Chapter 42
i.e. when there occurs
upapatti-bhava
, there are, as a rule, three phases: the moment of
their arising (
upÈda-khaÓa
), the moment of their staying (
thÊ-khaÓa
), and the moment of
their dissolution (
bha~ga-khaÓa
). Of these phases, the first,
upÈda-khaÓa
, is called
jÈti
(rebirth); the second,
thÊ-khaÓa
, is called
jarÈ
(ageing); and the third,
bha~ga-khaÓa
, is
called
maraÓa
(death).
So it will be seen that dependent on
kamma-bhava
or kammic causal process, there is
jÈti
which is the initial phase of
upapatti-bhava
. In other words,
kamma-bhava
conditions
jÈti
.
This is described in this verse as ‚the usual birth linking process of
jÈti
.‛
This
jÈti
, the initial arising of mind and matter, occurs not only once at the moment of
rebirth but occurs repeatedly so that the compounded phenomena of mind and matter
(usually regarded as this body) develops into various shapes, forms and sizes according to
one's own kamma or kammic causal order. Thus, there appear in the world castes, such as
the ruling caste, the brahmin caste, etc., and people who have power and influence, who are
lowly, who are noble, who are wicked, who are virtuous, an infinite variety of
personalities, an infinite variety of beings in the three spheres of existence.
All these varieties of beings are possible because there are four main categories of
rebirth, namely:
i) rebirth beginning as an egg or ‚egg-born birth‛,
ii) rebirth beginning as an embryo in the mother's womb or ‚womb-born birth‛,
iii) rebirth from moisturous matter, such as moss or lotus flower etc., (moisture-born
birth),
iv) rebirth as an instant grown up, i.e. about an age of sixteen years for a female and
twenty or twenty-five for a male (instant grown-up birth).
(Note that no two individuals are exactly alike in personality, not even off-spring
of the same mother, some are superior, some inferior. This is due to the workings
of the kammic causal process. The Buddha proclaims this in UparipaÓÓÈsa, C|Äa
Kamma Vibha~ga Sutta wherein it is stated: ‚
kamman satte vibhajati yadidam
hÊnapaÓÊtatÈya
– It is only
kamma
that conditions beings either to be inferior or
superior.‛)
(11) JÈti paccaya jarÈmaraÓaÑ
Kamma-bhava
conditions
upapatti-bhava
. The initial phase of the arising of
upapatti-
bhava
is called
jÈti
. After the initial phase of
upÈda-khaÓa
there follows the developing
stage (
thÊ-khaÓa
), which is ageing (
jarÈ
), and then it goes into dissolution at the third stage,
bha~ga-khaÓa
, which is
maraÓa
(death). (This is the inexorable process of all mind and
matter conditioned by
kamma
).
(
Kamma-bhava
conditions just the initial phase (
upÈda-khaÓa
) of
upapatti-bhava
, but not
the latter two phases of
thi
and
bha~ga-khanas
. When
jÈti
(
upÈda
) arises,
jarÈ
(
thÊ
) and
marana
(
bha~ga
) follow suit just as a rising tide brings water along with it.)
Since
jÈti
is the condition that gives rise to
jarÈ-maraÓa
, (without
jÈti
there can be no
jarÈ-marana
) the Buddha declares: ‚
JÈti paccaya jarÈ maraÓaÑ
‛.
(Considering what has been said above, it should be carefully noted that
jÈti
refers to the
moments of the arising of the stream of the five aggregates;
jarÈ
refers to the moments of
the ageing of these aggregates; and
maraÓa
refers to the moments of dissolution of these
aggregates that take place in all the existences. This is stating about the conditioned
phenomena as they truly happen.)
The gist of this verse:
As rebirth takes place in a fresh existence, there arises the initial mind-matter complex
which occurs in repeated succession, bringing about development of the five aggregates.
Appearance of shapes and forms as deva or human or other types of various beings, let the
worldling consider them as real beings or persons or individual entities.