Buddhist Concept of Rebirth

8/3/2019 Buddhist Concept of Rebirth

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Buddhist concept of Rebirth

By

Dr. Verable Sheelratna Bodhi

Table of Contents


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Serial No. Page No.

Preface

Abbreviations

Chapter One Introduction

Chapter Two What is Buddhist concept of Rebirth

Chapter Three Reason to believe inRebirth

Chapter Four Kamma and Rebirth

Chapter Five Nibbna, the cessation of Rebirth

Chapter Six Conclusion

Bibliography

PREFACE

The concept of Rebirth is very important in Buddhism. In the commonsense, rebirth is always regarded as Dukkha or suffering; but here I amtrying to see the essence and necessity of such concept.

The first chapter Introduction looks at what is the concept of rebirthfound in Buddhism. An introductory would be written

The chapter `what is Buddhist concept of Rebirth?' Will discuss What isthe right term found in Buddhism? What does it really mean?

The chapter, `Reason to believe in Rebirth,' shows the reasons tobelieve in the concept of rebirth.
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The chapter, ` Kamma and Rebirth,' demonstrates how kamma andRebirth helps us to achieve our goal or to attain enlightenment

The chapter, ` Nibbna, the cessation of Rebirth,' looks at what appearto be and what really are, and the positive aspects of the concept of

rebirth

Finally the chapter, ` Conclusion,' will conclude the Buddhist concept ofRebirth.

ABBRIVIATIONS

BJT = Buddhajayanti

D N = Dgha Nikya

Ibid. = In the work cited

K N = Khuddaka Nikya

M N = Mjjhima Nikya

PTS = Pli Text Soceity

Ven. = Venerable


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VRI = Vipassana Research Institute

Chapter - IIntroduction

The English term "Rebirth" does not give the real concept foundin Buddhism. So, in order to understand Rebirth, we have to go throughthe term, and the concept found in Buddhism. The Pli term"Punabbhava" is found in the Buddhist Canon (Tipiaka), and it meansone is being borne again and again. In one's each existence one canredirect one's life, so I would like to translate it in English asRedirection. It is a symbol of cycle of existence. Redirection iseverything that binds one to the realm of birth and death, capturing

and ensnaring the mind of beings and keeping it from enlightenment,i.e. samsra. Having the concept of Redirection (punabbhava), then, isentirely reasonable.

In Hinduism, Rebirth is found as concept of "punarjanma". According toHinduism, when a being dies then his body is died but the tm ortman his inner soul does not die. tm or Soul goes present life tonext life, is known as punarjanma or reincarnation.


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The concept of rebirth or redirection is as manifold as it isuniversal. A sense of life's "Rebirth" seems to have haunted humanbeings from earliest period or ancient time. The concept of Rebirth hasfound expression in wide varieties of popular beliefs among ancientIndian peoples. This concept may be useful for one's liberation or

salvation. This concept makes people to think that individual isimperfect therefore one tries to attain Nibbna, Moka, Liberation orSalvation.

The concept Rebirth is an important in the Buddhist Canon.Generally, it is regarded as dukkha (unsatisfactoriness), for instance inthe common sense redirection is regarded as an obstacle or hindrance.Rebirth generally regarded as re-existence of being or continuation ofbeing, the Buddhist counterpart of Rebirth or principle of destructionand existence.

In the canon, Punabbhava means the whole of worldlyexistence, the five khadhs or the realm of rebirth, as opposed toNibbna.

Generally this term has been misunderstood; the real essence ofRebirth (Redirection) has not been understood. In this paper I will tryto explain clearly its essence and necessity of the concept of Rebirth.

Chapter- II What is Buddhist concept of Rebirth

First of all we must understand what birth or jti is. Then we will beable to understand what re-birth is. Jti is defined as, "Y tesa tesa

sattna tamhi tamhi sattanikye, jti, sajti, okkanti, abhinibbanti,khandhna ptubhvo, yatanna pailbho, aya vuccati bhikkavejti.

It means whatever birth, taking birth, descent, coming-to-be, coming-forth, appearance of aggregates, & acquisition of [sense] spheres ofthe various beings in their own group of beings, which is called birth.So Rebirth is taking birth, descent, coming-to-be, coming-forth,


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appearance of aggregates, & acquisition of [sense] spheres of thevarious beings in their own group of beings again and again.

