Another Kind of Birth
A lecture delivered at Pattalung Province
Thailand
on 16 July, 1969
by
Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
ANOTHER KIND OF BIRTH
* Birth is perpetual suffering.
True happiness consists in eliminating the false
idea of I .
* Mankinds problems reduce to the problem of
suffering, whether inflicted by another or by
oneself.
* Everday language-Dharma language : In every
day language the term birth refers simply to
physical birth from a mother's body ; in Dharma
language birth refers to a mental event arising
out of ignorance, craving, and clinging.
* Whenever there arises the mistaken idea I ,
the I has been born ; its parents are ignorance
and craving.
* The kind of birth that constitutes a problem for
us is mental birth.
* Anyone who fails to grasp this point will never
succeed in understanding anything of the
Buddha's teaching.
The subject we shall discuss today is one which
I feel everyone ought to recognize as pressing, namely
the following two statements made by the Buddha :
''Birth is perpetual suffering.'' (Dukkha jati punap-
punam) and
''True happiness consists in eliminating the false
idea of I. '' (Asmimanassa vinayo etam ve pa-
ramam sukham.)
Mankind's problems reduce to the problem of
suffering, whether inflicted by another or by oneself by
way of mental defilements (kilesa). This is the primary
problem for every human being, because noone wants
suffering. In the above statements the Buddha equates
suffering with birth : ''Birth is perpetual suffering'' ; and he
equates happiness with the complete giving up of the
false idea I , ''myself'', I am , I exist .
The statement that birth is the cause of suffering
is complex, having several levels of meaning. The main
difficulty lies in the interpretation of the word birth. Most
of us don't understand what the word birth refers to
and are likely to take it in the everyday sense of physical
birth from a mother's body. The Buddha taught that birth
is perpetual suffering. Is it likely that in saying this he
was referring to physical birth? Think it over. If he was
referring to physical birth, it is unlikely that he would
have gone on to say: True happiness consists in eliminating
the false idea I because this statement clearly indicates
that what constitutes the suffering is the false idea I.
When the idea I has been completely eradicated, that is
true happiness, So suffering actually consists in the mis-
conception I, I am, I have The Buddha taught : ''Birth
is perpetual suffering.'' What is meant here by the word
''birth'' ? Clearly birth'' refers to nothing other than the arising
of the idea I (asmimana).
The word ''birth'' refers to the arising of the mistaken
idea I, myself. It does not refer to physical birth, as
generally supposed. The mistaken assumption that this word
''birth'' refers to physical birth is a major obstacle to com-
prehending the Buddha's teaching.
It has to be borne in mind that in general a word can
have several different meanings according to the context.
Two principal cases can be recognized : (1) language
referring to physicalthings, which is spoken by the average
person ; and (2) language referring to mental things,
psychological language, Dharma language, which is spoken
by people who know Dharma (higher Truth, Buddha's
teaching). The first type may be called ''everyday language'',
the language spoken by the average person ; the second
may be called ''Dharma language'', the language spoken by
a person who knows Dharma.
The ordinary person speaks as he has learnt to
speak, and when he uses the word ''birth'' he means physical
birth, birth from a mother's body ; however in Dharma
language, the language used by a person who knows
Dharma, birth refers to the arising of the idea I am. If
at some moment there arises in the mind the false idea
I am'', then at that moment the I has been born, When
this false idea ceases, there is no longer any I, the I
has momentarily ceased to exist. When the I idea again
arises in the mind, the I has been reborn. This is the
meaning of the word ''birth'' in Dharma language. It refers
not to physical birth from a mother of flesh and blood
but to mental birth from a mental ''mother'' , namely craving, ignorance, clinging (tanha, avijja, upadana). One
could think of craving as the mother and ignorance as
the father ; in any case the result is the birth of I, the
arising of the false idea I. The father and mother of the
I - delusion are ignorance and craving or clinging, Igno-
rance, delusion, misunderstanding, give birth to the idea I
me. And it is this kind of birth that is perpetual suffering. Physical birth is no problem ; once born from his mother ;
a person need have nothing more to do with birth. Birth
from a mother takes only a few minutes ; and no one ever
has to undergo the experience more than once.
Now we hear talk of rebirth, birth again and again,
and of the suffering that inevitably goes with it. Just what
is this rebirth ? What is it that is reborn ? The birth refered
to is a mental event, something taking place in the mind,
the non-physical side of our make-up. This is ''birth'' in
Dharma language. ''Birth'' in everyday language is birth from a
mother ; ''birth'' in Dharma language is birth from ignorance,
craving, clinging, the arising of the false notion of I and
mine These are the two meanings of the word birth''.
This is an important matter, which simply must be
understood. Anyone who fails to grasp this point will never
succeed in understanding anything of the Buddha's
teaching. So do take a special interest in it. There are these
two kinds of language, these two levels of meaning : every-
day language, referring to physical things, and Dharma
language, referring to mental things, and used by people
who know. To clarify this point here are some examples.
Consider the word ''path''. Usually when we use the
word path we are referring to a road or way along which
vehicles, men, and animals can move. But the word path
may also refer to the Noble Eightfold Path, the way of
practice taught by the Buddha - right understanding, right
thoughts, right speech, right action, right Iivelihood, right
effort, right mindfulness, right concentration - which Ieads to
Nirvana; in eveyday language path refers to a physical
road ; in Dharma language it refers to the eightfold way of
right practice known as the Noble Eightfold Path, These are
the two meanings of the word path.
