My original plan was to talk about something else tonight because I thought that I could finish talking about the second link yesterday. Still there remain some things to be said about the second link. I don't think it is wise to leave it in suspension and pick it up later because that 'later' I don't know when it will come. So I will continue on the second link between volitional formations and resultant consciousness.

In talking about rebirth I told you about people who could remember their past lives, reincarnated persons. I want to add one more thing to the account of reincarnated persons. With regard to these persons not only the memory is retained, but sometimes peculiarities of the physical body are transferred to another life. I heard about a girl who was born with wounds on her body. She was born by natural birth so there was no cause for her becoming wounded, but she was born with wounds. So it could only point to some wounds she had in her past life.

I met a boy with some peculiarity of his physical body carried over to the present life. when I met him, he ws about nine or ten years old. He was born with a harelip. Other people told me that he was a reincrnated person. When he came to me, first I talked to him about where he came from and things like that. Then I asked him about his lip. He said that it was a wound that he got in his past life. Then he told me his story. In his past life he was about twenty. It is a time when in Asian countries young men begin to have interest in girls. In Myanmar there are stage shows which re shown for free. Some wealthy man will pay for the show and any person can go and enjoy it. There was such a show near their village. He went to that show and he courted a girl that was there. Unfortunately another man was interested in that girl. So there was competition. The two young men got in a quarrel. Unfortunately they did not fight with fists but attacked each other with swords. Each young man wounded the other and they both died. The boy who came to see me was wounded on the lip, maybe not only the lip but other parts of the body as well. The young man was taken to the hospital and he died at the hospital. He said that he entered into the womb of a woman who came to see him at the hospital before he died. This memory was so vivid that when he told me about it, he was angry. He could not forgive that other person. If he knew that person in this life, he would have gone and killed him. So even wounds can be carried over to another life. There are people born with scar marks on their body. They are not very rare. These are things we have to keep in mind when we talk about rebirth.

People used to ask, 'Is there rebirth after death?' or 'Is a person reborn in another existence after dying in this existence?' How would you answer? Is a person reborn after death? Normally you would say, 'Yes', or 'Yes there is rebirth.' But strictly speaking when somebody asks, 'Is there rebirth after death for a person?', the question implies that he believes in a person, in something that transfers itself from one life to another life. It is evident that the physical body does not go over to the other life. But what about the mind or consciousness, or the soul, or something that might go from this life to the other life? It is very difficult to answer this question with a yes if you are a Buddhist. If you say 'yes' it means you believe in a permanent soul going from one life to another or in the existence of a person or being.

That is why when such questions were asked of the Buddha, he just kept silent. He di not give a yes or no answer. He would explain later that if ignorance and craving were not totally eradicated, there might be rebirth consciousness springing up because of Kamma in the past. If ignorance and craving were totally eradicated, there would be no springing up of consciousness in the future. So he would answer without any reference to a being or a person. These are questions that are difficult to answer with a simple yes or no.

This problem can be solved (not 100% satisfactorily), but can be solved by Vipassanà practice and by inference. As I told you last night, when you practice Vipssanà, you see thoughts always coming and going. One thought comes and then disappears. In its place another thought comes. When you see thoughts succeeding one another, you will come to realize that is no strange thing. Just as one thought disappears in this life and another thought appears in its place, in the same way after the cessation of death consciousness, there is rebirth consciousness. By inference founded upon your personal experience, you may be able to solve this problem sometimes.

Direct proof that there is rebirth is very difficult to be found. There are times when we have to believe things on faith. Even modern people who call themselves scientists still take things on faith. People say they don't believe anything which they cannot see or which they cannot experience themselves. But they still take many things on faith.

When you drink a cup of water, you do not test it to see if there are poisonous chemicals in the water. You have faith in the water plant. You have seen this water drunk by people again and again. So you take on faith that the water is safe for drinking nd you just drink it. The same is true for eating. You don't examine every food that you eat.

When you walk you don't test the ground to see if it will hold you. You have confidence in the earth because you have been stepping on this earth for many, many years. So actually you do not test it, but it might give way. Who knows?

