The Buddha teaches a repeated formula on the four noble truths—suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the practice leading to its cessation—regarding dying as ghosts and reborn as humans in this grouped discourse.

SN 56.126-128 Dying as Ghosts and Reborn as Humans

“Evameva kho, bhikkhave, appakā te sattā ye pettivisayā cutā manussesu paccājāyanti; atha kho eteva bahutarā sattā ye pettivisayā cutā niraye paccājāyanti …pe… tiracchānayoniyā paccājāyanti …pe… pettivisaye paccājāyanti …pe….

Sattavīsatimaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

“Evameva kho, bhikkhave, appakā te sattā ye pettivisayā cutā manussesu paccājāyanti; atha kho eteva bahutarā sattā ye pettivisayā cutā niraye paccājāyanti …pe… tiracchānayoniyā paccājāyanti …pe… pettivisaye paccājāyanti …pe….

“… the sentient beings who die as ghosts and are reborn as humans are few, while those who die as ghosts and are reborn in hell, or the animal realm, or the ghost realm are many.”

Sattavīsatimaṁ.

Qualities:

Wisdom

Wisdom

Lived understanding and sound judgment that steers the mind away from suffering, distinct from mere accumulation of facts.

Also known as: (of a person) wise, astute, intelligent, learned, skilled, firm, stable, steadfast, an experiential understanding of the four noble truths
Pāli: paññā, medhā, dhīra, paṇḍita, asammūḷha
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Last updated on July 27, 2026