CH15: Vedanā (Feeling)

At-a-glance: Present Effect • Vipāka-vaṭṭa • C2 pivot

A. Definition & place in DO

• Vedanā = the feeling-tone that arises with contact (phassa): pleasant, painful, or neither (SN 36).

• Six feelings (SN 12.2): born of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind—thus six classes of feeling.

• Placement (Ch02): Present Effect; conditioned by saḷāyatana → phassa, and conditioning taṇhā (SN 12.1).

• Round (Ch03): Vipāka-vaṭṭa (result): vedanā is received, not yet wholesome/unwholesome.

• Practice significance: Vedanā is the live hinge of C2 (vedanā → taṇhā); meeting it wisely prevents escalation to upādāna → (kamma)bhava.

B. Mechanism (how vedanā conditions the next)

• Contact → Feeling: base + object + matching consciousness = phassa, which conditions vedanā.

• Feeling → Craving: if unexamined, the mind leans—toward pleasant (grasp), against painful (resist), around neutral (drift). This leaning is taṇhā (sixfold per the six doors, SN 12.2).

• If wisdom enters: clearly noting tone as just result dissolves the compulsion; taṇhā fails to ignite, so upādāna / bhava do not build—“with the cessation of this, that ceases” (SN 12.1).

C. Practice (micro-drills, 1–3 minutes)

1. Tone-Only (60–90 sec)
   Let a stimulus occur. Say one word only: “pleasant / painful / neutral.” No story. Feel how the tone moves or fades on its own.

2. Feel—Name—Loosen (2 min)
   a) Feel the raw sensations (location, pressure, temperature).
   b) Name the tone out loud once.
   c) Loosen the body (exhale 4–6 sec; soften jaw/chest/hands). Confirm whether taṇhā appeared—or not.

3. Six-Door Circuit (3 min)
   Spend ~25–30 sec on each door (eye→mind). Catch one phassa, label the tone, watch for urge. If a lean starts, whisper “taṇhā,” relax, and let it pass.

D. Cross-links

• Ch14 Phassa (immediate condition).

• Ch16 Taṇhā (immediate effect when mishandled).

• Ch06 Three Connections (C2 spotlight).

• Ch21 Khandha present-aspect flow (seeing vedanā live at the doors).

Sources

SN 12.1; SN 12.2; SN 36 (Vedanā-saṁyutta).

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QR Footer (left → right)

• Audio QR-CH15-AUD1 — “Tone-Only: 90-sec drill.” (Alt: “QR to audio: guided vedanā noting”)

• Video QR-CH15-VID1 — Live C2 demonstration (feel→name→loosen). (Alt: “QR to video: stopping at feeling”)

• Slides QR-CH15-PPT1 — Six feelings & C2 map. (Alt: “QR to slides: vedanā teaching deck”)

• Prompt QR-CH15-PRM1 — Six-Door Circuit script. (Alt: “QR to prompt: six-door vedanā scan”)

Next: Ch16 — Taṇhā (Craving).