Sakkāyadiṭṭhi
"The view that the body (lit. what belongs to Ka) is one's own)".
Identity with body/self (Ka).
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This self (atman) of mine that lies deep within my heart - it contains all actions, all desires, all smells, and all tastes; it has captured this whole world; it neither speaks nor pays any heed.
"It is Brahman (Prajāpāti/Ka). On departing from here after death, I will become that."
(Chāndogya Upaniṣad - ChUp. 3.14.4)
A view the Buddha rejected.
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"And what, bhikkhus, is identity (with body/self = Ka - see note below)?
It should be said: the five aggregates subject to clinging.
Katamo ca, bhikkhave, sakkāyo?
Pañcupādānakkhandhātissa vacanīyaṃ.
...
"And what, bhikkhus, is the origin of identity with body/self?
It is this craving that leads to renewed existence ....
Katamo ca, bhikkhave, sakkāyasamudayo?
Yāyaṃ taṇhā ponobhavikā … pe …
...
"And what, bhikkhus, is the cessation of identity with body/self?
It is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving ....
Katamo ca, bhikkhave, sakkāyanirodho?
Yo tassāyeva taṇhāya … pe …
...
"And what, bhikkhus, is the way leading to the cessation of suffering?
It is this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view ... right establishment (of citta).
Katamā ca bhikkhave, sakkāyanirodhagāminī paṭipadā?
Ayameva ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo.
SN 22.105
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“As if smitten by a sword,
As if his head were on fire,
A bhikkhu should wander mindfully
To abandon identity with body/self view.”
“Sattiyā viya omaṭṭho,
ḍayhamānova matthake
Sakkāyadiṭṭhippahānāya,
sato bhikkhu paribbaje”ti.
SN 1.21
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“Venerable sir, how does identity with body/self view come to be?”
“Here, bhikkhu, an untaught ordinary person, who has no regard for noble ones and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, who has no regard for true men and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, regards material form as self, or self as possessed of material form, or material form as in self, or self as in material form. He regards feeling as self…perception as self…co-actions as self… consciousness as self, or self as possessed of consciousness, or consciousness as in self, or self as in consciousness. That is how identity with self view comes to be.”
“Kathaṃ pana, bhante, sakkāyadiṭṭhi hotī”ti?
“Idha, bhikkhu, assutavā puthujjano ariyānaṃ adassāvī ariyadhammassa akovido ariyadhamme avinīto sappurisānaṃ adassāvī sappurisadhammassa akovido sappurisadhamme avinīto rūpaṃ attato samanupassati rūpavantaṃ vā attānaṃ attani vā rūpaṃ rūpasmiṃ vā attānaṃ vedanaṃ attato attānaṃ attani vā vedanaṃ vedanāya vā attānaṃ samanupassati vedanāvantaṃ vā saññaṃ attato samanupassati saññāvantaṃ vā attānaṃ attani vā saññaṃ saññāya vā attānaṃ saṅkhāre attato samanupassati saṅkhāravantaṃ vā attānaṃ attani vā saṅkhāre saṅkhāresu vā attānaṃ viññāṇaṃ attato samanupassati viññāṇavantaṃ vā attānaṃ attani vā viññāṇaṃ viññāṇasmiṃ vā attānaṃ. Evaṃ kho, bhikkhu, sakkāyadiṭṭhi hotī”ti.
MN 109
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“Venerable sir, how does identity with body/self view come to be?”
“Here, bhikkhu, the uninstructed worldling, who is not a seer of the noble ones and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, who is not a seer of superior persons and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, regards form as self, or self as possessing form, or form as in self, or self as in form. He regards feeling as self … perception as self … co-actions as self … consciousness as self, or self as possessing consciousness, or consciousness as in self, or self as in consciousness. That is how identity with self view comes to be.”
“Kathaṃ nu kho, bhante, sakkāyadiṭṭhi hotī”ti?
