Relationship Between UpÄ dÄ na and Bhava with Reference to Paá¹­á¹­hÄ na

Among the twelve links of Paá¹­iccasamuppÄ da, the link of upÄ dÄ na and bhava is an interesting fact. Despite the scholarly numerous perspectives offered on Paá¹­iccasamuppÄ da, the Paá¹­á¹­hÄ na viewpoint has received less attention on it. It remains challenging to comprehend relationship between upÄ dÄ na and bhava from Paá¹­á¹­hÄ na perspective. For instance, Paá¹­iccasamuppÄ da cannot provide the satisfied answer to how upÄ dÄ na as unwholesome consciousness conditions wholesome kamma without help of Paá¹­á¹­hÄ na. There are several conditions in which upÄ dÄ na cause bhava: kammabhava and upapattibhava from the Paá¹­á¹­hÄ na perspective. It is apparent that Paá¹­á¹­hÄ na supplements Paá¹­iccasamuppÄ da according to Visuddhimagga, which express twelve links of Paá¹­iccasamuppÄ da in conjunction with Paá¹­á¹­hÄ na. But a brief mention is found that Visuddhimagga asserts that eight out of twenty-four relations in Paá¹­á¹­hÄ na such as upanissaya, sahajÄ ta, aññamañña, nissaya, sampayutta, atthi, avigata and hetu are applied between upÄ dÄ na and bhava. Moreover, these relations have not been extensively analyzed and examined in sense of their relevance to upÄ dÄ na and bhava. Therefore, the researcher’s aim here was to examine eight relations and their application between upÄ dÄ na and bhava with special reference to Paá¹­á¹­hÄ na. This study claimed that Paá¹­á¹­hÄ na provides the understanding of relationship between upÄ dÄ na and bhava and, to some extent, clarifies the answer that Paá¹­iccasamuppÄ da cannot deliver as to the relationship. It was a textual study based on PÄ li canonical texts. Some commentarial texts and works related to this study were also used whenever deemed reasonably relevant.