What does the word Jarāmaraṇa mean in Buddhism?
Jarāmaraṇa is the Sanskrit and Pāli term for old age and death. It names the decay and death-related suffering every being faces before rebirth within saṃsāra, the cycle of existence.
Questions about Jarāmaraṇa
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Where does the word Jarāmaraṇa come from?
Jarāmaraṇa combines two separate Vedic Sanskrit roots. Jarā comes from jaras, jarati, and gerā, meaning to become brittle or decay, while maraṇa comes from mṛ and mriyate, meaning death.
How does Jarāmaraṇa fit into the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination?
Jarāmaraṇa is the twelfth and final link among the Twelve Nidānas. It is directly conditioned by birth, jāti, meaning that whatever is born is destined to age and die.
Why are aging and death considered forms of suffering in Buddhism?
The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta identifies aging and death as dukkha, or suffering, alongside birth, illness, sorrow, and separation from what is liked. The Buddha taught that these are part of the true reality of pain for the spiritually ennobled ones.
Who can escape the cycle of aging and death according to Buddhist teaching?
Only beings who reach enlightenment, or bodhi, within their lifetime step outside the cycle of rebirth. According to the Pali Canon, aging and death otherwise reach gods, humans, animals, and beings born into a hell realm alike.
What Buddhist texts discuss Jarāmaraṇa in detail?
The Upajjhatthana Sutta, AN 5.57, gives followers a reflection on being subject to aging, illness, and death. The Dhammapada also devotes a chapter called Jaravagga, eleven verses numbered 146-156, to the theme of old age.