The doctrine of Paticcasamuppada or
Dependent Origination is very important in Buddhism. The bodhisatta began with dependent
origination when he reflected deeply on the nature of existence and attained
Enlightenment. He first pondered old age and death as did every other bodhisatta when he
was about to become the Buddha in his last existence. For it was only after seeing the
old, the sick and the dead that the bodhisatta saw the ascetic (//samana//) and renounced
the world in search of the ageless and the deathless Dhamma. He had seen the evils of life
in old age, sickness and death.
Every living being wants to avoid these evils of life but there is no
end to these evils which follow him in one existence after another. In view of this
endless process of life, all living beings appear to be in bondage and subject to
suffering. Life is in fact an infinite process of births and deaths. The fate of fowls and
ducks is terrible indeed. Some are eaten up while still in the eggs. If they emerge from
the eggs they do not live long but are killed when they grow up a little. They are born
only to be killed for human consumption. If the fate of a living being is thus to be
repeatedly killed it is gloomy and frightful indeed.
But the fowls and ducks appear to be well content with their lot in
life. They apparently enjoy life, quacking, crowing, eating and fighting with one another.
They may think that they have a lot of time to live although in fact they have little time
to be happy, their life being a matter of days or months, with each of them coming into
existence and then dying after a short time.
The span of human life, too, is not very long for the man in his
fifties or sixties the past seems in retrospect as recent as yesterday. Sixty or seventy
years on earth is a day in the life of a deva which is, however, very short in the eyes of
a Brahma who may live as long as the duration of the worlds (//kappa//). But even the
Brahma who outlives hundreds of worlds is insignificant and his life is short in the
context of samsaric eternity. Devas and Brahmas, too, have to age and die eventually.
Although they are not subject to sickness and marked dotage, age tells on them invisibly
in due course of time. So every living being has to face old age and death and nobody can
escape from these evils of life.
Reflection Of The Bodhisatta
Reflecting on the origin of old age, the bodhisatta traced back the
chain of dependent origination from the end to the beginning. Old age and death have their
origin in rebirth which in turn is due to //kammabhava// (condition or kamma for renewed
existence). Kammabhava stems from grasping or attachment (upadana) which is caused by
craving (tanha). Craving arises from feeling (vedana) which is produced by sense-bases
(ayatana) such as eye, visual form, etc. Sense-bases are the product of nama-rupa
(consciousness and corporeality) which results from //vinnana// (consciousness) which is
again caused by //nama-rupa//.
The full Pali texts about Paticcasamuppada attribute vinnana to
sankhara (kamma-formations) and sankhara to avijja (ignorance). But the bodhisatta's
reflection is confined to the interdependence of //nama-rupa// and vinnana in the present
life. In other words, he reflected on the correlation between vinnana and nama-rupa,
leaving out of account the former's relation to past existence. We may assume, therefore,
that for the yogis, reflection on the present life will suffice to ensure the successful
practice of vipassana.
Anuloma Reasoning
The bodhisatta reasoned about the correlation between vinnana and
nama-rupa thus: This vinnana has no cause other than nama-rupa. From nama-rupa there
results vinnana; from vinnana there arises nama-rupa. Hence, from the correlation between
vinnana and nama-rupa there arises birth, old age and death; there may be successive
births or successive deaths.
Moreover vinnana causes nama-rupa; nama-rupa causes sense-bases
(ayatana). From sense-bases there arises contact; contact leads to feeling; feeling gives
rise to craving; craving to grasping; and grasping results in rebirth which in turn leads
to old age, death, anxiety, grief and other kinds of mental and physical sufferings.
Then the bodhisatta reflected on dependent origination negatively. If
there were no vinnana there could be no nama-rupa; if no nama-rupa, then no ayatana and so
on. The negation of the first link in the chain of causation leads to the extinction of
suffering that has beset us
ceaselessly in the infinite series of samsaric existences. After this
reflection on dependent origination in its positive and negative aspects, the bodhisatta
contemplated the nature of the aggregates of grasping. Then he attained the successive
insights and fruitions (magga-phala) on the Ariyan holy path and finally became the
all-Enlightened Buddha. Every bodhisatta attained supreme Enlightenment after such
contemplation. They did not learn what and how to contemplate from others but owing to
cumulative potential (parami) that they had acquired through innumerable lifetimes, they
contemplated as mentioned before and attained Enlightenment.
Beyond Reasoning And Speculation
Then when it was time to preach, the Buddha thought thus: This dhamma
which I know is very profound. It is hard to understand; it is so sublime and so conducive
to inner peace. It is not accessible to intellect and logic (atakkavacaro). It is subtle
and it is to be realized only by the wise.
All over the world, philosophers have racked their brains about freedom
from old age, sickness and death. But freedom from these evils means Nibbana and Nibbana
is beyond the reach of reason and intellect. It is to be realized only through the
practice of the middle way and vipassana. Most philosophers rely on intellect and logic,
and there are various doctrines which they have conceived for the welfare of all living
beings. But these doctrines are based on speculations that do not help anyone to attain
vipassana insight, let alone the supreme goal of Nibbana. Even the lowest stage of
vipassana insight, viz., insight into the distinction between nama and rupa does not admit
any intellectual approach. The insight dawns on the yogi only when, with the development
of concentration, and in accordance with Satipatthana method he watches the nama-rupa
process and distinguishes between consciousness and corporeality, e.g. the desire to bend
the hand and bent hand, the ear and the sound on the one hand and the consciousness of
hearing on the other and so forth. Such knowledge is not vague and speculative; it is
vivid and empirical.
It is said on the authority of scriptures that nama-rupas are in a
constant flux and that we should watch their arising and passing away. But for the
beginner this is easier said than done. The beginner has to exert strenuous effort to
overcome hindrances (nivarana). Even freedom from nivarana helps him only to distinguish
between nama and rupa. It does not ensure insight into their arising and passing away.
This insight is attained only after concentration has been developed and perception has
become keen with the practice of mindfulness. Constant mindfulness of arising and
vanishing leads to insight into anicca, dukkha and anatta of all phenomena. But as merely
the beginning of lower vipassana, this insight is a far cry from the path and its
fruition. Hence the description of the dhamma as something beyond logic and speculation.
Dhamma Is Only For The Wise
The dhamma is subtle (nipuno); it is to be realized only by the wise
(panditavedaniyo). Here the wise means only those who have wisdom (panna) relating to
vipassana and the path and its goal. The dhamma has nothing to do with the secular
knowledge //per se// possessed by world philosophers, religious founders, writers or great
scientists who can split atoms. But it can be realized by any one irrespective of sex, age
or education; anyone who contemplates nama-rupa at the moment of their arising, passes
through vipassana insights progressively and attains the Ariyan path and its goal.
Taking stock of the nature of all living beings, the Buddha found that
most of them were mired in sensual pleasure. There were of course a few exceptions like
the five companions of Siddhattha in the forest retreat or the two brahmins who were later
to become the two chief disciples of the Buddha. But the majority of mankind regard the
enjoyment of pleasure as the summum bonum of life. They are like children who delight in
playing with their toys the whole day. The child's toys and games make no sense to adults
but grown-up people too derive pleasure from the toys of the sensual world, that is, from
the company of their children and grand-children. Such sensual pleasure has no appeal for
Buddhas and Arahats. It is highly esteemed by ordinary men and devas because they have no
sense of higher values such as jhana, vipassana and Nibbana.
A person who is thus fond of sensual pleasure may be likened to a
peasant living in out-of-the-way rural areas. To the urbanites those places are wholly
devoid of the amenities of life, what with poor food, poor clothes, dirty dwellings, muddy
footpaths and so forth. But the villagers are happy and they never think of leaving their
native place. Likewise, common people and devas delight in their sensual objects. Whatever
the teaching of the Buddha and the Arahats, they love pleasure and spend all their time
indulging in it. They feel ill at ease in the absence of sensual objects. They are so much
pleased with their families, attendants and possessions that they cannot think of anything
higher than sensual pleasure. Because of their deep rooted love of pleasure, it is hard
for them to understand or appreciate the subtle, profound Paticcasamuppada and Nibbana.
Difficulty Of Understanding
The Buddha-dhamma makes little appeal to the masses since it is
diametrically opposed to their sensual desire. People do not like even an ordinary sermon,
let alone a discourse on Nibbana, if it has no sensual touch. They do not seem interested
in our teaching and no wonder, since it is devoid of melodious recitation, sentimental
stories, hilarious jokes and other attractions. It is acceptable only to those who have
practised //vipassana// or who seek the dhamma on which they can rely for methods of
meditation and extinction of defilements.
