It seems clear that arahants are free from dukkha, having completed the Noble Eightfold Path. And yet we know that they can have old age, sickness, and death. I propose that dukkha, in the context of what is ended by the Noble Eightfold Path, is emotional suffering, that is to say, negative emotional affect.
So what is daratha? Ajahn Sujato translates it (at least some places) as stress; Jonathan S. Walters as distress; Laurence Khantipalo Mills as anxiety.
Please note that anxiety is very specifically negative emotional affect.
(In neuroscience it is said that there are 3 types of affect - homeostatic; sensory; and emotional. I have found that distinguishing between these can be very useful when reading the Buddha’s teachings.)
It seems to me that daratha may actually not be emotional at all. In MN 149, we see daratha given in a sequence, preceding dukkha. This seems to show that daratha can arise potentially without dukkha arising, since it exists prior to dukkha:
Their physical and mental stress,
Tassa kāyikāpi darathā pavaḍḍhanti, cetasikāpi darathā pavaḍḍhanti;torment,
kāyikāpi santāpā pavaḍḍhanti, cetasikāpi santāpā pavaḍḍhanti;and fever grow.
kāyikāpi pariḷāhā pavaḍḍhanti, cetasikāpi pariḷāhā pavaḍḍhanti.And they experience physical and mental suffering.
So kāyadukkhampi cetodukkhampi paṭisaṃvedeti.
MN 121 tells us that arahants experience ‘a modicum of daratha’, which is specifically ‘associated with the six sense fields dependent on this body and conditioned by life.’ This suggests to me that daratha may refer specifically to negative sensory affects (and I would say also negative homeostatic affects). This is a different category of affect, as understood by neuroscience.
They understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is no return to any state of existence.’
‘Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṃ brahmacariyaṃ, kataṃ karaṇīyaṃ, nāparaṃ itthattāyā’ti pajānāti.They understand:
So evaṃ pajānāti:‘Here there is no stress due to the defilements of sensuality, desire to be reborn, or ignorance.
‘ye assu darathā kāmāsavaṃ paṭicca tedha na santi, ye assu darathā bhavāsavaṃ paṭicca tedha na santi, ye assu darathā avijjāsavaṃ paṭicca tedha na santi, atthi cevāyaṃ darathamattā yadidaṃ—There is only this modicum of stress, namely that associated with the six sense fields dependent on this body and conditioned by life.’
imameva kāyaṃ paṭicca saḷāyatanikaṃ jīvitapaccayā’ti.
However, MN 149 seems to say arahants don’t even have daratha:
And their craving—which leads to future rebirth, mixed up with relishing and greed, looking for enjoyment in various different realms—is given up.
Taṇhā cassa ponobbhavikā nandīrāgasahagatā tatratatrābhinandinī, sā cassa pahīyati.Their physical and mental stress,
Tassa kāyikāpi darathā pahīyanti, cetasikāpi darathā pahīyanti;torment,
kāyikāpi santāpā pahīyanti, cetasikāpi santāpā pahīyanti;and fever are given up.
kāyikāpi pariḷāhā pahīyanti, cetasikāpi pariḷāhā pahīyanti.And they experience physical and mental pleasure.
So kāyasukhampi cetosukhampi paṭisaṃvedeti.
Well, perhaps we can explain the conflict (unless anyone can give insight to developments of these conflicting positions in the canon) by judging that to be an exaggeration. Just as some say they have become free from illness. Sure, I think if you’re an arahant then you’re less suceptiple to illness, I think that’s something jhāna does, which goes some way to explain that. And we have examples of sick arahants, like the Buddha for example. So that seems clear to be an exxageration. We don’t seem to have any example of any arahants having dukkha, however, so that would seem to be definitively gone.
Now, here is a case where it seems to very much support my idea of daratha being negative sensory/homeostatic affect. AN 5.194
In this sutta we have a set of analogies Piṅgiyānī uses to explain why he praises the Buddha. The examples are comparing the Buddha’s teachings to:
-
tasting the best tasting food. Weak with hunger enjoying sweet taste of honey-cake.
Leads to: whatever it may be, whether statements, songs, discussions, or amazing stories—
yadi suttaso, yadi geyyaso, yadi veyyākaraṇaso, yadi abbhutadhammaso—
then you get a sense of uplift, a confidence of the heart.
tato tato labhateva attamanataṃ, labhati cetaso pasādaṃ. -
delicious fragrance of sandalwood.
Leads to: whatever it may be, whether statements, songs, discussions, or amazing stories—yadi suttaso, yadi geyyaso, yadi veyyākaraṇaso, yadi abbhutadhammaso— then you become filled with joy and happiness. tato tato adhigacchati pāmojjaṃ adhigacchati somanassaṃ.
cured ‘on the spot’ from sickness by a doctor
Leads to: whatever it may be, whether statements, songs, discussions, or amazing stories—yadi suttaso, yadi geyyaso, yadi veyyākaraṇaso, yadi abbhutadhammaso— then you make an end of sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress.
tato tato sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā abbhatthaṃ gacchanti.
So far, two of these examples are people suffering from negative homeostatic affects - hunger and illness - both of which are accompanied by negative sensory affects (weakness, pain etc.); while one example gives no mention of problems. Two then have the experience of positive sensory affects - pleasant taste and smell; and the other has the sudden release from negative sensory/homeostatic affect, by curing the illness.
Then we have the one we are most interested in:
Suppose there was a lotus pond with clear, sweet, cool water, clean, with smooth banks, delightful.
Seyyathāpi, bho, pokkharaṇī acchodakā sātodakā sītodakā setakā supatitthā ramaṇīyā.Then along comes a person struggling in the oppressive heat, weary, thirsty, and parched.
Atha puriso āgaccheyya ghammābhitatto ghammapareto kilanto tasito pipāsito.They’d plunge into the lotus pond to bathe and drink. And all their stress, weariness, and heat exhaustion would die down.
So taṃ pokkharaṇiṃ ogāhetvā nhātvā ca pivitvā ca sabbadarathakilamathapariḷāhaṃ paṭippassambheyya.In the same way, when you hear the ascetic Gotama’s teaching—
Evamevaṃ kho, bho, yato yato tassa bhoto gotamassa dhammaṃ suṇāti—whatever it may be, whether statements, songs, discussions, or amazing stories—
yadi suttaso, yadi geyyaso, yadi veyyākaraṇaso, yadi abbhutadhammaso—then all your stress, weariness, and exhaustion die down.”
tato tato sabbadarathakilamathapariḷāhā paṭippassambhantī”ti.
Please note the same pattern - struggling in the oppressive heat, weary, thirsty, and parched - these are all examples of negative sensory affect, possibly accompanied by negative homeostatic affect. Following that is the pleasant relieve from that by the cooling waters - again, positive sensory affect.
Now, in light of the specifically sensory-homeostatic nature of the problematic situation, consider the meaning of “all your stress (daratha), weariness, and exhaustion die down”. This context seems to strongly imply that this daratha is negative sensory or both sensory and homeostatic affect.
So I wonder that we might accept that arahants can have no dukkha but can have daratha. And that daratha is specifically not including any kind of negative emotional affect. Does anyone have any reason to not assume that daratha is therefore a type of, or the whole category of, negative sensory(/+homeostatic) affect?
There are few other occurences of daratha, so far as I could find from my search. I’ve tried to make this as systematic as I could with limited time but if anyone can shed more light, please do.
[Also, I wasn’t sure if this type of post should go in Essays, Discussion, or Translations - sorry if I made the wrong choice!?]