Rebirth (Buddhism)

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Rebirth in Buddhism refers to the teaching that the actions of a sentient being lead to a new existence after death, in an endless cycle called saṃsāra.[1][2] This cycle is considered to be dukkha, unsatisfactory and painful. The cycle stops only if Nirvana (liberation) is achieved by insight and the extinguishing of craving.[3][4] Rebirth is one of the foundational doctrines of Buddhism, along with karma and Nirvana.[1][3][5] Rebirth was a key teaching of early Buddhism along with the doctrine of karma (which it shared with early Indian religions like Jainism).[6][7][8] In Early Buddhist Sources, the Buddha claims to have knowledge of his many past lives.[9] Rebirth and other concepts of the afterlife have been interpreted in different ways by different Buddhist traditions.[6][10][11]

The rebirth doctrine, sometimes referred to as reincarnation or transmigration, asserts that rebirth takes place in one of the six realms of samsara, the realms of gods, demi-gods, humans, the animal realm, the ghost realm and hell realms.[4][12][note 1] Rebirth, as stated by various Buddhist traditions, is determined by karma, with good realms favored by kusala karma (good or skillful karma), while a rebirth in evil realms is a consequence of akusala karma (bad or unskillful karma).[4] While nirvana is the ultimate goal of Buddhist teaching, much of traditional Buddhist practice has been centered on gaining merit and merit transfer, whereby one gains rebirth in the good realms and avoids rebirth in the evil realms.[4][14][15][note 2]

The rebirth doctrine has been a subject of scholarly studies within Buddhism since ancient times, particularly in reconciling the rebirth doctrine with its anti-essentialist anatman (not-self) doctrine.[4][3][16] The various Buddhist traditions throughout history have disagreed on what it is in a person that is reborn, as well as how quickly the rebirth occurs after each death.[4][15]

Some Buddhist traditions assert that vijñana (consciousness), though constantly changing, exists as a continuum or stream (santana) and is what undergoes rebirth.[4][17][18] Some traditions like Theravada assert that rebirth occurs immediately and that no "thing" (not even consciousness) moves across lives to be reborn (though there is a causal link, like when a seal is imprinted on wax). Other Buddhist traditions such as Tibetan Buddhism posit an interim existence (bardo) between death and rebirth, which may last as long as 49 days. This belief drives Tibetan funerary rituals.[4][19] A now defunct Buddhist tradition called Pudgalavada asserted there was an inexpressible personal entity (pudgala) which migrates from one life to another.[4]

  1. ^ a b Peter Harvey (2012). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices. Cambridge University Press. pp. 32–33, 38–39, 46–49. ISBN 978-0-521-85942-4. Archived from the original on 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  2. ^ Trainor 2004, p. 58, Quote: "Buddhism shares with Hinduism the doctrine of Samsara, whereby all beings pass through an unceasing cycle of birth, death and rebirth until they find a means of liberation from the cycle. However, Buddhism differs from Hinduism in rejecting the assertion that every human being possesses a changeless soul which constitutes his or her ultimate identity, and which transmigrates from one incarnation to the next..
  3. ^ a b c Norman C. McClelland (2010). Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma. McFarland. pp. 226–228. ISBN 978-0-7864-5675-8.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Robert E. Buswell Jr.; Donald S. Lopez Jr. (2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. pp. 708–709. ISBN 978-1-4008-4805-8.
  5. ^ Edward Craig (1998). Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Routledge. p. 402. ISBN 978-0-415-18715-2.
  6. ^ a b Laumakis 2008, p. 50-54.
  7. ^ Bhikkhu Anālayo (2018), Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Current Research, pp. 1–25. Somerville, MA, USA: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 978-1-614-29446-7
  8. ^ Gombrich, Richard (2009), What the Buddha thought, pp. 73–74. Equinox.
  9. ^ Bhikkhu Anālayo (2018), Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Current Research, pp. 18–20. Somerville, MA, USA: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 978-1-614-29446-7
  10. ^ Sayers, Matthew R. (2013-09-12). Feeding the Dead: Ancestor Worship in Ancient India. OUP USA. ISBN 978-0-19-989643-1.
  11. ^ Sayers, Matthew R. (May 2008). Feeding the ancestors: ancestor worship in ancient Hinduism and Buddhism (Thesis thesis). Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  12. ^ Obeyesekere, Gananath (2005). Karma and Rebirth: A Cross Cultural Study. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 127. ISBN 978-8120826090.
  13. ^ Nanamoli Bhikkhu; Bhikkhu Bodhi (2005). The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya. Simon Schuster. pp. 1029–1038. ISBN 978-0-86171-982-2.
  14. ^ a b William H. Swatos; Peter Kivisto (1998). Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. Rowman Altamira. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-7619-8956-1. Archived from the original on 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  15. ^ a b c Ronald Wesley Neufeldt (1986). Karma and Rebirth: Post Classical Developments. State University of New York Press. pp. 123–131. ISBN 978-0-87395-990-2. Archived from the original on 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  16. ^ Wendy Doniger (1999). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
  17. ^ Williams 2002, pp. 74–75.
  18. ^ "Post-Classical Developments in the Concepts of Karma and Rebirth in Theravada Buddhism." by Bruce Matthews. in Karma and Rebirth: Post-Classical Developments State Univ of New York Press: 1986 ISBN 0-87395-990-6 pg 125;
    Collins, Steven. Selfless persons: imagery and thought in Theravāda Buddhism Cambridge University Press, 1990. ISBN 0-521-39726-X pg 215[1]
  19. ^ Buswell & Lopez 2003, pp. 49–50.


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