Bhavapañhāsutta
“‘Bhavo, bhavo’ti, āvuso sāriputta, vuccati. Katamo nu kho, āvuso, bhavo”ti? “Tayome, āvuso, bhavā. Kāmabhavo, rūpabhavo, arūpabhavo— ime kho, āvuso, tayo bhavā”ti. “Atthi panāvuso, maggo atthi paṭipadā, etesaṁ bhavānaṁ pariññāyā”ti? “Atthi kho, āvuso, maggo atthi paṭipadā, etesaṁ bhavānaṁ pariññāyā”ti. “Katamo, panāvuso, maggo katamā paṭipadā, etesaṁ bhavānaṁ pariññāyā”ti? “Ayameva kho, āvuso, ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo, etesaṁ bhavānaṁ pariññāya, seyyathidaṁ— sammādiṭṭhi …pe… sammāsamādhi. Ayaṁ kho, āvuso, maggo ayaṁ paṭipadā, etesaṁ bhavānaṁ pariññāyā”ti. “Bhaddako, āvuso, maggo bhaddikā paṭipadā, etesaṁ bhavānaṁ pariññāya. Alañca panāvuso sāriputta, appamādāyā”ti.
A Question About States of Existence
“Reverend Sāriputta, they speak of this thing called ‘continued existence’. What is continued existence?” “Reverend, there are these three states of continued existence. Existence in the sensual realm, the realm of luminous form, and the formless realm. These are the three states of continued existence.” “But, reverend, is there a path and a practice for completely understanding these three states of existence?” “There is.” …