How the Buddha Described the Chance of Rebirth in the Human Realm

 At Sāvatthī. Then the Buddha, picking up a little bit of sand on his fingernail, addressed the bhikkhus: “What do you think, bhikkhus? Which is more: the little bit of sand on my fingernail, or this great Earth?”

“Bhante, the great earth is far more. The little bit of sand on your fingernail is tiny. Compared to the great Earth, those cannot be compared or even imagined; it is not even a significant fraction.”

“In the same way, bhikkhus, sentient beings reborn as humans are few as this bit of sand on my fingernail. But those not reborn as humans are many as the sand on this great Earth. Therefore, you should strive diligently and without delay to end this suffering in the rebirth process.”

부처님께서 인간계에서의 환생의 기회를 어떻게 설명하셨는가

사밧티에서 부처님은 손톱에 묻은 모래를 조금 주워서 비구들에게 말씀하셨습니다. “비구들이여, 어떻게 생각하십니까? 손톱에 묻은 모래가 더 많은지, 아니면 이 대지(大地)에있는 모래가 더 많은지?”

“반테, 대지에있는모래가 많읍니다. 당신 손톱에 묻은 모래는 아주 작습니다. 대지와 비교하면 비교할 수도 없고 상상할 수도 없습니다. 그것은 의미 있는 부분도 아닙니다.”

“비구들이여, 이와 마찬가지로 인간으로 환생하는 중생은 손톱에 묻은 모래만큼 적습니다. 그러나 인간으로 환생하지 않는 중생은 이 대지의 모래만큼 많습니다. 그러므로 당신은 이 환생 과정에서 이 고통을 끝내기 위해 부지런히 그리고 지체 없이 노력해야 합니다.”

“Bhikkhus, this rebirth process has no discernible (na paññāyati) beginning. Beings whose minds are covered by ignorance and are bound to this rebirth process with bonds of craving.”

“비구들이여, 이 환생 과정에는 분별할 수 있는 시작이 없습니다. 마음이 무지에 덮여 있고 갈애의 끈으로 얽매인 존재들은이 환생 과정이 계속될것 입니다.”

“What do you think, bhikkhus: Which is greater, the tears you have shed while trapped in this rebirth process or the water in the four great oceans? (Crying because of being born into a bad birth or being separated from loved ones in good births)”

“비구들이여, 너희는 어떻게 생각하느냐? 이 환생의 과정에 갇혀서 흘린 눈물과 사대양의 물 중 어느 것이 더 큰가? (나쁜 태생으로 태어났기 때문에 우는 것, 좋은 태생으로 사랑하는 사람과 헤어져서 우는 것)”

“As we understand the Dhamma taught to us by the Bhante, the tears we have shed while trapped in this beginning-less rebirth process is greater than the waters in the four great oceans.”

"우리가 Bhante가 가르쳐 준 다르마를 이해한다면, 이 시작 없는 환생 과정에 갇혀 있는 동안 우리가 흘린 눈물은 4대양의 물보다 더 큽니다."

“Excellent, bhikkhus. It is good that you thus understand the Dhamma taught by me. That is the larger: the tears you have shed while trapped in this beginning-less rebirth process — not the water in the four vast oceans."

“훌륭합니다, 비구들이여. 여러분이 내가 가르친 법을 이렇게 이해한 것은 좋은 일입니다. 더 큰 것은, 여러분이 이 시작 없는 환생 과정에 갇혀 흘린 눈물입니다. 네 개의 광대한 바다에 있는 물이 아닙니다.

Long have you (repeatedly) experienced the death of a mother. The tears you have shed over the death of a mother while trapped in this beginning-less rebirth process are greater than the water in the four vast oceans.

당신은 오랫동안 어머니의 죽음을 (반복적으로) 경험했습니다. 시작 없는 이 환생 과정에 갇혀 어머니의 죽음에 흘린 눈물은 네 개의 광대한 바다의 물보다 큽니다.

Long have you (repeatedly) experienced the death of a father, death of a brother, death of a sister, death of a son, death of a daughter, loss of relatives, or loss of wealth. The tears you have shed over diseases while trapped in this beginning-less rebirth process would fill the four vast oceans.

당신은 오랫동안 아버지의 죽음, 형제의 죽음, 자매의 죽음, 아들의 죽음, 딸의 죽음, 친척의 상실, 재산의 상실을 (반복적으로) 경험해 왔습니까? 이 시작 없는 환생 과정에 갇혀 질병으로 인해 흘린 눈물은 네 개의 광대한 바다를 채울 것입니다.

Why is that? The beginning of this rebirth process is not discernible.”

왜 그럴까요? 이 환생 과정의 시작은 식별할 수 없기이기때문입니다."

Ten Immoral Actions (Dasa Akusala)

https://puredhamma.net/three-levels-of-practice/moral-living-and-fundamentals/ten-immoral-actions-dasa-akusala/

These are ten immoral acts (dasa akusala). They divide into three categories, as follows:

Three manō saṅkhāra (immoral acts done with the mind):

1. Abhijjā (covetousness; greed for other’s belongings)
2. Vyāpāda (ill-will, hatred)
3. Micchā Diṭṭhi (wrong views)

Four vaci saṅkhāra (immoral acts done with speech):

1. Musāvāda (Lying)
2. Pisunāvācā (slandering)
3. Parusāvācā (harsh speech)
4. Sampappalāpā (frivolous talk)

Three kāya saṅkhāra (immoral acts done with the body):

1. Pānātipātā (killing)
2. Adinnādānā (taking what is not given)
3. kāmēsu micchācārā (not just sexual misconduct, but also excessive sensory pleasures)

In Buddha Dhamma (i.e., in nature), it is always one’s intention that matters.

