Yathābhūtaṁ Definition

General Theravada topics
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What is the definition and explanation of “yathābhūtaṁ” according to the Abhidhamma and commentaries?

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= Real Nature
= True Nature
= Truth
= Unchanged truth
= As it is
= As it really is

yathābhūta nti yathāsabhāvaṃ. ( Paṭisambhidāmagga-aṭṭhakathā , Rāhulasutta-aṭṭhakathā)
yathābhūta nti yathā sabhāvaṃ, yathā atthīti vuttaṃ hoti. ( Sallekhasutta-aṭṭhakathā )

yathābhūte ti aviparītasaccasabhāve nibbāne. ( Itivuttaka-aṭṭhakathā » Diṭṭhigatasutta)

yathābhūtañāṇadassana nti taruṇavipassanā; udayabbayañāṇassetaṃ adhivacanaṃ. ( Parivāra-aṭṭhakathā » Cūḷasaṅgāmo)
yathābhūtañāṇadassana nti bhaṅgaṃ disvā disvā “Sabhayā saṅkhārā”ti pavattaṃ bhayatupaṭṭhānañāṇaṃ. ( Paṭisambhidāmagga-aṭṭhakathā » Mahāvaggo)
yathābhūtañāṇadassana nti yathāsabhāvajānanasaṅkhātaṃ dassanaṃ. Etena taruṇavipassanaṃ dasseti. ( Nidānasaṃyuttaṃ-aṭṭhakathā » Nidānavagga )
yathābhūtañāṇadassana nti nāmarūpaparicchedañāṇaṃ ādiṃ katvā taruṇavipassanā. ( Aṅguttaranikāya- aṭṭhakathā *»*Dussīlasutta)
yathābhūtañāṇadassana nti sappaccayanāmarūpapariggaho. ( Sāratthadīpanī-ṭīkā Vimativinodanī-ṭīkā » Ganthārambhakathā)

Sometimes:

= Unchanged truth Nibbana
= (Intrinsic and Universal) Characteristics of Namarupas with Causes
= what is seen by Vipassana
(= what is not seen by Avijja)

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To see paramattha. To do that, one needs to remove compactness.

In my Abhidhamma Lessons book I say:

“Breaking up compactness.” It is called Ghana in Pāli.
There are four types of Compactness for the mind.

  1. Continuity of compactness of mind
  2. Grouping compactness of mind
  3. Function compactness of mind
  4. Compactness of mental phenomena which take object

…The goal was to break up compactness for you and
to let you know there is “more than meets the eye.”

Materiality has 3 types of compactness: (from Pa-Auk manual, I copied pāḷi from tpp… Mahāvagga Ṭīkā(Dīgha))

Three Kinds Of Compactness Of rūpa
To be able to see the ultimate reality of rūpas a meditator has to
break down the three kinds of compactness called rūpa ghana. The
sub-commentary explains that there are three kinds of compactness
related to rūpas. It says:
ghanavinibbhoganti santatisamūhakiccaghanānaṃ vinibbhujjanaṃ vivecanaṃ.
(m.sub-com.1.p.365)
Translation: The breaking down of ghana means the breaking
down of
santati (continuity),
samūha (grouping),
and kicca (function) ghana.

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“as it is”
To know something as it is without delusion or concept.