0101go purisassa k\u0101mo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Version in Russian: Sankappa rago, purisassa kamo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A brief explanation of this g\u0101th\u0101 can be found in the sermon K\u0101ma: Sensual Pleasures<\/em><\/a> (by Venerable Rakwane Gnanaseeha) from the book Bh\u0101van\u0101 \u2014 The Art of The Mind<\/em><\/a>.
Below is a more detailed explanation by Venerable Rakwane Gnanaseeha<\/a>, given in response to a retreat participant’s question in February 2025 (Paramitta Center, Kandy, Sri Lanka).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Could you please explain in more detail the g\u0101th\u0101: \u201csa\u1e45kappa r\u0101go purisassa k\u0101mo\u201d<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Sa\u1e45kappa r\u0101go purisassa k\u0101mo.
<\/strong>The Buddha explains: for a person, k\u0101ma<\/em> is their love for concepts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say a person starts forming concepts \u2014 various concepts. For example, there arises love, desire, greed, passion toward those concepts \u2014 and that is k\u0101ma<\/em> for a person. K\u0101ma<\/em> is what we see, what we think will bring us happiness. All of that is k\u0101ma<\/em>. That means: land, houses, food, drinks, people, jewels \u2014 all of this is called k\u0101ma<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the Buddha says: for a person, k\u0101ma<\/em> is their love for concepts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sa\u1e45kappa<\/strong> means concepts, thoughts;
R\u0101go<\/strong> means passion;
Purisassa<\/strong> means \u201cfor a person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the love (or passion) for concepts, for thoughts \u2014 that is k\u0101ma<\/em> for a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, all these k\u0101ma<\/em> are concepts for us. Money, love, divine realms \u2014 whatever we take, in the end, all of it is just concepts of the mind for us. They are our thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take one example: what is Sri Lanka? Can we touch Sri Lanka? What we touch is the earth, the sand. Can we hug Sri Lanka? We can hug a tree\u2014like a palm tree\u2014but the palm tree is not Sri Lanka. The same with a person: we can hold and hug someone, but that person is not Sri Lanka either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, can we really touch Sri Lanka? No, we cannot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think further: can we see Sri Lanka? When we look around\u2014what do we actually see? At the simplest level, we see a hall, people, some trees, greenery, birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, imagine if your eyes were blindfolded, and you were taken to an airport, put on a plane, and flown somewhere into nature. When your eyes are unblindfolded, you would see land and trees\u2014but it would be very difficult to understand which country you are in: Sri Lanka, Vietnam, or India? Even here in Sri Lanka, we get confused when shown certain videos\u2014everything looks so similar. Even the houses and people look alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, when we look around, we see trees. But the trees are not Sri Lanka. And of course, we cannot taste or smell Sri Lanka. When we think like this, it gradually becomes clear to us that Sri Lanka is a concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember someone once replied to me that Sri Lanka can be drawn. But, you know, back in the days of the British, Sri Lanka was shown on maps a bit wider than it is now. And again, it\u2019s just a drawing \u2014 it\u2019s not Sri Lanka itself. Sri Lanka is a concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If someone in your home country said to you, \u201cTell me, what is Sri Lanka?\u201d \u2014 how would you describe Sri Lanka? You might say that you are simply recalling Sri Lanka. But what exactly are you recalling?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, this is a very complex topic. I can say to you: recall your childhood home. What do you remember? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look at yourself right now. It is the image of the house, your pets, your spouses, children, relatives, sometimes the nature around the house, or something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The people of Lanka have love for Sri Lanka. And what do they love? They love their concept of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have many songs like: \u201cSri Lanka is where I was born, where I grew up, where I will die \u2014 this is my country.\u201d Very beautiful songs. And there are many such songs in Russian, in English too! We have this love. But in reality, when we say \u201cSri Lanka,\u201d we mean our history, people, culture, the way we speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, for us, it is how we bathed in the river, how we played as children, how we went to school. All of this is Sri Lanka to me; I have love for it, and so I love this concept. And because of this, an object appears in the external world to which I am attached!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so we say: here \u2014 this is Sri Lanka; here are our trees; this is my hometown; these are my relatives; please, come, I will show you everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, why did this become k\u0101ma<\/em> for me? Because I love these concepts. I know them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, in truth, reality is very simple. There are sounds to be heard, sensations of hardness and warmth, smells, and so on. Reality is other than the concepts we have in our minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Editor\u2019s note:<\/em> According to the Teaching, there is a distinction between conventional reality (sammuti-sacca<\/em>) and ultimate reality (paramattha-sacca<\/em>). In the ultimate sense, only dhammas exist. Concepts such as \u201cSri Lanka\u201d or \u201cperson\u201d belong to conventional reality, as explained by by Venerable Rakwane Gnanaseeha. At the same time, mental objects themselves are part of ultimate reality and can be objects of contemplation (dhammas as objects of the mind in satipa\u1e6d\u1e6dh\u0101na practice), which Bhante further mentions later in the sermon.