Saurabh’s next- to-last comment: “can we say that rebirth process is also sustained by accumulated kammic energies, via also the moral or wise deeds, speech and thoughts?”
- Yes, if you mean mundane moral or wise deeds, speech, and thoughts.
- Kammic energy is generated in both ways: (i) apunna abhisankhara involved in immoral deeds, speech, and thoughts, and (ii) punna abhisankhara involved in (mundane) moral deeds, speech, and thoughts. The latter category includes compassion, giving, etc that lead to rebirths in higher realms, while the former leads to rebirths in the apayas.
- Good point. Both sustain the rebirth process.
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Regarding Saurabh’s last comment:
- It is quite difficult to separate mental activity from brain activity.
- The mental body (gandhabba) is trapped inside the solid physical body. It receives only the sensory inputs that the brain transmits to it. This is why some people get into ‘vegetative states’ when their brain gets damaged. See “Persistent Vegetative State – Buddhist View”
- Thus, gandhabba is totally unaware of the external world unless it receives that information from the brain. See “Brain – Interface between Mind and Body.”
- However, if the gandhabba ‘pops out’ of the physical body, then it can see, hear, and think on its own. That is what happens in Near-Death Experiences: “Near-Death Experiences (NDE): Brain Is Not the Mind“. Since it does not have a physical body (the ‘mental body’ is smaller than an atom in modern science), it can also go through walls, ceilings, etc. However, because it lacks a solid, physical body, it does not have taste, smell, or touch sensations.
- It is amazing that the Buddha discovered such details about our existence.
