Becoming

In Buddhist teachings, *becoming* (*bhava*) refers to the continuous process of existence — the drive toward formation, identity, and ongoing becoming in the cycle of samsara. It is one of the links in dependent origination that directly precedes birth and all the suffering that follows.

Becoming arises through craving and clinging. When the mind grasps at pleasurable experiences or resists unpleasant ones, it solidifies intentions and mental patterns that propel the stream of consciousness forward. These habitual formations generate new karmic momentum, leading to further becoming — whether within this lifetime or across multiple lives.

Importantly, becoming is not limited to rebirth. In every moment, we construct new layers of identity: “I am this,” “I am that,” “I want,” “I fear.” This micro-becoming plays out continuously, reinforcing the illusion of a permanent self and deepening the wheel of suffering.

The cessation of becoming is central to liberation. Through insight into impermanence, non-self, and dependent origination, the practitioner sees how grasping fabricates experience and identity. As craving weakens, the drive toward further becoming subsides. With the full extinction of craving and clinging, the cycle of becoming ends entirely — this is nibbāna, the unconditioned peace beyond birth and death.

Thus, becoming is both the engine of samsara and the point at which liberation unfolds, depending on whether grasping is maintained or released.

“From craving comes clinging, from clinging comes becoming; but where craving ceases, becoming ceases too.”
— Samyutta Nikāya 12.2