by Dalai Lama
Craving according to the Pāli Tradition
Craving for sense pleasure is described the same as in the Sanskrit tradition.Craving for existence seeks rebirth in any of the three realms. It accompanies the view of permanence (eternalism), which adheres to the notion of a permanent, unitary, independent self or soul that continues on, unchanged, after death. Most societies and religions throughout history have held an eternalistic view of one kind or another, and such a view is deeply ingrained in people who were taught as children that there is a permanent soul.
Craving for nonexistence accompanies the nihilistic view, which believes that when the body ceases to function after death, the self or person is totally annihilated. This view may arise in someone who falls into despair or cynicism and concludes that since death is inevitable and everything ceases at death, it is pointless to prepare for future lives or seek liberation. This view may also arise in someone who adheres to a materialistic doctrine that negates any existence after death. Thinking that total obliteration of existence is peaceful, such a person craves to cease completely at death.
All these forms of craving are manifestations of ignorance. A monk once asked the Buddha, “Who craves?” The Buddha replied that this question was not suitable. Rather than try to isolate a self that craves, it is appropriate to investigate, “What is the condition for craving?” Since craving arises dependent on feeling, we need to apply mindfulness, introspective awareness, and wisdom to our feelings, observing them as they are and doing our best not to react to them with any of the three types of craving.
REFLECTION
1. The space between feeling and craving is a weak spot in the twelve links. If we can learn to experience pleasant and painful feelings without reacting to them with craving, we can cease the production of formative karma.
2. Observe how easily and habitually each type of craving arises in response to a particular feeling.
3. Practice simply experiencing the feeling without craving for it to last longer or to cease immediately. Cultivate wise equanimity, not ignorant indifference, to feelings.
9. Clinging (upādāna)
Clinging is attachment that is the strong increase of craving. As it becomes increasingly evident that the aggregates of this life will be forfeited, craving gives rise to clinging — strong attachment for new polluted aggregates.
While a person is dying, he may have an illusory appearance of his next life and where he will be reborn. Even if someone will be born in an unfortunate realm, the illusory appearance of that place will be agreeable; he craves birth there, which leads to clinging to be born there. This nourishes the karmic seed previously placed on the causal consciousness, so that the karma is transformed into the link of renewed existence. Similarly, in terms of taking a fortunate rebirth, the dying person is attracted, for example, to an appearance of a precious human life. Craving and clinging arise for that, causing the seed of a virtuous karma to ripen and bringing the link of renewed existence for this fortunate rebirth.
This process occurs while a person is actively dying, while the mind still has coarse recognition and the person can recall things. From the perspective of the death process described in highest yoga tantra, craving and clinging occur prior to the white appearance, while the coarse mind is still functioning. When the coarse mental aggregates absorb, the mind is unable to remember virtue and nonvirtue, and the link of renewed existence has come about. In this way, clinging afflicts transmigrating beings because it prepares for the next life in saṃsāra.
Arhats have many karmic seeds that have the potential to bring a rebirth, but these cannot ripen because arhats have eliminated craving and clinging.
In the bardo someone who will be reborn as a human being sees the sperm and ovum of her parents, mistakenly believes the parents are in union, and craves and clings to be there. Clinging to the fertilized ovum, the person wants to be in that body and not to lose it. The consciousness enters the fertilized ovum, creating a mass that is conducive for the arising of the cognitive faculties.57
Clinging can nourish a karmic potency at other times of our lives. Frequently generating the aspiration to be reborn with a precious human life helps to nourish the karmic seeds on our mindstreams that will bring this about. Karmic seeds may be nourished by other means as well. If we have created the karma for a precious human life, all the other virtuous activities we do in life — making prostrations and offerings, studying and practicing the Dharma — help to nourish that potency. The craving and clinging that arise while we are actively dying are not a manifest thought, “I want this in the future,” that is formed with effort. Craving and clinging are innate; ordinary beings experience them while they are dying whether or not they believe in rebirth.
In general, four types of clinging may arise during our lifetimes (MN 11.9):
(1) Clinging to sense pleasures and desirable objects arises easily for us beings in the desire realm and dominates our lives. One of our cognitive faculties contacts an object that sparks the experience of pleasure or happiness. Attachment arises followed by clinging to the pleasant feeling and the object that triggered it. Beings in the form and formless realms have suppressed clinging to sense pleasure, yet clinging to the intense bliss or peace of meditative absorption still arises in them.
Clinging to sensual pleasure lies behind most of the karma we human beings create. It motivates us to lie, cheat, backbite, and speak harshly to procure and protect the things we desire. It lies behind most of the scandals we read about. Besides harming ourselves and leading to unfortunate rebirths, it adversely affects others, even leading people to lose faith in those who occupy positions of authority and respect.
Some people who have the correct view of karma and its results want to enjoy sensual pleasures in future lives. They asked the Buddha how to attain heavenly rebirths or how to meet their spouse again in a future life. The Buddha taught ethical conduct, generosity, and kindness, which they happily practiced to attain their goal.
