[516] Then the Venerable Ānanda approached the Blessed One; having approached and paid homage to the Blessed One, he sat down to one side. Seated to one side, the Venerable Ānanda said to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, it is said: 'existence, existence' (bhava). In what way, venerable sir, is there existence?"
"Ānanda, if there were no kamma ripening in the sense-sphere element (kāmadhātu), would sense-sphere existence (kāmabhava) be discerned?"
"Surely not, venerable sir."
"Thus, Ānanda, kamma is the field, consciousness (viññāṇa) is the seed, craving (taṇhā) is the moisture: for beings hindered by ignorance (avijjā) and fettered by craving, consciousness is established in the inferior element — in this way there is the production of renewed existence in the future.
"Ānanda, if there were no kamma ripening in the form element (rūpadhātu), would form existence be discerned?"
"Surely not, venerable sir."
"Thus, Ānanda, kamma is the field, consciousness is the seed, craving is the moisture: for beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, consciousness is established in the middling element — in this way there is the production of renewed existence in the future.
"Ānanda, if there were no kamma ripening in the formless element (arūpadhātu), would formless existence be discerned?"
"Surely not, venerable sir."
"Thus, Ānanda, kamma is the field, consciousness is the seed, craving is the moisture: for beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, consciousness is established in the superior element — in this way there is the production of renewed existence in the future. It is in this way, Ānanda, that there is existence."
The Bhava Sutta
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.