Grammatical Analysis
Bhava: [m.] becoming; existence; plane of being; generation. From root bhū (to be, become, arise, exist). Doctrinally represents the active process of generating existential existence.
Orthodox Definition
Bhava is the tenth link within the chain of Dependent Origination, conditioned directly by clinging (upādāna-paccayā bhavo) and serving as the immediate engine for birth (bhava-paccayā jāti).
To preserve historical accuracy, the Mahāvihāra commentary emphasizes that bhava must be split into two distinct operational phases:
- Kamma-bhava (The Active Kamma Process): The active generation of wholesome or unwholesome volitional formations (cetanā) driven by clinging. This is identical to Kamma itself, accumulating the exact potential energy required to construct a new life.
- Upapatti-bhava (The Passive Rebirth Process): The passive, resultant plane of existence that manifests in the next life under that karmic pressure. This spans the thirty-one planes, divided into the sensual sphere (kāma-bhava), the fine-material sphere (rūpa-bhava), and the immaterial sphere (arūpa-bhava).
Bhava is the bridge where current mental choices solidify into future cosmic physics.
Textual References
- Sutta: Bhava Sutta (AN 3.76) – Where Venerable Ānanda asks what constitutes becoming, and the Buddha explicitly defines it through a powerful agricultural simile: Kamma is the field, Viññāṇa is the seed, and Taṇhā is the moisture that allows a new existence to grow.
- Abhidhamma: Vibhaṅga (Paticcasamuppāda-vibhaṅga chapter).
- Commentary: Visuddhimagga (Chapter XVII) – Deeply technical exegesis analyzing the structural overlap between kammabhava and upapattibhava.