Similarly with the word ''Nirvana'' (nibbana). In
everyday language this word refers to the cooling of a hot
object. For example, when hot coals become cool, they are
said (in Pali or Sanskrit) to have nirvana d ; when hot food
in a pot or on a plate becomes cool it has ''nirvana'd''. This
is everyday language. In Dharma language ''Nirvana'' refers
to the kind of coolness that results from eliminating mental
defilements. At any time when there is freedom from mental
defilements, at that time there is coolness, momentary
Nirvana. So nirvana or ''coolness'' has two meanings,
according as the speaker is using everyday language or
Dharma language.
Another important word is ''emptiness'' (sunyata,
sunnata). In everyday language, the language of physical
things, emptiness means total absence of any object ; in
Dharma language it means absence of the idea I, mine.
When the mind is not grasping or clinging to anything
whatsoever as I or mine it is in a state of emptiness.
The word empty has these two levels of meaning, one
referring to physical things, the other referring to mental
things, one in everyday language, the other in Dharma Ian-
guage. Physical emptiness is absence of any object,
vacuum, Mental emptiness is the state in which all the
objects of the physical world are present as usual, but none
of them is being grasped at or clung to as ''mine''. Such
a mind is said to be ''empty''. When the mind has come
to see things as not worth wanting, not worth being, not
worth grasping at and clinging to, it is then empty of
wanting, being, grasping, clinging. The mind is then an
empty or void mind, but not in the sense of being
void of content. All objects are there as usual and the
thinking processes are going on as usual, but they are not
going the way of grasping and clinging with the idea of I
and mine. The mind is devoid of grasping and clinging
and so is called an empty or void mind. It is stated in the
texts : A mind is said to be empty when it is empty of desire,
aversion, and delusion (raga, dosa, moha). The world is
also described as empty, because it is empty of anything
that might be identified as I or mine. It is in this sense
that the world is spoken of as empty. Empty in Dharma
language does not mean physically empty, devoid of
content.
You can see the confusion and misunderstanding
that can arise if these words are taken in their usual
evelday sense. Unless we understand Dharma language,
we can never understand Dharma ; and the most impodant
piece of Dharma language to understand is the term ''birth''.
The kind of birth that constitutes a problem for us
is mental birth, the birth or arising of the false notion I.
Once the idea I has arisen, there inevitably follows the
idea I am Such-and-such. For example, I am a man, I
am a living creature, I am a good man, I am not a good
man, or something else of the sort. And once the idea I
am Such-and-such has arisen, there follows the idea of
comparison : I am better than So-and-so I am not as good
as So-and-so, I am equal to So-and-so. All these ideas
are of a type ; they are all part of the false notion I am
I exist. It is to this that the term birth refers. So in a
single day we may be born many times, many dozens of
times. Even in a single hour we may experience many,
many births. Whenever there arises the idea I, and the
idea I am Such-and-such'', that is a birth. When no such
idea arises, there is no birth, and this freedom from birth
is a state of coolness. So this is a principle to be
recognized : whenever there arises the idea I, mine, at
that time the cycle of Samsara has come into existence in
the mind, and there is suffering, burning, spinning on ; and
whenever there is freedom from defects of these kinds, there is
Nirvana, Nirvana of the type referred to astadanga-
nibbanaor vikkhambhana-nibbana.
Tadanga-nibbana is mentioned in the Anguttara-
Nikaya. It is a state that comes about momentarily when
external conditions happen, fortuitously, to be such that no
idea of I or mine, arises, Tadanga-nibbana is momentary
cessation of the idea I, mine due to favourable external
circumstances. At a higher level than this, if we engage in
some form of Dharma practice, in particular if we develop
concentration, so that the idea of I, mine cannot arise, that
extinction of I, mine is called vikkhambhana-nibbana. And
finally, whan we succeed in bringing about the complete
elimination of all defilements, that is full Nirvana, total
Nirvana.
Now we shall limit our discussion to the everyday
life of the ordinal person. It must be understood that at
any time when there exists the idea I, mine at that time
there exists birth, suffering, the cycle of Samsara. The I
is born, endures for a moment, then ceases, is born again,
endures for a moment, and again ceases-which is why the
process is referred to as the cycle of Samsara. It is suffering
because of the birth of the I. If at any moment conditions
happen to be favourable, so that the I-idea does not arise,
then there is peace-what is called tadanga-nibbana,
momentary Nirvana, a taste of Nirvana, a sample of Nirvana,
peace, coolness.
The meaning of Nirvana becomes clearer when we
consider how the word is used in the Anguttara-nikaya, In
that text we find that hot objects that have become cool
are said to have nirvanad. Animals that have been tamed,
rendered docile and harmless are said to have nirvana'd.
How can a human being become cool ? This question is
complicated by the fact that man's present knowledge and
understanding of life has not been suddenly acquired but
has evolved gradually over a long period.
Well before the time of the Buddha people consi-
dered that Nirvana lay in sensual delight, because a person
who gets precisely whatever sensual pleasure he wishes
does experience a certain kind of coolness. Having a shower
on a hot day brings a kind of coolness ; and going into a
quiet place brings another kind, in the form of contentment,
freedom from disturbance. So to begin with, people were
interested in the kind of Nirvana that consisted in an
abundance of sensual pleasure. Later, wiser men came
to realize that this was not good enough. They saw that
sensual pleasure was largely a deception (maya), so sought
their coolness in the mental tranquillity of concentration
(jhana). The jhanas are states of genuine mental coolness
and this was the kind of Nirvana people were concerned
with in the period immediately before the Buddha's
enlightenment. Gurus were teaching that Nirvana was
identical with the most refined state of mental concentra-
tion. The Buddha's last guru, Udakatapasa Ramaputra,
taught him that to attain the jhana of neither perception
nor non-perception (n'eva sanna n' asannayatana) was to
attain complete cessation of suffering. But the Buddha did
not accept this teaching ; he did not consider this to be
genuine Niwana, He went off and delved into the matter
on his own account until he realized the Nirvana that is the
total elimination of every kind of craving and clinging. As
he himself later taught : True happiness consists in
eradicating the false idea I . When defilements have been
totally eliminated, that is Nirvana. If the defilements are only
momentarily absent, it is momentary Nirvana. Hence the
teaching of tadanga-nibbana and vikkhanbhananibbana
already discussed. These terms refer to a condition of freedom
from defilements.
