by Tiongho Poh

Created on: March 22, 2010

When does the next life begin?

Life is the energy, mental, kammic and cosmic, all joined together. It is a process, a life-flux, or life-continuum. When one life ends, the mental energy will build another house. This body is not life. It is a house built by energy, with four cosmic elements, earth, fire, water and air. We are here because of causes and effects. Our past has given us the present, but the future is in our hand. Each of the atom in our body consists of 90% empty space. Therefore 90% of a person’s physical body is made up of empty space. Volition or desire, which is extremely strong during life time becomes predominant at the moment of death and conditions the subsequent birth. This last thought-moment presents a special potentiality. The stream of consciousness within this house flows on from birth till death and from death to new birth, in conformity with the natural law, until that person attains Nibbana. These natural laws operate unerringly and inexorably.

The Buddha says:

"Where three are found in combination, there  a germ of life is planted. If mother and father come together, but there is not the mother's fertile period, and the ' being-to-be-born' (gandhabba) is not present, then no germ of life is planted. If mother and father come together and it is the mother's fertile period, but the 'being-to-be-born' is not present, then again no germ of life is planted. If mother and father come together and it is the mother's fertile period, and the 'being-to-be-born' is present, then by the conjunction of these three, a germ of life is planted."

The rebirth-consciousness of a dying man flows into another body according to his Kamma, because this life-stream is not annihilated. The kammic force that propels it still exists. A thought-process that conditions the future existence occurs during the dying moment.  This last thought is called reproductive kamma.  Death is merely the temporary end of a phenomenon. As the dying person assumes another  form, which is neither the same nor absolutely different, rebirth takes place according to the potential thought-vibration generated at the death moment. This kammic force propels the life-flux, as the dying person reaches bhavanga, a subconsciousness level. From this level the life-flux, which conserves the past kamma, enters the new cell, forming the beginning of another life, which is the moment when a sperm cell meets with an ovum. This foetus develops every day through four principle causes: kamma, consciousness, temperature and nutrition. The past evil kamma will result deformity. So if we don’t want to be born with deformity, we must stop doing evils now.

Learn more about this author, Tiongho Poh.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.