Rebirth

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rebirth. There is no single term in Buddhism that directly corresponds to the English term "rebirth." The traditional Buddhist terms most commonly associated with the notion of rebirth are:[1]

  1. saṃsāra (literally "cyclic existence," etc.) - the process of being born again and again within one of the three realms of existence
  2. bhava (literally "becoming" or "existence") - the subtle inner process of the coming into being of a new mode of existence. This process is based on karma and conditions, and leads to "birth" (jāti).
  3. jāti (literally "birth," "arising," etc.) - the birth of a sentient being (sattva)

Thus, within Buddhist cosmology, all sentient beings (sattva) within the three realms are caught up in an endless cycle of existence (saṃsāra). In this cycle, each sentient being takes birth (jāti) within a particular realm or situation based on the karma accumulated in their previous lives. Most ordinary beings will accumulate new karma during their current lifetime, leading to a new round of "becoming" (bhava) and birth (jāti). This cycle continues until one is able to purify all of his or her karma and attain liberation (bodhi).

Within saṃsāra, there are an infinite number of possible situations into which a being can be born, depending upon one's karma. However, Buddhist texts typically identify five or six broad categories of possible situations, referred to as the six classes of beings. These six classes are:

These six classes or domains are typically divided into three higher domains and three lower domains: the three higher domains are those of the gods, jealous gods, and humans; the three lower domains are those of the animals, hungry ghosts and hell beings. The higher domains are considered "fortunate" rebirths, and the lower domains as "unfortunate."

Peter Harvey states:

The Buddhist perspective on rebirth is that it is not a pleasant affair (S.II.179–80 (BW.218–19)), but that all unenlightened people are reborn whether they like it or not, and whether they believe in rebirth or not. The process of life and rebirth has no inherent purpose; for it was not designed and created by anyone. Thus, for example, one is not reborn ‘so as to be able to spiritually learn’; rebirth may provide an opportunity for spiritually learning, but this is a fortunate side-effect of it. While one’s life is not seen as given a ‘purpose’ by a designing God, one can oneself give one’s life a purpose, based on understanding the nature of life, its possibilities and problems. Accordingly, sensible aims are: to avoid causing suffering for oneself and others in this life; to gain relatively pleasant rebirths through good actions; ultimately to transcend rebirths altogether; and to help others to do so. Most Buddhists therefore aim for attaining a heavenly or a human rebirth, with the Arahat’s liberating experience of Nirvāṇa as the long-term goal; heavens are this side of salvation, with Nirvāṇa as beyond the limitations of both earthly and heavenly existence. The goal of full Buddhahood is an even higher goal, which is emphasized in Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Within the round of rebirths, all beings are part of the same cycle of lives. Each human being has been an animal, ghost, hell-being and god in the past, and is likely to be so again at some time in the future. Any form of suffering one witnesses in another human or other being has been undergone by oneself at some time (S.II.186): thus one should not cling to rebirths and should have compassion for other sentient beings. In one’s innumerable past lives, the law of averages dictates that most beings one comes across, however one might dislike them now, have at some time been a close relative or friend (S.II.189–90), so that loving-kindness towards them is appropriate.
Such teachings, of course, urge a kindness and non-violence towards all forms of life. Humans are part of the same cycle of lives as other beings, and are not separated from them by a huge gulf. Nevertheless, the more complex and developed a being is, the worse it is to harm or kill it; so it is worse to kill a human than an animal (M-a.I.198 (BS1.70–1); Harvey, 2000: 52). In the lower realms, there is much suffering and little freedom of action. In the heavens, the primarily happy lives of the gods tend to make them complacent, and they may also think they are eternal, without need of liberation. The human realm is a middle realm: there is enough suffering to motivate humans to seek to transcend it by spiritual development, and enough freedom to be able to act on this aspiration. It is thus the most favourable realm for spiritual development.[2]

The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism states:

The issue of how Buddhism reconciles the doctrine of rebirth with its position that there is no perduring self (anātman) has long been discussed within the tradition...
A...widely accepted view among the traditions sees the person as simply a sequence of mental and physical processes, among which is the process called consciousness (vijñāna). Consciousness, although changing every moment, persists as a continuum over time. Death is simply the transfer of this conscious continuum (saṃtāna) from one impermanent mental and physical foundation to the next, just as the light from one candle may be transferred to the next in a series of candles.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Less commonly used terms include punarbhava (literally "re-becoming"), punarjanman ("re-born"), punarmrityu ("redeath").
  2. ↑ Harvey 2013, s.v. Chapter 2.
  3. ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. rebirth.

Sources

Further reading

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