The term "punabbhava" is found in Buddhism. Punabbhava is formedof two word puna means again, or re, and bhava means

existence. In each bhava or existence one can give direction or gati tooneself; thus punabbhava means redirection.

The Buddhist doctrine of redirection (re-existence) should bedistinguished from the theory or reincarnation or transmigration, asBuddhism denies the existence of an unchanging or eternal soul oratman (tm).

According to Hinduism, when a being dies then his body is died but thetm or tman person's inner soul does not die. tm or Soul goespresent life to next life, is known as punarjanma or rebirth or

reincarnation or transmigration. While according to Buddhism, there isno such thing called tm or soul.

According to Buddhism the so-called being is composed of mind(Nma) and matter (Rpa). Rpa or matter is merely the manifestationof four forces- pahavi (the earth element), po (the water element),Tejo (the fire element), Vyo (the air element), and the qualities ofthese four elements. The Quality of Pahavi is extension or substratumof matter. The Quality of po is cohesion. The Quality of Tejo istemperature. The Quality of Vyo is motion.

It is stated that "the four essentials of matter are invariably combinedwith four derivatives, color-Vaa, odor- Gadha, taste- Rasa, andnutritive essence- Oj." The four elements and the derivatives areinseparable and inter-related.

Nma or Mind is the most important part in the machinery of Beings,Nma is subdivided into Vedan, Sa, Sakhra, and Via. Rpais also subdivided as Bhautika Rpa (physical matter) and PrabhautikRpa (subtle matter or {mano kya} mental body). Thus the Being is acomplex compound of five Aggregates (Pacakkhadha), namely,Rpakkhadha (Aggregate of Matter), Vedan-khadha (Aggregate of

Feeling), Sa-khadha (Aggregate of Perception), Sakhrakkhadha(Aggregate of Volition or mental formation) and Viakkhadha(Aggregate of Consciousness). These aggregates are in the state ofconstant flux or continuous changing, and there is no permanent entityor so-called soul or tman or tm that resides in the being.

The body dies transmitting its Kammic force in five aggregates(Pacakkhadha). The future being is the reproductive of the kammic


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force of present Kamma and of VIA, here VIA meansPrabhautika Rpa, Vedan, Sa, Sakhra and Via, which iscontinuous changing and vibrating. The new being is neitherabsolutely the same- non-identical nor entirely another ("na ca so naca ao.")- being the same stream of kammic energy of VIA,

which goes one life to the next life; as it is mentioned: aatrapaccay natthi viassa sambhavo and nmrpa paccay via, via paccay nmarpa

Therefore, we can say that there is a continuity of a particular life-fluxonly, nothing else.

Chapter- III Reason to believe in Rebirth


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According to Buddhism we are born from the matrix of action(Kammayoni). Parents merely provide an infinitesimally small cell. Assuch being proceeds being. At the moment of conception it is pastKamma that conditions the initial consciousness that vitalizes thefetus. It is this invisible Kammic energy, generated from the past birth

that produces mental phenomena and the phenomenon of life in analready extent physical phenomenon, to complete the trio thatconstitutes man.

For a being to be born here a being must die somewhere. The birth of abeing, which strictly means the arising of the five aggregates orpsycho-physical phenomena in this present life corresponds to thedeath of a being in a past life; just as, in conventional terms, the risingof the sun in one place means the setting of the sun in another place.This enigmatic statement may be better understood by imagining lifeas a wave and not as a straight line. Birth and death are only two

phases of the same process. Birth precedes death, and death, on theother hand, precedes birth. The constant succession of birth and deathin connection with each individual life flux constitutes what istechnically known as Samsara -- recurrent wandering.

What is the ultimate origin of life?

The Buddha declares that "Without cognizable end is this Samsara. Afirst beginning of beings, who, obstructed by ignorance and fettered bycraving, wander and fare on, is not to be perceived."

This life-stream flows ad infinitum, as long as it is fed by the muddywaters of ignorance and craving. When these two are completely cutoff, then only, if one so wishes, does the stream cease to flow, rebirthends as in the case of the Buddhas and Arahats. An ultimate beginningof this life-stream cannot be determined, as a stage cannot beperceived when this life-force was not fraught with ignorance andcraving.

