Selected Lectures on Saṃyukta Āgama, Volume 1

Saṃyuktāgama Sūtra, Fascicle One  Seven

The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: If a person craves and delights in the aggregate of form, it is the same as delighting in suffering; one who craves and delights in suffering is not liberated from suffering. Because of delighting in and craving the aggregate of form, the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) is not severed, and one will be bound by the aggregate of form, and the mind will grasp at and crave the aggregate of form. If such craving and grasping are not severed, the manas's attachment to the aggregate of form will not cease. At the end of life, because of its attachment, the manas always wishes for the existence of the aggregate of form, and thus an intermediate body (antarābhava) will be produced.

The intermediate body perishes every seven days, and there can be at most seven intermediate bodies. Knowing that the intermediate body is unreliable, the manas will hurriedly go to take conception, in order to preserve the existence of the aggregate of form in the future life. After taking conception, the aggregate of form of the next life comes into being, and then there arise the immeasurable sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress (śoka-parideva-duḥkha-daurmanasyopāyāsa) of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and the great mass of suffering is produced. Sentient beings must then endure these immeasurable sorrows, griefs, sufferings, and distresses, unable to be liberated from the suffering of birth and death, and their suffering is unceasing. Therefore the World-Honored One said that craving the aggregate of form is craving suffering.

The World-Honored One once led his disciples to a seashore, where they saw a female corpse lying on the beach. The corpse had already become swollen and bloated, with a small insect crawling on its face. The World-Honored One told the disciples: This woman was very beautiful in appearance during her lifetime; she was very fond of her own looks, and every day she looked into a mirror to gaze at her own face. At the end of her life, because she could not let go of her craving attachment to herself, she was reborn as an insect crawling back and forth on her face, continuing to crave her face. This story tells us that whatever one delights in, one is bound by it, unable to break free, unable to attain liberation. There will certainly be birth, aging, sickness, and death in the future life; one cannot escape sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress, and cannot attain liberation from the suffering of birth and death. When the World-Honored One has us sever craving, it is to have us sever suffering, so that the mind attains liberation and escapes the cycle of birth and death (saṃsāra).

The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: Likewise, if one craves and delights in the aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, one is craving and delighting in suffering; one who delights in suffering is not liberated from suffering, and suffering is unceasing. Because of craving the aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, one will be bound by and stuck to these four aggregates, and the mind will grasp at these four aggregates. If grasping (upādāna) is unceasing, the existence (bhava) of the future life will be unceasing. At the end of life, because of the manas's attachment, an intermediate body will be produced, and then one goes to take conception again, and the four aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness of the next life will be born. Then the immeasurable sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress of birth, aging, sickness, and death are produced, and sentient beings will suffer unceasingly, unable to attain liberation from the suffering of the cycle of birth and death.

The World-Honored One further told the bhikṣus: If one no longer craves and delights in the aggregate of form, one will not be bound by the aggregate of form, the mind will no longer grasp at the aggregate of form, and there will be no more appearance of an intermediate body; or the manas will extinguish itself within the intermediate body and will not go to take conception again. In this way, the aggregate of form of the future life will not be born, and the immeasurable sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress of birth, aging, sickness, and death will also cease; the mind attains liberation and is also liberated from the suffering of the cycle of birth and death.

The World-Honored One further told the bhikṣus: If one no longer craves and delights in the four aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, one will not be bound by and stuck to these four aggregates, the mind will no longer grasp at the four aggregates, and there will be no more appearance of an intermediate body; or the manas will extinguish itself within the intermediate body and will not go to take conception. In this way, the four aggregates of the future life will not be born, and the immeasurable sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress of birth, aging, sickness, and death will also cease; the mind attains liberation and is also liberated from the suffering of the cycle of birth and death.