Now if we examine ourselves we discover that we
are not dominated by defilements all the time. There are
moments when we are free from defilements ; If this were
not the case we should soon be driven mad by defilements
and die, and there would not be many people left in the
world. lt is thanks to these brief periods of freedom from
distress causing defilements that we don't all suffer from
nervous disorders and go insane or die. Let us give Nature
due credit for this and be thankful she made us in such
a way that we get a sufficient period of respite from
defilements each day. There is the time we are asleep, and
there are times when the mind is clear, cool, at ease. A
person who can manage to do as Nature intended can avoid
nervous and psychological disorders ; one who cannot is
bound to have more and more nervous disorders until he
becomes mentally ill or even dies. Let us be thankful for
momentary Nirvana, the transient type of Nirvana that
comes when conditions are favourable. For a brief moment
there is freedom from craving, conceit, and false views, in
particular, freedom from the idea of , I and mine. The mind
is empty, free, just long enough to have a rest or to sleep,
and so it remains healthy.
In days gone by this condition was morecommon than
it is now. Modern man, with his ever-changing knowledge
and behaviour, is more subject to disturbance from
defilements than man in past ages. Consequently modern
man is more prone to nervous and psychological illnesses-
which is a disgrace. The more scientific knowledge he has
the more prone he is to insanity ! The number of psychiatric
patients is increasing so rapidly the hospitals can't cope.
There is one simple cause for this : people don't know how
to relax mentally. They are too ambitious. They have been
taught to be ambitious since they were small children. They
acquire nervous complaints right in childhood and by the
time they have completed their studies they are already
mentally disturbed people. This comes from taking no
interest in the Buddha's teaching that the birth of the idea
of I and Mine is the height of suffering.
Now Iet us go further into the matter of birth. No
matter what type of existence one is born into, it is nothing
but suffering, because the word birth refers here to
attachment unaccompanied by awareness. This is an
important point which must be well understood : if there
arises in a person's mind the idea I am Such-and-such
and he is aware that this idea has arisen, that arising is
not a birth (as that term is used in Dharma language). If
on the other hand he deludedly identifies with the idea,
that is birth. Hence the Buddha advised continual mind-
fulness. lf we know what we are, know what we have to
do, and do it with awareness, there is no suffering, because
there is no birth of I or mine. Whenever delusion,
carelessness, and forgetfulness come in, there arise desire
and attachment to the false idea I, mine I am So-and-
so, I am Such-and-such ,........., and this is birth.
Birth is suffering ; and the kind of suffering depends
on the kind of birth. Birth as a mother brings the suffering
of a mother, birth as a fatherbrings the suffering of a father.
If, for example, there arises in a person the illusory idea
of being a mother and therefore of wanting this, that , and
the other thing-that is the suffering of a mother. It is the
same for a father. If he identifies with the idea of being
a father, wanting this and that, grasping and clinging-that
is the suffering of a father. But if a person has awareness,
there is no such confusion and distortion ; he simply knows
in full clarity what he has to do as a father or as a mother
and does it with a steady mind, not clinging to the idea
I am this, I am that. ln this way he is free from suffering
; and in this condition he is fit to rear his children properly
and to their best advantage. Birth as a mother brings the
suffering of a mother ; birth as a father brings the suffering
of a father ; birth as a millionaire brings the suffering of a
millionaire ; birth as a beggar brings the suffering of a
beggar. What is meant here can be illustrated by the
following contrast.
Suppose first a millionaire, dominated by delusion,
desire, attachment, grasping at the idea I am a millionaire.
This idea is in itself suffering ; and whatever that man says
or does is said and done under the influence of those
defilements and so becomes further suffering. Even after
he has gone to bed he dwells on the idea of being a
millionaire and so is unable to sleep. So birth as a million-
aire brings the suffering of a millionaire. Then suppose a
beggar, dwelling on his misfortunes, his poverty, his
sufferings and difficulties-this is the suffering of a beggar.
Now if at any moment either of these two men were to be
free of these ideas, in that moment he would be free
from suffering; the millionaire would be free from the
suffering of a millionaire, the beggar would be free from
the suffering of a beggar. Thus it is that one sometimes
sees a beggar singing happily, because at that time he
is not being born as a beggar, is not identifying himself
as a beggar or as in any sod of difficulty. For one moment
he has forgotten it, has ceased being born a beggar and
instead has been born a singer, a musician. Suppose a
poor ferryman. If he clings to the idea of being poor, and
rows his ferryboat with a sense of weariness and self-
pity, then he suffers, just as if he had fallen straight into
hell. But if instead of dwelling on such ideas, he reflects
that he is doing what he has to do, that work is the lot
of human beings, and does his work with awareness and
steadiness of mind, he will find himself singing as he rows
his ferryboat.
So do look closely, carefully, and clearly into this
question: what is it that is being referred to as birth? If
at any moment a millionaire is born as a millionaire, in that
moment he experiences the suffering of a millionaire; if a
beggar is born as a beggar, he experiences the suffering
of a beggar. If, however, a person does not identify in this
way, he is not born and so is free from suffering-whether
he is a millionaire, a beggar, a ferryman, or whatever. At
the present day we take no interest in this matter. We
let ourselves be dominated by delusion, craving, attach-
ment. We experience birth as this, that, or the other, I
don't know how many times each day. Every kind of
birth without exception is suffering, as the Buddha said.