There are many things that have to be taken on faith, maybe not faith alone, but mosty on faith. There are people who take pride in saying, 'Oh, I don't believe anything I do not see or I do not know myself.' That is not a wise position. What if they were asked, 'Are you sure that you are the son of your father and mother? Who told you that you were the son of your mother and father?' They could be an adopted child. We have to take on faith that we are the children of our mother and father. We do not really know. So there are many things that hve to be taken on faith. If you cannot have other means to believe in rebirth, then you have to rely on faith.

If you don't want to rely on faith, if you don't want to rely on partial truth, there is one thing that you can do. You can try to get the supernormal power of seeing past lives. Buddha on the night when he attained Buddhahood got this supernormal power. Bu this supernormal power he could see all beings dying in one existence and being born in another existence.

It is like looking at houses and seeing people going from one house to another. First the person is in this house and the next moment he is transferred to another house, maybe a better house or a worse house. So just as looking at houses from afar, you can see people transferring from one house to another - from a good house to a bad house, from a big house to a small house - in the sme way with this supernormal power you will be able to see for yourself that beings are dying from one existence and that there is rebirth in another existence. This is the only way that you can see for yourself that there is rebirth. It is very difficult to reach such a state of concentration and wisdom, but it is not impossible. You may try it.

I told you last night how rebirth takes place. When a person is about to die, his Kamma which he did in the pst, or things surrounding that Kamma when that Kamma was done, or signs of his destiny - one of these three things will present itself to his mind. While one of these is still there death takes place. Death does not take that object because death consciousness must take the object of relinking consciousness in that life. There are moments before death called 'Javanas' or 'impusions'. These thought moments take one of those three objects s n object. One of those objects is still in the continuity when death occurs. Immediately after death there is this rebirth consciousness. Rebirth consciousness arises as a result of Kamma of the past. Kamma has this potentiality of producing resultant consciousness and also some kinds of material properties.

There are conditions for the rebirth consciousness to arise. There must be an object. Mostly there must be a material base for its arising. When these conditions are present, the rebirth consciousness arises. It arises as a result of the former Kamma.

It is said in the books even though a being may die a sudden death, yet one of these three objects will present itself to his dying mind. It is very difficult to understand this if you have not practiced meditation and if you have not studied Abhidhamma. According to Abhidhamma and from experience in your meditation you can understand that there are many, many thought moments in a second or in a flash of lightening. However quick death comes, there is presentation of one of these objects to the mind of the being which is dying. Whether a person dies a natural death or there is a sudden death, one of these three objects presents itself to the mind of the dying being.

Rebirth consciousness takes place so long s there is the energy force which we call Kamma. So long as there is Kamma there will be resultant consciousness in the future..

This Kamma is not alone. It has companions - ignorance and craving. Kamma alone cannot come about if there were no ignorance and craving. Ignorance and craving help Kamma produce resultant consciousness and Kamma-born material properties.

I think we can explain by this analogy. Consider power tools. You do something with power tools. Let us say you drive nails with power tools. There is the tool. There is the cord which brings power to the tool. And there is the source of power, maybe an electric generator. I think ignorance is like the source of power. So long as there is a source of power, so long as there is the generator, electricity will be produced. So long as there is electricity the power tool will work. Electricity or power is like craving (Tanhà). The tool doing things is like Kamma giving results.

If someone were to ask you what do you drive nails with, you would not say, 'I drive nails with a generator, electricity and power tool.' You would say that you drive nails with the power tool. You would leave the other things out. In the same way when it is asked what causes rebirth consciousness, we just say Kamma. Kamma causes rebirth consciousness. Actually Kamma aone cannot cause rebirth consciousness. With the help of ignorance and craving actually Kamma produces rebirth consciousness. Ignorance envelops the person's mind and craving comes and helps Kamma so that this Kamma has the potential to give results at an appropriate time. Different Kammas give results at different times. If you look at it this way, I think you can better understand the working of Kamma. So long as there is power and the generator, this power tool will work and with these three working you can drive the nails. In the same way so long as there is ignorance and craving, Kamma will have the potential to produce resultant things, resultant consciousness and material properties.

