[dosakkhayo]

Āhāra – Food for the Mental Body

4. Two conditions must be satisfied to generate a new mental body at the cuti-paṭisandhi moment: (i) There must be a kamma bījā available to grasp, and (ii) one’s mind must willingly grasp that kamma bījā.

• We all have accumulated numerous kamma bījā, so the first condition is always satisfied for anyone. Therefore, the second condition — grasping a new existence (bhava) at the cuti-paṭisandhi moment- is the condition that stops the rebirth process.
• With each stage of magga phala, the possibility of grasping another existence decreases. For example, a Sōtapanna‘s mind will not grasp a bhava (existence) in the apāyā; A Sakadāgami‘s mind will not grasp a human bhava. In addition, an Anāgami will not grasp any bhava in the kāma lōka, and an Arahant will not grasp any.

The following question was asked in the Korean Pure Dhamma Community, and I have translated it into English:

Q. “Therefore, the second condition — grasping a new existence (bhava) at the cuti-paṭisandhi moment — is the condition that stops the rebirth process.” With due respect, shouldn’t “stops the rebirth process” be “starts the rebirth process”?

[cubibobi]

Because the preceding sentence says “…, so the first condition is always satsifed for anyone.”, I read the sentence in question to mean:

Therefore, the second condition — grasping a new existence (bhava) at the cuti-paṭisandhi moment- is the condition that can be removed, which stops the rebirth process.

1 user thanked author for this post.

dosakkhayo

[dosakkhayo]

Yes, that’s how I read it. I was confused if my English was poor. Thank you.

[Lal]

Grasping of a new existence (bhava) is explained in the following post:

“Upādāna Paccayā Bhava – Two Types of Bhava.”

1 user thanked author for this post.

dosakkhayo

[Author]

Posts