But it is a mistake to deprecate, as some do, the sermons containing
stories, jokes, etc., as sutta sermons. Suttas differ basically from popular sermons in
that they are profound, as witness Anattalakkhana sutta, Satipatthana sutta and so forth.
The doctrine of Dependent Origination too belongs to Sutta Pitaka. It is to be labelled
Abhidhamma only because it is preached in the fashion of Abhidhamma Pitaka.
Since our teaching is unadulterated dhamma, some people confuse it with
Abhidhamma and cannot follow it, much less grasp the Path and Nibbana which it emphasizes.
Paticcasamuppada is hard to understand because it concerns the correlations between causes
and effects. There is no ego entity that exists independently of the law of causation. It
was hard to accept this fact before the Buddha proclaimed the dhamma.
The commentaries also point out the abstruse character of the doctrine.
According to them there are four dhammas which defy understanding, viz., the four noble
truths, the nature of a living being, the nature of rebirth and dependent origination.
It is hard to understand and accept the truth of suffering, the truth
about its cause, the truth about its cessation and the truth about the way to its
extinction. It is hard to appreciate these truths, still harder to teach them to other
people.
Secondly, it is hard to understand that a living being is a nama-rupa
process without any separate self, that the nama-rupa complex is subject to the law of
kamma that determines a man's future life according to his good or bad deeds.
In the third place, it is hard to see how rebirth takes place as a
result of defilement and kamma without the transfer of nama-rupa from a previous life.
Lastly, it is equally hard to understand Paticcasamuppada. It involves
the above three abstruse dhammas. Its negative aspect concerns the first two noble truths
as well as the nature of a living being and rebirth while its positive aspect involves the
other two truths. Hence, it is most difficult to grasp or teach the doctrine. It may be
easy to explain it to one who has attained the path and Nibbana or one who has studied the
Pitaka but it will mean little to one who has neither the illumination nor scriptural
knowledge.
The writer of the commentary on the doctrine was qualified to explain
it because he might have attained the lower stages of the path or he might have a thorough
knowledge of the Pitaka. He refers to its difficulty probably in order that its exposition
might be seriously studied by posterity. He likens the difficulty to the plight of a man
who has jumped into the sea and cannot get to the bottom. He admits that he has written
the exegesis on the basis of the Pitaka and the old commentaries handed down by oral
tradition. The same may be said of our teaching. Since it is hard to explain the doctrine,
the yogi should pay special attention to it. If he follows the teaching superficially, he
will understand nothing and without a fair knowledge of the doctrine, he is bound to
suffer in the wilderness of samsaric existence.
The substance of the Paticcasamuppada teaching is as follows.
From ignorance there arises sankhara (effort or kamma-formation). From
kamma-formation there arises consciousness of the new existence. Consciousness gives rise
to psycho-physical phenomena or nama-rupa. Nama-rupa leads to ayatana (six bases). From
ayatana arises the phassa (impression). Phassa causes feeling; feeling leads to craving.
From craving there results clinging (upadana). Because of clinging there is the process of
becoming (kamma-bhava), from the process of becoming there arises rebirth (jati) and
rebirth leads to old age, death, sorrow, grief and lamentation. Thus arises the whole mass
of suffering.
What is Avijja (Ignorance)?
According to the Buddha, avijja is ignorance of the four Noble Truths,
viz., the truths about suffering, its cause, its cessation and the way to its cessation.
In a positive sense avijja implies misconception or illusion. It makes us mistake what is
false and illusory for truth and reality. It leads us astray and so it is labelled
//miccha-patipatti-avijja//.
Avijja, therefore, differs from ordinary ignorance. Ignorance of the
name of a man or a village does not necessarily mean misinformation whereas the avijja of
Paticcasamuppada means something more than ignorance. It is misleading like the ignorance
of a man who has lost all sense of direction and who, therefore, thinks that the east is
west or that the north is south. The man who does not know the truth of suffering has an
optimistic view of life that is full of dukkha (pain and evil).
It is a mistake to seek the truth of dukkha in the book for it is to be
found in one's own body. Seeing, hearing, in short, all nama-rupa arising from the six
senses are dukkha. For this phenomenal existence is impermanent, undesirable and
unpleasant. It may end at any time and so all is pain and suffering. But this dukkha is
not realized by living beings who look upon their existence as blissful and good.
So they seek pleasant sense-objects, good sights, good sounds, good
food, etc. Their effort to secure what they believe to be the good things of life is due
to their illusion (avijja) about their existence. Avijja is here like the green eye-glass
that makes a horse eat the dry grass which it mistakes for green grass. Living beings are
mired in sensual pleasure because they see every thing through rose-coloured glasses. They
harbour illusions about the nature of sense-objects and nama-rupa.
A blind man may be easily deceived by another man who offers him a
worthless longyi, saying that it is an expensive, high quality longyi. The blind man will
believe him and he will like the longyi very much. He will be disillusioned only when he
recovers his sight and then he will throw it away at once. Likewise, as a victim of
avijja, a man enjoys life, being blind to its anicca, dukkha and anatta. He becomes
disenchanted when introspection of nama-rupa makes him aware of the unwholesome nature of
his existence.
Introspection of nama-rupa or vipassana contemplation has nothing to do
with bookish knowledge. It means thorough watching and ceaseless contemplation of all
psycho-physical phenomena that comprise both the sense-objects and the corresponding
consciousness. The practice leads to full awareness of their nature. As concentration
develops, the yogi realizes their arising and instant vanishing, thereby gaining an
insight into their anicca, dukkha and anatta.
Avijja makes us blind to reality because we are unmindful.
Unmindfulness give rise to the illusion of man, woman, hand, leg, etc., in the
conventional sense of the terms. We do not know that seeing, for instance, is merely the
nama-rupa or psycho-physical process, that the phenomenon arises and vanishes, that it is
impermanent, unsatisfactory and unsubstantial.
Some people who never contemplate die without knowing anything about
nama-rupa. The real nature of nama-rupa process is realized by the mindful person. But the
insight does not occur in the beginning when concentration is not yet developed. Illusion
or the natural way of consciousness precedes contemplation and so the beginner does not
gain a clear insight into the nature of nama-rupa. It is only through steadfast practice
that concentration and perception develop and lead to insight-knowledge.
If, for example, while practising mindfulness, the yogi feels itchy, he
is barely aware of being itchy. He does not think of the hand, the leg, or any other part
of the body that is itchy nor does the idea of self as the subject of itchiness, "I
feel itchy" occur to him. There arises only the continuous sensation of itchiness.
The sensation does not remain permanent but passes away as he notes it. The watching
consciousness promptly notes every psycho-physical phenomenon, leaving no room for the
illusion of hand, leg and so on.
Illusion dominates the unmindful person and makes him blind to the
unsatisfactory nature (dukkha) of all sense-objects. It replaces dukkha with sukha. Indeed
avijja means both ignorance of what is real and mis-conception that distorts reality.
Because he does not know the truth of dukkha, man seeks pleasant
sense-objects. Thus ignorance leads to effort and activity (sankhara). According to the
scriptures, because of avijja there arises sankhara but, there are two links, viz., tanha
and upadana between them. Ignorance gives rise to craving (tanha) which later on develops
into attachment (upadana). Craving and attachment stem from the desire for pleasure and
are explicitly mentioned in the middle part of the doctrine of Paticcasamuppada. When the
past is fully described, reference is made to avijja, tanha, upadana, kamma and sankhara.
Ignorance Of The Origin Of Dukkha
People do not know that craving is the origin (samudaya) of suffering.
On the contrary they believe that it is attachment that makes them happy, that without
attachment life would be dreary. So they ceaselessly seek pleasant sense-objects, food,
clothing, companions and so forth. In the absence of these objects of attachment they
usually feel ill at ease and find life monotonous.
For common people life without attachment would be indeed wholly devoid
of pleasure. It is tanha that hides the unpleasantness of life and makes it pleasant. But
for the Arahat who has done away with tanha, it is impossible to enjoy life. He is always
bent on Nibbana, the cessation of conditioned suffering.
