SAMSARA - Life after Life by Dr. Mehm Tin Mon Professor, International Theravada Buddhist mary Universi ‘The Discovery of Dependent Ari Paticcasamuppida) On the full-moon day of Vesakha (May), 588 B.C,, the day the Bodhisatta Siddhattha was to attain Buddhahood, his mind is extremely pure with the attainment of eight mundane jhanas. It had been tamed and trained in fourteen ways and further augmented by the fivefold mastery over the jhunas. Ji was totally free from all defilements and became pliable und gentle so as to be amenable to his wishes. In the fir.t wateh of the night on th cious day, he developed the fourth ropavacars jan, emerged from it. and inclined his mis ect his former existences. Thereupon, the sup: knowledge of recollecting former e es, (Pubbenivasdnussati Abhiaa) arose in d see al past existences together with his activities, events and experiences. He also saw that there were only the phe- nomena of mind and matter throughout the count-~ jess rounds of existence, the be; not known. In all the three oc ing and death, there were only solving of mentality-materiality (naie-ripa) Indeed in all abodes and at all times, the phenomena of 2 a mentality-materiality were in a continuous state of flux, like the flame of an oi) lamp or like the cur~ rent of a river. torious deeds and they per After di he disso ‘were reborn in the blissful and Brahmas. in the last contemplated the ea continuous succe the kamuias perf sentient being at all to woman’, efc, Indeed there i God or Brahm who could be called", ‘you', is nota single Alm ‘Telations and twelve factors (¢ When he contemplate could see a hundred thousand crores of world-sys- tems known as Anakitetta, the field of authority of a Roddha, together with al living beings in the thirty one planes of existence. came to know full we! humans, Devas, Brabmas io know them truly thus: woeful states had in their past existences commit- ted evil by deed, word ar thought; they had ma- ligned, abused and reviled noble persons (Arivds); they held wrong views and with these wrong views they themselves committed and also caused otiters to commit various demeritorious deeds. After death and the dissolution of theig bodies, they reapperaed in miserable existences , Those beings in good ex- istences had performed good deeds bodily, verbally and mentally; they did not malign, abuse or revile noble persons; they had right views and with the right views they performed various kinds of meri- the twelve factors. then become one fering (Dutkha Vipassand N Knowledge of Non-self, million six hundred thousand c:‘Table 1: Causal Relations between three Successive Existences 20 Modes + 3 Periods 12 Factors 4 Abridgments Past 1 Aviffs Ggnorance) Karernbisva 2 Sofkbara (Karna (Kamm process) formntions) | 5 Past cusses: L 12,8910 Present | 3 Vitti (result conscious- | Upapatibinava sss) Rebirth process) 4 Nica (mindend- | 5 Present effects mater) 34567 Present 8 anh (caving) Kamerbtava, 9 Upécana (clinging: nba | (Karem Process) ahi) 5 Present causes: 10 Kammbhava 1.289,10 (Samra Formations) Fae | 11 Jat rebist) Upapatibhava 12 Fearmrara ‘(Ageing-deat) (worry, lamentation, 34,567 eingrictcespacy | Insight Wisdom. By means of Mahavajira Vipassand the Bodhisatta developed ten insight knowledges and fourfold Path-wisdom when he became an Arahant enlightened Sammasambudha Perpetual Turning of the Wheel of Saristra 1 lations of Pafiecasamuppada r iumming perpetually. ‘The twelve factors form the ‘Support of the wheel whe amd taghd form, its hub. The consecutive e9 rim of the wheel. ‘The wheel urn: from one existance to discourse: \d and round perpetually jer according to the dukkha-domanassa-upi 2 The Wheel of Paticcasamuppada can also be considered to be made up of four segments: the five past causes c present five effects,five causes, the third segment; and the future five effects, the fourth segment. This wheel will also be turning round and \d perpetually as five causes in the past exist- ence condition the arising of five effects in the present existence, and these effects will condition the arising of five new causes in the present exist- ence which will in wr give rise to five effects again in the future existence, and so on. 3. The twelve factors of Paticcasamup- fied as three rounds: - round of defilements - avijja, tanha, upadana ck pada can (1) Kilesavatea (2) Kammavatta - round of kamma - saiikhira, kammabhava (3) Vipakavarta - round of resultants - upapattibhava, vitina, phassa, vedaii,j6ti, jard- marana. In the past, because of ignorance (aviji@), beings have strong craving or clinging (upadana) for sense pleasure. So they perform both whole- some and unwholesome deeds to gratify their sense desires. These actions produce wholesome and *¥ 4) : | | 2 1 J Kilesa-ve® or SS wo Diagram 3 unwholesome kammas. So kilesavatta gives rise to kammavatea. ‘When the kammas bear results with the support of avijil, tanh’ and upaddna, viptkavatta asises as the present existence. At the same time avijja, tanh’ and ditha come along with resultant cittas (viftiéna) as Jatent defilements (anusayakilesas). ‘When the six bases (sa/ayatana) come into contact with six sense objects and phassa, vedand arise, those latent defilements also pop up as full- ‘fledged defilements. So kilesavatta arises again. So kilesavagta conditions kammavatrato arise, and kammavatta in turn c ns vipakavatta to arise, When vipékavatta avises, kilesavatta again, So the rounds of and so does the Wheel of 7: ever. Here going round and round forever No Beginning nor --- your brother ~ your daughter — ‘Two Roots (Mula) ‘The wheel of Pi de divided into two poi The second portion st ‘Causes