We talked about different thought moments following one another. Rebirth consciousness is followed by Bhavanga (life continuum consciousness), and they are followed by other types of consciousness on and on through this Saçsàra. Why don't we call each one an existence? This is the first existence. This is the second existence. Because they are different. How different? If you look at the series of thoughts in one given life, the rebirth (Patisandhi), the Bhavanga (life continuum) and the death consciousness (Cuti) have one identical object. In the next life they have a different object. The object of Patisandhi, Bhavanga and Cuti in the present life differs from the object of those types of consciousness in the previous life. Since there is a difference of object in the former life and the life that follows, we say they are two different lives, two different existences. The difference of existences I think is determined by the difference of object for rebirth consciousness, life continuum consciousness and death consciousness.

We have to understand this rebirth consciousness as not totally identical and not totally other. I talked about this last night. It is always difficult to talk strictly correctly about these matters because we have to use a person, a man or a woman, every time we talk about this. We cannot avoid the use of conventional terms.

A person who is reborn in the next life is not the identical person that died in this life. That new person is not totally new, not totally disconnected from the person who died in this life. They are neither different nor one.

At every moment things are different. One thought moment comes into being and it goes out, and then there is another thought moment. Even at the different moments in a single life there is difference, things are different. When we think about another life, there is more difference. So the persn who is born in the new life is not totally the same as the person in the preceding life, nor is he totally a different person because there is this connection of cause and effect. Because of the cause here, there is an effect. They have connection of cause and effect. If there is no connection as cause and effect, then the world would be indisorder ' any effect can come from any cause.

The formula neither the one nor the other is illustrated by some examples, some similes, some analogies which I read last night. The first one is an echo. When you shout towards a mountain, or in a cave, or in a room, then you hear an echo because the sound vibrates out and then comes back from these things to you. That echo is not the real sound that you made. But that echo comes about depending upon your shouting, depending on your voice. So the echo is not totally identical with your voice, nor is it a totally new thing.

Another analogy is an image in the mirror. When you look at your image in a mirror, that image is not you because you are here and the image is in the mirror. You do not see the image if you are not here. The image is neither you, nor different from you. In the same way a person reborn there is neither the same person nor a totally different person.

The other analogy is the flame of a candle. If you light one candle from another candle, that flame from the newly lit candle is not the same as the flame of the original candle. If that were so there would be no flame in the original candle. Now the flame exists in that candle and you have a flame in your candle. The flame in your candle is not totally the same as the flame in the other candle nor is it totally new, totally disconnected from the flame in the other candle.

There is one more analogy, that of a seal or a stamp. When you use a stamp or seal on an envelope, that impression which appears on the envelope is not the real seal. If it were the real seal, then the seall would be attched to the envelope. Still the impression appears there because of the seal. So the impression on the envelope is neither identical with the seal nor could it come about without the help of the seal. In this way the person born into an existence is neither the one nor the other. There is no total identity nor total otherness. We should understand rebirth in this way.

Volitional formations cause resultant consciousness to arise. I have told you about only one type of resultant consciousness. That is rebirth consciousness. Even in rebirth consciousness I have only told you about one consciousness. There are many types of rebirth consciousness. Actually there re 19 types of rebirth consciousness. If you are reborn as a human being, you have one type of consciousness. If a being is reborn in hell or as an animal, he has a different type of rebirth consciousness. If a being is reborn as a Deva, there is another type of rebirth consciousness. There are different types of rebirth consciousness. If you get a Jhàna in this life, you will be reborn as a Brahma. That rebirth consciousness is another type of consciousness.

The volition or Kamma accompanying Jhàna consciousness is so powerful that it can give identical results. It is not like ordinary consciousness, ordinary Kamma that we experience in this life, as when you practice charity, when you practice meditation, or when you kill a being. Such Kamma can give both identical and non-identical results. Kamma accompanying Jhàna gives only identical results. If you get Jhàna in this life and die with the Jhàna intact, you will be reborn as a Brahma. The rebirth consciousness there is identical to the Jhàna consciousness you experience in this life.