The only way to be free from this suffering is to be free
from birth. So one has to take good care, always keeping
the mind in a state of awareness and insight, never
disturbed and confused by I and mine. One will then be
free from suffering. Whether one is a farmer, a merchant,
a soldier, a public servant, or anything else, even a god
in heaven, one will be free from suffering.
As soon as there is the idea I there is suffering.
Grasp this important principle and you are in a position to
understand the essential core of Buddhism, and to derive
benefit from Buddhism, taking full advantage of having
been born a human being and encountered Buddhism. If
you don't grasp it, then though you are a Buddhist you will
derive no benefit from it; you will be a Buddhist only
nominally, only according to the records; you will have to
sit and weep like all those other people who are not
Buddhists; you will continue to experience suffering like a
non-Buddhist. To be genuine Buddhists we have to practise
the genuine teaching of the Buddha, in particular the
injunction : Don't identify as I or mine,' act with clear
awareness and there will be no suffering. You will then be
able to do your work well, and that work will be a pleasure.
When the mind is involved in I and mine all work
becomes suffering; one doesn't feel like doing it; light
work becomes heavy work, burdensome in every way.
But if the mind is not grasping and clinging to the idea
I, mine, if it is aware, all work, even heavy or dirty work,
is enjoyable.
This is a profound, hidden truth that has to be un-
Derstood. The essence of it lies in the single word birth.
Birth is suffering; once we can give up being born, we
become free from suffering. If a person experiences
dozens of births in a day he has to suffer dozens of times
a day; if he does not experience birth at all, he has no
suffering at all. So the direct practice of Dharma, the kernel
of the Buddha's teaching, consists in keeping close watch
on the mind, so that it does not give rise to the condition
called the cycle of Samsara, so that it is always in the
state called Nirvana. One has to be watchful, guarding
the mind at all times so that the state of coolness is
constantly there, and leaving no opportunity for the arising
of Samsara. The mind will then become accustomed to the
state of Nirvana day and night and that state may become
permanent and complete. We already have momentary
Nirvana, the type of Nirvana that comes when circum-
stances are right, the Nirvana that is a sample, a foretaste.
Preserve it carefully. Leave no opening for Samsara, for
the idea I, mine. Don't let the I-idea come to birth.
Keep watch, be aware, develop full insight, Whatever you
do, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, do it with
awareness. Don't become involved in I and mine. Then
Samsara will not be able to arise; the mind will remain in
Nirvana until it has become fully accustomed to it and
unable to relapse-and that is full or complete Nirvana.
Since childhood we have lived in a way favourable
to the birth of I and mine and have become used to
the cycle of Samsara. This habit is hard to break. It has
become part of our makeup, and so is sometimes called
a fetter (samyojana) or a latent disposition (anusaya),
something that is bound up in our character. These terms
refer to the habit of giving birth to I, mine of producing
the sense of I, mine. In one form it is called greed
(lobha); in another form it is called anger (krodha); in another
form it is called delusion (moha). Whatever form it takes it is
simply the idea I, mine self-centredness.
When the I wants to get something, there is greed;
when it doesn't get that something, there is anger;
when it hesitates and doesn't know what it wants, there is confu-
sion, involvement in hopes and possibilities. Greed, anger,
and delusion of whatever kind are simply forms of the I-
idea, and when they are present in the mind, that is
everlasting Samsara, total absence of Nirvana. A person
in this condition does not live long. But Nature helps. As
we saw in the beginning, through natural weariness the
process seometimes stops of itself, there is sleep or some
other form of respite, and one's condition improves,
becomes tolerable, and death is averted.
The various enlightened beings that have appeared
in the world have discovered that it is possible to prolong
these periods of Nirvana, and have taught the most direct
way of practice to this end, namely the Noble Eightfold Path.
This is a way of practice intended to prolong the periods
of coolnees, or Nirvana, and to reduce the periods of
suffering, or Samsara, by preventing as far as possible the
birth Of I and mine. It's so simple it's hard to believe-
like the Buddha's statement: If monks will practise right
living, the world will not be empty of Arahants (enlightened
beings). (Sace me bhikkhu samma vihareyyum asunno loko
arahantehi assa.) One finds it hard to believe. But if one
examines it, one must believe it.
In the simple statement: If monks will practise right
living, the world will not be empty of Arahants the expression
right living has an important and profound meaning. Right
living implies absence of the idea of I, mine. We are Iiving
day after day, but we are not living rightly, so the idea of
I and mine is born. It pops up numerous times every
day, so there is no chance for full Nirvana to come in and
we don't become Arahants. Right living means living in
accordance with the Noble Eightfold Path: right under-
standing, right thoughts, right speech, action, livelihood,
effod, mindfulness, and right concentration. If we have
these eight kinds of perfection, we are practising right living.
And if we live rightly in this way, the mental defilements
cannot arise, I and mine cannot be born; they wither
away, like an animal deprived of nourishment. Right living
deprives the I and the mine of nourishment, and so
prevents them from taking birth. In time they lose their
strength and the day finally comes when they dry up
completely and disappear for good and that is what is
called attaining the Fruit of the Path, total Nirvana.
The important thing is continuous right under-
standing and right action, so that the I and the mine
cannot arise, so that there is no birth. When there is no
is true happiness, as the Buddha said. Once one has
examined this matter and come to realize that birth is always
suffering, every time, one takes good care to avoid birth.
