Yes. That is correct.
- That is also why an Arahant will not be reborn upon passing away, even if more kammic energy is left in the human bhava.
P. S. It is easy to remember this by using the following analogy. The essence of a human is its manomaya kaya (gandhabba.) The seat of the mind (hadaya vatthu) and the five pasada rupa that help sense the external world are in the gandhabba.
- That gandhabba is in a “protective shield” or the dense human body. That dense body can “shield” the gandhabba as long as the gandhabba is “bound to that body.” Upon the death of the dense body, gandhabba is released from it, and it cannot withstand anantariya kamma.
- It is similar to a heated coil (like those immersed in a water bath) protected by the water it is in. If you take a heated coil out of the water, it will burn instantly. An anantariya kamma (good or bad) “heats” the gandhabba.
- Note that an Arahant with iddhi powers (or a Buddha) can come out of the dense body without passing away. Until Parinibbana, that gandhabba is bound to the dense physical body.
