Jati
In Buddhism, Jāti (the Sanskrit and Pāli word for "birth") refers to the arising of a new living entity in saṃsāra.
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Truth of suffering
As with "Old Age & Death" (see), the Buddha includes "Birth" in the canonical description of "suffering" in the First Noble Truth:
- "The Noble Truth of Suffering (dukkha), monks, is this: Birth is suffering, aging is suffering..., death is suffering, association with the unpleasant is suffering, dissociation from the pleasant is suffering, not to receive what one desires is suffering—in brief the five aggregates subject to grasping are suffering."
Elsewhere in the canon the Buddha further elaborates:
- "And what is birth? Whatever birth, taking birth, descent, coming-to-be, coming-forth, appearance of aggregates, & acquisition of sense spheres of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called birth."
The canon additionally attributes to King Yama a mundane encapsulation of birth's suffering:
- "Good man, have you never seen in the world a young tender infant lying prone, fouled in his own excrement and urine?"
In traditional Buddhist thought, there are four forms of birth:
- birth from an egg (Sanskrit: Andaja; Pali: Aṇḍaja; Chinese: 卵生; Standard Tibetan: Sgongskyes)—like a bird, fish, or reptile;
- birth from a womb (Sanskrit: Jarayuja; Pali: Jalābuja; Chinese: 胎生; Standard Tibetan: Mnal-skyes)—like most mammals and some worldly devas;
- birth from moisture (Sanskrit: Samsvedaja; Pali: Saṃsedaja; Chinese: 濕生; Standard Tibetan: Drod-skyes)—probably referring to the appearance of animals whose eggs are microscopic, like maggots appearing in rotting flesh;
- birth by transformation (Sanskrit: Upapaduka; Pali: Opapatika; Chinese: 化生; Standard Tibetan: Rzus-skyes)—miraculous materialization, as with most devas.
Forms of birth
In traditional Buddhist thought, there are four forms of birth:
- birth from an egg (Sanskrit: Andaja; Pali: Aṇḍaja; Chinese: 卵生; Standard Tibetan: Sgongskyes)—like a bird, fish, or reptile;
- birth from a womb (Sanskrit: Jarayuja; Pali: Jalābuja; Chinese: 胎生; Standard Tibetan: Mnal-skyes)—like most mammals and some worldly devas;
- birth from moisture (Sanskrit: Samsvedaja; Pali: Saṃsedaja; Chinese: 濕生; Standard Tibetan: Drod-skyes)—probably referring to the appearance of animals whose eggs are microscopic, like maggots appearing in rotting flesh;
- birth by transformation (Sanskrit: Upapaduka; Pali: Opapatika; Chinese: 化生; Standard Tibetan: Rzus-skyes)—miraculous materialization, as with most devas.
Conditioned cycle of suffering
Jāti is the eleventh of the Twelve Nidānas, is conditioned by becoming (bhava), and is the condition for the arising of old age and death jarāmaraṇa in a living being. That is, once a being is born, it will necessarily grow old and eventually die.