It is easy to understand that the birth referred to is something
mental, something in the mind, but it is very difficult to master
this birth. In a single day or even in a single hour one may
experience this kind of birth many times, many dozens of
times, Be careful about this problem of birth; it is a problem
that faces us here and now. If we can master this kind of birth
here and now we will also be able to master the birth
that comes after physical death. So let's not concern
ourselves with the birth that follows physical death;
instead let us concern ourselves seriously with the birth that
happens before physical death, the kind of birth that goes
on while we are alive, which happens dozens of times every
day; let us learn to master it and the problem will be
eliminated. If birth can be eliminated here and now, in this
life, that will be the end of birth for good and all.
Everyone concerns himself with the trivial question
in what form he will be reborn after death, wondering into
which of the eight realms of existence he will be reborn:
as a hell-being, an animal, a preta (hungry ghost), an
asura (frightened ghost), a human being, a god of the
sensuous heaven (kamavacara), an embodied brahma, or
a bodiless brahma. Each of these possible forms of rebirth
falls under either of the two headings Sugati and Duggati,
depending on the nature of the corresponding feelings.
Those states that are desirable or satisfying are called
Sugati; those that are the opposite are called Duggati.
But this is not the doctrine the Buddha taught. He taught: if there
is birth there is nothing but perpetual suffering; and this is
so regardless of the realm into which one is born, because
birth refers to grasping and clinging, as already discussed.
No matter what one is born as, it is suffering. The form
of the suffering may vary, as in the case of the millionaire
and the beggar, but it is suffering nevertheless, suffering
as heavy as that of the Duggati realms. And while birth
in the Duggati realms brings the sufferings of the Duggati
realms, birth in the Sugati realms brings the sufferings of
the Sugati realms, Birth has to be stopped altogether. Don't
go wondering what you will be reborn as; don't go thinking
of being reborn as a human being, or a god, or a brahma.
The result will be the suffering of a human being, a god,
or a brahma, because even the brahmas experience
suffering, the suffering of brahmas. If brahmas were free
from suffering there would have been no need for Buddhism
Buddhism came into existence in order to produce Ariyans,
people who have put an end to suffering of every kind,
the suffering of human beings, of gods, and of brahmas,
This is why the Buddha is referred to as the Teacher of gods
and men: he taught to put an end to suffering for all
beings.
Here caution is needed. A person here in this
particular life has the possibilty of being reborn into any
realm of existence in the vast cycle of Samsara: into one
of the lower worlds or Duggati as a hell-being, animal, preta,
or asura; into the middle realm as a human being; or into
one of the higher realms as a god of the sensuous sphere,
as an embodied brahma, or (at the highest level) as a
bodiless brahma, So there are eight possibilities: the four
woeful states or lower realms, the human world or middle
realm, and three heavens or upper realms. Each of these
eight forms of birth is suffering in its own particular way.
If one identifies with one's state of birth, one is bound to
experience the corresponding kind of suffering-and every
one of us has, in his everyday lfe, experienced these eight
kinds of birth.Let us try to understand what this means.
We shall deal first with birth in the woeful states, birth as
a hell-being, animal, preta(hungry ghost), or asura
(frightened ghost).
Te real meaning of hell is anxiety ( literally mind-
Heat). Anxiety burns one Iike a fire. If a
person is worked up, burning with anxiety, then he is to
be recognized as a hell-being. Whether monk, novice, lay
follower, householder, or whatever, if he is burning with
anxiety (mind-heat) burning through involvement in I,
mine, then he is in hell.
If at some moment a person is deluded, then at that
moment he is a dumb animal. At any time that a person,
male or female, monk or layman, or whatever, is deluded,
he has taken birth as an animal. The meaning of birth as
an animal is delusion.
At any time that I and mine go the way of mental
hunger and thirst, as when a gambler or a person buying
lottery tickets suffers a hunger for money, a hunger to win
a prize, a mental hunger, that is birth as a preta (hungry
ghost). Birth as a preta is extreme mental hunger.
If there is fear, timidity, that is birth as an asura
(frightened ghost). The word a-sura means not brave, an
asura is any timid, frightened person.
In a single day we may be born in all four of these
States. Watch! Notice in what form the I and mine arise.
If they arise in the form of anxiety, one has been born a
denizen of hell; if as delusion, an animal; if as mental hunger,
a preta; and if they arise in the form of fear, one has been
born an asura. Here is an example to illustrate.
A gambler who makes a blunder and loses
everything experiences anxiety, as if burnt by fire; he has
fallen into hell right there in the gambling-house. Again,
when he is so deluded as to think that gambling can solve
his problems, he is a dumb animal-even before he begins
playing. When, in the course of playing, he has an
uncontrollable mental hunger, then he is a preta. And when
he is afraid of being beaten and losing everything, then he
is an asura, This single example, the case of a gambler
in a gaming-house, shows how one may be born as a hell-
being, an animal, a preta, or an asura.
Our grandparents were no fools, otherwise they
would not have had the saying: S'Heaven is in the head;
hell is in the mind.'' Their children and grandchildren
apparently are fools because they think one goes to
heaven or hell only after dying, after having been put into
the coffin. Examine this idea and you will see how foolish
it is. So Iet us be as intelligent as our grandparents, at
least to the extent of recognizing that heaven and hell are
in the mind.
Think of the example of the gambler, who can
become a hell-being, an animal, a preta, or an asura.
Anxiety can come from wrong-doing or as a result of karma.
Anxiety is hell. Delusion can sometimes be so bad as to
be almost beyond belief. Have a good think about it;
examine it and you will see that we are sometimes
unbelievably deluded. This delusion leads us into inappro-
priate or bad action. As for hunger, it is always ptesent:
desire for pleasure, desire for fame, and so on, If it reaches
the point of being a mental thirst, one becomes a preta.