(2) Clinging to views clings to the view of extremes, the view holding wrong views as supreme, and wrong views, especially the wrong view disparaging karma and its effect, the existence of past and future lives, and so forth. Clinging to views easily leads to dogmatism, attachment to one’s own religion, and denigration of other religions to the extent that one forces one’s religious views on others either by verbal coercion or threats of violence.
(3) Clinging to a doctrine of self is the view of a personal identity that grasps the I and mine to exist inherently. Clinging to the self is the force behind our afflictions and lies behind most of our self-centered actions that create destructive karma. It arises throughout our lives and is especially powerful as we are dying. This clinging may also adhere to a permanent self or soul or to a self-sufficient substantially existent I and mine. It may also motivate virtuous actions; some people keep ethical conduct because they want their eternal self to be born in a heavenly realm.
(4) Clinging to rules and practices arises as a result of holding wrong views about duḥkha and its causes. It causes us to have distorted notions of ethical conduct or the path to liberation. These include advocating extreme self-mortification by fasting for a long time, sitting in fire, and going naked in the cold. It may also lead to unethical actions such as sacrificing animals to have good fortune, thinking that the flawless performance of rituals causes liberation, or conflating meditative absorption with liberation.
These four types of clinging focus predominantly on distorted ideas and do not include all types of clinging.
Clinging according to the Pāli Tradition
Craving can also mean to thirst for something we do not yet have, and clinging can also imply holding on to what we already have. The three types of craving — for sensual pleasures, existence, and nonexistence — are generally directed toward what we do not yet have, while the four types of clinging — for sensual pleasure, views, doctrines of self, and view of rules and practices — are usually directed toward what
we already hold.
The three types of craving and four types of clinging are related. Craving for sensual pleasure produces clinging to sensual pleasure. Craving for sensual pleasure may influence us to cling to certain views. Thinking that the purpose of life is simply to enjoy sensual pleasures could lead us to breach ethical conduct by stealing, lying, or having an affair. Craving for sensual pleasure in future lives could lead to holding the view of rules and practices, for example, believing that killing infidels will bring a heavenly rebirth with many sensual pleasures.
Craving for existence, which accompanies the eternalistic view, easily leads to clinging to a doctrine of self as well as clinging to views. Craving for nonexistence, which often accompanies the nihilistic view, could lead to clinging to views and to the view of rules and practices. For example, thinking that nothing exists after death, someone could think that it doesn’t matter how they act as long as the authorities do not find out.
Clinging to wrong views, views of rules and practices, and view of a personal identity are abandoned at stream-entry when the fetters of doubt, view of rules and practices, and view of a personal identity are eliminated. Clinging to sense pleasure decreases when one becomes a once-returner and is abandoned when one becomes a nonreturner. Only arhats have abandoned all clinging.
REFLECTION
1. Identify moments of each of the four types of clinging in your experience.
2. How do they affect your life?
3. What ideas do you have for counteracting them?
10. Renewed Existence (bhava)
Renewed existence is the factor existing in the nature of the ripening aggregates (the body and mind of the future life) bound by afflictions, which is the potential of karma made stronger by craving and clinging. As a cause of birth, it refers not to the state a being will be born into but to the karmic force that leads to rebirth in that state. Renewed existence occurs the moment that all the causes for the future life have been completed in this life; it is the ripening of the karmic seed that is just about to produce the next life. The karma that projects the rebirth was the second link. It ceased and its continuation exists as a having-ceased and a karmic seed. Renewed existence is the fully nourished karmic seed and that karma’s having-ceased that have the potential to produce a new birth in cyclic existence.
The link of renewed existence occurs in two stages. The entering stage is the fully nourished potency that is directed toward the next life. It occurs in the present life before death. The entered stage is the fully nourished potency during the bardo between two lives. There are three kinds of renewed existence corresponding to the three realms of saṃsāric existence: desire realm, form realm, and formless realm renewed existence.
Renewed existence is a case of giving the name of the result to the cause. For example, after planting a sprout, we say, “I planted a tree,” giving the name of the resultant tree to the sprout that was its cause. Renewed existence is analogous to a seed (link 2) planted in a field (link 3) that is nourished by water and sunshine (links 8 and 9). The potential of the seed is now ready (link 10) to become a sprout (link 11).
Formative action and renewed existence are the same karma at different times. They differ in that formative action has not been activated by craving and clinging and is not immediately able to project another birth.
In terms of rebirth in the form and formless realms, a meditator must gradually prepare to attain the next higher meditative absorption of those realms. Each of the four dhyānas and the four formless absorptions have seven preparations (manaskāra)58 — stages of contemplation that aid in attaining the next level of meditative absorption. Form realm renewed existence is the dhyāna that a meditator has attained in this life that will bring rebirth in that specific dhyāna in the next life. Formless realm renewed existence is the level of formless realm meditative absorption that a meditator has reached in this life that will propel her to be reborn in that specific formless realm in the next life.
