Just to make sure, sankata includes BOTH living and inter things. Both have mind as the precursor, i.e., it is those sankhara that give rise to sankata.
Remember that paticca samuppada cycles start with “avijja pacca sankhara, sankhara paccaya vinnana“, and end up in “dukkha domanassa upasaya sambhavanti, i.e., to all suffering. It also lead to the arising of THINGS that help induce suffering.
I have not yet discussed paticca samuppada cycles that discuss the creation of inert things via sankhara. That is not necessary to attain Nibbana.
We need to see how our conscious thoughts (vaci sankhara and kaya sankhara) lead to births in various realms, and first suppress/remove those sankhara that lead to births in the apayas.
Just published a new post on two key Dhammapada verses regarding this topic:
“Manōpubbangamā dhammā..“.