Why be hungry? We have sufficient intelligence to know
what we have to do, so, let's do it contentedly, without preta-
like hunger. Even if we do buy lottery tickets, we don't have
to do it with preta-like hunger. We can buy our tickets
simply for the fun of it, or we can think of how we are
thereby helping provide funds to develop the countl. We
don't have to buy tickets out of hunger, as prelas. If there
is awareness, ''I'' and ''mine'' do not arise and one is
not hungry, not a preta. But if awareness is lacking one is
hungry, one has become a preta here and now. It is the
same with fear. Fear can become a habit. Think about it.
To be afraid, as some people are, of even earthworms,
lizards, geckoes, and mice is just going too far. This is
unjustified fear. Then there is fear of ghosts, things whose
presence cannot even be demonstrated. And something
some people are very afraid of is Dharma. They are afraid
that practising Dharma will make life tasteless and dry, that
Nirvana is simply tastelessanddry. So they fear Dharma and
Nirvana. Such people are full-fledged asuras, right here and
now.
Now we move up to the realm of human beings. The
term ''human being'' in this context implies fatigue,
exhaustion, shedding sweat, hard work, trading the sweat
of one's brow for food and sensual pleasure. If has nothing
to do with anxiety, delusion, or the others', it is the honest
exchanging of the sweat of one's brow for things one wants.
This is the meaning of the term ''human being''. Don't think
of it as of a type with the terms ''hell-being'' ''animal'' ''prefa'',
and ''asura'', which refer to something much lower, ''Hell''
means anxiety, ''animal'' means delusion, ''prela'' means
hunger, ''asura'' means fear, ''Human being'' means
something of a totally different type. It means simply
striving, persevering, working to get things one wants
honestly and fairly, purchasing them with the sweat of one's
brow. This is what it is to be a human being. In short the
meaning of ''human being'' is fatigue, a condition of habitual
fatigue.
Higher than this are the gods of the kamavacara
(sensual) heaven. These are the gods we hear about
who have celestial mansions, attendant angels, and so
on. The reference is to a condition of freedom from fatigue,
and abundance of every sensual pleasure. Higher again is
the state of a person who has become bored with sensual
pleasure, who has come to see sensual pleasure as some-
thing contaminating and wishes to live uncontaminated and
pure. This is the heaven of the embodied brahmas (rupa-
brahma), in which there is involvement in material things .
And higher again is the level where one sees the body as
impermanent, not worth becoming involved in, and feels it
would be betterto have no body at all. A person who feels
this way is called a bodiless brahma (arupabrahma).
The meanings of these terms are not as in everyday
usage. For 'example the hell depicted in temple murals,
with great copper cauldrons, seas of acid, rains of lances
and swords, is a metaphor, an illustration in material terms
of mental states that cannot be depicted. It is a physical
illustration of anxiety and worry ('dmind-heat''), Similarly we
have physical representations of delusion, hunger, and
fear. Similarly again the '?human realm'' is the condition of
fatigue. And the kamavacara heaven is complete sensual
satisfaction; when a person has, by means of money,
power, good luck, or whatever, attained satisfaction in
sensual pleasure, and is free of fatigue, he is a god in the
senusal realm, called kamavacara. And a bodiless brahma
is one who has become tired of this, who has ceased being
involved in sensual pleasure and takes delight only in pure
things, things that do not contaminate.
Let us examine the state of ourown minds. Sometimes
we are infatuated with sensual pleasure, but when we repeat
it over and over, we become fed up with it and wish to have
a rest from it. Sometimes we want to play, or interest
ourselves in other material things, and those things fail to
satisfy, and we begin thinking of non-physical things such
as good fortune, name, and fame. Let's put it more simply.
There are people who are infatuated with sensual pleasure
and there are others who prefer to amuse themselves with
hobbies, such as gardening or keeping tropical fish or
pigeons, and become infatuated with them. The mind is
liable to change in this way. Now it may happen that a
cedain person at a certain time comes to see that all these
things are a source of confusion and not to be compared
with mental things-thoughts and dreams about possible
good fortune, about beauty, or about name and fame, non-
physical things. These various conditions differ considera-
bly among themselves; theyconstitute a series of levels. The
point to note is that a single person is Iiable to experience
any of these eight kinds of birth. Examine yourselves and
see how many different states the mind can go through. On
a cedain day a certain person may be involoved in sensual
pleasure for an hour or so. Then he may feel like having
a break from it by going and playing sport or amusing himself
with some hobby. At other times he may feel like having
a complete rest, free from all disturbance. Sometimes he
has to be a ''human being'' working for long hours,
becoming fatigued. And sometimes he spends a few minutes
in hell (anxiety); or in the condition of an animal (delusion),
or a preta (hunger), or an asura (fear). So a single person
may experience several kinds of birth in a single day; and
in a week he may experience all eight kinds. He may be
born in one of the woeful states (hell, animal, preta, asura),
in the human realm, or in the heavens of gods and brahmas.
But whichever kind of birth it is, it is nothing but suffering;
freedom from suffering comes only with freedom from birth.
This last statement is difficult to understand; but once you
have understood it, you have understood the whole of the
Buddha's teaching.
The expression ''freedom from birth'' does not imply
that one is not born again after physical death, that after
having died and been placed in the coffin one is not reborn.
Please think about this: if in the daily round there is only
wareness preventing the arising of ''I'' and ''mine'' the ''self''
-idea, egoism - that is freedorm from birth. When nothing
remains but awareness, one is able to do what one has to
do, and to do it properly. Under these conditions, doing one's
job is fun; to be able to do one's job properly without any
''I'' or ''mine'' is a joy. This is the essence of the Buddha's
teaching. In effect it calls on us to live with a mind free from
the idea ''I'', ''mine'', Every religion teaches this; it is based
on a law of nature, which can be proved rigorously,
scientifically.
