Reply To: Jhana anantariya punna kamma

#20504
Akvan
Participant

Hi Upekkha,

An anantariya kamma is a specific type of kamma that will bring vipaka for certain at the time of death. It is fixed and there is no reason what so ever that can change the fact that the vipaka will arise after death. So if one commits an anantariya papa kamma there is no way he can avoid being born in the apayas after death.

You mention that if one gets into an (anariya) jhana the only way that he will not be born in the brahma realm is if he commits an anantariya papa kamma. If this is the case, then an anariya jhana cannot be an anantariya kamma, because the vipaka of the jhana will not arise after death (as the vipaka of the anantariya papa kamma will take precedence). So, technically an anariya jhana is not an anantariya kamma (a kamma that will give vipaka definitely at the time of death) because it’s vipaka can be overridden.

I may be wrong, but as far as I know, jhana have not been specifically classified as an anantariya kamma. The explanations in the sutta’s as far as I can recall, state that, if a person who has cultivated a jhana dies without it wearing off then he will be born in the brahma realms.

I guess the opposite of an anantariya papa kamma is to attain sotapanna stage. If one attains a sotapanna stage then one will definitely not to be born in the apayas ever.

So if a sotapnna (or above) person cultivates jhana, as he won’t commit any anantariya papa kamma, chances are that he will be born in the brahma realms after death.

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