Jhana and Rebirth

General Theravada topics
1

Hello everyone,
I found something interesting. It’s possible to be reborn in the Brahma realm even without entering into jhana at the time of death as long as one has mastered all the jhanas. If all jhanas are equally mastered, the practitioner will be reborn in the realm he wishes to be reborn. If no aspiration is made, he will be reborn in the realm that corresponds to the jhana he enters at the time of death. If he doesn’t enter jhana at the time of death, he will be reborn in the realm of the highest jhana he has attained and mastered. I think making an aspiration is important if one has attained and mastered all eight jhanas but doesn’t want to be reborn in the highest arupa plane.

Please take a look at the commentary below.

From the commentary:

For one who has attained the eight attainments (aṭṭhasamāpatti-lābhī), what determines (niyameti) the place of rebirth?
The jhāna that has become habitual and well-practiced (paguṇajjhāna).
One is reborn in accordance with whatever jhāna has become well-mastered.

But if all the jhānas are equally mastered, what determines rebirth?
Aspiration (paṭṭhanā).
Wherever the practitioner aspires to be reborn, there they will arise.

If there is no aspiration, what determines rebirth?
The samāpatti (absorption) entered at the moment of death.

If no absorption is entered at the time of death, what determines rebirth?
The absorption of the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception (nevasaññānāsaññāyatanasamāpatti).

Certainly, in that case, they will be reborn in the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.

Navasu brahmalokesu nibbattaariyasāvakānaṃ tatrūpapattipi hoti uparūpapattipi na heṭṭhūpapatti.
For noble disciples (ariyasāvaka) reborn in the nine Brahmā realms, there can be rebirth in the same or in higher Brahmā realms, but not in lower ones.
Puthujjanānaṃ pana tatrūpapattipi hoti uparūpapattipi heṭṭhūpapattipi.
For worldlings (puthujjana), rebirth can occur in the same, higher, or even lower Brahmā realms.

Pañcasu suddhāvāsesu catūsu ca arūpesu ariyasāvakānaṃ tatrūpapattipi hoti uparūpapattipi.
In the five Pure Abodes and four formless realms, noble disciples may be reborn in the same or higher realms.

Paṭhamajjhānabhūmiyaṃ nibbatto anāgāmī nava brahmaloke sodhetvā matthake ṭhito parinibbāti.
A non-returner reborn in the first jhāna Brahmā realm ascends gradually through the nine Brahmā worlds and attains final Nibbāna at the topmost one.

Vehapphalā, Akaniṭṭhā, Nevasaññānāsaññāyatananti ime tayo devalokā seṭṭhabhavā nāma.
Vehapphala, Akaniṭṭha, and the realm of neither-perception-nor-non-perception — these three divine worlds are called the supreme existences (seṭṭhabhavā).

Imesu tīsu ṭhānesu nibbatta-anāgāmino neva uddhaṃ gacchanti, na adho, tattha tattheva parinibbāyanti.
Anāgāmins reborn in these three realms go neither higher nor lower; they attain final Nibbāna right there.

Idam ettha pakiṇṇakaṃ.
This is an additional explanatory note.

Aṭṭhasamāpattilābhīnaṃ pana kiṃ niyameti? Paguṇajjhānaṃ. Yadevassa paguṇaṃ hoti, tena uppajjati. Sabbesu pana paguṇesu kiṃ niyameti? Patthanā. Yattha upapattiṃ pattheti tattheva upapajjati. Patthanāya asati kiṃ niyameti? Maraṇasamaye samāpannā samāpatti. Maraṇasamaye samāpannā natthi, kiṃ niyameti? Nevasaññānāsaññāyatanasamāpatti. Ekaṃsena hi so nevasaññānāsaññāyatane upapajjati. Navasu brahmalokesu nibbattaariyasāvakānaṃ tatrūpapattipi hoti uparūpapattipi na heṭṭhūpapatti. Puthujjanānaṃ pana tatrūpapattipi hoti uparūpapattipi heṭṭhūpapattipi. Pañcasu suddhāvāsesu catūsu ca arūpesu ariyasāvakānaṃ tatrūpapattipi hoti uparūpapattipi. Paṭhamajjhānabhūmiyaṃ nibbatto anāgāmī nava brahmaloke sodhetvā matthake ṭhito parinibbāti. Vehapphalā, akaniṭṭhā, nevasaññānāsaññāyatananti ime tayo devalokā seṭṭhabhavā nāma. Imesu tīsu ṭhānesu nibbattaanāgāmino neva uddhaṃ gacchanti, na adho, tattha tattheva parinibbāyantīti. Idamettha pakiṇṇakaṃ.

