Becoming in Early Buddhism: The Paradox and the Path to Liberation

Buddhism is full of things people view as paradoxes—seeming (but illusory) contradictions that, instead of leading to confusion when followed through, open the door to deeper understanding. One of the most profound is the paradox of becoming (bhavā). The Buddha teaches that craving leads to suffering because it fuels becoming—our endless cycle of identities, desires, and rebirths. And yet, the path to the end of suffering involves cultivating a particular kind of becoming.

So, how should we think about what becoming is, and why does it hold such a central place in Buddhist thought? Here I will try to break it down the key teachings that illuminate this paradox.

What is Becoming?

The term bhavā is often translated as “existence” or “being,” but these translations miss its dynamic nature. Bhavā isn’t just about being something—it’s about the process of becoming, the continual formation and reformation of identities based on craving and clinging.

The Buddha describes bhavā as the link between craving and birth in the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination (paticca-samuppada). As he puts it:

“And this, monks, is the noble truth of the origination of stress: the craving that makes for renewed becoming (bhavā)—accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now here & now there—i.e., craving for sensuality, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming.” (SN 56:11)

Three types of becoming are commonly discussed, the first is the primary and which occupies the almost the entirety of the average human experience, the other two rarer and found primarily with focused jhanic practitioners:

• Sensual becoming (kāmabhava): The desire-driven life of pleasures and attachments.
• Form becoming (rūpabhava): Meditative states associated with refined material existence.
• Formless becoming (arūpabhava): Even subtler meditative states beyond material form.

To understand these, we must  see that becoming as the process of giving rise to a sense of identity in a particular world of experience based on clinging. The type of becoming depends on the type of desire one is clinging to:

Let's look at examples of each:

Kāmabhava (Sensual Becoming)

This refers to existence fueled by desire for sensory pleasures. It includes human life and many heavenly realms where beings experience pleasure through the five senses.

Example:

• A wealthy businessman who indulges in fine food, luxury vacations, and romantic relationships is deeply engaged in kāmabhava. His life revolves around pleasure-seeking and avoiding discomfort.
• In Buddhist cosmology, the Devas in the sensual heavens (such as the Tavatimsa heaven) enjoy immense pleasure but are still bound by sensory craving.

Rūpabhava (Form Becoming)

This refers to states of existence associated with refined material form, but without strong sensual craving. It includes beings in meditative absorption (jhāna) and the rūpa-loka (form realm), where beings have subtle physicality but do not experience crude sensory desires.

Example:

• A meditator who attains deep jhāna states and is reborn in the Brahma realms, experiencing immense peace but still having a subtle identity.
• The Brahmā gods in the Form Realms, such as those in the Suddhāvāsa heavens, exist in a refined, radiant form and do not engage in sensual pleasures.

Arūpabhava (Formless Becoming)

This refers to states of existence without physical form, where beings exist purely in mental consciousness. These states correspond to advanced meditative attainments in the arūpa-jhānas and the formless realms (arūpa-loka).

Example:

• A highly advanced meditator achieves the jhāna of infinite space or infinite consciousness and is reborn in the corresponding formless realm (Ākāsānañcāyatana or Viññāṇañcāyatana).
• Beings in these realms experience vast, formless existence but still have subtle clinging to selfhood, which prevents full liberation.

The key in all these cases is the clinging and the sense of identity built around the object of clinging. Even very high and refined meditative states can be a basis for becoming if one mistakes them for a self and clings to them as such.

Two initial points to take away from this: firstly, that these different types of becoming show that even spiritual pursuits can be entangled in the cycle and the associated dukkha—one can crave formless meditative states just as one craves material success.

The Field Analogy: How Becoming Works

In a conversation with his attendant, Ānanda, the Buddha explains becoming using a farming analogy:

“Kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and craving the moisture. The consciousness of living beings hindered by ignorance & fettered by craving is established in/tuned to a lower property. Thus, there is the production of renewed becoming in the future.” (AN 3:76)

In other words, past actions (kamma) create the conditions (the field), but without craving (the moisture), consciousness (the seed) doesn’t take root. This explains why breaking free from becoming isn’t just about stopping actions—it’s about taking stock of completely reworking ones relationship with craving (taṇhā).

Craving for Non-Becoming: The Hidden Trap

You might think, “If becoming leads to suffering, wouldn’t wanting to stop becoming be the solution?” The Buddha warns against this very trap:

“Some, feeling horrified, humiliated, & disgusted with that very becoming, delight in non-becoming: ‘When this self, at the break-up of the body, after death, perishes & is destroyed, and does not exist after death, that is peaceful, that is exquisite, that is sufficiency!’” (Iti 49)

This is the paradox: the craving to end becoming is itself a form of becoming. Trying to forcefully annihilate selfhood or existence—whether through nihilistic views or an intense desire for oblivion—only fuels the cycle further.

The Path Out: Skillful Becoming

So, if both becoming and non-becoming lead to suffering, what’s the way out? The answer lies in using becoming strategically. The Buddha discovered that a particular kind of becoming—right concentration (jhāna)—provides the foundation for letting go completely.

“Develop concentration (samādhi), monks. A concentrated monk discerns things as they have come to be. And what does he discern as it has come to be? ‘This is stress,’ he discerns as it has come to be. ‘This is the origination of stress… This is the cessation of stress… This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress,’ he discerns as it has come to be.” (SN 56:1)

By cultivating a state of deep, stable awareness through meditation, one can see becoming as it arises and ceases, without clinging to it. This allows the mind to let go—not through aversion, but through understanding.

To “discern as [things] have come to be” highlights the necessity of investigation, analysis, and a rational ‘looking towards’ in understanding suffering. It is inseparable from the overall objective from developing concentration. The progressive mastery of samādhi serves as the key foundation for insight. A steady/imperturbable mind can systematically observe the processes that create suffering, allowing one to deconstruct and relinquish them and see into the true nature of existence. By directly observing the arising and passing away of causes and conditions, we can understand dukkha’s many origins and the paths leading to their cessation. Thus, rather than escaping or suppressing experience, the practice involves turning towards it with unwavering attention and clarity.

Beyond Becoming: The End of the Road

When becoming ends completely, what remains? The Buddha describes it as something beyond identity, beyond location, beyond conceptualization:

“Where there is no passion for the nutriment of physical food, where there is no delight, no craving, then consciousness does not land there or grow. Where consciousness does not land or grow, name-&-form does not alight. Where name-&-form does not alight, there is no growth of fabrications. Where there is no growth of fabrications, there is no production of renewed becoming in the future.” (SN 12:63)

Unlike a nihilistic void, it is the ultimate freedom—free from craving, free from the cycle of becoming.

“Those, having seen what’s come to be as what’s come to be, and what’s gone beyond what’s come to be, are released in line with what’s come to be, through the exhaustion of craving for becoming.” (Iti 49)