For beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and craving the moisture for the establishment of their consciousness in the three realms of existence: sensual, form, and formless.
Atha kho āyasmā ānando yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā ānando bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:
Then the Venerable Ānanda approached the Blessed One. Having drawn near, he paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Seated to one side, the Venerable Ānanda addressed the Blessed One:
“bhavo, bhavoti, bhante, vuccati. Kittāvatā nu kho, bhante, bhavo hotī”ti?
“Venerable sir, it is said ‘existence, existence.’ In what way, venerable sir, is there |existence::continued conditional existence, the karmically conditioned mode of being that leads to future rebirth [bhava]|?”
“Kāmadhātuvepakkañca, ānanda, kammaṁ nābhavissa, api nu kho kāmabhavo paññāyethā”ti?
“Ānanda, if there were no |kamma::action, deed, doing, volitional act [kamma]| |ripening in the realm of sensual desire::bearing fruit in the world of sense pleasure [kāmadhātuvepakka]|, would |existence in the realm of sense desire::sensual existence [kāmabhava]| be |discerned::clearly known, become evident [paññāyati]|?”
“No hetaṁ, bhante”.
“No, venerable sir.”
“Iti kho, ānanda, kammaṁ khettaṁ, viññāṇaṁ bījaṁ, taṇhā sneho. Avijjānīvaraṇānaṁ sattānaṁ taṇhāsaṁyojanānaṁ hīnāya dhātuyā viññāṇaṁ patiṭṭhitaṁ evaṁ āyatiṁ punabbhavābhinibbatti hoti.
“Thus, Ānanda, for beings hindered by |ignorance::fundamental unawareness or misunderstanding of the true nature of reality, not experientially understanding the four noble truths [avijjā]| and fettered by |craving::wanting, yearning, longing, attachment, lit. thirst [taṇha]|, kamma is the field, |consciousness::that dependently arisen knowing which, when rooted in ignorance and supported by intentional constructs, finds a footing and becomes established in a sense realm, a form realm, or a formless realm leading to production of renewed existence in the future [viññāṇa]| the seed, and craving the moisture for their consciousness to be established in an |inferior::low, deficient [hīna]| realm. In this way, there is the production of renewed existence in the future.
Rūpadhātuvepakkañca, ānanda, kammaṁ nābhavissa, api nu kho rūpabhavo paññāyethā”ti?
Ānanda, if there were no kamma ripening in the |realm of form::world of subtle materiality [rūpadhātu]|, would existence in the realm of form be discerned?”
“No hetaṁ, bhante”.
“No, venerable sir.”
“Iti kho, ānanda, kammaṁ khettaṁ, viññāṇaṁ bījaṁ, taṇhā sneho. Avijjānīvaraṇānaṁ sattānaṁ taṇhāsaṁyojanānaṁ majjhimāya dhātuyā viññāṇaṁ patiṭṭhitaṁ evaṁ āyatiṁ punabbhavābhinibbatti hoti.
“Thus, Ānanda, for beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and craving the moisture for their consciousness to be established in a |middling::intermediate [majjhima]| realm. In this way, there is the production of renewed existence in the future.
Arūpadhātuvepakkañca, ānanda, kammaṁ nābhavissa, api nu kho arūpabhavo paññāyethā”ti?
Ānanda, if there were no kamma ripening in the |formless realm::states not rooted in materiality, including mental realms and meditative attainments beyond physical form [arūpadhātu]|, would existence in the formless realm be discerned?”
“No hetaṁ, bhante”.
“No, venerable sir.”
“Iti kho, ānanda, kammaṁ khettaṁ, viññāṇaṁ bījaṁ, taṇhā sneho. Avijjānīvaraṇānaṁ sattānaṁ taṇhāsaṁyojanānaṁ paṇītāya dhātuyā viññāṇaṁ patiṭṭhitaṁ evaṁ āyatiṁ punabbhavābhinibbatti hoti.
“Thus, Ānanda, for beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and craving the moisture for their consciousness to be established in a |sublime::excellent, fine, superior [paṇīta]| realm. In this way, there is the production of renewed existence in the future.
Evaṁ kho, ānanda, bhavo hotī”ti.
