Neither painful nor pleasant?

Q & A
1

In MN Sutta 148 – The Chachakka Sutta in paragraph 28 in reference to The Underlying Tendencies the Buddha says…When one is touched by a neither-painful-nor pleasant feeling, if one does not understand as it actually is the origination, the disappearance, the gratification, the danger, and the escape in regard to that feeling, then the underlying tendency to ignorance lies within one.

What are these feelings’ origination, disappearance, gratification, danger, and escape in regard to that feeling?

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i think the idea of the passage is simply necessity of being aware of and clearly comprehending such a feeling’s origination, disappearance, gratification, danger, and escape from instead of being consumed by it and acting upon it

a point of reference with regard to origination & disappearance methinks must be paticcasamuppada
with regard to danger & escape - probably the 4 noble truths
not sure about gratification offhand

3

This sutta selection from Sn 22.26 Gratification, may be helpful:

““Bhikkhus, if there were no gratification in form, [30] beings would not become enamoured with it; but because there is gratification in form, beings become enamoured with it. If there were no danger in form, beings would not experience revulsion towards it; but because there is danger in form, beings experience revulsion towards it. If there were no escape from form, beings would not escape from it; but because there is an escape from form, beings escape from it.”

““So long, bhikkhus, as I did not directly know as they really are the gratification, the danger, and the escape in the case of these five aggregates subject to clinging, I did not claim to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment in this world with its devas, Māra, and Brahmā, in this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, its devas and humans. But when I directly knew all this as it really is, then I claimed to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment in this world with … its devas and humans.”

““Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘The pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on form: this is the gratification in form. That form is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change: this is the danger in form. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust for form: this is the escape from form.”

Essentially when speaking of " the origin and passing away, gratification, danger, escape", the Buddha is talking about fully knowing and understanding something in all of it’s aspects. You know what causes lead to the condition of it’s arising, what causes lead to the condition of it’s passing, because You’ve seen this for yourself.

you also know that there is a gratification to it, because if there were not you wouldn’t bother with it, there is also a danger in our attaching to the impermanent, then of course there is the escape from this.

so a neutral feeling, as a meditator this is something we can find gratification in, as an escape from the pain/pleasure dichotomy. These feelings like all others are impermanent, so the danger is our attachment to them and dukkha when they go away. And like all other feelings you can observe the conditions for it’s arising and passing.

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Thank you Jayantha - your comments were very helpful.

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