Questions on the process of rebirth, modern diseases,
euthanasia and vivisection by Dr Myint Swe were answered
by the renowned Burmese meditation master and scholar,
the late Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw.
Q: According to the Buddha’s teaching of Vayadhamma
sankara appamadena sampadetha all kammic formations end
in dissolution. Matter perishes and so does the mind.
This fact is undeniable. How does a being come to a new
existence in spite of the fact that mind as well as
matter perishes as soon as a being passes away?
A: Over two thousand five hundred years ago, the Buddha
taught about the process of continued existence from his
own direct knowledge. There are three kinds of
existences:
1. The existence having both mind and matter.
2. The existence having only matter.
3. The existence having only mind.
The existence having only matter or only mind can be
known only through meditation (bhavana), they cannot be
known by scientific experiments.
However, if the manner of the mind-process having only
mind in the existence is reflected upon you can
appreciate and understand the ability of the mind. So
the way to reflect it is shown here in brief. In the
existence having mind only, mind (citta) arises and
passes away without interruption from the moment of
conception to the moment of death.
The first citta arises and perishes and, without any
interval, the second citta arises and perishes. Cittas
continue arising and perishing in this manner so, after
the disappearance of the former mind there is no base
for the latter mind. However, the latter arises because
of the impetus of the former. This is how the process of
mind continues. It is generally the case when thinking
deeply that thoughts go on occurring without any
interruption by ear-consciousness (sota vinnana), even
though there are probably sounds at the time. So we can
understand that it is the same in the case of existences
having mind only. If we realise how the impetus of the
preceding minds cause the arising of the following minds
even before death, we can also understand that after
death the rebirth-consciousness (patisandhi-vinnana)
appears because of the mental impetus of the past
existence, whether there is a physical base in the next
existence or not. In other words, the
decrease-consciousness of the next.
This is a brief explanation to enable one to gauge the
power of the mind. Although both the mentality and
materiality of a being perish at the moment of death, a
new mind appears in the new body of the next existence
through the impetus of the decrease-consciousness. This
citta clings to a certain object in the dying moment.
This is known as death-proximate kamma (asanna kamma).
The death-proximate kamma is the bridge between death
and rebirth, which is how rebirth-consciousness occurs.
When death is very near, the wholesome or unwholesome
deeds one has done may appear before one’s mind’s eye.
Objects associated with those deeds may also appear.
Alternatively, there may be a vision of one’s destiny.
Although such objects may not be wanted, they cannot be
eliminated at the moment of death.
Among those who are seriously ill and in a coma, some
behave strangely. Some show signs of pleasure and joy,
others behave as if they are frightened or facing
danger. Those who are close to the dying person usually
report such events. Some people who were close to death,
recover and then reveal who took them, where they went
to and what they saw. At the very moment of the
decrease-consciousness (cuticitta), the person dies with
his or her mind on one of the three signs. Death means
the expiry of the last life-continuum. As soon as the
decrease-consciousness ceases, the rebirth-consciousness
arises from the impetus of the decrease-consciousness.
The rebirth-consciousness arises in a new body in the
next existence conditioned by the sign seen just before
death. Because of this relationship with the previous
existence this rebirth-consciousness is called relinking-consciousness
(patisandhi citta). To give an example: A man dreams of
strange events and goes on thinking about them when he
wakes up. The strange dream is like the object that one
clung to in the past. Thinking of his dream is like the
vision of the object which one clung to in the past. The
above case is also like remembering an intention to do
something when one wakes up.
If the rebirths consciousness arises in the
fine-material plane (rupabhumi), its associated matter
arises simultaneously due to kamma. If the
rebirth-consciousness arises like this,
eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness,
nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness,
body-consciousness and mind-consciousness also arise
accordingly. This, in brief, is how a being is reborn.
Q: It is found that rich people, high-ranking officers
and influential bhikkhus generally suffer from high
blood pressure, coronary embolism, cerebral embolism,
cerebral palsy and similar diseases. They are in bed for
months suffering from those diseases although they are
wealthy. However skilful the doctors may be, such
diseases can rarely be cured. People generally assume,
according to indigenous medicine, that these diseases
are caused by mind and food from among the four causes
of kamma, mind, climate and food. Is this assumption
correct? In saying that mind causes these diseases,
bhikkhus and others who use their brains a lot have
veins that cannot return blood to their hearts. It is
like garden plants that wither because of a shortage of
water.
A: Regarding the modern diseases mentioned above, the
assumption that mind causes these diseases may be
correct to some extent, but we should be more specific.
Simply put, there are two types of mind: the hot mind
associated with passion and anger and the peaceful and
purified mind dissociated from passion and anger. The
man who is over anxious about his business may suffer
from the above disease because of mind.
The bhikkhu who has to attend to many affairs, such as
looking after the monastery and pupils, giving
discourses and writing articles, may suffer from the
same diseases for this reason too. This kind of anxious
mind may be hot because of passion and anger. However,
one should not therefore assume that these diseases are
caused by mind only. There are other possibilities:
insufficient exercise, unsuitable food, old age and
infirmity, or genetic weaknesses. The mind that is
peaceful will not cause any disorder to the four
elements in the body because one who practises insight
meditation has four kinds of accomplishment called
iddhipada, which are mental powers. The Buddha often
preached that one who has developed the four iddhipadas
can recover from diseases resulting from the four
causes.
One can live to one’s full lifespan or even longer. Some
diseases, from which meditator suffered for years, could
not be cured by doctors, but were cured by insight
meditation. This is in accordance with the Buddha’s
teaching. In the Dighanikaya and the Samyuttanikaya the
Buddha points out that a bhikkhu, having developed the
four iddhipadas, can live to his natural lifespan, or
longer if he wishes to. He also advised, “Monks, the
life of a monk is nothing but the four bases of
supernatural powers (iddhipada)” So it should be noted
that no disease can trouble a meditator who is very
intent on the practice of insight meditation. Meditation
can eradicate diseases if it is practised to the fullest
extent.
අමාවක
පුර අටවක
පසෙලාස්වක
අව
අටවක