The Buddha has here referred merely to the beginning of the life-stream of living beings. It is left to scientists to speculate on the originand the evolution of the universe. The Buddha does not attempt to

solve all the ethical and philosophical problems that perplex mankind.Nor does He deal with theories and speculations that tend neither toedification nor to enlightenment. Nor does He demand blind faith fromHis adherents. He is chiefly concerned with the problem of sufferingand its destruction. With but this one practical and specific purpose inview, all irrelevant side issues are completely ignored.

But how are we to believe that there is a past existence?


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The most valuable evidence Buddhists cite in favor of rebirth is theBuddha, for He developed a knowledge which enabled Him to readpast and future lives.

Following His instructions, His disciples also developed this knowledge

and were able to read their past lives to a great extent.

Even some Indian Rishis, before the advent of the Buddha, weredistinguished for such psychic powers as clairaudience, clairvoyance,thought-reading, remembering past births, etc.

There are also some persons, who probably in accordance with thelaws of association, spontaneously develop the memory of their pastbirth, and remember fragments of their previous lives. Such cases arevery rare, but those few well-attested, respectable cases tend to throwsome light on the idea of a past birth. So are the experiences of some

modern dependable psychics and strange cases of alternating andmultiple personalities.

In hypnotic states some relate experiences of their past lives; while afew others, read the past lives of others and even heal diseases.

Sometimes we get strange experiences which cannot be explained butby rebirth.

How often do we meet persons whom we have never met, and yetinstinctively feel that they are quite familiar to us? How often do we

visit places, and yet feel impressed that we are perfectly acquaintedwith those surroundings?

The Buddha tells us: "Through previous associations or presentadvantage, that old love springs up again like the lotus in the water."

Experiences of some reliable modern psychics, ghostly phenomena,spirit communications, strange alternating and multiple personalitiesand so on shed some light upon this problem of rebirth.

Into this world come Perfect Ones like the Buddhas and highly

developed personalities. Do they evolve suddenly? Can they be theproducts of a single existence?

How, are we to account for great characters are like Buddhaghosa,Panini, Kalidasa, Homer and Plato; men of genius like Shakespeare,infant prodigies like Pascal, Mozart, Beethoven, Raphael, Ramanujan,Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar etc.?


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Heredity alone cannot account for them. "Else their ancestry woulddisclose it, their posterity, even greater than themselves, demonstrateit."

Could anyone rise to such lofty heights if one had not lived noble lives

and gained similar experiences in the past? Is it by mere chance thatone is been born or those particular parents and placed under thosefavorable circumstances?

If one believes in the present and in the future, it is quite logical tobelieve in the past. The present is the offspring of the past, and acts inturn as the parent of the future.

If there are reasons to believe that we have existed in the past, thensurely there are no reasons to disbelieve that we shall continue to existafter our present life has apparently ceased.

It is indeed a strong argument in favor of past and future lives that inthis world virtuous person are very often unfortunate and viciouspersons prosperous.

A Western writer says that whether we believe in a past existence ornot, it forms the only reasonable hypothesis which bridges certain gapsin human knowledge concerning certain facts of every day life. Ourreason tells us that this idea of past birth and Kamma alone canexplain the degrees of difference that exist between twins, how menlike Shakespeare with a very limited experience are able to portray

with marvelous exactitude the most diverse types of human character,scenes and so forth of which they could have no actual knowledge,why the work of the genius invariably transcends his experience, theexistence of infant precocity, the vast diversity in mind and morals, inbrain and physique, in conditions, circumstances and environmentobservable throughout the world, and so forth.

It should be stated that this doctrine of rebirth can neither be provednor disproved experimentally, but it is accepted as an evidentiallyverifiable fact.


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Chapter - IV Kamma and Rebirth

We find amongst mankind those of brief life and those of long life, thehale and the ailing, the good looking and the ill-looking, the powerfuland the powerless, the poor and the rich, the low-born and the high-born, the ignorant and the intelligent.