Buddhism teaches that if one's thoughts include the
idea of self, self centredness, that is suffering. Christianity
teaches the same thing; it teaches us not to think in terms
of ''I'' or ''mine'', not to misidentify as ''I'' or ''mine'', But most
Christians don't understand this teaching, just as most of us
Buddhists don't understand the Buddha's teaching on this
Matter. It's the same the world over and in every religion:
no one understands the real essence of his own religion.
We Buddhists don't understand what is meant by ''Don't be
born! Stop being born!'' We don't understand it and so we
are perplexed, disbelieving it, or even considering it a false
teaching. Perhaps we do not go so far as to accuse the
Buddha of teaching false doctrine but still that idea is there
in our minds; or we may think that any monk expounding
this doctrine is misrepresenting the Buddha. This is what
happens. So we fail completely to understand the doctrine
of anatta (non-self) and sunnata (emptiness), the doctrine
that there is no ''I'' or ''mine''. Consequently we experience
suffering. We are born frequently; we experience more of
Samsara than of Nirvana.
The proof of all this is the fact that the hospitals for
nervous and mental disorders are overfilled. This is all
the proof needed; we don't have to ask further. People
simply don't understand the truth about how to prevent
mental illness. This is the objective of the Buddha's teaching.
The Buddha's goal was a life of awareness, continuous
awareness, seeing the world as something empty of ''I'',
''mine'', keeping the mind always free of the idea ''I'',
''mine'', leaving only the awareness, so that one knows what
has to be done, and does it. This is the essence of the
Buddha's teaching; there is no more to it than this.
Now at this point I should Iike to say something about
a Christian teaching which Christians themselves take no
interest in. It is a piece in the New Testament, from the book
of Corinthians, in which St Paul sums up the entire teaching
of Jesus. It is a short piece of instruction to the Corinthian
people: ''If you have a wife, think as if you have no wife,
If you have wealth, think as if you have no wealth, If you
are suffering, think as if you were not suffering. If you are
happy, think as if you were not happy. If you go to buy
goods at the market, bring nothing home.''
Here we have the essence of the Buddhist teaching
in the Bible : ''If you have a wife, think as if you have no
wife.'' Paul is speaking to the men ; he does not mention
that a woman who has a husband should think as if she
had no husband, but this is understood ; the statement is
good for both wife and husband. The meaning is : ''Don't
grasp and cling ; don't identify as 'mine'.'' If you have wealth,
don't go clinging to it, thinking of it as my wealth ; in effect,
think as if you had no wealth. If suffering arises, then
acknowledge it and it will go away. Don't think of it as
my suffering. If you have happiness, then don't think of it
as my happiness. If you go and buy something at the
market, bring nothing home. This means : while we are
carrying our purchases home from the market, our mind is
not identifying them as ''mine''. In this sense we are
brin-ging nothing home. This is a Christian teaching, the
essence of Christianity. I once asked a Christian, a
highranking teacher, how he understood this passage. At
first he was speechless, then he said . ''I've never taken any
interest in it.'' He had never taken any interest whatever
in this piece from the Bible because he thought it
unimportant. He had taken great interest in the subject of
faith and so on, but had taken no interest in this, the most
important subject Of all. Every rellnlbn worthy Of the name
aims essentially at teaching freedom from Self-centredness.
Every religion includes the important teaching of freedom
from self and from concern with self-in which, however, its
adherents take no interest. They are like us Buddhists, who
take no interest in the doctrine of sunnata and analla, the
characteristic doctrine of Buddhism.
It can be said, then, that mankind is taking no inter-
est in the thing that is most important to mankind. People
are interested only in chattering and eating, self-centred
pastimes which increase ''I'' and ''mine''. Consequently they
are more often hell-beings, animals, pretas , and asuras
than human beings. And when they are human beings, they
are sweating and striving far too much, not knowing how
to relax. If they are in one of the heavenly realms, they are
experiencing the corresponding kind of suffering as gods,
or brahmas, or whatever. This is because they don't
understand, they have fallen under the influence of Mara
(Satan) : they have been drawn into the way of Mara rather
than in to the way of the Buddha.
Mara (Satan) is yet another thing we don't understand
properly. In reality ''Mara'' denotes all the fascinating things
that draw the mind and subjugate it. Mara is these things,
in particular sexual and other sensual pleasures. Mara's
commander-in-chief entices us into the paranimmitavasavatti
heaven, the heaven that abounds in sensual delights, where
other off-siders of Mara then wait on us, serving us and
attending to our every need. This is what is meant by
''Mara's commander-in-chief''. At present we are underlings
or victims of Mara because we are desiring these things
and are thereby cultivating the ''I'' and the ''mine''. Once
''I'' and ''mine'' have arisen, there is no end to it; one has
got into the Mara current rather than the Buddha current.
This is all there is to Mara. Whenever there exists in the
mind the idea ''I'', ''mine'', then Mara is present, one is an
underling of Mara. And whenever the mind is empty of
''I'', ''mine'', one is a follower of the Buddha. In a single
day you may be an underling of Mara for a few hours and
a follower of the Buddha for afew hours. Everyone realizes
this so there is no need to discuss it here. Everyone can
see for himself that in a single day ''I'' and ''mine'' may be
present for a few hours, and absent for a few hours.
At any moment when ''I'' and ''mine'' arise one is born
as this or that, and identifying with it; and that is suffering,
every time. We ought to fight shy of this and take steps
to prevent its arising. We have to foster and prolong those
periods of emptiness and quietness, or Nirvana, and in time
we shall be free of all ailments, both mental and physical.