1 Like
2

If a noble disciple is born in a Brahma Realm other than the Five Pure Abodes, does s/he have some possibility of rebirth in a sensual realm?

1 Like
3

I don’t think so. A noble disciple who is in the Brahma realm wouldn’t want to return to the sensual realms. They would have tasted what it feels like to be free from lust and anger. They would only go upstream or become free from samsara in that Brahma life.

Paṭhamanānākaraṇasutta

“Monks, there are these four types of individuals to be found existing in the world. Which four?

“There is the case where an individual, withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful qualities, enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. He savors that, longs for that, finds satisfaction through that. Staying there—fixed on that, dwelling there often, not falling away from that—then when he dies he reappears in conjunction with the devas of Brahma’s retinue. The devas of Brahma’s retinue, monks, have a life-span of an eon. A run-of-the-mill person having stayed there, having used up all the life-span of those devas, goes to hell, to the animal womb, to the state of the hungry shades. But a disciple of the Blessed One, having stayed there, having used up all the life-span of those devas, is unbound right in that state of being. This, monks, is the difference, this the distinction, this the distinguishing factor, between an educated disciple of the noble ones and an uneducated run-of-the-mill person, when there is a destination, a reappearing.

“Again, there is the case where an individual, with the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, enters & remains in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation—internal assurance. He savors that, longs for that, finds satisfaction through that. Staying there—fixed on that, dwelling there often, not falling away from that—then when he dies he reappears in conjunction with the Abhassara devas. The Abhassara devas, monks, have a life-span of two eons. A run-of-the-mill person having stayed there, having used up all the life-span of those devas, goes to hell, to the animal womb, to the state of the hungry shades. But a disciple of the Blessed One, having stayed there, having used up all the life-span of those devas, is unbound right in that state of being. This, monks, is the difference, this the distinction, this the distinguishing factor, between an educated disciple of the noble ones and an uneducated run-of-the-mill person, when there is a destination, a reappearing.

“Again, there is the case where an individual, with the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous, mindful, & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, ‘Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.’ He savors that, longs for that, finds satisfaction through that. Staying there—fixed on that, dwelling there often, not falling away from that—then when he dies he reappears in conjunction with the Subhakinha devas. The Subhakinha devas, monks, have a life-span of four eons. A run-of-the-mill person having stayed there, having used up all the life-span of those devas, goes to hell, to the animal womb, to the state of the hungry shades. But a disciple of the Blessed One, having stayed there, having used up all the life-span of those devas, is unbound right in that state of being. This, monks, is the difference, this the distinction, this the distinguishing factor, between an educated disciple of the noble ones and an uneducated run-of-the-mill person, when there is a destination, a reappearing.

“Again, there is the case where an individual, with the abandoning of pleasure & stress—as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress—enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain. He savors that, longs for that, finds satisfaction through that. Staying there—fixed on that, dwelling there often, not falling away from that—then when he dies he reappears in conjunction with the Vehapphala devas. The Vehapphala devas, monks, have a life-span of 500 eons. A run-of-the-mill person having stayed there, having used up all the life-span of those devas, goes to hell, to the animal womb, to the state of the hungry shades. But a disciple of the Blessed One, having stayed there, having used up all the life-span of those devas, is unbound right in that state of being. This, monks, is the difference, this the distinction, this the distinguishing factor, between an educated disciple of the noble ones and an uneducated run-of-the-mill person, when there is a destination, a reappearing.

“These are four types of individuals to be found existing in the world.”

3 Likes