I’m looking for a sutta which I haven’t seen for years: I just plumb forgot where it would be!
The scenario is the death of an elder lay disciple. When his daughter asks the Buddha where he’s been reborn, she becomes upset to learn that he was reborn in the exact same heaven as her uncle, because, while her uncle indulged in sexual intercourse, her father was celibate.
Then the Buddha expounds on why only Buddhas and arahants are qualified to discuss where people are reborn.
“Honorable Ānanda, how on earth are we supposed to understand the teaching taught by the Buddha, when the chaste and the unchaste are both reborn in exactly the same place in the next life?
My father Purāṇa was celibate, set apart, avoiding the vulgar act of sex.
When he passed away the Buddha declared that, since he was a once-returner, he was reborn in the host of Joyful Gods.
But my uncle Isidatta was not celibate; he lived content with his wife.
When he passed away the Buddha also declared that, since he was a once-returner, he was reborn in the host of Joyful Gods."