“Idha, bhikkhu, assutavā puthujjano ariyānaṃ adassāvī ariyadhammassa akovido ariyadhamme avinīto, sappurisānaṃ adassāvī sappurisadhammassa akovido sappurisadhamme avinīto rūpaṃ attato samanupassati, rūpavantaṃ vā attānaṃ attani vā rūpaṃ, rūpasmiṃ vā attānaṃ vedanaṃ … saññaṃ … saṅkhāre … viññāṇaṃ … attato samanupassati, viññāṇavantaṃ vā attānaṃ attani vā viññāṇaṃ, viññāṇasmiṃ vā attānaṃ. Evaṃ kho, bhikkhu, sakkāyadiṭṭhi hotī”ti.
SN 22.82
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“Now, bhikkhus, this is the way leading to the origination of identity with body/self?
One regards the eye thus: ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self.’ One regards forms thus… One regards eye-consciousness ... eye-contact ...
Ayaṃ kho pana, bhikkhave, sakkāyasamudayagāminī paṭipadā—cakkhuṃ ‘etaṃ mama, esohamasmi, eso me attā’ti samanupassati; rūpe ‘etaṃ mama, esohamasmi, ...
MN 148
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“Without having abandoned these three things, one is incapable of abandoning lust, hatred, and delusion. What three? Identity with body/self view, doubt, and wrong grasp of precepts and rituals. Without having abandoned these three things, one is incapable of abandoning lust, hatred, and delusion.
“tayome bhikkhave, dhamme appahāya abhabbo rāgaṃ pahātuṃ dosaṃ pahātuṃ mohaṃ pahātuṃ. katame tayo? sakkāyadiṭṭhiṃ appahāya, vicikicchaṃ appahāya, sīlabbataparāmāsaṃ appahāya — ime kho, bhikkhave, tayo dhamme appahāya abhabbo rāgaṃ pahātuṃ dosaṃ pahātuṃ mohaṃ pahātuṃ.
“Without having abandoned these three things, one is incapable of abandoning identity with body/self view, doubt, and wrong grasp of precepts and rituals. What three? not turning the mind towards the origin, following a wrong path, and mental sluggishness. Without having abandoned these three things, one is incapable of abandoning identity with body/self view, doubt, and wrong grasp of precepts and rituals.
“tayome, bhikkhave, dhamme appahāya abhabbo sakkāyadiṭṭhiṃ pahātuṃ vicikicchaṃ pahātuṃ sīlabbataparāmāsaṃ pahātuṃ. katame tayo? ayonisomanasikāraṃ appahāya, kummaggasevanaṃ appahāya, cetaso līnattaṃ appahāya — ime kho, bhikkhave, tayo dhamme appahāya abhabbo sakkāyadiṭṭhiṃ pahātuṃ vicikicchaṃ pahātuṃ sīlabbataparāmāsaṃ pahātuṃ.
AN 10.76
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“As to the various views that arise in the world, householder, ‘The world is eternal’ … - these as well as the sixty-two speculative views mentioned in the Brahmajala: when there is identity with body/self view, these views come to be when there is no identity with body/self view, these views do not come to be.”
“Yā imā, gahapati, anekavihitā diṭṭhiyo loke uppajjanti: ‘sassato lokoti vā, asassato lokoti vā, antavā lokoti vā anantavā lokoti vā, taṃ jīvaṃ taṃ sarīranti vā, aññaṃ jīvaṃ aññaṃ sarīranti vā, hoti tathāgato paraṃ maraṇāti vā, na hoti tathāgato paraṃ maraṇāti vā, hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṃ maraṇāti vā, neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṃ maraṇāti vā. Yāni cimāni dvāsaṭṭhi diṭṭhigatāni brahmajāle bhaṇitāni imā kho, gahapati, diṭṭhiyo sakkāyadiṭṭhiyā sati honti, sakkāyadiṭṭhiyā asati na hontī’”ti.
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“But, venerable sir, how does identity with body/self view come to be?”
“Here, householder, the uninstructed worldling, who has no regard for the noble ones and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, who has no regard for the good persons and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, regards form as self, or self as possessing form, or form as in self, or self as in form. He regards feeling as self ... perception as self ... co-actions as self ... consciousness as self, or self as possessing consciousness, or consciousness as in self, or self as in consciousness. It is in such a way that identity with body/self comes to be.”