Tanha cannot exert much pressure even on the yogis (meditators) when
they become absorbed in the practice of vipassana. So some yogis do not enjoy life as much
as they did before. On their return from meditation retreat they get bored at home and
feel ill at ease in the company of their families. To other people the yogi may appear to
be conceited but in fact his behaviour is a sign of loss of interest in the workaday
world. But if he cannot as yet overcome the sensual desire, his boredom is temporary and
he usually gets re-adjusted to his home life in due course. His family need not worry over
his mood or behaviour for it is not easy for a man to become thoroughly sick of his home
life. So the yogi should examine himself and see how much he is really disenchanted with
life. If his desire for pleasure lingers, he must consider himself still in the grip of
tanha.
Without tanha we would feel discomfited. In conjunction with avijja,
tanha makes us blind to dukkha and creates the illusion of sukha. So we frantically seek
sources of pleasure. Consider, for example, men's fondness for movies and dramatic
performances. These entertainments cost time and money but tanha makes them irresistible
although to the person who has no craving for them they are sources of suffering.
A more obvious example is smoking. The smoker delights in inhaling the
tobacco smoke but to the non-smoker it is a kind of self-inflicted suffering. The
non-smoker is free from all the troubles that beset the smoker. He leads a relatively
care-free and happy life because he has no craving for tobacco. Tanha as the source of
dukkha is also evident in the habit of betel-chewing. Many people enjoy it although in
fact it is a troublesome habit.
Like the smoker and the betel-chewer, people seek to gratify their
craving and this tanha-inspired effort is the mainspring of rebirth that leads to old age,
sickness and death.
Suffering and desire as its cause are evident in everyday life but it
is hard to see these truths for they are profound and one can realize them not through
reflection but only through the practice of vipassana.
Ignorance Of The Third And Fourth Noble Truths
Avijja also means ignorance of the cessation of dukkha and the way to
it. These two truths are also profound and hard to understand for the truth about
cessation of dukkha concerns Nibbana which is to be realized only on the Ariyan holy path,
and the truth about the way is certainly known only to the yogi who has attained the path.
No wonder that many people are ignorant of these truths.
Ignorance of the end of suffering is widespread and so world religions
describe the supreme goal in many ways. Some say that suffering will come to an end
automatically in due course of time. Some regard sensual pleasure as the highest good and
reject the idea of a future life. This variety of beliefs is due to ignorance of the real
Nibbana. Even among Buddhists some hold that Nibbana is an abode or a sort of paradise and
there are many arguments about it. All these show how hard it is to understand Nibbana.
In reality Nibbana is the total extinction of the nama-rupa process
that occurs ceaselessly on the basis of causal relationship. Thus according to the
doctrine of Paticcasamuppada, avijja, sankhara etc., give rise to nama-rupa, etc., and
this causal process involves old age, death and the other evils of life. If avijja, etc.,
becomes extinct on the Ariyan path, so do their effects and all kinds of dukkha and this
complete end to dukkha is Nibbana.
For example, a lamp that is refuelled will keep on burning, but if it
is not refuelled there will be a complete extinction of flame. Likewise for the yogi on
the Ariyan path who has attained Nibbana, all the causes such as avijja, etc., have become
extinct and so do all the effects such as rebirth, etc. This means total extinction of
suffering, that is, Nibbana which the yogi must understand and appreciate before he
actually realizes it.
This concept of Nibbana does not appeal to those who have a strong
craving for life. To them the cessation of nama-rupa process would mean nothing more than
eternal death. Nevertheless, intellectual acceptance of Nibbana is necessary because on it
depends the yogi's whole-hearted and persistent effort to attain the supreme goal.
Knowledge of the fourth truth, viz., truth about the way to the end of
dukkha is also of vital importance. Only the Buddhas can proclaim the right path; it is
impossible for anyone else, be he a deva, a Brahma or a human being, to do so. But there
are various speculations and teachings about the path. Some advocate ordinary morality
such as love, altruism, patience, alms-giving, etc., while others stress the practice of
mundane jhana. All these practices are commendable. According to the Buddhist teaching,
they lead to relative welfare in the deva-Brahma worlds but do not ensure freedom from
samsaric dukkha such as old age, etc. So they do not form the right path to Nibbana
although they are helpful in the effort to attain it.
Some resort to self-mortification such as fasting, living in a state of
nature and so forth. Some worship devas or animals. Some live like animals. From the
Buddhist point of view all these represent what is termed //silabbataparamasa// which
means any practice that has nothing to do with the Eightfold Path.
The Noble Eightfold Path comprises right view, right intention, right
speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right
contemplation. The path is of three kinds, viz., the basic path, the preliminary path and
the Ariyan path. Of these the most vital is the Ariyan path but this path should not be
the primary objective of the yogi nor does it require him to spend much time and energy on
it. For, as the vipassana practice on the preliminary path develops, the insight on the
Ariyan level occurs for a thought-moment. For example, it requires much time and effort to
produce fire by friction but ignition is a matter of a moment's duration. Similarly, the
insight on the Ariyan path is instantaneous but it pre-supposes much practice of vipassana
on the preliminary path.
Right View, Etc.
Vipassana insight is the insight that occurs at every moment of
contemplation. The yogi who notes every psycho-physical phenomenon becomes aware of its
real nature. Thus he focuses his attention on the bending of his arms or legs and he
realizes the elements of rigidity and motion. This means right view in connection with
//vayodhatu//. Without mindfulness there will arise illusion of "It is the
hand", "It is a man", and so forth. Only the mindful yogi sees things as
they really are.
The same may be said of right view in regard to sensation in the body,
e.g. imagination, intention. When the mind becomes fixed and calm, the yogi finds the
nama-rupa phenomena arising and vanishing and so he gains insight into their anicca,
dukkha and anatta.
Right belief implies right intention and other associative dhamma on
the path. Insight on the path occurs at every moment of contemplation. With the attainment
of perfect insight into the three characteristics of existence, the yogi sees Nibbana.
Hence, if Nibbana is to be realized here and now, the practice of vipassana is essential.
The yogi who cannot as yet practise vipassana should focus on the path that is the basis
of vipassana practice. This basic path means doing good deeds motivated by the belief in
Kamma. In other words, it is the practice of dana, sila etc., in the hope of attaining
Nibbana.
All the paths (magga) - the basic, the preliminary and the Ariyan, form
the three-fold path leading to Nibbana. In particular, the yogi must recognize the Ariyan
path as the dhamma that is to be desired, cherished and adored. Such a recognition is
essential to strenuous effort in the practice of vipassana. The yogi must also accept the
vipassana magga as a noble dhamma and know how to practise it.
Some people are ignorant of the way to Nibbana. On top of that they
belittle the Nibbana-oriented good deeds of other people. Some deprecate the teaching and
practice of other people although they have never practised vipassana effectively. Some
criticize the right method because they are attached to their wrong method. All these
people have avijja which means ignorance of and misconception about the right path. It is
avijja not to know that dana, sila and bhavana lead to Nibbana and it is avijja too to
regard dana, etc. as harmful to one's interest. The more destructive avijja is ignorance
of and illusion about the right method of contemplation.
Ignorance of the right path is the most terrible form of avijja. For it
makes its victims blind to good deeds and creates illusions, thereby preventing them from
attaining human happiness or divine bliss, let alone the Ariyan path and Nibbana. Yet most
people remain steeped in ignorance, unmindful of the need to devote themselves to dana,
sila and bhavana.
Avijja Leads To Sankhara
To them sensual pleasure is the source of happiness, Nibbana as the
extinction of nama-rupa is undesirable and the way to it is arduous and painful. So they
seek to gratify their desire through three kinds of action (kamma) viz., bodily action,
verbal action and mental action. Some of these actions may be ethically good and some may
be ethically bad. Some people will practise dana, etc. for their welfare hereafter, while
some will resort to deceit or robbery to become rich.
A Pali synonym for kamma (action) is sankhara. Sankhara is also of
three kinds, viz., sankhara by thought, sankhara by speech and sankhara by body. Sankhara
pre-supposes cetana (volition). The function of cetana is to conceive, to urge or to
incite and as such it is the mainspring of all actions. It is involved in killing,
alms-giving, etc. The yogi knows its nature empirically through contemplation.
In another sense there are three kinds of sankharas, viz., punnabhi
(wholesome) sankhara, with its good kammic result, apunnabhi (unwholesome) sankhara, with
its bad kammic result and anenjabhi-sankhara that leads to wholesome arupajhana which
literally means immobile jhana. Rupajhana and all the good actions having the kammic
results in the sensual world are to be classified as punnabhi-sankhara. Punna literally
means something that cleanses or purifies. Just as a man washes the dirt off his body with
soap, so also we have to rid ourselves of kammic impurities through dana, sila and
bhavana. These good deeds are conducive to welfare and prosperity in the present life and
hereafter.
