Buddhism

Buddhism & Rebirth

Whether there is the possibility of human existence after death has been the question capturing mankind since the dawn of their own existence. No one would really know, unless one returns from one's own death to tell the others.

Francis Story, a Buddhist Scholar, and Professor Ian Stevenson of Department of Psychiatry, University of Virginia, reported 17 cases of rebirths among various nations of Southeast Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand) (Story, Francis. REBIRTH as doctrine and experience. Sri Lanka, Buddhist Publication Society, 1975). Professor Ian Stevenson subsequently reported a few more cases from the Middle East of similar rebirth experience. There have been more reports, in English language, of such rebirth experience since, though many, many more cases have long been documented previously in the native languages, especially among Southeast Asia and other Buddhist countries.

H.H. The 14^th Dalai Lama, Kundun, answered Ted Koppel of 'ABC Nightline' TV Program whether he is the reincarnation of H.H. The 13^th Dalai Lama, "When I was young, they told me that I remembered things of my past life; but nowadays, sometimes I can't even remember what I did yesterday." (Koppel, Ted. A Conversation with Dalai Lama. ABC Nightline, 9/13/95).

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it only transforms (e.g., thermo-energy, nuclear energy, solar energy, etc.). Matter and Energy have been proven to be interchangeable (Atomic physics and the atomic bomb, ‘Fission’ & ‘Fusion’). All matter is composed of this same basic reality, pure energy.

To the scientist, ‘matter’ is energy in the state of stress, and change without real substance.

To the psychologist, ‘psyche’ or ‘mind’ is no more a fixed entity.

A person is comprised of a psychophysical unit of matter and mind, but mind or 'psyche' is not a soul or a 'self,' in the sense of an enduring entity, something ready-made and permanent.

Mind is a force, a dynamic continuum capable of storing up memories not only of this life but also of past lives or experience.*

From the Buddhist point of view, the main argument that "establishes" rebirth is one based on a profound understanding, of the continuity of mind. Where does consciousness come from? It cannot arise out of nowhere. A moment of consciousness cannot be produced without the moment of consciousness that immediately preceded it. His Holiness the Dalai Lama explains this complex process in this way (Sogyal Rinpoche. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. San Francisco: Harper, 1992):

"The basis on which Buddhists accept the concept of rebirth is principally the continuity of consciousness. Take the material world as an example: all the elements in our present universe, even down to a microscopic level, can be traced back, we believe, to an origin, an initial point where all the elements of the material world are condensed into what are technically known as 'space particles.' These particles, in turn, are the state which is the result of the disintegration of a previous universe. So there is a constant cycle, in which the universe evolves and disintegrates, and then comes back again into being.

Now mind is very similar. The fact that we possess something called 'mind or consciousness' is quite obvious, since our experience testifies to its presence. Then it is also evident, again from our own experience, that what we call 'mind or consciousness' is something which is subject to change when it is exposed to different conditions and circumstances. This shows us its moment to moment nature, its susceptibility to change.

Another fact that is obvious is that gross levels of 'mind or consciousness' are, intimately linked, with physiological states of the body, and are, in fact, dependent on them. But there must be some basis, energy, or source, which allows mind, when interacting with material particles, to be capable of producing conscious living beings.

Just like the material plane, this too must have its continuum in the past. So if you trace our present mind or consciousness back, then you will find that you are tracing the origin of the continuity of mind, just like the origin of the material universe, into an infinite dimension; it is, as you will see, beginningless.

Therefore there must be successive rebirths that allow that continuum of mind to be there.

Buddhism believes in universal causation, that everything is subject to change, and to causes and conditions. So there is no place given to a divine creator, nor to beings who are self-created; rather everything arises as a consequence of causes and conditions. So mind, or consciousness, too comes into being as a result of its previous instants.

When we talk of causes and conditions, there are two principal types: substantial causes, the stuff from which something is produced, and cooperative factors, which contribute towards that causation. In the case of mind and body, although one can affect the other, one cannot become the substance of the other .… Mind and matter, although dependent on one another, cannot serve as substantial causes for each other.

This is the basis on which Buddhism accepts rebirth."

Yet, the Buddha rejected the 2 extremes of 'Permanent Self', and 'Annihilation' concepts.

A person, or Body & Mind, is but Five Aggregates (body, feeling, perception, thought formation, and consciousness) of CLINGING (to 'self', or a self-image hologram). In reality, there is not a true permanent 'self' entity. Clinging to the 'self' concept is the root of suffering, as it creates an impulse to condition that life to roll on and on, with the craving force of greed, hatred, and delusion. This results in pleasure, and pain, towards this illusive 'self' entity, as my pleasure (happiness), and my pain (suffering). Can such pleasure or pain truly be owned and labeled as yours or mine?

There is in the Buddhist scriptures a very clear account of this process of conditionality. The Buddhist sage Nagasena explained it to the King Milinda in a set of famous answers to questions that the King posed. (Schumann, H.W. The Historical Buddha. London: Arkana, 1989)

The King asked Nagasena: "When someone is reborn, is he the same as the one who just died, or is he different?"

Nagasena replied: "He is neither the same, nor different ... Tell me, if a man were to light a lamp, could it provide light the whole night long?"

"Yes."

