“What does Buddhism say about rebirth?” – Picture from the ilustrated Dhammapada, verse 170, about the end of samsara
What does Buddhism say about rebirth?
In the early hours of the night on which Siddhartha Gautama became enlightened, he found himself capable of recollecting an immense number of past lives. In the middle part of the night he found himself able to follow the wanderings of beings through different realms over many lifetimes, and thus to verify the law of kamma. These unimaginably intense experiences so undermined the deep-seated foundations of toxicity in his mind, and so enhanced the power of his contemplations, that by dawn he had become a fully enlightened Buddha.
Throughout his teaching career the Buddha revealed information about other realms. He spoke on various occasions about the different realms of existence and the conduct that led to rebirth in them. It seems clear that he felt knowledge of these realms gave a fuller context for spiritual endeavor. Even if this knowledge was yet unverifiable by direct experience, he considered it a valuable support for all those following the Eightfold Path.
The Buddha made it clear that no realm is eternal, and that rebirth in heaven realms, no matter how sublime, is ultimately unsatisfactory and comes to an end. He taught that for the fully enlightened being, there can be no more rebirths. The cause for the beginning-less wandering in temporal realms is a fundamental ignorance of the true nature of things. Once that ignorance has been destroyed, all that is founded upon it disappears.
How important is it for Buddhists to believe in rebirth?
Buddhism is not a member of the belief-system family of religions. For this reason the Buddha’s teaching on rebirth should not be seen as a dogma in which Buddhists must believe. Buddhists are encouraged to take the teaching of rebirth on trust, but to be constantly aware that acceptance of a teaching as making sense, as inspiring confidence, or as consistent with other teachings that one has proved to be true, is not the same as knowing its truth for oneself. The Buddha taught people to “care for the truth” by not claiming something must necessarily be true merely because they have a strong feeling that it is so. The vast majority of Buddhists have not, of course, been able to prove the truth of rebirth. They are taught to humbly acknowledge that they do not actually know of it is true, but to accept the teachings on rebirth as a working hypothesis for understanding their life and for following the Buddha’s path of awakening. Through the practice of the Eightfold Path, confidence in kamma and rebirth grows in a natural, unforced way.
More questions and answers HERE
Source:
- Without and Within – Ajahn Jayasaro
Ryokan Says
I always insist in see things from the practical scope before adopt them; How does affect your body and mind?, What influence have on your mood?, What kind of actions could derive from them?, and how those actions affects on me and others? it is positive, negative or neutral?. Once the subject goes through the primary focus of reason and practical analysis, then we can start to open, to a more personal and subtle position towards it.
If we made this task at that order, there will not be immoderate beliefs nor harmful actions deriving from these, and I think that this is one of the strongest aspects of Buddhism. The teachings that inspire more trust are precisely the ones that call to enquire the same exact things that teach you. In my personal experience the latest concepts I accepted were those of Kamma and Rebirth, and generally I didn’t meddle with them, but as I were getting deeper and assimilating more the Dhamma I felt more open, to the level (at least) of considering them, and it was has Ajahn Jayasaro mentions, in a natural, unforced way.