Another meaning of punna is the tendency to fulfil the desire of the
doer of the good deed. Good deeds help to fulfil various human desires, e.g. the desire
for health, longevity, wealth and so forth. If a good deed is motivated by the hope for
Nibbana, it leads to a life that makes it possible to attain his goal or it may ensure his
happiness and welfare till the end of his last existence. Abhisankhara is the effort to do
something for one's own welfare. It tends to have good or evil kammic results. So
punnabhi-sankhara is good deed with good kammic result. There are eight types of good deed
in sensual sphere (kamavacarakusala) and five types in fine-material sphere (rupavacara).
All these may be summed up as of three kinds, viz., dana, sila and bhavana.
Giving dana gladly means wholesome consciousness which is kammically
very fruitful. So the donor should rejoice before, during and after the act of
alms-giving. In the scriptures, this kind of dana is credited with great kammic
productivity. The attitude of the donor may also be one of indifference (upekkha) but, if
the mind is clear, his act of dana too has high kammic potential Any act of alms-giving
that is based on the belief in kamma is rational and it may bear fruit in the form of
rebirth with no predisposition to greed, ill-will and ignorance. An act of dana that has
nothing to do with a sense of its moral value or the belief in kammic result is good but
unintelligent and it will lead to rebirth with no great intelligence. It may bear such
kammic fruit in everyday life but it does not make the donor intelligent enough to attain
the path in his next life.
Again one may do a good deed spontaneously without being urged by
others (asankharika-kusala); some do good deeds at the instigation of others
(sasankharika-kusala). Of these two kinds of good deeds, the former is kammically more
fruitful than the latter. When we consider the four kinds of good deeds mentioned earlier
in terms of these last two attributes, we have a total of eight types of wholesome
consciousness in the sensual sphere. Whenever we do a good deed, we are prompted to do so
by one of these kusala dhammas; when we practise concentration and meditation, we have to
begin with these eight types of wholesome dhammas.
If it is bhavana that can lead to jhana, the yogi attains rupavacara
jhana when his samadhi is well-developed. Jhana means total concentration of mind on an
object of mental training. Samatha jhana is concentration for bare tranquillity. Jhana
samadhi is like the flame burning in still air. According to the Suttas, the rupavacara
jhana has four levels; in Abhidhamma it has five levels.
Unwholesome Kammas
Opposed to punnabhisankhara is apunnabhisankhara or unwholesome kamma
formations. These immoral deeds lead to lower worlds and evils in human life such as
ugliness, infirmities and so forth. They number twelve in terms of consciousness, viz.,
eight rooted in greed (lobha), two rooted in ill-will (dosa) and two rooted in ignorance
(moha).
The lobha-based dhammas comprise four with wrong belief and four
without it. Of the four dhammas with wrong belief, two are joyful, spontaneous
(asankharika) dhamma and joyful but unspontaneous (sasankharika) dhamma. The neutral
(upekkha) unwholesome dhammas may be classified in the same way. Likewise there are two
joyful lobha-based dhammas without wrong belief and two lobha-based dhammas without joy or
wrong belief. Every kamma is characterized by one of these eight lobha-based dhammas. The
dosa-based dhammas are of two kinds, viz., spontaneous kamma and unspontaneous kamma. This
dosa-based consciousness is the mainspring of anger, dejection, fear and revulsion.
The two kinds of moha-based consciousness are doubt (vicikiccha) and
restlessness (uddhacca). The former concerns doubts about the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha,
sila, samadhi, the idea of a future life and so forth. The latter refers to the person who
is distracted and absent-minded. The mind is seldom calm and it usually goes wandering
when it is not restrained through the practice of bhavana. It is said, however, that
uddhacca does not lead to the lower worlds. The other eleven unwholesome dhammas do so
under certain circumstances and even in case of a good rebirth, they usually have bad
kammic effects such as sickliness. These twelve kinds of unwholesome volition (cetana) are
called apunnabhisankhara.
All over the world people wish to be happy and so they strive for their
material welfare in the present life and hereafter. But it is greed and ill-will that
largely characterize their activities. Wholesome consciousness is confined to those who
have good friends, who have heard their dhamma and who think rationally.
Some go morally astray, being misled by their selfish teacher. In the
lifetime of the Buddha, a lay Buddhist abused good monks and so on his death he became a
peta in the latrine of the monastery he had donated to the Sangha. He told the elder thera
Moggallana about his misdeed when the latter saw him with his divine eye. What a terrible
fate for a man who had materially supported the Sangha for his welfare in after-life, but
was misguided to the lower world by his teacher. This shows that the person whose company
we seek should possess not only deep knowledge but also good character.
The mark of a good man is abstinence from any act, speech or thought
that is harmful to other people. Those who keep company with good men or good bhikkhus
have the opportunity to hear the good dhamma and if he thinks wisely, his thoughts will
lead to wholesome kammas. On the other hand evil teachers or friends, false teachings and
improper thoughts may lead to moral disaster. Some who bore unblemished character in the
beginning were ruined by corrupt thoughts. They were convicted of theft, robbery or
misappropriation and their long-standing reputation was damaged once and forever. All
their suffering had its origin in the illusion of happiness. Contrary to their
expectations, they found themselves in trouble when it was too late. Some misdeeds do not
produce immediate kammic results but they come to light in due course and lead to
suffering. If retribution does not follow the evil-doer here and now, it overtakes him in
afterlife as in the case of the donor of the monastery who became a peta for his evil
words.
His teacher who had misguided him fared worse after his death. For he
occupied a place below his former pupil and had to live on his excreta. The kammic result
of his misdeed was indeed frightful. He had committed it for his own end but it backfired
and he had to suffer terribly for it.
Some jungle tribes make animal sacrifices to gods for good harvest,
security, etc. These primitive beliefs still prevail among some urban people. Some worship
the chief nat'as if he were the Buddha. Some kill animals to feed guests on the occasion
of religious alms-giving. Even some ignorant Buddhists have misgivings about this
practice. Whatever the object of the donor, killing has bad kammic result and it is not a
good deed despite the belief of the killer to the contrary.
A good deed bears the mark of moral purity. Killing or hurting a living
being cannot be morally pure in any sense if you identify yourself with the victim. He
faces death or endures ill-treatment only because he cannot avoid it. He will surely
retaliate if he is in a position to do so. Some people pray for vengeance and so the
killer is killed in his next existence or he has suffer in hell for his misdeed. The
Pitaka abounds in many instances of the kammic consequences of killing.
Some long for human or deva life and devote themselves to dana, sila
and bhavana. Their good deeds serve to fulfil their wishes and lead to welfare in
afterlife, but every life is subject to old age and death, and human life is inextricably
bound up with ill-health, and mental suffering. Some crave for the Brahma-world and
practise jhana. They may live happily for many kappas (world-systems) as Brahmas. But when
life has run its course, they will be reborn as human beings or devas and any evil deed
that they do may bring them to the lower worlds. After all, the glorification of the
Brahma-life is an illusion.
The illusion of happiness is not confined to common people. The
illusion (vipallasa and avijja) that makes us regard dukkha as sukha lingers at the first
two stages of the holy path, and even at the anagami stage the yogi still mistakes
material life (rupa-bhava) and immaterial life (arupa-bhava) for a life of bliss. So the
object of the Ariyas at the first three stages is to do good. As for the common people,
they are mired in all the four illusions that make them regard the impermanent as
permanent, the dukkha of nama-rupa as sukha, the impersonal as personality (atta) and the
unpleasant as pleasant. Associated with these illusions are the four avijjas. Because of
these misconceptions and ignorance, every bodily, verbal or mental action gives rise to
good or bad kamma. A good kamma arises only from volitional effort coupled with faith,
mindfulness and so forth. If the mind is left to itself, it is likely to produce bad
kamma.
Rejection Of Good Kamma Means Bad Kamma
Some people misinterpret the lack of good or bad kamma on the part of
the Arahat and say that we should avoid doing good deeds. For an ordinary person the
rejection of good kamma will mean the upsurge of bad kamma, just as the exodus of good
people from a city leaves only fools and rogues, or the removal of useful trees is
followed by the growth of useless grass and weeds. The man who rejects good deeds is bound
to do bad deeds that will land him in the lower worlds. It will be hard for him to return
to the human world.