and ends at the Future10 upadana, bhava, jati and jara-marana. In this portion tanha is the root or origin. So the two roots of Paticcasamuppada are ignorance and craving. They are the main forces, which keep rotating the wheel of sarisdra. If these two roots can be cut off, the wheel of Dependent Arising will be destroyed for ever just as a tree will die when its main roots are cut off. ‘We can cut off the two main roots by under- taking insight meditation (vipassana). When all the realities including the Four Noble Truths are vividly seen by insight wisdom, the two roots off, and we shall be liberated from satiséva is in reality also the round of suffering. In Digha Nikaya (Sutta 15) the Bu “ Profound, Ananda, is this Dependent Arising, and profound does it appear. It is through not under- standing , not penetrating, this law that this world resembles a tangled bail of thread, a bird's nest, 2 thicket of reed, and that man does not escape from the lower states of existeace, from the course of woe and perdition, suffering from the round of sebirth.” No First Cause Although the Paticcasamuppada discourse begins with ignorance (avijja), ignorance is not the first cause of sarhsira for avijja arises dependent on four intoxicants (2savas) : the intoxicant of sense desire (kamasava), the intoxicant of attachment to u nas and brahma existences (bhavisava), the in- toxicant of wrong view (ditthasava), and the intoxi cant of the ignorance of Four Noble Truths ( avijj&- sava). So long as the intoxicants are present, avijja will be generated incessantly for ever. With regard to the First Cause and the Ex- tent of Sarisara, the words of the Buddha in ‘Anamatagga Sariyutta are very interesting. He that the whole earth can be made into smail pe and one pellet can be put down for one’s father, another pellet for one’s father's father, another for one’s grandfather's father and so on. ‘The pe will be used up before the line of ancestors can be traced out, cut ail the wood and the bamboo in the World into small pieces and place a piece for one’s mother, another piece for one’s mother’s mother, another piece for one’s grandmother's mother and so on. Again we shall run out of the pieces before we can trace all the mother’s mother. Again we c: ‘This also implies that the world System have been arising and dissolving from time immemorial and this process will go on indefinitely. Science has already borne witness to this Fact. Paticcasamuppaida also refutes the theory of, creation and empbasizes the fact that life is gener- ated from life as scientists have discovered: " Omne vivum ex vivo "(All life from life). 12 Where will you be 1°! The causes whieh wil existence after death are sankhra and kay mental stream. Saikhé the kemms formations and have accumulated in as in your uneount The kamma se definite results, Ur Atthe Buddha's time miser Todeyya was reborn as3 house in accordance with his craving and clinging. The lay-devotee Upoasathi of ancient Saketa regularly observed Sabbath precepts and wished to be reborn in the pleasant Nandavana Garden of ‘Tavatimsa heaven, When she passed away she was reborn there as a celestial maiden. ‘The Egyptian Kings who had magnificent pyramids built as their palaces of next existences, would be certainly reborn there. There were st about the treasure in the pyramids of being haunted by its possessor. Dr. Tha Hla's remarkable experi tombs of Dr. Alexander Fleming and King George VI indicated that they were present at their memory of the present e ‘the next existence for there is no break in tal stream because of death in one place and rebirth {in another place and the mind hus the property of transmitting all its properties to the next arising mind, So if you are short-tempered now, you will be so in the future and in your next life as well. If you are intelligent now, you will be intelligent the whole of your life as well as in your future e ences, Some can even remember tl ences. 14 In What manner will you be reborn? ‘We should take note of the four possible modes of conceving in the new existence. (i) Andaja-patisandhi- Conceiving in egg shell; eg, birds, fowls, snake (i) Jalabuja- patisandhi - Conceiving in the womb; e.g. dogs , cat, men. Sathsedaja-patisandhi - Conceiving in bamboo, fruit, mash, stagnant water, putrid carcass; eg fliey mosquitoes, frogs, (Gv) Opapatika -patisendhi - rebirth in the form of a grown-up person about 16-18 years old as if jumping out of no where; e.g. celestial beings, per- sons born in hells, some woeful g} water ponds. The monk Tissa was reborn as a flea in his robe, and the beautiful courtesan Ambapali was reborn also by opapatika rebirth at the Buddha’s time. By the power of kamma an individual may be reborn anywhere as far as the highest realm or at other planets by any one of the four mades of conceving. This explains the first appearance of various forms of living beings on earth. it also ex- plains the success of cloning and test-tube babies, How to stop the wheel of life “There is no one, even in a dream, who has emancipated from the round af misery without the ability to break through the Paticcasamappada causal Relations of the Samsira machine with his wisdom sword which has been sharpened on the sacred whetstone of concentration.” (Vs. and Abhi.A) process of ever ogi and og growing old, suffering and precisely, samsara fivefold khandha ~ com ge from moment yw one upon the periods of time, In Digs Nikya (Sutta 18). id, Ananda, escape from course of woe waters of the four more tears upon this long va in the four oceans. Sagnstra is so long has been not related to us daughter, aunt, or hostile but friendly to al