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from the object?
Answer 3.7: It could be. But it also could be because of atten-
tion (manasikara). But many meditators do not know about at-
tention. It is only when they have practised meditation-on-
mentality that they understand attention. Thought-processes oc-
cur very quickly, so they do not understand that because of at-
tention these images appear. In the Buddha Abhidhamma, there
is no dhamma which occurs by itself, without any cause. This is
because all formations are conditioned.
Question 3.8: If, when dying, a person has strong mindfulness,
can he prevent a kamma sign (kamma-nimitta) of previous un-
wholesome or wholesome kamma from arising?
Answer 3.8: Strong, powerful mindfulness can prevent such
nimittas from arising; but what is strong, powerful mindfulness?
For those who have attained jhana, if they can practise that
jhana, and maintain it completely stable right up to the time of
death, you can say that the mindfulness associated with that
jhana is strong and powerful. That mindfulness can prevent an
unwholesome sign or sensual-plane wholesome sign from aris-
ing. That mindfulness takes as object only the jhana object, like
an anapana patibhaga-nimitta or white-kasina patibhaga-nimitta.
Another type of strong powerful mindfulness is the mindful-
ness associated with insight-knowledge. If a meditator s insight-
knowledge is the Knowledge of Equanimity Towards Formations
(savkharupekkha-bana), then the mindfulness associated with
that knowledge is strong and powerful. The meditator s sign, in
this case, is wholesome. His mindfulness is capable of prevent-
ing unwholesome signs from appearing, as well as the other
wholesome signs, which may replace his Vipassana sign. The
object of that Vipassana mindfulness is the impermanent, suf-
fering, or non-self nature of any formation one chooses. He may
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pass away with that as his object. At that time, the object of his
near-death impulsion (maranasanna-javana) is insight-
knowledge. That insight-knowledge prior to death can produce
deva rebirth-linking consciousness (deva-patisandhi); he may be
reborn as a deva spontaneously.
Referring to this type of meditator, the Buddha taught in the
Sotanugata Sutta of the Avguttara Nikaya Catukka Nipata, as
follows: So mutthassati kalam kurumano abbataram devani-
kayam upapajjati. Tassa tattha sukhino dhammapada plavanti.
Dandho bhikkhave satuppado, atha so satto khippamyeva vises-
agami hoti. : Bhikkhus, if a worldling (puthujjana) dies, he
may get reborn in one of the deva realms, and there all forma-
tions appear clearly in his mind. He may be slow to reflect on
the Dhamma or to do Vipassana, but he attains Nibbana very
quickly. Why do those formations appear clearly in his mind?
Because the near-death impulsion consciousness of the previous
life, take the impermanent, suffering, or non-self nature of the
formations as object. The bhavavga mind state in the deva takes
the same object. So the host bhavavga knows the imperma-
nent, suffering, or non-self nature of the formations. Therefore,
the mindfulness associated with insight-knowledge, takes the
object without hesitation. So according to that Sutta, strong
mindfulness associated with Insight-knowledge is capable of
preventing unwholesome signs from appearing, as well as the
other wholesome signs, which may replace his Vipassana sign.
Before death takes place you should try to possess this type of
mindfulness.
For example, the Sakkapabha Sutta is about three bhikkhus
who practised Samatha and Vipassana. They had good virtue
and good concentration, but their minds inclined towards life as
female gandhabbas (musicians and dancers in the deva realm).
When they died they went to the deva realm. They were reborn
as very beautiful and shiny gandhabbas, as if they were sixteen
years old. During their lives as bhikkhus, there was also a lay-
woman. The three bhikkhus had gone to her house every day for
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Questions and Answers (3)
almsfood, and taught her Dhamma. She became a stream-
enterer, and when she died she was reborn as Gopaka, the son of
Sakka. The three gandhabbas performed for the son of Sakka,
and he saw that they were very beautiful and shiny. He thought:
They are very beautiful and shiny. What kamma did they do?
He saw they were the three bhikkhus who had come to his house
when he was a laywoman. He knew that their virtue, concentra-
tion and wisdom had been very good. So he reminded them of
their past lives. He said: When you listened to the teachings
and practised the Dhamma, what were your eyes and ears di-
rected at? Two of the gandhabbas remembered their past lives
and were ashamed. They developed Samatha and Vipassana
again, and quickly attained the non-returner path and fruition,
and died. They were reborn in the pure abodes, and attained
arahantship there. The third bhikkhu was not ashamed and re-
mained a gandhabba.
So, it is not necessary to contact a life insurance company.
This mindfulness is the best insurance.
Question 3.9: When practising the four-elements meditation,
and discerning the twelve characteristics, is it necessary to start
with hardness, roughness, and heaviness in that sequence? Can
one choose to start with any one of the characteristics?
Answer 3.9: At the beginning stage we can start with a charac-
teristic that is easy to discern. But when we can discern all the
characteristics easily and clearly, it is necessary to follow the
sequence given by the Buddha: earth-element (pathavidhatu),
water-element (apodhatu), fire-element (tejodhatu), air-element
(vayodhatu). This is because that sequence produces strong,
powerful concentration. When we see the kalapas, and are able
to easily discern the four elements in each kalapa, the sequence
is not so important; what is very important is to discern them
simultaneously.
Why? The life span of those kalapas is very short. Their life
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span may be less than a billionth of a second. So their life span
is very short. At that stage there is not enough time to recite
earth-element, water-element, fire-element, air-element . We
must discern the four elements simultaneously, and yet in se-
quence.
Question 3.10: Practising the four-elements meditation enables
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