In point of fact, the Arahat's dissociation from good kamma means only
that because of the extinction of avijja, his action is kammically unproductive. Indeed
the Arahats do good deeds such as revering the elder theras, preaching, giving alms,
helping living beings who are in trouble and so forth. But, with their total realization
of the four noble truths and the elimination of avijja, their good actions do not have any
kammic effect. So it is said that the Arahat does not have good kamma, not that he avoids
doing good deeds.
An ordinary person who does not care for good deeds because of his
avijja and mistaken view, will build up only bad kamma that are bound to lead to the lower
worlds. In fact the lack of the desire to do good is a sign of abysmal ignorance that
makes the holy path. and Nibbana remote. The mind becomes inclined to good deeds in so far
as avijja loses its hold on it. A sotapanna yoga is more interested in doing good than
when he was an ordinary man. The same may be said of those at the higher stages of the
Ariyan path. The only difference is the increasing desire to give up doing things
irrelevant to the path and devote more time to contemplation. So, good deeds should not be
lumped together with bad deeds and purposely avoided. Every action that is bound up with
avijja means either good kamma or bad kamma. In the absence of good kamma all will be bad
kamma.
Ignorance and Illusion
Truth and falsehood are mutually exclusive. If you do not know the
truth, you accept falsehood and vice versa. Those who do not know the Four Noble Truths
have misconceptions about dukkha which, posing as sukha, deceive and oppress them.
Apart from tanha which, when gratified affords pleasure, everything in
the sensual world is real dukkha. All sense-objects are subject to ceaseless flux and
unreliable. Yet to the ignorant person they appear to be good and pleasant. They make him
nostalgic about what they regard as their happy days in the past and optimistic about
their future. Because of their misconception, they long for what they consider to be the
good things in life. This is the cause of their dukkha but they do not realize it. On the
contrary they think that their happiness depends on the fulfilment of their desires. So
they see nothing wrong with their desire for sensual pleasure. In fact, the truths about
the end of dukkha and the way to it are foreign to most people. Some who learn these
truths from others or accept them intellectually do not appreciate them. They do not care
for Nibbana or the way to it. They think that the way is beset with hardships and
privations.
The hope for happiness is the mainspring of human action. Actions in
deed, speech or thought are called kamma or sankhara. We have referred to three kinds of
sankhara, the two kinds of good kamma comprising the first sankhara, viz., the eight good
kammas in the sensual world and the good kammas in the material world; we have also
mentioned two kinds of good kamma or consciousness, viz., one associated with intelligence
and the other divorced from intelligence. In the practice of vipassana the yogi's mind is
intelligent if it becomes aware of the real nature of nama-rupa (anicca, dukkha, anatta),
through contemplation. It is not intelligent if it means little more than the recitation
of Pali words and superficial observation. In ordinary morality a sense of moral values is
intelligent if it is associated with the belief in the law of kamma.
Some people say that an intelligent act of dana must involve the
contemplation of the anicca, dukkha and anatta of the donor, the recipient and the
offering. This view is based on Atthasalini (a commentary on Abhidhammapitaka) which
mentions the contemplation on the impermanence of everything after giving alms. But the
reference is to contemplation after the act of dana, not before or while doing it.
Moreover, the object is not to make the act intelligent but to create wholesome kamma in
vipassana practice. If by intelligent dana is meant only the dana that pre-supposes such
contemplation, all the other dana of non-Buddhists would have to be dubbed unintelligent
acts and it is of course absurd to do so.
The accounts of alms-giving by bodhisattas make no mention of
contemplation nor did the Buddha insist on it as a pre-requisite to an act of dana. The
scriptures say only that the kammic potential of dana depends on the spiritual level of
the recipient and this is the only teaching that we should consider in alms-giving. If the
donor and the recipient were to be regarded as mere nama-rupa subject to anicca, etc.,
they would be on equal footing. The act of dana would then lack inspiration and much
kammic potential.
In fact the object of alms-giving is not vipassana contemplation but
the benefits accruing to the donor. So the Buddha points out the would-be recipients who
can make dana immensely beneficial and the importance of right reflection (belief in
kamma).
On one occasion Visakha, the lay woman asked the Buddha for lifelong
permission to make eight kinds of offering to the Sangha; these were (1) bathing garments
for the bhikkhus, (2) food for guest-monks, (3) food for travelling monks, (4) food for
sick monks, (5) food for the monk who attended on a sick monk, (6) medicine for the sick
monk, (7) rice-gruel for the Sangha and (8) bathing garments for the bhikkhunis. The
Buddha asked Visakha what benefits she hoped to have in offering such things and the
substance of Visakha's reply is as follows.
"At the end of the lent, the bhikkhus from all parts of the
country will come to see the Buddha. They will tell the Lord about the death of certain
monks and ask him about their rebirth and stages on the holy path that they (the deceased
monks) had attained. The Lord will reveal their spiritual attainments. I will then
approach the visiting monks and ask them whether their late fellow-monks had ever visited
Savatthi city. If they say yes, I will conclude that the Noble one who is now at the
sotapanna or any other stage on the holy path must have certainly used one of my
offerings. This remembrance of my good kamma will fill me with joy. It will be conducive
to peace, tranquillity and self-development."
Here it is worthy of note that the reference is not to the
contemplation on the impermanence of the namarupa of the deceased monks but to the
spiritual attainments that distinguished them in afterlife. Importance is attached to the
contemplation that leads to ecstasy and training in self-development. Hence, the most
appropriate object of contemplation in doing dana is the noble attributes of the recipient
such as the noble character of the Buddha when laying flowers at the shrine, the holy life
of the bhikkhu when offering food and so forth.
Preaching or hearing the dhamma is a wholesome kamma and it is an
intelligent act if the dhamma is understood. Every good deed based on the belief in kamma
is an intelligent kamma. Without the belief, a good act is wholesome but unintelligent as
are the good acts of some children who imitate the elders and worship the Buddha image and
the good acts of some people who reject the belief in kamma but are helpful, polite and
charitable.
The five material wholesome dhammas (rupakusala-dhamma) are those
associated with five jhanas. They are accessible only through the practice of samatha that
leads to jhana. The eight wholesome dhammas and the five material wholesome dhammas form
the punnabhisankhara. Apunnabhisankhara or unwholesome kammas number twelve in terms of
consciousness. Here sankhara means volition (cetana). Of the twelve unwholesome sankharas
eight are based on greed, two on anger and two on ignorance.
The greed-based (lobha-mula) consciousness is of eight kinds viz., four
with joy and attachment and four without joy, but with attachment (upekkha sahagutta). Of
the first four kinds two are bound up with belief and, of the two with the belief or
without the belief, one is non-spontaneous (sasankharika) and the other is spontaneous
(asankharika). Belief is of three kinds, viz., belief in ego-entity, belief in immortality
of ego, and belief in annihilation of the ego without there being any kammic effect of
good or bad deeds.
Few people are free from the belief in ego-entity. The belief dominates
those who do not know that life is a nama-rupa process without a soul or a being. The
belief is weak among those who have some knowledge of Buddhist scriptures but their
bookish knowledge does not help them to overcome it completely. The yogis who have had a
clear insight into the nature of nama-rupa through contemplation are usually free from the
belief. Yet they may hark back to the belief if they stop contemplating before they attain
the path. As for the common people, the ego-belief is deep-rooted, making them think that
it is the self or the ego which is the agent of whatever they do or feel or think. Again
those who believe in total extinction after death and reject the idea of future life and
kamma have unwholesome consciousness that is bound up with nihilistic beliefs.
Hatred-based (dosa-mula) consciousness comprises doubt and
restlessness. Doubts about the Buddha, Nibbana, anatta and so forth are labelled
vicikiccha.
Hatred-based consciousness is of two kinds, viz., voluntary
consciousness and involuntary consciousness. But there are many kinds of hatred such as
anger, envy, anxiety, grief, fear and so forth. Ignorance-based (moha-mula) consciousness
comprises doubt and restlessness. Doubts about the Buddha, Nibbana, anatta and so forth
are labelled vicikiccha. The mind is subject to doubt (uddhacca) when it wanders here and
there restlessly.