Every living being has kamma as its own, its inheritance, its cause, itskinsman, its refuge. Kamma is that which differentiates all living beingsinto low and high states; as the Buddha briefly replied: thus: Kammasatte vibhajati.

He then explained the cause of such differences in accordance with thelaw of moral causation.

Thus from a Buddhist standpoint, our present mental, intellectual,moral and temperamental differences are mainly due to our ownactions and tendencies, both past the present.

Kamma, literally, means action; but, in its ultimate sense, it means themeritorious and demeritorious volition (Kusala Akusala Cetan).Kamma constitutes both good and evil. Good gets good. Evil gets evil.

This is the law of Kamma.

As some Westerners prefer to say Kamma is "action-influence."

We reap what we have sown. What we sow we reap somewhere orsome when. In one sense we are the result of what we were; we will bethe result of what we are. In another sense, we are not totally the


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result of what we were and we will not absolutely be the result of whatwe are. For instance, a criminal today may be a saint tomorrow.

Buddhism attributes this variation to Kamma, but it does not assertthat everything is due to Kamma.

If everything were due to Kamma, a man must ever be bad, for it is hisKamma to be bad. One need not consult a physician to be cured of adisease, for if one's Kamma is such one will be cured.

According to Buddhism, there are five orders or processes (Niymas)which operate in the physical and mental realms:

i. Kamma Niyma, order of act and result, e.g., desirable andundesirable acts produce corresponding good and bad results.

ii. Utu Niyma, physical (inorganic) order, e.g., seasonal phenomena ofwinds and rains.

iii. Bja Niyma, order of germs or seeds (physical organic order); e.g.,rice produced from rice-seed, sugary taste from sugar cane or honeyetc. The scientific theory of cells and genes and the physical similarityof twins may be ascribed to this order.

iv. Citta Niyma, order of mind or psychic law, e.g., processes ofconsciousness (Citta vithi), power of mind etc.

v. Dhamma Niyma, order of the norm, e.g., the natural phenomenaoccurring at the advent of a Bodhisatta in his last birth, gravitation,etc.

Every mental or physical phenomenon could be explained by these all-embracing five orders or processes which are laws in themselves.

Kamma is, therefore, only one of the five orders that prevail in theuniverse. It is a law in itself, but it does not thereby follow that thereshould be a law-giver. Ordinary laws of nature, like gravitation, needno law-giver. It operates in its own field without the intervention of an

external independent ruling agency.

Nobody, for instance, has decreed that fire should burn. Nobody hascommanded that water should seek its own level. No scientist hasordered that water should consist of H2O, and that coldness should beone of its properties. These are their intrinsic characteristics. Kamma isneither fate nor predestination imposed upon us by some mysteriousunknown power to which we must helplessly submit ourselves. It is


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one's own doing reacting on oneself, and so one has the possibility todivert the course of Kamma to some extent. How far one diverts itdepends on oneself.

It must also be said that such phraseology as rewards and

punishments should not be allowed to enter into discussionsconcerning the problem of Kamma. For Buddhism does not recognizean Almighty being who rules His subjects and rewards and punishesthem accordingly. Buddhists, on the contrary, believe that sorrow andhappiness one experiences are the natural outcome of one's own goodand bad actions. It should be stated that Kamma has both thecontinuative and the retributive principle.

Inherent in Kamma is the potentiality of producing its due effect. Thecause produces the effect; the effect explains the cause. Seedproduces the fruit; the fruit explains the seed as both are inter-related.

Even so Kamma and its effect are inter-related; "the effect alreadyblooms in the cause."

A Buddhist who is fully convinced of the doctrine of Kamma does notpray to another to be saved but confidently relies on himself for hispurification because it teaches individual responsibility.

It is this doctrine of Kamma that gives him consolation, hope, selfreliance and moral courage. It is this belief in Kamma "that validateshis effort, kindles his enthusiasm," makes him ever kind, tolerant andconsiderate. It is also this firm belief in Kamma that prompts him to

refrain from evil, do good and be good without being frightened of anypunishment or tempted by any reward.

It is this doctrine of Kamma that can explain the problem of suffering,the mystery of so-called fate or predestination of other religions, andabove all the inequality of mankind.

Kamma and rebirth are accepted as axiomatic.