It is in this way, Ānanda, that there is existence.”
Then the Venerable Ānanda approached the Blessed One. Having drawn near, he paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Seated to one side, the Venerable Ānanda addressed the Blessed One:
“Venerable sir, it is said ‘existence, existence.’ In what way, venerable sir, is there |existence::continued conditional existence, the karmically conditioned mode of being that leads to future rebirth [bhava]|?”
“Ānanda, if there were no |kamma::action, deed, doing, volitional act [kamma]| |ripening in the realm of sensual desire::bearing fruit in the world of sense pleasure [kāmadhātuvepakka]|, would |existence in the realm of sense desire::sensual existence [kāmabhava]| be |discerned::clearly known, become evident [paññāyati]|?”
“No, venerable sir.”
“Thus, Ānanda, for beings hindered by |ignorance::fundamental unawareness or misunderstanding of the true nature of reality, not experientially understanding the four noble truths [avijjā]| and fettered by |craving::wanting, yearning, longing, attachment, lit. thirst [taṇha]|, kamma is the field, |consciousness::that dependently arisen knowing which, when rooted in ignorance and supported by intentional constructs, finds a footing and becomes established in a sense realm, a form realm, or a formless realm leading to production of renewed existence in the future [viññāṇa]| the seed, and craving the moisture for their consciousness to be established in an |inferior::low, deficient [hīna]| realm. In this way, there is the production of renewed existence in the future.
Ānanda, if there were no kamma ripening in the |realm of form::world of subtle materiality [rūpadhātu]|, would existence in the realm of form be discerned?”
“No, venerable sir.”
“Thus, Ānanda, for beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and craving the moisture for their consciousness to be established in a |middling::intermediate [majjhima]| realm. In this way, there is the production of renewed existence in the future.
Ānanda, if there were no kamma ripening in the |formless realm::states not rooted in materiality, including mental realms and meditative attainments beyond physical form [arūpadhātu]|, would existence in the formless realm be discerned?”
“No, venerable sir.”
“Thus, Ānanda, for beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and craving the moisture for their consciousness to be established in a |sublime::excellent, fine, superior [paṇīta]| realm. In this way, there is the production of renewed existence in the future.
It is in this way, Ānanda, that there is existence.”
Atha kho āyasmā ānando yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā ānando bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:
“bhavo, bhavoti, bhante, vuccati. Kittāvatā nu kho, bhante, bhavo hotī”ti?
“Kāmadhātuvepakkañca, ānanda, kammaṁ nābhavissa, api nu kho kāmabhavo paññāyethā”ti?
“No hetaṁ, bhante”.
“Iti kho, ānanda, kammaṁ khettaṁ, viññāṇaṁ bījaṁ, taṇhā sneho. Avijjānīvaraṇānaṁ sattānaṁ taṇhāsaṁyojanānaṁ hīnāya dhātuyā viññāṇaṁ patiṭṭhitaṁ evaṁ āyatiṁ punabbhavābhinibbatti hoti.
Rūpadhātuvepakkañca, ānanda, kammaṁ nābhavissa, api nu kho rūpabhavo paññāyethā”ti?
“No hetaṁ, bhante”.
“Iti kho, ānanda, kammaṁ khettaṁ, viññāṇaṁ bījaṁ, taṇhā sneho. Avijjānīvaraṇānaṁ sattānaṁ taṇhāsaṁyojanānaṁ majjhimāya dhātuyā viññāṇaṁ patiṭṭhitaṁ evaṁ āyatiṁ punabbhavābhinibbatti hoti.
Arūpadhātuvepakkañca, ānanda, kammaṁ nābhavissa, api nu kho arūpabhavo paññāyethā”ti?
“No hetaṁ, bhante”.
“Iti kho, ānanda, kammaṁ khettaṁ, viññāṇaṁ bījaṁ, taṇhā sneho. Avijjānīvaraṇānaṁ sattānaṁ taṇhāsaṁyojanānaṁ paṇītāya dhātuyā viññāṇaṁ patiṭṭhitaṁ evaṁ āyatiṁ punabbhavābhinibbatti hoti.
Evaṁ kho, ānanda, bhavo hotī”ti.