Memory is the ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. It exists in two forms - short-term working memory that exists alongside the physical brain, and long-term subtle memory that can exist without the physical body. Memory is necessary for consciousness to exist across time, as the past consciousness is linked to the present and future ones. Without memory, the processes of rebirth, evolution, learning, and dependent origination could not occur. Both ignorance and the law of kamma also depend on memory to function across multiple lives.

1. The Significance of Memory
What is memory? In psychology, memory is defined as an organism's ability to
store, retain, and recall information and experiences. But where is it stored?
Actually, the elements of memory are stored within the elements of consciousness
and it can be categorised into two terms i.e. prevailing memory and subtle memory.
The prevailing memory is also known as the ‘working’ memory. It is a short-term
store and would exist alongside with the prevailing mind consciousness and the
physical body or more specifically, the brain. Whereas, the subtle memory is a
long-term or indefinite store and it would exist concurrently with the subtle mind
consciousness, and sustain with or without the physical body.
Right now, let us analyse into part of the cycle of dependent origination shown as
below: -
Balance leads to stability. Stability leads to aggregation. Aggregation leads to
agitation. Agitation leads to information. Information leads to knowledge.
Knowledge leads to representation. Representation leads to memory. Memory
leads to compulsion. Compulsion leads to ignorance. Ignorance leads to blindness.
Blindness leads to disorientation. Disorientation leads to confusion. Confusion
leads to irrationality. Irrationality leads to impulse. Impulse leads to sparkling.
Sparkling leads to inkling. Inkling leads to volition. Volition leads to awareness.
Awareness leads to consciousness. Consciousness leads to manas. Manas leads
to mind and body. Mind and body lead to sensation. Sensation leads to six sense
bases. Six sense bases lead to conductivity, etc.
For general understanding, every existence would comprise with the three basic
elements - energy, matter and space. These basic elements would subject to the
cyclic influence of balanced and imbalanced phenomena. Under a balanced
phenomenon, these elements would start to integrate with each other to create
aggregation. Under an imbalanced phenomenon, these elements would start to
disintegrate from each other to create segregation. During the process of
aggregation, some sort of information would be produced, stored and recalled in
the integrated elements. This recorded information would act as a reference for
the present and the future consciousnesses. Without any references deriving from
the recorded past consciousness, the present and the future consciousnesses
could not begin at all i.e. the past consciousness is linked to the present
consciousness and the present consciousness is linked to the future
consciousness. In other words, memory is a necessary pre-requisite for any
consciousnesses to exist; without it, the consciousness would be impossible.

2. Basically, the elements of memory would involve with two key functions i.e.
deposits and withdrawals of information – the act of retaining and recalling facts.
If the elements of memory are absent, the becoming or rebirth process for all
things would be deemed impossible. For example, ice, water and steam are
different appearances deriving from the orientation of H2O properties under the
influence of the external conditions. In fact, it is the orientation of H2O properties
that has taken place to conjure up the appearance i.e. the momentary outcome of
the process of aggregation that varies according to the subjected conditions. And
without the elements of subtle memory within the H2O properties, it would be
impossible for the ice, the water and the steam to resurface into their respective
appearances repeatedly under the varying external conditions.
Also, it is interesting to note that the process of mutation taking place in the
beings or objects can be referred to as the ‘memory loss’ arising in the nucleus of
the cells or atoms of the beings or objects. For instance, cancer is a class of
diseases that refers to out-of-control cell growth. Normal cells in the body would
go along a regulated path of growth, division, and death. When this process goes
wrong or breaks down due to the memory loss in the regular cells, a mass of
abnormal cells would grow and divide uncontrollably to form masses of tissue
called tumors. And for general understanding, mutation is a natural process just
like the biological aspects of ageing. In other words, it is an inevitable development
among all the natural things; without it, the process of evolution or the condition of
multiplicity is impossible in the dependent nature. Therefore, it is just plain
impossible to obliterate the disease of cancer from human beings, just like the
kamma-vipāka (the law of kamma).
Besides, the elements of memory would bear with both the seeds and the fruits of
kamma. The seeds of kamma are comparable to deposits of information and the
fruits of kamma are comparable to withdrawals of the deposited information upon
maturity. Therefore, it is not correct to mention that a newborn being has no
memory of a previous life. Every single newborn being would surely bear with the
seeds of kamma deriving from the previous lives. The seeds of kamma are
comparable to deposits of information and the fruits of kamma are comparable to
withdrawals of the deposited information upon maturity. In other words, it is not
that the newborn being has no memory of a previous life but rather the fruits of
kamma have not ripened yet. Only upon maturity could the newborn being start to
recall events related to his or her previous lives. Therefore, without the elements
of subtle memory, the law of kamma would be impossible in the realms of
existence.

3. In addition, according to Buddhism, suffering arises out of ignorance. But
ignorance could not arise out of thin air. Definitely, it needs to arise out of
something that has happened beforehand. In this case, we would conclude that
ignorance arises out of the elements of memory. When one is proclaimed as an
ignorant being, it means the person is uneducated, unaware, uninformed of some
kind of things or happenings that arise beforehand and this would mean the past
events that have been retained and recalled as references for the present and the
future events. Without any references deriving from the recorded past events, the
present and the future events could not begin at all i.e. the past event is linked to
the present event and the present event is linked to the future event.
Let us illustrate, for Ignorance 1 to link to Ignorance 1-1 and Ignorance 1-1 to link
to Ignorance 1-1-1, the memory involvement is inevitable. Without it, the linking
processes of the past, present and future could not take place at all. In a layman
term, this process is called the becoming and re-becoming within beings or things.
If the memory aspect is absent, the cycle of rising and falling activities in the
dependent nature would be deemed impossible because all the things or
happenings are inter-depending, inter-waving and inter-relating with one another.
Without the elements of memory, whatever information generated from the past
events would be instantly forgotten or erased and the progression of becoming or
rebirth process would be impossible across the time stream (past, present and
future). Therefore, the elements of ignorance and memory are closely inter-
dependent of each other – just like shadow follows the body.
As a conclusion, during the process of aggregation, some sort of information would
be produced, stored and recalled in the integrated elements. In a layman term, this
process is called the creation or pro-creation within beings or things. If the
elements of memory are absent, the process of replication could not arise in the
beings or things at all. Let us illustrate the learning of speeches among young
children. If a child has no ability of memorising, then whatever lessons that were
taught on would be forgotten or erased instantly and the progression into the next
advanced level would be deemed impossible. However, in Buddhism, there is a
recommendation for one to always see and live in the present; neither in the past
nor in the future. When one lives well in the present, one would lead to a
cessation of memories of the past and this would subsequently lead to a cessation
of ignorance in the future.