As long as this Kammic force exists there is re-birth, for beings aremerely the visible manifestation of this invisible Kammic force. Death

is nothing but the temporary end of this temporary phenomenon. It isnot the complete annihilation of this so-called being. The organic lifehas ceased, but the Kammic force which hitherto actuated it has notbeen destroyed. As the Kammic force remains entirely undisturbed bythe disintegration of the fleeting body, the passing away of the presentdying thought-moment only conditions a fresh consciousness inanother birth.


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It is Kamma, rooted in ignorance and craving, that conditions rebirth.Past Kamma conditions the present birth; and present Kamma, incombination with past Kamma, conditions the future. The present isthe offspring of the past, and becomes, in turn, the parent of thefuture.

If we postulate a past, present, and future lives, then we are at oncefaced with the alleged mysterious problem -- "What is the ultimateorigin of life?"

Either there must be a beginning or there cannot be a beginning forlife.

One school, in attempting to solve the problem, postulates a firstcause, God, viewed as a force or as an Almighty Being.

Another school denies a first cause for, in common experience, thecause ever becomes the effect and the effect becomes the cause. In acircle of cause and effect a first cause is inconceivable. According tothe former, life has had a beginning, according to the latter, it isbeginningless.

From the scientific standpoint, we are the direct products of the spermand ovum cells provided by our parents. As such life precedes life. Withregard to the origin of the first protoplasm of life, or colloid, scientistsplead ignorance.

Chapter - V Nibbna, the cessation of Rebirth

The Pli word Nibbna is formed of Ni and Vna. Ni is a negativeparticle and Vna means lusting or craving. "It is called Nibbana, inthat it is a departure from the craving which is called Vna, lusting."Literally, Nibbna means non-attachment.

It may also be defined as the extinction of lust, hatred and ignorance,"The whole world is in flames," says the Buddha. "By what fire is it


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kindled? By the fire of lust, hatred and ignorance, by the fire of birth,old age, death, pain, lamentation, sorrow, grief and despair it iskindled."

It should not be understood that Nibbana is a state of nothingness or

annihilation owing to the fact that we cannot perceive it with ourworldly knowledge. One cannot say that there exists no light justbecause the blind man does not see it. In that well known story, too,the fish arguing with his friend, the turtle, triumphantly concluded thatthere exists no land.

Nibbana of the Buddhists is neither a mere nothingness nor a state ofannihilation, but what it is no words can adequately express. Nibbnais a Dhamma which is "unborn, un-originated, uncreated andunformed." Hence, it is eternal (Dhuva), desirable (Subha), and happy(Sukha).

In Nibbna nothing is "eternalized," nor is anything "annihilated,"besides suffering.

According to the Books references are made to Nibbna as Sopadisesaand Anupadisesa. These, in fact, are not two kinds of Nibbna, but theone single Nibbna, receiving its name according to the way it isexperienced before and after death.

Nibbna is not situated in any place nor is it a sort of heaven where atranscendental ego resides. It is a state which is dependent upon this

body itself. It is an attainment (Dhamma) which is within the reach ofall. Nibbna is a supramundane state attainable even in this presentlife. Buddhism does not state that this ultimate goal could be reachedonly in a life beyond. Here lies the chief difference between theBuddhist conception of Nibbna and the non-Buddhist conception of aneternal heaven attainable only after death or a union with a God orDivine Essence in an after-life. When Nibbana is realized in this life withthe body remaining, it is called Sopadisesa Nibbna-dhtu. When anArahant attains parinibbna, after the dissolution of his body, withoutany remainder of physical existence it is called Anupadisesa Nibbna-dhtu.

In the words of Sir Edwin Arnold: "If any teach Nirva is to ceaseSay unto such they lay. If any teach Nirvana is to loveSay unto such they err."

From a metaphysical standpoint Nibbna is deliverance from suffering.From a psychological standpoint Nibbna is the eradication of egoism.


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From an ethical standpoint Nibbna is the destruction of lust, hatredand ignorance.

Does the Arahant exist or not after death? The Buddha replies: "TheArahant who has been released from the five aggregates is deep,

immeasurable like the mighty ocean. To say that he is reborn wouldnot fit the case. To say that he is neither reborn nor not reborn wouldnot fit the case."

