When one knows the Truth, wisdom arises.

If you wish to be reborn as a human again after this life, you will return to the human realm. Jāti (birth) is the Noble Truth of Suffering (Dukkha Sacca). Therefore, the person who wishes to be reborn is simply unaware of the Noble Truth of Suffering that is Jāti in the next life. If it's because one still desires existence in the womb, still desires aging, still desires death, or still desires rebirth in the lower realms (Apāya), it amounts to the same thing. Hence, remember this: if one does not know the Truth, the cycle of existence (Saṃsāra) is prolonged. People perform meritorious deeds (Kusala) and make prayers for future lives and this life because they do not yet know the Truth. Are they praying for happiness (Sukha) or for suffering (Dukkha)? They are actually praying for suffering. Because the person who does not know the Truth is unaware that Jāti is the Noble Truth of Suffering, they pray only for Jāti. Prayers like "May I be reborn as a human many times," or "May I be reborn as a Deva many times," are equivalent to saying, "May I encounter suffering many times." Suffering is something to be avoided, not something to pray for. Praying for what should be avoided is due to ignorance of the Truth. A person who does not know the Truth is like a blind person walking. Being blind yet still walking, if they encounter a snake, they won't see it and will step on it. If they encounter a hole, they won't see it and will fall in. If they encounter an enemy, they won't see it and will collide. Being unable to see, they rush recklessly forward. It is precisely the same for one who does not know the Truth; they rush recklessly forward. If one does not know the Truth, they will inevitably take up the Noble Truth of Suffering that is existence in the womb (Paṭisandhi). They don't even realize it is the Noble Truth of Suffering. Once one has taken up the suffering of existence in the womb, they cannot escape the perils of aging, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, despair, and the perils of the lower realms. This is the process for one who does not know the Truth. The Buddha once called a monk and ascended a large mountain with him. Reaching the summit and looking down, the monk saw that one side of the mountain had collapsed. The monk addressed the Buddha, "Venerable Sir, this great precipice is terrifying!" The Blessed One replied, "Monk, if you slip and fall from this mountain and die, you die only once. Do not fear that. But the death that comes from not knowing the Truth is the kind of death where you die repeatedly. Fear that, I tell you." The Blessed One thus taught that death without knowing the Truth is truly fearsome. Therefore, we must strive to know the Truth. We must strive to cease our own rebirth (Jāti). Our "own rebirth" refers to this present body, the Noble Truth of Suffering (Dukkha Sacca), and future bodies will also be the Noble Truth of Suffering. If we gain a single moment of true understanding (Ñāṇa) regarding this rebirth, we cease it. This is the wisdom of knowing the Truth (Sacca Ñāṇa). Knowing the Truth and reaching Nibbāna happen simultaneously. Therefore, understand that any action undertaken without knowing the Truth will not lead to Nibbāna. Regarding knowing the Truth: understand that this present body (Khandha) is the Noble Truth of Suffering. This is the general view. Since the body is the Noble Truth of Suffering, whatever arises within it – be it feeling (Vedanā), mind (Citta), or hot/cold sensations (Rūpa) – is also the Noble Truth of Suffering. The fundamental nature of the body is suffering; therefore, whatever arises within it must be suffering. Understanding this totality is called Sacca Ñāṇa (Knowledge of the Truth). When specific components arise – for example, when a feeling arises or when the mind arises – if one practices insight meditation (Vipassanā), the wisdom (Ñāṇa) will apprehend them. It is not merely knowing the whole body as suffering (Sacca Ñāṇa), but knowing these specific instances. One realizes that these specific instances of suffering are oppressive. This is Kicca Ñāṇa (Knowledge of Function/Duty). Knowing the totality is Sacca Ñāṇa; knowing the specific parts within it is Kicca Ñāṇa. Knowing that the entire Five Aggregates (Pañca Khandha) are the Noble Truth of Suffering is Sacca Ñāṇa. Continuously observing the arising and passing away (Udabbaya) of any one of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna) – such as the mind – and knowing that each instance of arising is oppressive ("dukkhassa pīḷanattho, saṅkhatattho" – meaning 'for the sake of being oppressed by suffering, for the sake of being conditioned') – is Kicca Ñāṇa. If one follows these processes of arising and passing away until they cease, that is Kata Ñāṇa (Knowledge of Completion). When one truly understands that these processes are oppressive phenomena and becomes disenchanted with this suffering body, the processes suddenly cease (Nirodha). The wisdom that arises after this cessation is called Kata Ñāṇa. This is the knowledge that confirms one has attained the stage of Stream-Entry (Sotāpatti). Therefore: The wisdom that knows the totality (Sacca Ñāṇa) is Knowledge of the Truth. The wisdom that knows the arising and passing away within that totality (Kicca Ñāṇa) is Knowledge of Function/Duty. The wisdom that knows the cessation (Kata Ñāṇa) is Knowledge of Completion. Among these three stages of wisdom: Kicca Ñāṇa is the wisdom that does the work (observing impermanence/suffering). Sacca Ñāṇa is the wisdom that understands (the nature of reality). Kata Ñāṇa is the wisdom that brings joy (upon completion of the task). Knowing the work is done brings only joy. This is exactly as taught in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dhamma). Remember that the Venerable Koṇḍañña and the 84,000 Devas and Brahmas who attained liberation did so through these three stages of wisdom. Dr. Ashin Parami