Thus apunnabhisankhara means the eight greed-based mental factors, two
hatred-based mental factors and two ignorance-based mental factors. It is opposed to
punnabhisankhara. It serves to purify nama-rupa, leads to good rebirth with good kammic
results whereas the other defiles the nama-rupa process and leads to bad rebirth with bad
kammic results.
People do evil deeds for their welfare. They kill, steal, rob or give
false evidence at court for their wellbeing. Even those who kill their parents do so to
achieve their own ends. For example, prince Ajatasattu killed his father to become king.
Misguided by his teacher Devadatta, he had concluded that he would be able to enjoy life
as a king for a longer period if he could do away with his father and take his place. For
his great evil of patricide and the murder of a sotapanna at that, he was seized with
remorse and anxiety that caused him physical suffering as well. Later on, he was killed by
his son and reborn in hell where he is now suffering terribly for his misdeed.
In the time of Kakusandha Buddha the Mara called Susi did his utmost to
harm the Buddha and the Sangha. Failing to achieve his object, he possessed a man and
stoned to death the chief disciple Arahat behind the Buddha. For this horrible crime he
instantly landed in Avici hell, the lowest of the thirty-one worlds of living beings. As a
Mara he had lorded it over others but in Avici he lay prostrate under the heels of the
guardians of hell. He had hoped to rejoice over the fulfilment of his evil desire, but now
he had to suffer for his evil kamma. This is true of evil-doers all over the world.
It is the hope for happiness also that forms the mainspring of other
two types of action, viz., punnabhisankhara and anenjabhisankhara. Anenjabhisankhara means
the four arupajhana-kusaladhammas. Anenja means equanimity or self-possession. A loud
noise nearby may upset the equanimity (samapatti) of a yogi who is absorbed in rupa jhana.
But arupa jhana is invulnerable to such distractions. Arupa jhana is of four kinds
according as it relates to (1) sphere of unbounded space (akasanancayatana jhana), sphere
of nothingness (akincannayatana jhana) and (4) sphere of neither
perception-nor-non-perception (nevasannanasannayatana jhana). These four jhanas are the
sankharas that lead to the four arupa worlds. Apunnabhisankhara leads to the four lower
worlds and punnabhisankhara leads to human, deva and rupa-Brahma worlds.
People do these three kinds of kammas or sankharas for their welfare
and as a result there arises vinnana or consciousness. With vinnana there also come into
being nama-rupa, salayatana, phassa, etc., of the new existence.
Sankhara Causes Vinnana
Because of avijja there is sankhara which in turn causes vinnana. As a
result of good or bad kammas in the previous life there arises the stream of consciousness
beginning with rebirth consciousness in the new life. Evil deeds may, for example, lead to
the four lower worlds. After that there arises the stream of vinnana called bhavanga-citta
which functions ceaselessly when the six kinds of vithi consciousness do not occur at the
moment of seeing, hearing, smelling, eating, touching and thinking. In other words,
bhavanga is the kind of subconsciousness that we have when we are asleep. We die with this
subconsciousness and it is then called cuticitta. So the rebirth-consciousness, the
subconsciousness and the cuti or death-consciousness represent the mind which results from
the kamma of previous life.
The five kinds of consciousness associated with the five unpleasant
sense-objects such as unpleasant eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, etc., are due to
unwholesome kamma as are (1) the consciousness that is focused on these five sense-objects
and (2) the inquiring (santirana) consciousness. There are altogether seven types of
consciousness that stem from bad kamma (apunnabhisankhara). As for anenjabhisankhara,
because of the four arupakusala-dhammas there arises the resulting arupa-consciousness in
the four immaterial worlds in the form of rebirth-consciousness in the beginning, the
bhavanga citta in the middle, and the cuticitta as the end of existence.
Similarly, because of the five rupakusala-dhamma there arise five rupa
vipakacittas in rupa-brahma worlds. Then there are eight mahavipakacittas corresponding to
eight good kammas in the sensual sphere. They form the rebirth, bhavanga and cuticittas in
the human world and six deva-worlds. They also register pleasant sense-objects
(tadarammana) after seven impulse-moments (javana) that occur on seeing, hearing, etc.
Also due to good consciousness associated with five pleasant sense-objects, the
registering consciousness, the joyful, inquiring consciousness and the nonchalant,
inquiring consciousness. Hence, the resulting (vipaka) consciousness is of thirty-two
kinds, viz., four arupavipaka, five rupavipaka, seven akusala vipaka and sixteen kusala
vipaka in sensual sphere. All these thirty-two vipaka are resultants of sankhara.
How Sankhara Leads To New Vinnana
It is very important, but hard to understand how sankhara gives rise to
rebirth-consciousness. Ledi Sayadaw points out that this part of the teaching on
paticcasamuppada leaves much room for misunderstanding. It is necessary to understand the
extinction of the last consciousness (cuticitta) together with all nama-rupa as well as
the immediate arising of the rebirth-consciousness together with the new nama-rupa as a
result of good or bad kammas in the case of living beings who are not yet free from
defilements. Lack of this understanding usually leads to the belief in transmigration of
souls (sassataditthi) or the belief in annihilation after death (ucchedaditthi) which is
held by modern materialists.
The belief in annihilation is due to ignorance of the relation between
cause and effect after death. It is easy to see how avijja leads to sankhara and how the
sense-bases (ayatana), contact, sensation, craving, etc., form links in the chain of
causation for these are evident in the facts of life. But the emergence of new existence
following death is not apparent and, hence, the belief that there is nothing after death.
Learned people who think on the basis of faith usually accept the
teaching that sankhara gives rise to rebirth consciousness. But it does not lend itself to
purely rational and empirical approach and today it is being challenged by the
materialistic view of life. The way rebirth takes place is crystal clear to the yogi who
has practised vipassana. He finds that the units of consciousness arise and pass away
ceaselessly, that they appear and disappear one after another rapidly. This is what he
discovers by experience, not what he learns from his teachers. Of course he does not know
so much in the beginning. He discovers the fact only when he attains sammasana and
udayabbaya insights. The general idea of death and rebirth mental units dawns on him with
the development of paccayapariggaha insights but, it is sammasana and udayabbaya insights
that leave no doubt about rebirth. On the basis of his insight, he realizes that death
means the disappearance of the last unit of consciousness and that rebirth means the
arising of the first unit of consciousness in the manner of the vanishing and arising of
consciousness-units that he notes in the practice of vipassana.
Those who do not have vipassana insight miss the point. They believe in
a permanent ego and identify it with the mind. It is rejected by those who have a good
knowledge of Abhidhamma but, it lingers in some people because of attachment to it in
their previous lives. Even the contemplating yogi who is not yet intellectually mature
sometimes feels tempted to accept it.
Sassata And Uccheda
To the ordinary people who are wedded to the ego-belief, death means
the extinction of individual entity or its displacement to another abode or existence.
This is a misconception called ucchedaditthi if it is the belief in annihilation, or
sassataditthi if it is belief in the transfer of the soul to another body or abode. Some
believe that consciousness develops spontaneously with the growth and maturation of the
body (ahetukaditthi).
Some have misconceptions about samsara or nama-rupa process. They
regard the body as the temporary abode of the life principle that passes on from one abode
to another. The disintegration of the physical body is undeniable, but some people pin
their faith to the resurrection of the body in due course of time and so they treat the
dead body with respect. These views confirm the Ledi Sayadaw's statement that the causal
links between sankhara and vinnana lends itself to misinterpretation.
Ordinary Buddhists are not wholly free from these misconceptions but,
because of their belief in the Buddhist doctrine of anatta, they do not harbour the
illusions so blindly as to harm their vipassana practice. So even without a thorough
knowledge about the nature of death, rebirth and nama-rupa, they can enlighten themselves
through contemplation.
For example, shortly after the parinibbana of the Buddha, the thera
Channa practised vipassana but made little progress because of his ego-belief. Then as he
followed Ananda's discourse on Paticcasamuppada, he contemplated, overcame his illusion
and attained Arahatship. Again, in the time of the Buddha, bhikkhu Yamaka believed that
the Arahat was annihilated after his parinibbana. Sariputta summoned and preached to him.
While following the sermon, Yamaka contemplated, and achieved liberation. So those who
have faith in the Buddha need not be disheartened. If they practised vipassana zealously
and whole-heartedly, they will become enlightened.