One cannot say that an Arahant is reborn as all passions that conditionrebirth are eradicated; nor can one say that the Arahant is annihilatedfor there is nothing to annihilate.

The cause of this Kamma is avijj or ignorance of the Four Noble Truthssays the Buddha. Ignorance is, therefore, the cause of birth and death;and its transmutation into knowingness or vijj is consequently their

cessation.

The result of this analytical method is summed up in thePaiccasamuppda. Paticca means because of, or dependent upon:Samuppda "arising or origination." Paiccasamuppda, therefore,literally means -- "Dependent Arising" or "Dependent Origination."

It must be kept in mind that Paiccasamuppda is only a discourse onthe process of birth and death and not a theory of the ultimate originof life. It deals with the cause of rebirth and suffering, but it does not inthe least attempt to show the evolution of the world from primordial

matter.

Ignorance (Avijj) is the first link or cause of the wheel of life. It cloudsall right understanding.

Dependent on ignorance of the Four Noble Truths, there arise activities(Sakhra) -- both moral and immoral. The activities whether good orbad rooted in ignorance which must necessarily have their due effects,only tend to prolong life's wandering. Nevertheless, good actions areessential to get rid of the ills of life.

Dependent on activities arise rebirth-consciousness (Viaa). Thislinks the past with the present; Simultaneous with the arising ofrebirth-consciousness there come into being mind and body (Nma-rpa) as mentioned that nmarpapaccay via, viapaccay nmarpa.


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The six senses (Sayatana) are the inevitable consequences of mindand body-nmarpapaccay phasso,

Because of the six senses contact (Phassa) sets in, which leads tofeeling (Vedan) -phassapaccay vedan,

These five -- viz., consciousness, mind and matter, six senses, contactand feeling -- are the effects of past actions and are called the passiveside of life.

Dependent on feeling arises craving (Tah) vedanpaccay tah.Craving results in grasping (Updna) tahpaccay updna .Grasping is the cause of Kamma (Bhava) updnapaccay bhavo,which in its turn, conditions future birth (Jti) bhavapaccay jti. Birthis the inevitable cause of old age and death (Jar-maraa) jtipaccay jarmaraa, sokaparidevadukkhadomanasspys sambhavanti.

Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti

If on account of cause effect comes to be, then if the cause ceases, theeffect also must cease.

The reverse order of the Paiccasamuppda will make the matterclear.

Old age and death are possible in and with a psychophysical organism.Such an organism must be born; therefore it pre-supposes birth. Butbirth is the inevitable result of past deeds or Kamma. Kamma is

conditioned by grasping which is due to craving. Such craving canappear only where feeling exists. Feeling is the outcome of contactbetween the senses and objects. Therefore it presupposes organs ofsenses which cannot exist without mind and body. Where there is amind there is consciousness. It is the result of past good and evil. Theacquisition of good and evil is due to ignorance of things as they trulyare.

The whole formula may be summed up thus:

Dependent on Ignorance arise Activities (Moral and Immoral),

Dependent on Activities arises Consciousness (Re-birthConsciousness), Dependent on Consciousness arise Mind and Matter,Dependent on Mind and Matter arise the six Spheres of Sense,Dependent on the Six Spheres of Sense arises Contact, Dependent onContact arises Feeling, Dependent on Feeling arises Craving,Dependent on Craving arises Grasping, Dependent on Grasping ariseActions (Kamma), Dependent on Actions arises Rebirth, Dependent on


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Birth arise Decay, Death, Sorrow, Lamentation, Pain, Grief, andDespair.

Thus the entire aggregate of suffering arises. The first two of thesetwelve pertain to the past, the middle eight to the present, and the last

two to the future.

The complete cessation of Ignorance leads to the cessation ofActivities. The cessation of Activities leads to the cessation ofConsciousness.The cessation of Consciousness leads to the cessation of mind andmatter.The cessation of Mind and Matter leads to the cessation of the sixSpheres of Sense. The cessation of the six Spheres of Sense leads tothe cessation of Contact, The cessation of Contact leads to the cessation of Feeling.