While tenth-link renewed existence occurs while actively dying, in general there are four types of renewed existence, each of them occurring under the control of afflictions and karma: (1) Renewed existence of birth leads to the consciousness joining to the next birth under the control of afflictions and karma. (2) Renewed existence of death is the last moment of this life. (3) Renewed existence of the bardo occurs when the consciousness joins to the intermediate state under the control of afflictions and karma. At this time one has a subtle body similar to the body of the next birth. The bardo lasts the maximum of seven weeks and is considered part of the next life. (4) Renewed existence of the previous time begins the moment after the link of birth, lasts during the lifetime, and ends at death. Here previous means prior to death of that life.
Not only do ignorance and formative action bind us to saṃsāra, so do the craving, clinging, and renewed existence that occur while actively dying. These last three force the consciousness to join to the next body. In this way, afflictions and karma tie the merely designated self to cyclic existence. Wherever consciousness goes, the self goes, because consciousness is the principal basis of designation of the self.
Renewed existence afflicts transmigrating beings because it makes the resultant rebirth definitely occur.
Renewed Existence according to the Pāli Tradition
In the Pāli tradition also, renewed existence is the name of the result being given to the cause. The Path of Purification distinguishes two aspects of renewed existence. These are the same karma in different stages of ripening.
(1) Karmically active renewed existence is intention and the mental factors of covetousness and so forth conjoined with those intentions. The formative karma of meritorious, demeritorious, and invariable karma (link 2) is a condition giving rise to karmically active renewed existence, which is the karma that, as a condition for the next life, is ready to bring that new rebirth. It is of three types, corresponding to the three realms.
Nonvirtuous actions are desire realm renewed existence and lead to unfortunate rebirths as hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals. Mundane virtuous actions such as the ten virtues are also desire realm renewed existence, but they bring rebirth as human beings and devas. Form realm renewed existence is any of the dhyānas that people have attained, mastered, and continued until the time of death. Formless realm renewed existence is any of the formless realm absorptions that are attained, mastered, and preserved until death. Form and formless realm rebirths last for eons, but when that karma is exhausted those beings take birth in less favorable circumstances.
(2) Resultant rebirth renewed existence is the four or five aggregates subject to clinging and projected by karma. This is the moment of rebirth as well as the entire existence in which we experience the many diverse results of our previous actions. Birth is the beginning of the resultant rebirth existence, aging is the continuation of that existence, and death is the end of that particular resultant rebirth existence.
During the time of the resultant rebirth existence, we sentient beings, through our choices and decisions and the actions that express them, create many new karmas that will lead to future rebirths in saṃsāra. Although these choices and decisions are influenced by our previous actions, they are not completely determined by them. We have the freedom to make responsible choices and to either nourish or counteract our tendencies toward various intentions.
In short, karmically active renewed existence is the causal karmic energy that projects a rebirth, and resultant rebirth existence is the resultant rebirth that is attained.
REFLECTION
1. Imagine your death and the dying process.
2. Based on how you have lived and on your habitual tendencies, what types of craving and clinging are likely to arise in your mind at this time?
3. What kind of thoughts and aspirations would you like to have while you are dying? Recall that these will influence which karmic seeds are nourished and become renewed existence.
4. How can you train in these
thoughts and aspirations now so that your mind will be in a virtuous state then?
11. Birth (jāti)
Birth is the aggregates that exist in the nature of the ripening result bound by afflictions and joined to a new life in saṃsāra under the control of afflictions and karma. Ordinarily we think of birth as a baby coming out of the mother’s womb, breathing on her own, and beginning her life. From a Buddhist perspective, birth is the first moment of the new life. For mammals this occurs when the consciousness joins with the fertilized ovum. The resultant consciousness — the second part of link 3 — is the continuation of the mindstream of a being who has left its former body. This consciousness brings with it all the karmic seeds and latencies of afflictions that were present in the previous life. These will condition many aspects of the new being: which body with its specific genetic makeup he will take rebirth in, his upbringing and experiences, and his tendencies in the new life.
The link of birth lasts only a moment; from the second moment onward, aging or death occurs. Birth is the cause of aging and death. The Buddha makes the point that without being born, we would not age and die (DN 15.4):
If, Ānanda, there were no birth at all, anywhere, of anybody or anything: of devas in the deva-state, of gandhabbas . . . , of yakkhas . . . , of hungry ghosts . . . , of humans . . . , of quadrupeds . . . , of birds . . . , of reptiles to the reptile state, if there were absolutely no birth at all of all these beings, then with the absence of all birth, the cessation of birth, could aging and death appear? — “No, venerable sir.” Therefore, Ānanda, just this is the root, the cause, the origin, the condition of aging and death — namely, birth.