If you get the formless Jhàna, then you will be reborn as a formless Brahma. There only the rebirth consciousness arises and no material properties. That also is the identical result of the formless Jhàna consciousness.

There are 19 types of rebirth consciousness. They arise in different realms, in different existences. They are all caused by good or bad Kamma that a being did in the past. We can go into more details if you like.

I remember something. There is a saying in our country among monks. We have night lessons of Abhidhamma. We study during the day and at night we go to our teachers nd recite what we have learned during the day. The teacher explains to us the difficult points. This is all done in the dark. There is a saying that if you are not thoroughly familiar with the Abhidhammatthasangaha, you need not take night lessons because you will be lost. There is no need for you to take night lessons because it will cause you frustration and discouragement. So if you are not totally familiar with the Abhidhammatthasangaha, do not take night lessons. Then if you are thoroughly familiar with the Abhidhammatthasangaha because you already know it, you do not need to take night lessons. So if you are thoroughly familiar with the Abhidhammatthasangha or if you are not thoroughly familiar with the Abhidhammatthsangaha, you should not take night lessons is a saying among monks in Myanmar.

Here if you are familiar with Abhidhamma, I need not talk in more detail because you already know them or you will easily understand them. If I talk about these details again and again, it would be boring for you. If you don't understand Abhidhamma, I need not talk to you either because you will be bored. Let it suffice with just what I said. There are 19 types of rebirth consciousness and they arise in different realms as a result of different Kamma that a being did in the past.

Kamma produces or causes not only rebirth consciousness, but consciousness during a lifetime. There are types of resultant consciousness that we experience during a life. When you see a thing that is pleasing to you, that consciousness, seeing consciousness, is a resultant consciousness. When a beautiful visual object is presented to you, there is seeing consciousness. That seeing consciousness is the result of past Kamma, your good past Kamma. If you see something bad, something you don't want to see, then that consciousness is the result of bad Kamma in the past. So when you see good things, it is the result of good Kamma in the past. When you see bad things, it is the result of bad Kamma in the past.

Seeing conscioousness can be of two kinds. One type of consciousness sees good or desirable objects. Another type of seeing consciousness sees undesirable objects. When you see a desirable object, that seeing consciousness is the result of good Kamma, good Sankhàra in the past. When you see bad or undesirable things, that consciousness is the result of bad Kamma. Seeing consciousness is the result of Kamma in the past. Sankhàras of the past produce seing consciousness in this life.

The same is true if you hear something good or if you hear something bad, if you smell something good or smell something bad, if you taste something good or if you taste something bad, if you touch something good or touch something bad. All these types of consciousness are the results of Kamma you did in the past, good or bad Kamma.

These are not difficult to see. You can experience nd you can know these types of consciousness. There are other types of consciousness that are the result of Kamma in the past. When an object is presented to your mind, first your mind accepts it. Then your mind investigates it, whether it is a good object or a bad object. Then you come to a decision that it is a good object or a bad object. Then there is another type of consciousness which registers it, retains it. So there are other types of consciousness, not readily perceivable, but we always experience these types of consciousness. These consciousnesses are the results of past good or bad Kamma.

When we say Sankhàra produces consciousness, we mean consciousness both at rebirth and during life. When it is at rebirth, we call it rebirth conscioousness. When it is during a life, we call it seeing consciousness, hearing consciousness and so on or resultant consciousness. So both at rebirth and during a life these types of consciousness arise in us again and again whenever there are conditions. All of these are caused by Kamma in the past. So we can see how potent, how powerful Kamma is.

This Kamma, this volition or Cetanà is different from other mental states, other Cetsikas, other mental factors. When other mental factors disappear nothing follows. They do not leave anything behind in the continuity. This Cetanà or volition is also subject to disappearing as a mental factor, but when it disappears, it leaves something, some potential in the continuity of a being. We do not know where this potential is stored, but it is there. When the circumstances are favorable for it to give results, then the results spring up. That is how Kamma works. This is how Kamma gives results. Kamma is not always with us. It is mental factor and so it must have a beginning and an end. However there is a potential in our continuity. We do not know where it is stored, no more than we know where the ability to produce fruit is stored in a tree. Trees produce fruit, but fruit is not stored in the tree. We do not know where this ability to produce fruit is stored. We do not know where in our continuity this potential is stored, but that potential is always with us. When the circumstances are favorable, then the results will come up.

