Itivuttaka (2.31) Moral Conduct and Rebirth
By K.Wong
Having abandoned bodily misconduct ,
Verbal misconduct,
Misconduct of the mind ,
And whatever else counts as a false ,
Not having done what is not skillful,
Having done much that is ,
As the break-up of the body ,
The Discerning one reappears in heaven .
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| Itv.2.31 |
Exegesis
This was thus said by Gotama Buddha and compiled by the later Buddhist disciples in the 5th Pāli Nikāyas of the Theravāda tradition known as Itivuttaka (meaning ‘as it was uttered’ ) . The brief discourse of the Exalted One pertains to the correlation between the human conduct or actions (kammas) and the destination of rebirth . The kammic energy is the key and the destination of rebirth is the keyhole . Only the corresponding key can be inserted into the corresponding key hole inn order to open the door of the world of the next rebirth in the afterlife . The unwholesome or unskillful bodily kammas, which are abandoned, are the first three items of the Ten Wholesome Courses of Actions (Dasasīlas) , namely , Restraining from the Destruction of Life , Restraining from Taking What is not Given (thefts or stealing) , and Restraining from Improper Sexual Relations. The unwholesome or unskillful verbal kammas, which are discarded, are the 4th through 7th items of the Dasasīlas . They are Restraining from Untruthful Speech , Restraining from Slandering or Back-stabbing , Restraining from Harsh Speech, and Restraining from Gossiping . The unwholesome or unskillful mental kammas are the final three items of the Dasasīlas , namely Restraining from Greed , Restraining from Hatred and Elimination of Delusion . Besides these ten major , grave , unwholesome or unskilled kammas , any form of negative, unwholesome or unskilled bodily, verbal and mental kamma is to be relinquished in order to attain the purity of morality . Upon death , the discerning person of such wholesome or skilled conduct will be reborn in the planes of heavens of the World of Sensual Pleasures . Besides moral restraints , the discerning person of Saddhamma ought to compliment his or her moral restraints with the corresponding virtues of antidotes. They are Generosity , Benevalence, Shamfulness , Truthful Speech , Unifying Speech , Gentle Speech , Liberality , Tolerance and Wisdom . This corresponding set of ten virtues coupled with the complimentary set of the corresponding ten moral restraints consummates the moral training of the discerning person of Saddhamma . The mature spiritual insurance policy is the ascent to the heavenly world of existence .
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