Because of their ignorance and doubts about the nature of death and
conception or leaning to uccheda belief, some people ask whether there is a future life
after death. The question by itself presupposes atta or soul or life-force in a living
being. Materialism rejects the idea of soul but the ego-illusion is implicit in its
differentiation of the living from the dead. The question of those who accept the ego
explicitly or by implication are hard to answer from the Buddhist point of view. If we say
that there is future life, they will conclude that we support the ego-belief. But Buddhism
does not categorically deny the future life. Hence, the Buddha's refusal to answer this
question. Moreover, it is hard to produce evidence for ordinary people. Psychic persons
may be able to point out the hell or the deva-worlds but sceptics will dismiss such
exhibition as black magic or chicanery. So the Buddha did not answer the question
directly, but said that there is continuum of nama-rupa process in the wake of death
without the extinction of defilements.
The problem of future life does not admit any intellectual approach. It
is to be settled only through certain Buddhist practices. These practices enable the yogi
to acquire psychic powers by virtue of which he can see the dead, the good men who have
attained the deva-worlds, as well as the evil persons who are suffering in the nether
worlds. What he sees is as clear as what an observer who occupies a position directly
opposite two houses sees - persons passing from one house to the other. Among the many
devas, animals, etc., of the higher and lower realms, he (the yogi) can easily find the
person whom he wants to see.
It is possible for the yogis to attain jhana and psychic powers. There
is no teaching which rules out this possibility. Some practising yogis have in fact had
paranormal contact with the other world (paraloka). But paranormal gifts are hard to come
by. Their emergence depends on intense concentration and so the easier way is to practise
vipassana. The problem of life becomes fairly clear when the development of
paccaya-pariggaha insight makes the yogi well aware of the nature of death and conception.
It becomes clearer when he attains sammasana, udayabbaya and bhanga insights for then he
sees clearly how the consciousness units arise and pass away ceaselessly one after another
and how death means the passing away of the last unit to be followed by conception or the
arising of the first consciousness-unit in a new existence. But this insight is still
vulnerable and it is only when the yogi attains at least the sotapatti stage that he
becomes wholly free of all doubts about future life. The trouble is that people wish to
inquire about it instead of practising vipassana. Some seek the verdict of Western
scientists and philosophers while others accept the teaching of those who are reputed to
be Arahats with psychic powers. But, the best thing is to seek the answer through
vipassana practice instead of relying on other people.
At the stage of udayabbaya insight the yogi can clearly see how in the
wake of the consciousness-unit that has passed away, there follows a new unit attached to
a sense-object. On the basis of this experience he realizes how the new existence begins
with consciousness-unit that arises, conditioned by attachment to an object at the moment
of dying in a previous life.
Before death the stream of consciousness depends on the physical body
and is continuous with one unit following the other uninterruptedly. After death, the body
disintegrates and the stream of consciousness shifts to the physical process in another
abode. This may be likened to the continuous appearance of light in an electric bulb
through the ceaseless generation of electricity. When the bulb is burnt up, the light goes
out but the potential electric energy keeps on coming. Light reappears when the old bulb
is replaced with a new one. Here, the bulb, energy and light are all changing physical
processes and we should be mindful of their impermanent character.
The commentary cites the analogies of echo, flame, impression of a seal
and reflection in the mirror. Echo is reflection or repetition of a sound produced by the
impact of sound waves on walls, woods, etc. But it does not mean the transfer of the
original sound to a distant place although we cannot deny the causal relation between the
sound and the echo either. When you look at a mirror your face is reflected on it, but you
must not confuse the reflection with your face although it is causally related to the
latter. A lamp, which is burning, may be used to light up another lamp. The flame of the
new lamp is obviously not the flame of. the old lamp since the latter is still burning
but, neither is it causally unrelated to the flame of the old lamp. Lastly, the seal
leaves an impression that is like its face, but it is not the face and it cannot occur in
the absence of the seal either.
These analogies help to throw some light on the nature of rebirth
process. When a person is dying, his kamma, the signs and visions related to it and
visions of the future life appear. After his death, there arises the rebirth consciousness
conditioned by one of these visions at the last moment of the previous existence. So
rebirth does not mean the passage of the last unit of consciousness to another life but,
since it is conditioned by the visions on death-bed, it is rooted in avijja, sankhara,
etc., that form the links in the chain of causation leading to the visions of the dying
person.
Thus, rebirth consciousness is not the consciousness of the dying
person but it is causally related to the previous life. Two consecutive units of
consciousness are separate but, given the stream of consciousness, we speak of the same
individual for the whole day, the whole year or the whole lifetime. Likewise, we speak of
the last consciousness on death-bed together with rebirth consciousness as representing a
single person. A man's attainment of deva or any other world is to be understood in the
same sense. It does not mean the transfer of nama-rupa as a whole. We speak of a man or a
person only because the rebirth concerns the stream of causally related mental units.
So it is ucchedaditthi to believe that a person has nothing to do with
a previous life since every person is annihilated on death. Most Buddhists are free from
this belief. As the two consecutive lives are causally related, we speak of one person in
conventional terms.
But we must guard ourselves against the sassata view that rebirth means
the transfer of the ego to a new abode.
The yogi who has mature vipassana insight does not harbour the two
beliefs because he is fully aware of the rising and passing away of mental units in the
present life and their causal relations. This awareness leaves no room for the illusions
of personal immortality or annihilation. The nature of consciousness is evident even to
those who think objectively. Joy may be followed by dejection and vice versa or, a serene
mind may give way to irritation and vice versa. These changing states of consciousness
clearly shows its heterogeneous nature. Moreover, mental states may be associated through
similarity, as for example, the intention to do a certain thing at night may occur again
in the morning. The mental states do not differ, but are causally related to one another.
Those who understand this relation between two consecutive states of consciousness can see
that the same relation holds between the two mental elements that are separated only by
death.
Death-Bed Visions
Consciousness in the new existence is of two kinds, viz., rebirth
consciousness and the consciousness that occurs during the whole life. There are
altogether l9 kinds of rebirth consciousness, one in the lower worlds, nine in the sensual
worlds of human beings and devas, five in rupa-brahma world and four in arupa-brahma
worlds. As for the others that occur during the rest of life, they number thirty-two as
resultant mental states (vipaka-vinnana). These enumerations will be intelligible only to
those who have studied Abhidhamma.
To a dying person, there appears the flashbacks of what he has done in
life (kamma), the surrounding conditions associated with his kammic acts (kammanimitta)
and the visions of his future life (gatinimitta). Kamma may assume the form of a flashback
about the past or the hallucination about the present. A fisherman on his death-bed may
talk as if he were catching fish or a man who has given much alms may think in his last
hours that he is doing dana. Many years ago, I led a group of pilgrims from Shwebo to
visit pagodas in Mandalay and Rangoon. An old man in the group died shortly after our
return to Shwebo. He died muttering the words that were reminiscent of his experience
during the pilgrimage.
The dying man also has visions of the environment in which kammic deeds
were done such as robes, monasteries, bhikkhus, Buddha images, etc., in connection with
his acts of dana or weapons, places, victims in case of the murder he has committed.
Then he sees visions of what he will find in his afterlife. For
example, he will see hell-fire, hell-guards, etc., if he is bound to land in hell; devas,
mansions, etc., if he is to pass on to deva-worlds and so forth. Once a dying brahmin was
told by his friends that the vision of the flames which he saw indicated the brahma-world.
He believed them and died only to find himself in hell. False beliefs are indeed
dangerous. It is said that some people tell their dying friends to visualize their acts of
killing a cow for dana, believing that such acts are beneficial.
The Story Of Mahadhammika Upasaka
In the time of the Buddha, there were in Savatthi city five hundred
upasakas each with 500 followers. They all practised the dhamma. The eldest of them,
Mahadhammika, the head of all upasakas had seven sons and seven daughters who also lived
up to the teaching of the Buddha. As he grew old, he became sick and weak. He invited the
bhikkhus to his house and while attending their recitation of the dhamma, he saw the
celestial chariot arriving to take him to the deva-world. He said to the devas,
"Please wait."