We can do something about Kamma although we cannot change or turn away the law of kamma. I think we can do something with this Kamma. Only when circumstances are favorable will the results spring up. We can do something so that circumstances are not favorable for Akusala Kamma to give results. We cannot extinguish the potential of bad Kamma altogether, but we can do something so that it does not get the necessary conditions for results to arise. That we do by doing Kusala Kamma in this life. The more Kusala Kamma you do, the less chance Akusala Kamma has to give results. So if you don't want the bad results of Akusala Kamma, do more Kusala Kamma and make it unfavorable for Akusala Kamma to give results. It is one way of interfering (not really), but something like interfering with the law of Kamma.

We can have good or bad volitional formations as we choose actually. We can do bad things and get the bad results of them. If we want to do good, then we can do good. The good or mental formations are our choice. Once the choice is made the result will normally follow.

This is the second link in the Doctrine of Dependent Origination, the link between Sankhàra and Viññàna, the link between volitional or mental formations and resultant consciousness. Resultant consciousness is to be understood as both rebirth consciousness and consciousness during life.

As a conclusion to this talk let me read from the Visuddhi Magga. 'Conclusion' means the conclusion of today's talk, not the conclusion of Paticca Samuppàda. 'And what is Dependent Origination, monks? With birth as condition, monks, there is aging and death. Whether Perfect Ones arise or do not arise there yet remains that element, reltedness of states, regularity of states, specific conditionality. The Perfect One discovrs it, pentrates it. Having discovered it, having penetrated it, he announces it, teaches it, makes it known, establishes, exposes, expounds and explains it. See, he says, with birth as condition there is aging and death. With becoming there is birth' and so on. 'With ignorance as condition there are formations whether the Perfect Ones arise or do not arise, there yet remains that element, relatedness of states, regularity of states, specific conditionality. The Perfect One discovers it, penetrates it. Having discovered it, having penetrated it, he announces it, teaches it, makes it known, establishes, expses, expounds and explains it. See, he says, with ignorance as condition there are formations. s mnks, that herein which is reality, not unreality, not otherness, specific conditionality, that is called Dependent Origination.

Consequently it should be understood that Dependent Origination has the charcteristic of being the condition for the states beginning with aging and death. Its function is to continue is to continue the process of suffering. It is manifested as the wrong path.

Because particular states are produced by particular conditions neither less nor more it is called ´reality´. Because once the conditions have met in combination there is no non-producing even for an instant, of the states they generate, it is called 'not unreality'. When conditions come together there is no unproducing of result. This is what is meant by 'not unreality'.

Because there is no arising of one state with another state's conditions it is called 'not otherness'. Because there is a condition, or because there is a multitude of conditions, for these states beginning with aging and death as already stated it is called specific conditionality.'

This is Paticca Samuppàda, Dependent Origination or Conditioned Genesis which is a very important doctrine in the teachings of the Buddha. Everyone who is interested in the teachings of the Buddha should understand this doctrine. To understand fully this doctrine you need a basic knowledge of Abhidhamma. Without a basic understanding of Abhidhamma you cannot understand fully or you cannot understand all that is written in the book, The Path of Purification.

Even if you have some knowledge of the Abhidhammatthasangaha, you will find reading this book somewhat difficult because there are some things that need to be identified. The two authors use different names for one in the same type of consciousness. The Path of Purification uses the terms tht are used in the first book of Abhidhamma, such as Sampaticchana, Santìrana and so on. In the Abhidhammatthasangaha different names are used. In the Path of Purification when it says mind element, you have to know that Sampaticchana is meant or Santìrana is meant to have understanding of it. So there is a little difficulty even if you are familiar with Abhidhammatthasangaha. These are not great difficulties. You just have to know this is this, that is that. Thank you.

Sàdhu! Sàdhu! Sàdhu!