MN120, Determinations in the dhamma

Well considering that all the previous examples were of the desired for rebirth being had, with no need for further striving than having the faculties that they had at the point they made the determination, it sounds discordant to add Nibbana to this structure which requires quite a bit of subsequent effort (it then weakens the role of the determination). :slightly_smiling_face:

With metta

Mat

Sorry, but I donā€™t understand what you mean here (I read what you wrote 2-3 times and just could not get it). Could you please expand?

In MN120 all modes of existence (ways of rebirth if you wish) are presented as a result of the convergence of the following, arenā€™t they ?

cittaį¹ƒ dahati, adhiį¹­į¹­hāti, bhāveti + saį¹…khārā & vihārā + evaį¹ƒ bhāvitā & bahulÄ«katā = tatrupapattiyā saį¹ƒvattanti.

bearing in mind, directed thinking, cultivation/development of thoughts + intending & abiding + development & prioritization of actions = such and such (way of )existence eventuates.

Grabbing the function by its other end thus one has:

The eventuation/causation of different modes of rebirth and the ending of rebirth can be summarized as a function of any or all of the following factors:

i) what ones bears in mind,
ii) what ones focus his thoughts
iii) what one cultivates/develops in his thoughts
iv) on what one abides and intends
v) how one develops and prioritizes his actions

In terms of explaining the eventuation/causation of different modes of rebirth what is found in MN120 is perfectly aligned with what one finds in AN6.63:

Intention, I tell you, is kamma. Intending, one does kamma by way of body, speech, and intellect.
(ā€¦)
And what is the diversity in kamma? There is kamma to be experienced in hell, kamma to be experienced in the realm of common animals, kamma to be experienced in the realm of the hungry shades, kamma to be experienced in the human world, kamma to be experienced in the world of the devas. This is called the diversity in kamma.

In terms of explaining the eventuation/causation of the cessation of rebirth what is found in MN120 is perfectly aligned with what one finds in AN4.237:

ā€œAnd what is kamma that is neither dark nor bright with neither dark nor bright result, leading to the ending of kamma?
Right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
This is called kamma that is neither dark nor bright with neither dark nor bright result, leading to the ending of kamma.

(Sorry for repeating myself)

We are expressing the same thing. If a person bore in mind, directed his thinking towards, developed his mind on, intended and abided etc on Nibbana i.e. Was very focused on the idea of attaining Nibbana, that intension would propel him to Nibbana. If someone was obsessed about behaving like a dog (e.g. the dog duty ascetic) they would be reborn as a dog. How this happens is in the kammic realm so it isnā€™t clear. Only someone with special abilities to see the workings of kamma (like the Buddha and his disciples with the three knowledges) could confirm this.

If a beginner has faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom, intending strongly on Nibbana would improve his or her odds of reaching Nibbana. There is even a contemplation on Nibbana in the ten recollections (dasa anussati) structure:

ā€¦Ā§10. One thing ā€” when developed & pursued ā€” leads solely to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding. Which one thing? Recollection of stilling. This is one thing that ā€” when developed & pursued ā€” leads solely to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.

ā€” AN 1.287-296

With metta

Matheesha

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Yes, exactly! Thank you for finding the sutta.

The Buddha states the 37 factors of enlightenment there. I found it interesting that ā€˜learningā€™ (suta?) was included in the MN120 list. It can lead to Right view, which in turn would lead to wholesome kamma I suppose (because the other factors all seem to be directly wholesome mental states). Some would say that being learned results in a certain degree of civility.

With metta

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In Sri Lanka, after an alms giving, the monks chant and one of the last things that get stated is ā€˜may you attain Nibbanaā€™. Now the participants are free to wish this for themselves. But also interestingly they do it for everyone else. I doubt there is any instance where , for instance, the Buddha would ā€˜wish for nibbanaā€™ for anyoneā€¦ or maybe that is already taken as a given?