Jāti (Buddhism)

In Buddhism, Jāti, "birth", refers to physical birth; to rebirth, the arising of a new living entity within saṃsāra ; and to the arising of mental phenomena.

Meaning

Within the teachings on the Four Noble Truths, jāti refers to physical birth, and is qualified as dukkha : "Now this, monks, is the noble truth of dukkha: birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha."
In traditional Buddhist thought, there are four forms of birth:

birth from an egg —like a bird, fish, or reptile;
birth from a womb —like most mammals and some worldly devas;
birth from moisture —probably referring to the appearance of animals whose eggs are microscopic, like maggots appearing in rotting flesh;
birth by transformation —miraculous materialization, as with the devas.

Jāti is the eleventh link within the eleventh Nidāna of paṭiccasamuppāda, where it can refer both to rebirth and to the arising of mental phenomena. The Vibhanga, the second book of the Theravada Abbidhamma, treats it in both ways. In the Suttantabhajaniya it is described as rebirth, which is conditioned by becoming, and gives rise to old age and death in a living being. In the Abhidhammabhajaniya it is treated as the arising of mental phenomena.