Diabetes, high blood pressure, neart diseases-all these
come from ''I'', ''mine''. Identification as ''I'' or ''mine'' is a
source of disturbance which prevents our getting sufficient
rest. When the mind is confused, the sugar metabolism
becomes abnormal, rising and falling sharply, and the result
is some physical illness. Mental illness also results, in the
form of mental suffering. In short, the body can't take the
stress and the result is nervous or mental illness, or even
death. Though one may escape death, one is sure to
experience much suffering and melancholy, as if one had
fallen into one of the hells.
This whole question could be treated in much greater
detail. For example, we have spoken of hell as equivalent
to anxiety, though the more detailed texts recognize
eighteen or twenty-eight or more different hell-regions.
Ultimately, however, they all involve suffering from heat;
there is no hell that is cool. With the pretas it is the same.
Several different kinds of pretas are recognized : serpent-
pretas, pretas with mouths the size of a needle's eye and
bellies the size of a mountain (hence never able to satisfy
their hunger) , and others. But they all amount to the same
thing : hunger. You can interpret all these details how you
like, at a great or little length as you like, so long as
you understand the basic meaning : hell-beings suffer
anxiety, animals are deluded, pretas are hungry, asuras are
afraid, human beings are fatigued, kamavacara gods are
infatuated with sensual delights, embodied brahmas are
infatuated with pure physical things, and bodiless brah-
mas are infatuated with pure mental things. These are all
forms of ''birth''. Without exception, everyone who is ''born''
is certain to suffer. Try to give up this identifying altogether.
''True happiness consists in eliminating the false idea ''I''
Maintain awareness and insight ; be free of ''I'' and ''mine''
and you will be free from suffering. Maintain this condi-
tion ; when it has become permanent, that is genuine and
complete Nirvana.
We already have momentary Nirvana. Let us prolong
it reducing sufiering, or Samsara, as far as possible. Let
us not waste this opportunity, this eighty-year or hundred-
year long life into which we have been born. If we don't
effect this improvement we may never get anywhere, even
if we live a thousand years ; but if we do effect this
improvement, we may achieve full Nirvana in this very life.
Whether a person is a child, a teenager, an adult, or an
eighty-year-old, if he properly understands the meaning of
all this, how suffering arises and how it ceases, he will be
able to cure all his ailments effectively, to control self-
centredness, the ''I'' and the ''mine''; he will automatically
become fed up with it, and begin experiencing coolness,
happiness, freedom from suffering. This is all there is to
it. The Buddha summed it up briefly when he said : Don't
grasp at or cling to anything whatsoever (Sabbe dhamma
nalam abhinivesaya) , that is, don't cling to it as ''I'' or
''mine''. No matter what it is-physical object, condition,
action, mental object, result of action, or whatsoever-don't
think of it as ''I'' or ''mine'' . Think of it as belonging to Nature,
as Nature itself, as a part of Nature obeying the laws
of Nature, as the property of Nature. Don't take it as
''I'', ''mine''. Anyone who is so bold as to think of it as
''I'', ''mine'', is a thief , appropriating for himself something
that properly belongs to Nature. No good can come of
thieving ; it is bound to lead to the suffering of a thief, Hence
the Buddha's teaching that we shouldn't grasp at or cling
to anything as ''I'' or ''mine''. Hence also his statement, so
terse that it is hard to understand and even harder to
ac?ept : ''If people will practise right living, this world will not
be empty of Arahants'' . This statement sums up the whole
teaching.
I hope you will all take an interest in this teaching
of the Buddha, that you will think it over, examine it, and
come to understand it. It is the profound and essential
core of the Dharma, and it is genuinely capable of helping
us attain freedom from suffering.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Buddhadasa Bhikkhu (Slave of the Buddha) went
forth as a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk) in 1926, at the age of
twenty. After a few years of study in Bangkok, he was
inspired to live close with nature in order to investigate the
Buddha-Dhamma. Thus, he established Suan Mokkhabala
rama (the Grove of the Power of Liberation) in 1932, near
his hometown. At that time, it was the only Forest Dhamma
Center and one of the few places dedicated to Vipassana
(mental cultivation leading to ''seeing clearly'' into reality) in
Southern Thailand. Word of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, his work,
and Suan Mokkh spread over the years so that they are
easily described as ''one of the most influential events of
Buddhist history in Siam'' Here, we can only mention some
of the more interesting services hc has rendered Buddhism.
Achan Buddhadasa has worked painstakingly to
establish and explain the correct and essential principles of
original Buddhism. That work is based on extensive
research of the Pali texts (Canon and commenlary),
especially of the Buddha's Discourses (sulla pitaka),
followed by personal experiment and practice with these
teachings. Then he has taught whatever he can say truly
quenches dukkha (suffering.) His goal has been to produce
a complete set of references for present and future research
and practice. His approach has been always scientific,
straight-forward, and practical.
Although his formal education only went as far as
ninth grade and beginning Pali studies, he has been given
five Honorary Doctorates by Thai universities. His books,
both written and transcribed from talks, fill a room at the
National Library and influence all serious Thai Buddhists.
Progressive elements in Thai society, especially the
young, have been inspired by his teaching and selfless
example. Since the 1960's, activists and thinkers in areas
such as education, social welfare, and rural development
have drawn upon his teaching and advice.
Since the founding of Suan Mokkh, he has studied
all schools of Buddhism, as well as the major religious
traditions. This interest is practical rather than scholarly, He
seeks to unite all genuinely religious people in order to work
together to help humanity. This broadmindedness has won
him friends and students from around the world, including
Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs.
Now he focuses his energies on his Iast project,
establishing an international Dhamma Hermitage. This addi-
tion to Suan Mokkh is intended to provide facilities for :
- Courses which introduce foreigners to the correct
understanding of Buddhist principles and practice;
- Meetings among Buddhists from aroung the
world to establish and agree upon the ''heart of
Buddhism.''