Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A gift given while expecting something back, combined with a settled, stabilized, developed wish for a specific rebirth, produces that very rebirth — running through eight successive tiers from favored human company up through six levels of gods to the Divinity's host — but only for the ethical, and the highest tier only for those free of desire as well.
One mechanism, repeated eight times
Every one of the eight cases follows an identical three-step pattern: give expecting something back, hear of or see a particular kind of favorable existence, then settle on, stabilize, and develop the wish to be reborn there — the wish itself, not merely the gift, is what the discourse credits with producing the specific rebirth.
Eight tiers, ascending
The destinies climb in sequence: favored human company first, then the gods of the four great kings, the gods of the thirty-three, the gods of Yama, the joyful gods, the gods who love to create, the gods who control what is created by others, and finally the Divinity's host — the same sequence of heavens this book has already met by name at AN 8.36.
A recurring refrain, and one added condition at the top
Each of the first seven cases closes with the identical refrain: this succeeds only for the ethical, not the unethical, because the heart's wish of an ethical person succeeds through their own purity. The eighth and highest case adds a further requirement found nowhere else in the list: success here belongs only to those free of desire, not those still governed by it.
Key terms
The text
Rebirth among favored humans
§1“Mendicants, there are these eight rebirths by giving. What eight? First, someone gives to ascetics or brahmins such things as food, drink, clothing, vehicles; garlands, fragrance, and makeup; and bed, house, and lighting. Whatever they give they expect back. They see a well-to-do aristocrat or brahmin or householder amusing themselves, supplied and provided with the five kinds of sensual stimulation. It occurs to them: ‘If only, when my body breaks up, after death, I would be reborn in the company of well-to-do aristocrats or brahmins or householders!’ They settle on that thought, stabilize it, and develop it. As they’ve settled for less and not developed further, their thought leads to rebirth there. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in the company of well-to-do aristocrats or brahmins or householders. But I say that this is only for those of ethical conduct, not for the unethical. The heart’s wish of an ethical person succeeds because of their purity.
Rebirth among the gods of the four great kings
§2Next, someone gives to ascetics or brahmins … Whatever they give they expect back. And they’ve heard: ‘The gods of the four great kings are long-lived, beautiful, and very happy.’ It occurs to them: ‘If only, when my body breaks up, after death, I would be reborn in the company of the gods of the four great kings!’ … When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in the company of the gods of the four great kings.
Rebirth among five further tiers of gods
§3Next, someone gives to ascetics or brahmins … Whatever they give they expect back. And they’ve heard: ‘The gods of the thirty-three …’ ‘The gods of Yama …’ ‘The joyful gods …’ ‘The gods who love to create …’ ‘The gods who control what is created by others are long-lived, beautiful, and very happy.’ It occurs to them: ‘If only, when my body breaks up, after death, I would be reborn in the company of the gods who control what is created by others!’ They settle on that thought, stabilize it, and develop it. As they’ve settled for less and not developed further, their thought leads to rebirth there. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in the company of the gods who control what is created by others.
Rebirth among the Divinity's host
§4Next, someone gives to ascetics or brahmins such things as food, drink, clothing, vehicles; garlands, fragrance, and makeup; and bed, house, and lighting. Whatever they give they expect back. And they’ve heard: ‘The gods of the Divinity’s host are long-lived, beautiful, and very happy.’ It occurs to them: ‘If only, when my body breaks up, after death, I would be reborn in the company of the gods of the Divinity’s host!’ They settle on that thought, stabilize it, and develop it. As they’ve settled for less and not developed further, their thought leads to rebirth there. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in the company of the gods of the Divinity’s host. But I say that this is only for those of ethical conduct, not for the unethical. And for those free of desire, not those with desire. The heart’s wish of an ethical person succeeds because of their freedom from desire. These are the eight rebirths by giving.”
Self-check quiz
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