The cessation of Feeling leads to the cessation of Craving. The cessation of Craving leads to the cessation of Grasping. The cessation of Grasping leads to the cessation of Actions. The cessation of Actions leads to the cessation of Re-birth. The cessation of Re-birth leads to the cessation of Decay, Death,Sorrow, Lamentation, Pain, Grief, and Despair. Thus does the cessationof this entire aggregate of suffering result.

This process of cause and effect continues and infinitum. Thebeginning of this process cannot be determined as it is impossible tosay whence this life-flux was encompassed by nescience. But when

this nescience is turned into knowledge and the life-flux is diverted intoNibbnadhtu, and then the end of the life process of Samsra comesabout.


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Chapter -VI Conclusion

The concept of Rebirth is very important in Buddhism. In the commonsense, rebirth is always regarded as Dukkha or Suffering. It is a symbolof cycle of existence. It is everything that binds one to the realm of

birth and death, capturing and ensnaring the mind of beings andkeeping it from enlightenment, i.e. samsra., but also it is a placewhere one can give oneself a chance to get Nibbna, the summumbonum of Buddhism.

Thus, the English term "Rebirth" does not give the real concept foundin Buddhism. The concept found in Buddhism is "Punabbhava" or theconcept of redirection. It means in one's each existence (life) one canredirect oneself. Having the concept of Redirection (punabbhava),

then, is entirely reasonable.

According to Buddhism the so-called being is composed of mind(Nma) and matter (Rpa). Birth is simply the arising of Khadhs orAggregates. So redirection or punabbhava is getting of the fiveaggregates again and again.


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Every living being has kamma as its own, its inheritance, its cause, itskinsman, its refuge. Kamma is that which differentiates all living beingsinto low and high states; as the Buddha briefly replied: thus: "Kamma

satte vibhajati."

As long as this Kammic force exists there is redirection or re-birth, forbeings are merely the visible manifestation of this invisible Kammicforce. Death is nothing but the temporary end of this temporaryphenomenon. It is not the complete annihilation of this so-called being. The organic life has ceased, but the Kammic force which hithertoactuated it has not been destroyed. As the Kammic force remainsentirely undisturbed by the disintegration of the fleeting body, thepassing away of the present dying cuti citta only conditions a freshconsciousness in another birth.

It is Kamma, rooted in ignorance and craving, that conditions rebirth.Past Kamma conditions the present birth; and present Kamma, incombination with past Kamma, conditions the future. The present isthe offspring of the past, and becomes, in turn, the parent of thefuture. Kamma and rebirth are accepted as axiomatic.

The process of birth and death continues and infinitum until this flux istransmuted, so to say, to Nibbnadhtu, the ultimate goal ofBuddhists. In other word the summum bonum of Buddhadhamma isNibbna, which is the cessation of redirection or rebirth, the cycle of

dukkha.

Therefore, we can say that the concept of rebirth,reincarnation, and transmigration is not found in Buddhism, but theconcept of redirection or Punbbhava is found. It is an essential,important and core concept in Buddhadhamma. According toBuddhadhamma, one gets future life according to one's own kamma,which occurs at last moment of death of a being, called cuti citta. Cuticitta is also known as via, here via means Prabhautika rpa,vedan sa sakhra and via, as it is mentisoned that arapaccay natthi viasssa sambhavo. It is because of life or existence

that one is able to direct oneself towards Nibbna. Even to becomeSammsambuddha, one needs to fulfill pramits in several and longjourney of life. Thus this concept is reasonable and essential.


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2. Narada Mahathero, A Manual of Buddhism, Publication of the

Buddhist Missionary Society, Buddhist Vihara, 123, Jalan

Berhala, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1992, 1995.

3. Rhys David, Dgha Nikya, PTS,


22/22

4. VRI, Tipiaka, Published by VIPASSANA RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Chaha Sagyana CD, Dhammagiri, Igatapuri, India-1999.

5. Mahsatipaana sutta, DN, PTS, p-305, BJT, p-480.

6. A Manual of Buddhism, p-121.

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40,

8. Mahtahsakhaya sutta, MN-1, PTS, p-259, Metta CD.

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11. Mahnidna sutta DN, PTS, p-56

12. Cullakammavibhga Sutta, MN, VRI, p-244.

Buddhist Concept of Rebirth

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