A Discourse on Paticcasamuppada

by Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw | 62,614 words

The Paticcasamuppada refers to “The Doctrine of Dependent Origination”. This is the English translation done by U Aye Maung Published by U Min Swe Buddhasasana Nuggaha Organization Rangoon, Burma....

Chapter 8 - Kamma And Rebirth

As it is said, “Bhava paccaya jati,” rebirth occurs in the human and deva worlds or in the lower worlds because of good or evil kamma process. So rebirth stems from kammas which result from clinging (upadana) and craving that is rooted in the contact between the six sense objects and the corresponding sense organs (ayatana).

In other words, there arise vinnana, nama rupa, salayatana, phassa and vedana in the present life as the avijja sankhara, etc., in a previous existence and now on top of that, tanha and upadana give rise to new kamma, thereby providing the ground for new rebirth. The situation is like that of a man who has committed a crime while he is in prison for a previous conviction, or that of a man who has incurred new debt before he has fully settled his old debt.

Such new kammas accumulate by the thousands in a single lifetime. Under certain conditions one of these kammas becomes a death bed vision and leads to rebirth while other kammas will create rebirth at other times in the life cycle. If there are residual kammas from the previous lives that possess great force, they take precedence over present kamma, appear as death bed visions and create rebirth in the lower or higher worlds. The post mortem destiny of the person in such cases is determined by the nature of kamma.

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