<p>What dies or is born? What looks like death or birth is just the mind and body changing just like the mind and body are changing right now. </p>

<p>No-self dies , is born or changes.  </p>

<p>There is no-self if one is having a near death experience or an out of body experience.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-07T01:35:24.567Z
2015-12-07T01:35:24.567Z
Lowbrow
<p>Death - What dies with death?</p>
<p>Every moment all the 5 aggregates arise and passes away. This can be viewed as momentarily death. Physical deaths (marana) is when the the 5 argerates pass away in one body and arise in another body leaving the residue of corporeal body (rupa) behind.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/ctp_screen-view_v1.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Clearing the Path</a> by <a href="http://www.nanavira.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ven. Ñānavīra</a> further discusses this citations to Suttas. Some of the main citation are <a href="http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/5.17-Mahanidana-S-d15-piya.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Mahā,nidāna Sutta</a> and <a href="https://suttacentral.net/sn12" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Nidāna Saṃyutta</a> from the Tripitaka.</p>
<p>Also see: <a href="http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebdha216.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Buddhist View of Death - An Interview with Bhante Gunaratana</a> by Samaneri Sudhamma and Margot Born</p>
<p>Birth - What is born with birth?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Certainly, the start of life, at conception, is seen as involving the flux-of-consciousness, from a past life, entering the womb and, along with the requisite physical conditions, leading to the development of a new being in the womb:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>'Were consciousness, Ananda, not to fall into the mother's womb, would mind-and-body (nama-rupa) be constituted there?' 'It would not, Lord'. 'Were consciousness, having fallen into the mother's womb, to turn aside from it, would mind-and-body come to birth in this present state?'. 'It would not, Lord.' (D. II. 62-3)</p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebdha205.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The mind-body relationship in Pali Buddhism: A philosophical investigation</a>, Peter Harvey</p>
<p>The quoted Sutta is: <a href="http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/5.17-Mahanidana-S-d15-piya.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Mahā,nidāna Sutta</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Can you provide any Sutta / Sutra references.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>See above links. Also bibliography of <a href="http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/ctp_screen-view_v1.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Clearing the Path</a>.</p>
<p>Also the following essay might be of interest: <a href="http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/48.2-Death-An-early-Buddhist-perspective.-piya.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Death: An early Buddhist perspective</a> by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piya_Tan" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Piya Tan</a></p>

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2015-12-07T14:42:41.227Z
This could be a (much) better answer if you would quote one or two relevant paragraphs from *Clearing the Path*.
ChrisW
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-07T14:44:53.747Z
Re. *The Buddhist View of Death* where they talk about "moment-to-moment death" ... is that a modern idea of "death" (i.e. of "what death is" or of "what it is that dies at death"), or is it mentioned in a sutta?
ChrisW
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-07T16:34:54.827Z
@ChrisW , As far as my understanding as a theravada Buddhist goes there is no such sutta that goes along with the "moment-to-moment death" concept that has become a very popular word. Though Lord Buddha did talked about the process of the mind and how it interact with the receptors of a body. I think this idea "moment-to-moment death" might be  a misinterpretation of that. Because death is death not the death of thoughts or body cells as i see it.
Theravada
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-08T13:46:49.893Z
This is a loose translation of `Utpada Vaya` into english as your aggregates arise and pass away with physical death being just a special case of this where the aggregates pass away in one body and arise in another as the re births process.
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-10T11:43:40.927Z
@Theravada See also the answers to [What does deathless mean?](http://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/10926/254)
ChrisW
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-07T06:12:43.067Z
2015-12-09T02:51:36.680Z
2020-06-17T09:56:10.877Z
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
<p>I think "death" is often described/translation as "dissolution of the aggregates".</p>

<p>So I suppose it's the <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skandha#Description_in_the_Sutta_Pitaka" rel="noreferrer">skandhas</a></em> which "die" or come to an end, are impermanent.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.bpit.html" rel="noreferrer">This reference</a> includes,</p>

<blockquote>
  <ol start="390">
  <li>And, bhikkhus, what is death? The falling away from existence, the passing away from existence, the dissolution, the disappearance, the end of life, the passing away due to completion of the life-span, the breaking up of the Aggregates, the discarding of the body, the destruction of the life-faculty of various beings in various categories, — this, bhikkhus, is called death.</li>
  </ol>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-06T23:05:11.803Z
2015-12-06T23:05:11.803Z
ChrisW
<p>Death - What dies with death?</p>

<p>Birth - What is born with birth?</p>

<p>Can you provide any Sutta / Sutra references. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-07T06:07:09.440Z
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn23/sn23.002.than.html
Kaveenga Wijayasekara
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-09T07:41:35.143Z
Perhaps a preamble to these question could be 'who/what is here in the present?'
Kaveenga Wijayasekara
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-09T17:43:28.713Z
@KaveengaWijayasekara Yes, it's a good version of an approach to this question. Would you mind adding an answer in that format?
Theravada
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-14T01:09:03.090Z
Pretty solid book, Who Dies by Stephen Levine.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009CC6R7C/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1
dgo
<reference-request><sutras>
Death vs Birth - Birth & Death of what?
# Death vs Birth - Birth & Death of what?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-12-06)

Death - What dies with death?

