<p>The Pali suttas define three types of 'becoming', as follows:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>And what is becoming? There are three kinds of becoming: sensual becoming, fine-material becoming &amp; immaterial becoming. This is called
  becoming. ~ SN 12.2 ~</em></p>
</blockquote>

<p>In AN 3.76, ‘becoming’ (<em>bhava</em>) is defined  as the mind "<strong>established</strong>" in a sense object: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>“the consciousness of beings (sattānaṃ), hindered by ignorance and bound by craving, that is <strong>established</strong> (patiṭṭhitaṃ) in the sensuality,
  materiality or immateriality element/sphere”</em></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Therefore, these three types of becoming simply reflect the levels of sustained &amp; continued attachment to: (i) the physical body and its sensations; (ii) attachment to fine-material states of meditative absorption (<em>rupa jhana</em>); and (iii) attachment to the immaterial states of meditative absorption (<em>arupa jhana</em>).</p>

<p>For example, the mind of a man sees (has sense contact with) a certain woman (sense object) and due to pleasant feelings &amp; craving/lust towards the woman, the male mind gets stuck on or "picks up"/"carries" the sense object in his mind &amp; starts thinking about the woman. This beginning to be mentally pre-occupied with the woman is attachment or grasping (<em>upadana</em>). The male mind then becomes fixated or obsessed with the woman, falling in love, thinking about the woman all the time &amp; dreaming about how they will live romantically forever. This continued establishing &amp; transforming of the mind in relation to the sense object is "becoming". Then the man &amp; woman have a marriage ceremony and the man "becomes" the woman's husband and the woman "becomes" the man's wife. The marriage ceremony is "becoming" and the finality of actually being a "husband" or being a "wife" is called "birth" ("jati"). </p>

<p>"Jati" ("birth") is defined as the mental creation of the ideas or social conventions of "beings" &amp; the "various orders of beings", such as "man", "woman", "husband", "wife", "lawyer", "doctor", "me", "you" etc.</p>

<p>Therefore, in summary, '<em>becoming</em>' is just the continuation of '<em>attachment</em>', however more intensely, to the point that the mind 'transforms' itself into something different to what is was previously. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-29T06:25:51.083Z
2016-11-29T06:42:53.680Z
2016-11-29T06:42:53.680Z
Dhamma Dhatu
<p>I am having difficultly logically understanding how clinging leads to becoming. Can anyone elaborate on this link of dependent orgination?</p>

<becoming>
Having difficulty logically understanding how clinging leads to becoming
# Having difficulty logically understanding how clinging leads to becoming

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-11-29)

I am having difficultly logically understanding how clinging leads to becoming. Can anyone elaborate on this link of dependent orgination?

**Tags:** becoming


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-11-29. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

The Pali suttas define three types of 'becoming', as follows:

> *And what is becoming? There are three kinds of becoming: sensual becoming, fine-material becoming & immaterial becoming. This is called
> becoming. ~ SN 12.2 ~*

In AN 3.76, ‘becoming’ (*bhava*) is defined as the mind "**established**" in a sense object:

> *“the consciousness of beings (sattānaṃ), hindered by ignorance and bound by craving, that is **established** (patiṭṭhitaṃ) in the sensuality,
> materiality or immateriality element/sphere”*

Therefore, these three types of becoming simply reflect the levels of sustained & continued attachment to: (i) the physical body and its sensations; (ii) attachment to fine-material states of meditative absorption (*rupa jhana*); and (iii) attachment to the immaterial states of meditative absorption (*arupa jhana*).

For example, the mind of a man sees (has sense contact with) a certain woman (sense object) and due to pleasant feelings & craving/lust towards the woman, the male mind gets stuck on or "picks up"/"carries" the sense object in his mind & starts thinking about the woman. This beginning to be mentally pre-occupied with the woman is attachment or grasping (*upadana*). The male mind then becomes fixated or obsessed with the woman, falling in love, thinking about the woman all the time & dreaming about how they will live romantically forever. This continued establishing & transforming of the mind in relation to the sense object is "becoming". Then the man & woman have a marriage ceremony and the man "becomes" the woman's husband and the woman "becomes" the man's wife. The marriage ceremony is "becoming" and the finality of actually being a "husband" or being a "wife" is called "birth" ("jati").

"Jati" ("birth") is defined as the mental creation of the ideas or social conventions of "beings" & the "various orders of beings", such as "man", "woman", "husband", "wife", "lawyer", "doctor", "me", "you" etc.

Therefore, in summary, '*becoming*' is just the continuation of '*attachment*', however more intensely, to the point that the mind 'transforms' itself into something different to what is was previously.


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