Birth is the Origin of Discontentedness - The Union of Three Things

Monks, the conception of an embryo in a womb takes place through the union of three things.

Here, there is the union of the mother and father, but it is not the mother’s season, and the consciousness/mind (gandhabba) to be reborn is not present - in this case there is no conception of an embryo in a womb.

Here, there is the union of the mother and father, and it is the mother’s season, but the consciousness/mind (gandhabba) to be reborn is not present - in this case too there is no conception of an embryo in a womb.

But when there is the union of the mother and father, and it is the mother’s season, and the consciousness/mind (gandhabba) to be reborn is present, through the union of these three things the conception of an embryo in a womb takes place.

The mother then carries the embryo in her womb for nine or ten months with much anxiety, as a heavy burden. Then, at the end of nine or ten months, the mother gives birth with much anxiety, as a heavy burden.

Then, when the child is born, she nourishes it with her own blood; for the mother’s breast-milk is called blood in the Noble One’s Discipline.

When he grows up and his sense bases mature, the child plays at such games as toy ploughs, tipcat, somersaults, toy windmills, toy measures, toy carts, and a toy bow and arrow.

When he grows up and his sense bases mature (still further), the youth enjoys himself provided and endowed with the five cords of sensual pleasure, with forms recognizable by the eye... sounds recognizable by the ear… odors recognizable by the nose... flavors recognizable by the tongue… physical objects recognizable by the body that are wished for, desired, agreeable and likeable, connected with sensual desire, and provocative of craving.

On seeing a form with the eye, he craves after it if it is pleasing; he dislikes it if it is unpleasing. He resides with mindfulness of the body unestablished, with a limited mind, and he does not understand as it actually is the liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom wherein those evil unwholesome states cease without remainder.

Engaged as he is in favoring and opposing, whatever feeling he feels whether pleasant or painful or neither painful-nor-pleasant he delights in that feeling, welcomes it, and remains holding to it.

As he does so, excitement arises in him.

Now excitement in feelings is clinging. With his clinging as condition, existence (comes to be); with existence as condition, birth; with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, grief, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be.

Such is the origin of this whole mass of discontentedness.

On hearing a sound with the ear …

On smelling an odor with the nose …

On tasting a flavor with the tongue …

On touching a physical object with the body …

On recognizing a mental object with the mind, he craves after it if it is pleasing; he dislikes it if it is unpleasing. He resides with mindfulness of the body unestablished, with a limited mind, and he does not understand as it actually is the liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom wherein those evil unwholesome states are eliminated without remainder.

Engaged as he is in favoring and opposing, whatever feeling he feels — whether pleasant or painful or neither painful‑nor‑pleasant — he delights in that feeling, welcomes it, and remains holding to it. As he does so, excitement arises in him.

Now excitement in feelings is clinging.

With his clinging as condition, existence [comes to be]; with existence as condition, birth; with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, grief, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be.

Such is the origin of this whole mass of discontentedness.

(Reference: MN 38.26)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how a being is born into the world through a mother and father, The Six Sense Bases mature, craving is established through The Six Sense Bases, the mind is unaware of these Teachings having ignorance (unknowing of true reality), and experiences discontentedness.

The Buddha shares how a being comes into the world and experiences discontentedness.

There are three components that are needed to create a living being. An egg, sperm, and a consciousness (i.e. a mind). If these things are present, there is a living being.

Plants do not have a mind. While we may consider them as being “alive”, in some respects, they are not living beings. Bacteria are not a living being because they do not originate from an egg, sperm, nor have a consciousness.

A being’s sense bases mature in the womb and outside of the womb. As a being experiences the arising of pleasant feelings, the mind craves and clings, wanting them to be permanent. The mind excites in pleasant feelings, welcoming them into the mind.

Due to the mind’s craving and clinging to pleasant feelings and those are temporary, the mind then experiences painful feelings and feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant.

It is craving/desire through The Six Sense Bases that the mind attempts to satisfy its unquenchable thirst for pleasant feelings but it never can be fully and completely satisfied so it continues on with its wandering and roaming throughout The Cycle of Rebirth fettered/tainted/polluted with “sensual desire”.

It is not until a Practitioner chooses to actively learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings that the mind can experience permanent peacefulness and satisfaction through the elimination of craving/desire/attachment to eliminate the entire massive amount of discontentedness experienced by the unEnlightened mind.

Through directly training the mind, a Practitioner can eliminate conditioned feelings, such as excitement, based on impermanent conditions. Then, it can be liberated from its strong feelings finding lasting satisfaction and inner fulfillment.