verified
Overview
In the Abhidhamma, death is immediately followed by rebirth without any intervening soul or “bardo” state. This instantaneous transition is executed by a specific consciousness called the Rebirth-Linking Consciousness (Paṭisandhi-citta). Depending on past kamma, this linking occurs in one of four broad domains.
The List
- Apāyapaṭisandhi - Rebirth-linking in the Plane of Misery: Caused by unwholesome kamma. It is executed by a single type of consciousness (unwholesome-resultant investigating consciousness) and drops the being into hell, the animal realm, the ghost realm, or the demon realm.
- Kāmasugatipaṭisandhi - Rebirth-linking in the Sensuous Blissful Plane: Caused by wholesome sense-sphere kamma. It drops the being into the human realm or the six lower heavens, executed by one of nine possible resultant consciousnesses.
- Rūpāvacarapaṭisandhi - Rebirth-linking in the Fine-Material Sphere: Caused by the mastery of the fine-material jhānas. It drops the being into the Brahma worlds, executed by one of five resultant jhāna consciousnesses.
- Arūpāvacarapaṭisandhi - Rebirth-linking in the Immaterial Sphere: Caused by the mastery of the formless jhānas. It drops the being into the formless realms, executed by one of four formless resultant consciousnesses.
Quote
Paṭisandhicatukkaṃ
15.apāyapaṭisandhi kāmasugatipaṭisandhi rūpāvacarapaṭisandhi
Rebirth-linking in the planes of misery, rebirth-linking in the sensuous happy planes, rebirth-linking in the fine-material planes, and rebirth-linking in the immaterial planes—this is called the fourfold rebirth-linking. Abhidhammatthasaṅgaho
Textual References
- Commentary: Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha (Chapter V) – The definitive guide to exactly which kammas produce which specific rebirth-linking consciousnesses.