Birth - What is born with birth?

Can you provide any Sutta / Sutra references.

**Tags:** reference-request, sutras

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn23/sn23.002.than.html  
> **username_1**: Perhaps a preamble to these question could be 'who/what is here in the present?'  
> **username_0**: @KaveengaWijayasekara Yes, it's a good version of an approach to this question. Would you mind adding an answer in that format?  
> **username_2**: Pretty solid book, Who Dies by Stephen Levine.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009CC6R7C/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-12-07. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Death - What dies with death?

Every moment all the 5 aggregates arise and passes away. This can be viewed as momentarily death. Physical deaths (marana) is when the the 5 argerates pass away in one body and arise in another body leaving the residue of corporeal body (rupa) behind.

[Clearing the Path](http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/ctp_screen-view_v1.pdf) by [Ven. Ñānavīra](http://www.nanavira.org/) further discusses this citations to Suttas. Some of the main citation are [Mahā,nidāna Sutta](http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/5.17-Mahanidana-S-d15-piya.pdf) and [Nidāna Saṃyutta](https://suttacentral.net/sn12) from the Tripitaka.

Also see: [The Buddhist View of Death - An Interview with Bhante Gunaratana](http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebdha216.htm) by Samaneri Sudhamma and Margot Born

Birth - What is born with birth?

> Certainly, the start of life, at conception, is seen as involving the flux-of-consciousness, from a past life, entering the womb and, along with the requisite physical conditions, leading to the development of a new being in the womb:
>
> > 'Were consciousness, Ananda, not to fall into the mother's womb, would mind-and-body (nama-rupa) be constituted there?' 'It would not, Lord'. 'Were consciousness, having fallen into the mother's womb, to turn aside from it, would mind-and-body come to birth in this present state?'. 'It would not, Lord.' (D. II. 62-3)

Source: [The mind-body relationship in Pali Buddhism: A philosophical investigation](http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebdha205.htm), Peter Harvey

The quoted Sutta is: [Mahā,nidāna Sutta](http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/5.17-Mahanidana-S-d15-piya.pdf)

> Can you provide any Sutta / Sutra references.

See above links. Also bibliography of [Clearing the Path](http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/ctp_screen-view_v1.pdf).

Also the following essay might be of interest: [Death: An early Buddhist perspective](http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/48.2-Death-An-early-Buddhist-perspective.-piya.pdf) by [Piya Tan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piya_Tan)

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: This could be a (much) better answer if you would quote one or two relevant paragraphs from *Clearing the Path*.  
> **username_5**: Re. *The Buddhist View of Death* where they talk about "moment-to-moment death" ... is that a modern idea of "death" (i.e. of "what death is" or of "what it is that dies at death"), or is it mentioned in a sutta?  
> **username_0**: @username_5 , As far as my understanding as a theravada Buddhist goes there is no such sutta that goes along with the "moment-to-moment death" concept that has become a very popular word. Though Lord Buddha did talked about the process of the mind and how it interact with the receptors of a body. I think this idea "moment-to-moment death" might be  a misinterpretation of that. Because death is death not the death of thoughts or body cells as i see it.  
> **username_4**: This is a loose translation of `Utpada Vaya` into english as your aggregates arise and pass away with physical death being just a special case of this where the aggregates pass away in one body and arise in another as the re births process.  
> **username_5**: @username_0 See also the answers to [What does deathless mean?](http://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/10926/254)  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2015-12-06. Score: 5

I think "death" is often described/translation as "dissolution of the aggregates".

So I suppose it's the *[skandhas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skandha#Description_in_the_Sutta_Pitaka)* which "die" or come to an end, are impermanent.

[This reference](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.bpit.html) includes,

> 390. And, bhikkhus, what is death? The falling away from existence, the passing away from existence, the dissolution, the disappearance, the end of life, the passing away due to completion of the life-span, the breaking up of the Aggregates, the discarding of the body, the destruction of the life-faculty of various beings in various categories, — this, bhikkhus, is called death.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-12-07. Score: 2

What dies or is born? What looks like death or birth is just the mind and body changing just like the mind and body are changing right now.

No-self dies , is born or changes.

There is no-self if one is having a near death experience or an out of body experience.


---