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people leave Sri Lanka. And not only from Sri Lanka \u2014 this happens in many countries: people leave their homeland to live somewhere else. Why is that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When conflicts, crises, and problems arise in Sri Lanka, all of this accumulates. And my concept gets disturbed. And it becomes hard for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, when I\u2019m in Sri Lanka, traveling somewhere and I see some news along the way \u2014 I am attached to my country \u2014 so it affects me deeply. Someone did something wrong \u2014 and it affects me because I think, \u201cThese are our people.\u201d All of this has an impact, and it is really difficult for a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if we truly understand that this is actually a concept, then it becomes easier for us to deal with all of this. Not completely, but easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take another example, a smaller one: mango. We can touch a mango. We can eat it and taste it. I know its smell, and so on. But in reality, \u201cmango\u201d is a concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Sri Lanka, I think there are about fifty varieties of mango \u2014 no less. Maybe even many more. I know all the kinds I tried in my childhood. Some are very big, some small \u2014 like rambutans. Some are sour, some sweet. I remember in my childhood we had a mango tree that we called the \u201cmedicinal mango.\u201d Even when the fruits were fully ripe and fell to the ground, no one touched them \u2014 they were so tasteless!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we say \u201cmango,\u201d a certain kind of mango, its smell, and so on appear in my mind: that is a concept. In the real world, there is a smell, there is a taste. But now they make artificial smells and flavors that are very similar to the taste of real mango. So how can we tell which one is truly the taste of mango?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suppose I touch some fruit, an apple or a mango. And just by this touch, by this hardness, I cannot determine what kind of fruit it is. Yes, if I touch more and determine the shape, then my concept comes to mind, and I can try to determine what it is: that it might be a mango, mangoes have this shape. You can see: \u201cmango\u201d is a concept. In the real world, there is a different reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or if we take the Sun. For Hindus, for example, it is not just a planet. For them, it is something divine, alive. In our Sinhalese folk literature, the Moon is called \u201cUncle.\u201d Uncle Moon. So, in the evening, Uncle Moon will come and bring you milk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we say that there is a rabbit on the Moon. And we see a rabbit there, its ears. As children, we look at the Moon and want to see a rabbit there, and when we look for a long time, we can see a rabbit, its ears at the top, and so on. The Chinese say that there is a girl there, and she is playing some musical instrument. They look and they see that. Where is Uncle Moon then? This is a concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is also reality. For example, we touch the floor and feel hardness. This hardness is not a concept: it is reality. And the thought arises: \u201cThis is the floor.\u201d In thoughts there are concepts, and concepts are not real, but the thoughts themselves, as objects of the mind, are reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now let\u2019s return to Uncle Moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We might think: \u201cWell, that\u2019s folk literature, Uncle Moon, but there is also a scientific explanation.\u201d We even photographed it up close, even people were able to be there. This is how it looks like, it revolves around the Earth, and it is much smaller than the Earth. But what do you think \u2014 is this scientific understanding of the Moon a concept or reality?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What difference does it really make to us whether there is a rabbit or a grey earth? What difference does it make to us whether the Earth is flat, or round, or like an egg? In the past, all people thought that the Earth was flat, but they still lived on it just like we do now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I am not saying now that we should not study all of this through science, that science is useless and so on. I\u2019m saying that both \u2014 scientific knowledge and folk ideas \u2014 are in our minds, and reality is actually different. That is why Buddha says: if you want to study the world, then it arises in this very body, from the top of the head down to the feet, and it also exists here, it also disappears here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reverend, I say it\u2019s not possible to know or see or reach the end of the world by traveling to a place where there\u2019s no being born, growing old, dying, passing away, or being reborn. But I also say there\u2019s no making an end of suffering without reaching the end of the world. For it is in this fathom-long carcass with its perception and mind that I describe the world, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rohitassasutta: With Rohitassa, AN 4.45, translation by Ven. Bhikkhu Sujato<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Also, in the Sabbasutta<\/em>, the Buddha explains what \u201ceverything\u201d is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cAnd what, bhikkhus, is the all? The eye and forms, the ear and sounds, the nose and odours, the tongue and tastes, the body and tactile objects, the mind and mental phenomena. This is called the all.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf anyone, bhikkhus, should speak thus: \u2018Having rejected this all, I shall make known another all\u2019\u2014that would be a mere empty boast on his part. If he were questioned he would not be able to reply and, further, he would meet with vexation. For what reason? Because, bhikkhus, that would not be within his domain.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sabbasutta: The All, SN 35.23, translation by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can also say that everything is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n