{"collection":"Anguttara Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_an6.57/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_an6.57","id":"suttacentral_an6.57","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/an6.57/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Anguttara Nikaya","Early Buddhist Texts"],"text":"At one time the Buddha was staying near R\u0101jagaha, on the Vulture\u2019s Peak Mountain. Then Venerable \u0100nanda went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him: \u201cSir, P\u016bra\u1e47a Kassapa describes six classes of rebirth: black, blue, red, yellow, white, and ultimate white. The black class of rebirth consists of slaughterers of sheep, pigs, poultry, or deer, hunters or fishers, bandits, executioners, butchers of cattle, jailers, and any others with a cruel livelihood. The blue class of rebirth consists of mendicants whose life is thorny, and any others who teach the efficacy of deeds and action. The red class of rebirth consists of the Jain ascetics who wear one cloth. The yellow class of rebirth consists of the lay people dressed in white who are disciples of the naked ascetics. The white class of rebirth consists of male and female \u0100j\u012bvaka ascetics. And the ultimate white class of rebirth consists of Nanda Vaccha, Kisa Sa\u1e45kicca, and the bamboo-staffed ascetic Gos\u0101la. These are the six classes of rebirth that P\u016bra\u1e47a Kassapa describes.\u201d \u201cBut \u0100nanda, did the whole world authorize P\u016bra\u1e47a Kassapa to describe these six classes of rebirth?\u201d \u201cNo, sir.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s as if they were to force a chop on a poor, penniless person, telling them, \u2018Eat this meat and pay for it!\u2019 In the same way, P\u016bra\u1e47a Kassapa has described these six classes of rebirth without the consent of those ascetics and brahmins. And he has done so in a foolish, incompetent, unskilled way, lacking common sense. I, however, also describe six classes of rebirth. Listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.\u201d \u201cYes, sir,\u201d \u0100nanda replied. The Buddha said this: \u201cAnd what, \u0100nanda, are the six classes of rebirth? Someone born into a dark class gives rise to a dark result. Someone born into a dark class gives rise to a bright result. Someone born into a dark class gives rise to extinguishment, which is neither dark nor bright. Someone born into a bright class gives rise to a dark result. Someone born into a bright class gives rise to a bright result. Someone born into a bright class gives rise to extinguishment, which is neither dark nor bright. And how does someone born into a dark class give rise to a dark result? It\u2019s when someone is reborn in a low family\u2014a family of corpse-workers, hunters, bamboo-workers, chariot-makers, or scavengers\u2014poor, with little to eat or drink, where life is tough, and food and shelter are hard to find. And they\u2019re ugly, unsightly, deformed, sickly\u2014one-eyed, crippled, lame, or half-paralyzed. They don\u2019t get to have food, drink, clothes, and vehicles; garlands, fragrance, and makeup; or bed, house, and lighting. And they do bad things by way of body, speech, and mind. When their body breaks up, after death, they\u2019re reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. That\u2019s how someone born into a dark class gives rise to a dark result. And how does someone born into a dark class give rise to a bright result? It\u2019s when some person is reborn in a low family \u2026 But they do good things by way of body, speech, and mind. When their body breaks up, after death, they\u2019re reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm. That\u2019s how someone born into a dark class gives rise to a bright result. And how does someone born into a dark class give rise to extinguishment, which is neither dark nor bright? It\u2019s when some person is reborn in a low family \u2026 They shave off their hair and beard, dress in ocher robes, and go forth from the lay life to homelessness. They give up the five hindrances, corruptions of the heart that weaken wisdom. They firmly establish their mind in the four kinds of mindfulness meditation. They truly develop the seven awakening factors. And then they give rise to extinguishment, which is neither dark nor bright. That\u2019s how someone born in a dark class gives rise to extinguishment, which is neither dark nor bright. And how does someone born into a bright class give rise to a dark result? It\u2019s when someone is reborn in an eminent family\u2014a well-to-do family of aristocrats, brahmins, or householders\u2014rich, affluent, and wealthy, with lots of gold and silver, lots of property and assets, and lots of money and grain. And they\u2019re attractive, good-looking, lovely, of surpassing beauty. They get to have food, drink, clothes, and vehicles; garlands, fragrance, and makeup; and bed, house, and lighting. But they do bad things by way of body, speech, and mind. When their body breaks up, after death, they\u2019re reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. That\u2019s how someone born into a bright class gives rise to a dark result. And how does someone born into a bright class give rise to a bright result? It\u2019s when some person is reborn in an eminent family \u2026 And they do good things by way of body, speech, and mind. When their body breaks up, after death, they\u2019re reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm. That\u2019s how someone born into a bright class give rise to a bright result. And how does someone born into a bright class give rise to extinguishment, which is neither dark nor bright? It\u2019s when some person is reborn in an eminent family \u2026 They shave off their hair and beard, dress in ocher robes, and go forth from the lay life to homelessness. They give up the five hindrances, corruptions of the heart that weaken wisdom. They firmly establish their mind in the four kinds of mindfulness meditation. They truly develop the seven awakening factors. And then they give rise to extinguishment, which is neither dark nor bright. That\u2019s how someone born into a bright class gives rise to extinguishment, which is neither dark nor bright. These are the six classes of rebirth.\u201d","title":"The Six Classes of Rebirth","tradition":"Anguttara Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":983}