Taryal wrote: “The physical body’s map is provided by mother and father in the form of zygote, isn’t it? That’s why we observe many similarities between the parents and the offsprings. In some cases, even the traits from grandparents can appear when the part of genetic code supressed in parents get expressed in the offspring. So how can we say that the physical body is created by kammic energy?”
Many factors come into play to form the physical body of a human.
1. First level: Births in various existences are according to gati; see “Gati Sutta (AN 9.68).” The translation of “gati” as “birth” there is wrong. Rather, births are according to gati: “Gati to Bhava to Jāti – Ours to Control.”
2. However, within those major categories there are many variations. For example, the six Deva and the 20 Brahma realms are all lumped together due to “Deva gati.” That just indicates they do not have “immoral gati” while in that existence.
- The realms in the apayas are sorted into three categories according to the major “immoral gati” that led to such existences. Births in the human realm are due to a mix of “moral and immoral gati” and a human may have such gati at various times too.
3. The type of “distorted sanna” depends on those major gati and branches out into various sub-categories depending on the realm.
- For example, rupavacara Brahmas automatically receive a “distorted sanna” of “jhanic pleasure” and arupavacara Brahmas automatically receive a “distorted sanna” of “samapatti pleasure.”
- Humans have specific “distorted sanna” that could be different from those of animals, and each animal species may have different types of “distorted sanna” as we have discussed.
4. The point is that all humans have “built-in distorted sanna” common to all. That is the “first-level” I mentioned above.
- However, there can be many different types of gati in humans. Some are easy to anger, some are more sensual than others, some are more moral, etc.
5. When a gandhabba is pulled into a womb, nature automatically matches the gati of the gandhabba to those of the parents as much as possible.
- That is why the DNA of a child matches those of the parents in most cases.
- P.S. The zygote (or the “base”) that a gandhabba merges with (in the womb) is created by the merging of the mother’s egg and the father’s sperm. It is the physical basis of DNA: “Buddhist Explanations of Conception, Abortion, and Contraception.”
6. However, a human existence is primarily determined by the “janaka kamma” responsible for grasping the human existence, as can be also seen in the “Abhiṇhapaccavekkhitabbaṭhāna Sutta (AN 5.57)“ in Waisaka’s comment.
- It is a complex issue, but the above summary should give a general idea.
I have to leave now and will answer Taryal’s other question about cakkavāla later.