The bhikkhus stopped reciting as they thought that the dying man had
told them to do so. His sons and daughters cried, believing that he was babbling for fear
of death. After the bhikkhus' departure, he came round, told the people around him to
throw a garland of flowers up into the air. They did as they were told and lo! the garland
remained hanging in the air. The upasaka said that the garland indicated the position of
the chariot from Susita heaven, and after advising his daughters and sons to do good deeds
like him for rebirth in the deva-world, he died and landed in Susita. This is how the
vision of deva-world appears to the good man on his death-bed. A layman in Moulmein said
that just before he died he saw a very good pucca building. This, too, may be a vision of
the deva-world. Some dying persons who are to be reborn as human beings have visions of
their would-be parents, residence and so forth. A Sayadaw in Moulmein was killed by
robbers. Three years later a child from Mergui came to Moulmein and identified by name the
Sayadaws with whom he said he had lived together in his previous life. He said that the
robbers stabbed him when they did not get the money, that he ran away to the jetty where
he got into a boat, reached Mergui and dwelt in the home of his parents. The flight,
journey by boat, etc., were perhaps visions of the Sayadaw's afterlife.
Flashbacks of kammic acts and visions of a future life occur even in
cases of instant death. According to the commentary, they occur even when a fly on a bar
of iron is crushed to pieces with a hammer. Today, there arc nuclear weapons that can
reduce a big city to ashes in a moment. From the Buddhist point of view, these weapons
have appeared because of the evil kamma of their potential victims. Those who are killed
by these bombs also see the flashbacks and visions. This may sound incredible to those who
do not know the mechanism of the mind thoroughly but, it presents no difficulty to the
yogi who contemplates the nama-rupa in action. For it is said in the scriptures that units
of consciousness arise and pass away by the billions in the twinkling of an eye. The yogi
who has attained udayabbaya insight knows empirically that hundreds of mental units arise
and dissolve in a moment. So he has no doubt about the possibility of consciousness
centering or flashbacks and visions in those who meet violent and instant death.
Consciousness is always focused on objects. We often recall what we
have done and think of the deva-world or the human society. If a man who has done good
deeds dies with these thoughts, he will be reborn as a deva or a human being. The objects
of these thoughts on death-bed are called gatinimitta, visions of objects associated with
kamma are called kammanimitta.
References to these death-bed phenomena are to be found not only in the
commentaries, but also in the Pali pitaka. In the Balapandita and other suttas, the Buddha
speaks of the death-bed memories of good or bad deeds and likens them to the shadows of a
mountain dominating the plains in the evening. It is impossible to remove them. Once I saw
a dying woman who showed great fear as if she were face to face with an enemy who was out
to treat her cruelly. She was speechless and her relatives tried to comfort her but, it
was in vain. Perhaps she was having a foretaste of her unhappy future as a result of evil
kamma.
So it is necessary to do good kamma that will produce mental images of
objects and persons associated with it and visions of a good afterlife at the moment of
dying. If the good deed is rational, strongly motivated and one of the eight kinds of good
deeds in sensual sphere, the resultant consciousness is one of the four kinds of rational
vinnana. Rebirth is then associated with amoha (non-ignorance) and as such it takes place
with three root-conditions (hetu) viz., amoha, adosa (non-aggressiveness) and alobha
(non-craving). A person reborn with these innate tendencies can attain jhana and psychic
powers if he practises samatha and can attain the holy path and Nibbana if he devotes
himself to vipassana. Good acts that are motivated by the desire for Nibbana lead to such
good rebirth and finally to the path, and Nibbana through contemplation or hearing a
sermon.
If the motivation is weak or if it is a good, but unenlightened deed,
that is, a good deed divorced from the belief in kamma, the result is one of the four
kinds of unenlightened (moha-vipaka) consciousness. The rebirth is then devoid of amoha
(non-ignorance), there being only the other root-conditions, viz., alobha and adosa. It is
termed //dvehetupatisandhika//. A man reborn in this way cannot attain jhanas or the Path
as he lacks the innate intelligence for it. If the good deed is unenlightened and
half-hearted, the result will be good rebirth consciousness without any good
predispositions. The person concerned is likely to have defective eyes, ears, etc.
So when you do a good deed you should do it with zeal and with Nibbana
as your objective. If you set your heart on Nibbana, the good deed will lead you to it and
the zeal with which you do it will ensure rebirth with good predispositions. It is not
necessary to pray for such noble rebirth because you are assured of it if you do good
deeds intelligently and zealously. But, if you lack zeal in doing good, yours will be a
rebirth with only alobha and adosa.
Some people say that dana and sila mean good kamma-formations
(punnabhisankhara) which, being rooted in ignorance, lead to rebirth and samsaric
suffering. This is a mistaken view that stems from ignorance. If the practice of dana and
sila is motivated by the desire for Nibbana, it will ensure the noblest rebirth and lead
to the supreme goal. It was due to dana and sila that Sariputta and other disciples of the
Buddha finally attained Nibbana. The same may be said of paccekabuddhas.
The bodhisatta, too, attained supreme enlightenment in the same way by
praying that his good deeds contribute to the attainment of omniscience (sabbannutanana).
Here rebirth with three good predispositions, viz., amoha, adosa and alobha involved in
the genesis of Buddhahood is of two kinds, viz., consciousness associated with joy
(somanassa) and consciousness associated with equanimity (upekkha). Again each of these
two vinnanas is of two kinds, viz., asankharika (spontaneous) and sasankharika
(non-spontaneous). The bodhisatta's rebirth consciousness was powerful, zealous
asankharika.
According to ancient commentaries, it was somanassa consciousness. For
the bodhisatta wanted very much to promote the welfare of all living beings, he had
infinite metta (good-will or loving-kindness) for them. A strong-willed metta is usually
coupled with somanassa and, hence, the bodhisatta's rebirth consciousness was tinged with
joy.
But, Mahasiva thera suggested upekkha as its (bodhisatta's rebirth)
concomitant. In his view, the bodhisatta's mind was firm and profound, thereby making
equanimity rather than joy the characteristic of his rebirth consciousness. In any event,
this rebirth-vinnana had its origin in his good deed that was motivated by the desire for
supreme enlightenment. Thus, although the enlightened good kamma-formations (sankhara)
lead to rebirth, it does not prolong samsaric existence; on the contrary it contributes to
liberation from the life-cycle.
Consciousness of any kind, whether it be rebirth consciousness or
otherwise, is a matter of very short duration. It has only three points of time, viz.,
arising (//upada//), being (//thi//) and passing away (//bhanga//). According to the
commentaries, these mental units arise and pass away by the millions in the twinkling of
an eye. The moment of each unit is so short that it does not last even the millionth part
of a second.
After the cessation of rebirth-consciousness there follows the stream
of subconsciousness (bhavanga) which flows ceaselessly unless it is interrupted by a
different kind of consciousness called vithi, that is the kind of mental activity involved
in seeing, hearing, and so forth. The stream of bhavanga lasts as long as there is life,
its mainspring being sankhara as in the case of rebirth consciousness. Its duration, too,
depends mainly on sankhara or kamma. It may be like a stone thrown into the air. The stone
will travel a long way if the hand which throws it is strong, but it will not go very far
if the hand is weak. The force of kamma may also be compared to the initial velocity of
the bullet, rocket, and so forth. Death means the dissolution of the consciousness that is
born of the same kammic force. Hence the initial rebirth consciousness, the stream of
subconsciousness and the last dying (cuti) consciousness of an existence comprise the
mental life that is wholly rooted in past kamma.
Also due the kamma or sankhara are the five kinds of vithi
consciousness, viz., those involved in seeing, hearing, smelling, eating and touching as
well as the mental unit that focuses on the sense-objects, the consciousness that reflects
(santirana-citta) and the consciousness that registers (tadarammana-citta) the objects of
impulse-moments (javana). These have their roots in original kamma that leads to rebirth
or other kinds of kamma.
The Abhidhamma pitaka attributes all kinds of consciousness, including
wholesome, unwholesome and non-kammic or kiriya-citta to sankhara. This view is reasonable
since the kiriya-cittas, too, evolve from the bhavanga-citta that is rooted in sankhara.
But the doctrine of Paticcasamuppada specifically describes the three rounds (vatta) of
defilements, kamma, kammic results and their cause-and-effect relationships. So it
ascribes to sankhara only the 32 types of mundane resultant cittas that stem from kamma
vatta. Of these 32 cittas we have described 19 cittas that comprise rebirth, subconscious
state and death of the other cittas. Of the other cittas some are wholesome according to
the sankhara.
In the doctrine of Paticcasamuppada, the first two factors i.e., avijja
and sankhara are described as the causes in the past life, vinnana, nama-rupa, phassa and
vedana as the consequences in the present life; tanha, upadana and bhava as the causes in
the present life and jati and jaramarana (old age and death) as the consequences that will
occur in the future life.