“Kathaṃ pana, bhante, sakkāyadiṭṭhi hotī”ti?
“Idha, gahapati, assutavā puthujjano ariyānaṃ adassāvī ariyadhammassa akovido ariyadhamme avinīto, sappurisānaṃ adassāvī sappurisadhammassa akovido sappurisadhamme avinīto rūpaṃ attato samanupassati, rūpavantaṃ vā attānaṃ, attani vā rūpaṃ, rūpasmiṃ vā attānaṃ vedanaṃ attato saṅkhāre … viññāṇaṃ attato samanupassati, samanupassati … pe … saññaṃ … viññāṇavantaṃ vā attānaṃ, attani vā viññāṇaṃ, viññāṇasmiṃ vā attānaṃ. Evaṃ kho, gahapati, sakkāyadiṭṭhi hotī”ti.
SN 41.3
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“Here, a bhikkhu enters and dwells in a certain peaceful liberation from ceto. He attends to the cessation of identity with body/self view. As he is doing so, his mano launches out toward it, acquires confidence, becomes steady, and focuses on it. This bhikkhu can be expected to attain the cessation of identity with self view.
Idha pana, bhikkhave, bhikkhu aññataraṃ santaṃ cetovimuttiṃ upasampajja viharati. So sakkāyanirodhaṃ manasi karoti. Tassa sakkāyanirodhaṃ manasi karoto sakkāyanirodhe cittaṃ pakkhandati pasīdati santiṭṭhati adhimuccati. Tassa kho evaṃ, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno sakkāyanirodho pāṭikaṅkho.
AN 4.175
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“The noble ones have seen as happiness
The ceasing of identity with body/self view.
This view of those who clearly see
Runs counter to the entire world.
Sukhaṃ diṭṭhamariyebhi,
sakkāyassa nirodhanaṃ;
Paccanīkamidaṃ hoti,
sabbalokena passataṃ.
SN 35.136
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‘The near shore, which is dangerous and fearful’: this is a designation for identity with body/self view.
Orimaṃ tīraṃ sāsaṅkaṃ sappaṭibhayanti kho, bhikkhave, sakkāyassetaṃ adhivacanaṃ.
SN 35.238
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'Even the Brahma world, friend, is impermanent, unstable, included in identity with body/self view. So please withdraw your citta from the brahma world and direct it to the cessation of identity with body/self view.'
‘Brahmalokopi kho, āvuso, anicco addhuvo sakkāyapariyāpanno. Sādhāyasmā Brahmalokā cittaṃ vuṭṭhāpetvā sakkāyanirodhe cittaṃ upasaṃharāhī’ti.
SN 55.54
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VEDIC REFERENCES
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Although this word does not exist in Sanskrit, Sakkāya could be decomposed as follows:
sak (√ शक् śak) + Ka + iya
lit. "to be able (to be like) what belongs to Ka" (where Ka is the other name for the god Prajāpati [made selves])
॰ईय -īya forms possesives in Sanskrit.
& sak means "to be able".
Ka (#3) is the continuous self, whose quality is to be blissful.
Prajāpati
Lord of creatures
praja (creatures) + pati (lord)
In ŚBr. 4.5.9.2 Prajāpati is the Self - a Self that wants to become more than one, and desires to reproduce (selves) > ŚBr. 6.1.1.8.
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However the sandhi in Pali, seems to be sa + Ka + iya. (as in para + kamo = parakkamo (going away)) .
Where sa [adj] (=sva in Sanskrit) = one's own.
Then Sakkāyadiṭṭhi becomes: "the view that the body (what belongs to Ka [namely the khandhas in the world (SN 35.82,) and in satta at large,) are one's own.
This goes well, with two things:
1. What Buddha says in SN 22.33, is that these khandhas are "not yours" (na tumhākaṃ).
2. Nicca in Sanskrit is nitya (नित्य). And it has two meanings in the Vedic litterature, as seen in the Monier-Williams dictionary:
- one’s own ( opp. to araṇa ) (RV) .
And
- continual, perpetual (permanent), eternal, (RV) .
Anicca means "impermanent" AND "not one's own".
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