Beyond the Internal and External: Using Gocara and Vemattatā to Dismantle the Self

 

The Wisdom of the Khajjaneeya Sutta

A translation based on a discussion by Venerable Alawwe Anomadassi Thero : Version 2

The core of the Buddha’s teaching in the Khajjaneeya Sutta (SN 22.79) focuses on a radical shift in perspective: moving from seeing "things" (nouns) to seeing "processes" (verbs/actions). This shift dismantles the illusion of a solid self (Sakkaya) and the artificial duality of internal versus external.

1. The Nature of Consciousness and Naming

In the Khajjaneeya Sutta, the Buddha defines consciousness through its function:

“Vijanatiti kho bhikkhave, tasmā viññāṇanti vuccathi” > (It cognizes, monks; that is why it is called 'consciousness'.)

Just as we use nouns like "table" or "chair" for communication, we use terms like "falling sick" or "dying." These are designations (pannațți), expressions (vohāra), and linguistic conventions (nirutti). We cannot have a name without a circumstance; we cannot say "dog" without the hearing of a bark or "cold" without a sensation. A name is never independent; it is always tied to an occurrence.

2. The Trap of "Nothingness"

Some practitioners try to negate the world by saying, "Because there is no seeing or hearing, the object does not exist." They conclude that only the acts of sensing (dittha, suta, muta, vinnata) are real, and the object is a myth.

However, this leads to the view of Nothingness. If you say your name or the object doesn't exist but the "sensing" does, you are still clinging to one side of a duality. You are ignoring one naming convention while taking another (the action) as an absolute reality. The Buddha avoids these extremes of "existence" and "non-existence" by pointing to the Five Upadana-khandas (Clinging Aggregates) as the process of life itself.

3. Redefining Experience: Gocara and Vemattatā

To deepen the understanding of how the Buddha shifts the focus from "objects" to "processes," we must look at how specific Pali terms redefine our field of experience. These terms move us away from the internal/external divide (Ajhätta/Bahiddhā).

A. Gocara (Sensory Range / Pasture)

Gocara literally means "a cow's grazing ground." In Dhamma, it refers to the sensory range in which the mind "grazes."

• The Shift: Instead of seeing an object as an external "thing," Gocara defines it by its relationship to the sense organ. A sound is not a "thing" in the world; it is the range of the ear.
• Example: When you think of a Kuti (monk's dwelling), your mind is grazing in the Gocara of mental objects (Dhammārammana). Whether the Kuti is physically near or far is irrelevant to the circumstance of the mind currently grasping that image.

B. Vemattatā (Diversity / Variation)

While the internal/external divide is a binary, Vemattatā describes the diversity of circumstances within the aggregates.

• The 11 Aspects: The Buddha describes the five aggregates through 11 variations: past, future, present, internal, external, gross, subtle, inferior, superior, far, or near.
• The "Me" Factor: These are not absolute divisions of space or time; they are designations (pannațți) used to categorize diversity. We usually use these to create a "Me" (e.g., "my past"). By seeing them as Vemattatā, we realize "far" and "near" are just labels for how a formation is currently being experienced.

4. Summary Table: From Duality to Circumstance

Traditional View (Duality)	Dhamma View (Circumstance)	Pali Term
Object vs. Subject	The Sensory Range	Gocara
Space and Time (Near/Far, Past/Future)	Diversity of Appearances	Vemattatā
Solid Entities (Table, Person, Thing)	Modes of Affliction / Action	Ruppati

5. Transcending Form vs. Transcending Clinging

Ancient contemporary teachers taught how to remove "Form" (Rupa) one by one to reach Formless states (Arupa). However, these states often involve Uccheda (annihilationism)—the attempt to remove a state that was assumed to exist in the first place.

A Sekha (practitioner) does not just try to "remove" form. They recognize that "Form" is actually Rupa-upadana-khanda (clinging to form). The Buddha shifted our focus from the Noun (Form) to the Verb (Ruppati—the process of being afflicted/deformed). When you investigate the "named form" and see it only as the process of Ruppati, it is no longer a "thing"; it is seen as an action (kriya), a Sankhara (Formation).

Conclusion: Wisdom vs. The "Me"

When you see that "Form" is actually just a process of "Formation" (Sankhara), and you see that Sabbe Sankhara Anicca (All formations are impermanent), the duality of "Me" and "The Object" collapses.

This realization isn't something "I" experience; it is the Wisdom (Panna) itself seeing the process. At this point, you have crossed over from the illusion of a solid self to the reality of an ever-changing process. In the seeing of the process, there is freedom.