True Happiness Is the Absence of Suffering

True happiness is the complete absence of suffering, per the Buddha. In contrast, people seek to maximize their sensory experiences, but the Buddha showed that such efforts only lead to suffering in the end.

https://puredhamma.net/buddhism-in-charts/true-happiness-is-the-absence-of-suffering/

Gandhabba in a Human Body Senses Differently Than When Outside

 1. The six critical entities in the gandhabba (hadaya vatthu and the five pasāda rupa of cakkhu, sota, ghāna, jivhā, kāya) are responsible for the amazing feats of cognition. See “Mind and Matter – Buddhist Analysis,”

• As we have discussed, a gandhabba has only a trace of matter and is invisible. It is essentially an invisible “mental body.”
• When outside the physical body, a gandhabba can hear and see by itself without having eyes and ears like us. This idea of a living being without a physical body like ours is hard to imagine. But Brahmā in the higher 20 realms have such “invisible bodies.”
• Of course, a Brahma or a gandhabba cannot taste, smell, or touch since they do not have “dense solid bodies.”
• But when trapped inside a physical body, a gandhabba can experience all five sensory inputs. However, now the gandhabba depends on the brain to receive those sensory inputs.
• One way to get the basic idea is to look at the following analogy. This analogy works ONLY for the five physical senses.

Mind and Matter

"Gandhabba (Pali) (i) as a celestial musician, (ii) as a being to be born; one of the three conditions required for conception. In the case of most animals, a newly embodied life begins at conception or soon afterwards. The Buddha said that for conception to take place three things must be present – the sexual union of the parents, their fertility and the presence of the gandhabba, ie. the consciousness of the being who is to be reborn (M.I,265). This consciousness absorbs itself in the fertilised egg and begins to animate it so that it grows into a fully formed being."

Thanks to https://puredhamma.net, the following is the best analogy, the explanation, or the example, I ever got from anywhere, from anyone to understand that being "the consciousness of the being."

Everything is created by the mind (一切唯心造).

The time was around 660s A.D.

When the Great Monk WonHyo (元曉大師) was 40 years old, the monk Xuanzang (玄麌法師 현장법사), who had been in China at that time, had been called Tripitaka (삼장법사) since he had returned from India, and he was excellent in the three studies of sutras (경), vinaya (율), and sermons (논). Also, the great monk Ji-eom (智儼 지엄), who was a master of the Avatamsaka (화엄) school, was also famous in Tang China at the time. 

So, Wonhyo wanted to study in China, and started the long journey to Tang China with a fellow monk, Uisang (義湘), who was 10 years younger than him. After leaving Gyeongju, his hometown and the capital of Sila, and arriving at the coast of Namyang (南陽) in Gangju, today's Suwon, Korea, the sun was setting. The weather was bad, and a sudden downpour of rain was pouring down, making it even darker. They decided to stay overnight in a hut to avoid the rain. In the middle of the night, Wonhyo felt very thirsty. So he felt around just in case, and he reached a bowl of water at the tip of his finger. He hurriedly drank the water and continued to fall into a deep sleep.

When the day dawned, he looked around. Then he was shocked. The place he had thought was a hut was actually a tomb, and the water in the bowl was rotten water that had collected in the skull. In the old days, there was a custom of building a stone house like a basement, making a room, putting a coffin in it, and storing things used in the living. When he looked at the skull filled with rainwater, he saw countless insects swarming inside. When he saw this, he felt ill, started to vomit, and threw up all the food he had eaten the day before. 

However, after all this suffering, Wonhyo discovered a great truth and attained true enlightenment. The sermon from the Awakening of Faith came back to life.

That sermon was 心生卽種種心生 心滅卽種種心滅 如來大師云 三界虛僞 唯心所作, "When one thought arises, many various minds arise, and when one thought disappears, many various minds disappear. The Buddha said, “The three realms are false, and only the mind creates them.” The mind is born of the kind of mind, and the mind is destroyed of the kind of mind. Thus, Buddha said, “The three realms are false, and only the mind creates them.”

This is the essence of the Buddha's teaching. In other words, the interpretation of the mind is a thought that runs through numerous sutras. 

Realizing that all events and phenomena arise solely from the discrimination of the mind is realizing the truth of Buddhism. 

Wonhyo realized this. Then Wonhyo laughed like a madman, danced, and sang. Uisang asked him what was going on, but Wonhyo only smiled and did not answer. Finally, he said to Uisang.
“Did you see me struggling so much last night because I was thirsty?” 
“I saw my brother suffering from thirst, drinking water from a bowl.” 
“When I woke up this morning, it wasn’t ordinary water, but rotten water that had accumulated in a human skull. When I drank it last night, it was so refreshing that I slept without knowing anything, but this morning, when I discovered that it was rotten water from a skull, I vomited and suffered greatly. 

My mind at night and my mind in the morning are probably no different. When I didn’t know, it was refreshing, but when I knew, I felt bad. Isn’t it true that the dirty and clean are not in the things themselves but in the mind? Therefore, I now realize that everything is created by the mind (一切唯心造). 

In the Avatamsaka Sutra, “All dharmas arise from discrimination and also, conversely, disappear following discrimination. If all discriminating dharmas are eliminated, this dharma is not birth and death.”

"I realized this truth, so I cannot overcome my joyful heart. So how could I not dance and sing?”

But Uisang did not accept Wonhyo’s words, even though they sounded plausible. They parted. Uisang continued on his journey to China while Wonhyo went back to Gyeongju, Sila, because he had no reason to continue on to China. Through this experience, Wonhyo Daesa, who realized the idea of the three realms being mind-only, did not need to go all the way to Tang China to ask about the dharma.