January 22, 2025 at 10:04 am
#53282
Keymaster
Until a gandhabba merges with it, a zygote (produced by an egg and a sperm) is “lifeless.”
- However, with the merging of a gandhabba, that zygote becomes alive—as alive as you and me.
- A gandhabba has a hadaya vatthu (seat of the mind) and five pasada rupa. That is the essence of a “living being.”
- The mind of the gandhabba is in the “bhavanga” state until the baby’s brain is developed and it can receive sensory inputs. Even inside the womb, it starts receiving sensory inputs gradually as the brain develops.
- Consider someone becoming unconscious for a few minutes. That person is not aware of anything, and no thoughts arise. Can we say that the person is not alive during that time? What determines “life” is the existence of a hadaya vatthu (seat of the mind) and five pasada rupa.
Taryal asked: “If a female accidentally becomes pregnant, should she be encouraged to forcefully bear the burden out of fear of the contrary being “immoral”? Additionally, how to view cases like a 12 year old girl being pregnant due to rape, for example? If I was a doctor, I don’t think there’s a chance I’d let her take the risk of giving birth.”
- That is a separate issue. Either way, those are hard and agonizing decisions. That is why life is suffering.
- That child did not get pregnant without a cause. It is a kamma vipaka. How one handles a kamma vipaka is a separate issue.
- Why would one come down with cancer (even if they took care of their health all their lives) or get into a car accident (even though it is not their fault)? There are an uncountable number of examples. Those are possible because we are born with this physical body.
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This reply was modified 3 weeks ago by
Lal.