Identity and Experience_Hamilton_1996

The Samkhiirakkhandha 75
commentator that iiner7jiibhisamkhiro is not referring to neutral volition is
supported by the other context in which the same triad is found.38 Here the
three types of samkhiira of the triad are stated to be the volitions of an
ordinary ignorant man (aviiiigato purisapugalo), and the passage goes on to
state that when ignorance has been replaced by wisdom the bhiMu will not
have volitions of these three types.39 Rebirth in the ariipa loka (or the result
of any other volition which is not neutral) is ultimately undesirable since it
does not represent liberation. So a bhikkhu in whom ignorance had been
replaced by wisdom would not have such volitions. We have here, then, two
early triadic classifications which might be applied to the activity of the
sapkhiirakkhandha, both of which are ethical in nature.
We also find the former of these triads, that into kiya, urn-and citta, in a
passage where it is clear from the context that the classification is referring
to samkhiira as the second link in the paiiccasamuppiida formula rather than to
the samkhiirakkhandha. This is located in the Nidiina Samyutta, the section of
the Sutta Pitaka which discusses the doctrine of pa!iccasamuppiida, and the
passage is describing the links of the paticcasamuppiida formula in turn.
Samkhdrd is defined in terms of body, speech and mind.40 In a passage in the
Abhidhamma, we find the two triads linked in a description of samkhiira as the
second link in the pa!iccasamuppida formula. So formative activities
(sapkhiiras) which are good, bad or desirous of the ariipaloka, are bodily,
verbal and mental.41 The application of these triadic ethical classifications
of satpkhiira to both of these two contexts, the samkhiirakkhandha and saWra
as the second link in the pa~iccasamuppiida formula, clearly emphasises the
interconnectedness of these two kinds of samfira in the cyclic continuum of
the individual in sa~iiras well as their significance in the ethical process.
A word needs to be said at this point about the role of samkhiira in
conditioning future rebirth. I have said that the samkhiirakkhandha as the
operative aspect of karma becomes the creative aspect of karma in
determining a subsequent individual life, and this was evidenced in the
&$andha Samyutta passage where the constituents of the human being were
all said to have been volitionally constructed. In the Samkhiiruppattisutta in
the Majhima Nikiiya the Buddha explains the arising of samkhiras in a
different context.42 The Sutta states that a bhikkhu who possesses faith
(saddhi), moral standing (sfla), learning (suta), detachment (tea) and wisdom
(pan"n"i) can set his mind to being reborn in a particular favourable circumstance,
such as a wealthy noble (khattiyamahiisiila), brahmin or householder,
a god, or in one of the many brahma realms. Together with the five qualities,
a bhikkhu's mind must have 'constant inclinations' (bhlZviti bahulihti) towards
the rebirth he desires. The Sutta is somewhat simplistic in style, and it is
therefore tempting to interpret it equally simplistically, and assume that it
is intending to explain how a bhikkhu is able to will himself into a nice
rebirth if he so wishes. This indeed it does, and illustrates the way in which
his inclinations or intentions in one life condition his subsequent life. One