Access Concentration

General Theravada topics
1

Is access concentration needed for rebirth into high sensual heavens like Tusita, Nirmāṇarati Heaven, Paranimmitavasavatti Heaven? Is drowsiness a bad last thought? If someone is asleep at the last moments and is dreaming random thoughts and there is a lot of confusion, can they still be reborn in heaven just through the sheer good deeds they have done or do they need some level of concentration(at least the level of nimitta) to have a heavenly rebirth?

When I’m dreaming, I usually dream random thoughts like a madman and I forget about the Dhamma. Will this be bad if this was a last thought moment.

2

Part of addressing your worry is disentangling the two influences on rebirth –

  • How big an influence is state-of-mind at the moment of death?
  • How big an influence are the accumulated habits of a lifetime?
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3

I believe there will have to be kāmāvacara kusala citta of a very high degree in the last mind-door process of this life (which will subsequently condition the cuti citta of this life, which will condition the paṭisandhi citta of the next life) to condition that.

What about the citta arising now? Is it a kusala or akusala citta? Vipāka maybe? Kiriyacitta?

R

4

Would I need the combined effort of all kusala kamma to reborn in a high heavenly realm or is one strong kusala kamma enough? Can Dana and Sila kamma be stronger than the kamma of access concentration?

Probably only kusala, akusala, and vipaka.

5

It all depends on conditions. Any of those could condition the kāmāvacara kusala citta I spoke about. Thy might also condition the vipāka experienced in the next life, or later, or in this one, perhaps. It simply depends on conditions. There is no doer, no agent, just impersonal elements.

There can only be one citta at a time.

R

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6

I meant that the cittas that arise for us throughout our day would be of those types mentioned

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7

We all have kiriyacittas very frequently. I think you might be thinking of maha-kiriyacittas, which have a similar name but are different. There are eight types of maha-kiriya cittas and they all arise in Arahants only. They are kiriya (“inoperable”) because Arahants do not create kamma.

R

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8

Oh, that makes sense. Thank you for the correction!

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9

All you have to do is keep 5 precepts well and one of the benefits of that is that you will die unconfused.

When you go to sleep you can reflect on the qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha in your mind. That should make your last conscious moments be wholesome.

Metta can help too as even your dreams will be full of metta.

All these simple kusala actions you do in this life will produce great fruit wherever you are reborn.

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