"Is the flame then which bums in the first watch of the night the same as the one that burns in the second .... or the last?'

"No."

"Does that mean there is one lamp in the first watch of the night, another in the second, and another in the third?"

"No, it's because of that one lamp that the light shines all night."

"Rebirth is much the same: one phenomenon arises and another stops, simultaneously. So the first act of consciousness in the new existence is neither the same as the last act of consciousness in the previous existence, nor is it different."

The King asks for another example to explain the precise nature of this dependence, and Nagasena compares it to milk: the curds, butter, or ghee that can be made from milk are never the same as the milk, but they depend on it entirely for their production.

The King then asks: "If there is no being that passes on from body to body, wouldn't we then be free of all the negative actions we had done in past lives?"

Nagasena gives this example: A man steals someone's mangoes. The mangoes he steals are not exactly the same mangoes that the other person had originally owned and planted, so how can he possibly deserve to be punished? The reason he does, Nagasena explains, is that the stolen mangoes only grew because of those that their owner had planted in the first place. In the same way, it is because of our actions in one life, pure or impure, that we are linked with another life, and we are not free from their results.

The King asked, "Is there anyone who is not reborn after death?"

"Yes, there is. The one who has no defilements is not reborn after death; the one who has defilements is reborn."

"Will you be reborn?"

"If I die with craving in my mind, yes; but if not, no." (Pesala Bhikkhu. The Debate of King Milinda. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1991)

Craving, for pleasure (or avoiding pain), serves as the "seed" of energy, or Karma, driving that consciousness to go on and on, similar to a spinning bundle of yarn revolving around the rolling spindle of karma, with the impulsive force of greed, hatred, and delusion. This results in the cycle of birth and death, either as lives after lives, or thoughts after thoughts - engraving into an illusive 'self-image' hologram.

"O' monks, I declare - Volition is Karma (action). Having willed (impelled by intention), man acts by deeds, words, and thoughts." - The Buddha.

There are 31 described realms in Buddhism as various possibilities for a person to be born into. These are 26 heavenly realms (6 heavenly realms of "passion or desire" with existing males and females, 16 divine realms of "form", 4 divine realms of "formless"), 4 lower realms of animals, hungry ghosts, demons, and hells, and finally human realm.

Birth into these 31 realms may be of 4 main methods:

1. Birth from a womb, e.g., human beings,.2. Birth from an egg, e.g., chicken. 3. Birth in the waste or dirt, e.g., bacteria. 4. Spontaneous birth, e.g., angels.

According to his or her karma, a person can be born, into the following Eight Pathways:

1. Hell (indulging in greed, hatred, delusion),

2. Hungry ghost (indulging in desire),

3. Demon (indulging in anger),

4. Animal (indulging in delusion, or ignorance),

5. Human being (observing the 5 moral codes: don't kill, steal, practice sexual misconduct, lie, and consume intoxicants, i.e. alcohol, drugs),

6. Angel (embedded with the 5 virtues: respect and be compassionate towards other people's lives, properties, personal rights, honest to oneself and others, and respect oneself),

7. Divine being or Brahma (full of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity),

8. Arahat or Nirvana (perfected in purity, compassion, and wisdom).

This does not simply mean various realms of the past, present, or future. But, more importantly, it is stressed towards each mind moment of every human being, as if one may wear a different face or mask, conditioned by thoughts of various temperaments.

It also points out that one can correct the basic nature of one's life, i.e., one has the capability to be in control of one's own fate.

The mechanism of how the mind or the Law of Karma operates has been defined by the Buddha as:

Wheel of Life or Dependent Origination/Dependent Arising: 1. Ignorance ('self' delusion, unawareness) -> 2. Impulse (like, dislike) -> 3. Consciousness (biased) -> 4. Thoughts (biased) -> 5. Six sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) -> 6. Contact -> 7. Feeling -> 8. Craving -> 9. Clinging -> 10. Becoming -> 11. Birth (dwell in the biased thought) ->12.Ripening, aging, ceasing, sorrow, grief, lamentation (of the 'longing for' thoughts).

The true meaning is not dealing with past, present, and future lives, but with thought moments, as one thought dies down, another thought rushes to fill in successively, following the preceding one, continuously and endlessly, as long as the 'self' clinging persists. This is the 'arising' aspect of the wheel of life rooted in 'ignorance', which forms the first two of the Four Ultimate or Noble Truths, namely: "Suffering," and the "Cause of Suffering."

The receding aspect of the wheel of life originates from 'awareness,' replacing unawareness or ignorance, i.e., biased thoughts cannot coexist with awareness, therefore delusive 'self' ceases to exist, and the wheel of life or biased thoughts tumbles. This represents the last two of the Four Ultimate or Noble Truths, namely: "End of Suffering," and the "Noble Eightfold Path towards the End of Suffering" (Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration).

With right understanding, one would see beyond thoughts, concepts, or 'name' and 'form'.

One would come to the 'Primary Point.'

Everything is but 'Universal Substance.'

It is the 'Absolute,' the 'Ultimate,' the 'Awakening,' the 'Enlightenment' (beyond 'name' and 'form', words, concepts, or labeling).

It is Nirvana** (or Kingdom of God, Moksa, Gundalini, the vast emptiness, etc.). Yet, as soon as one puts a label to it, it is gone (as one would fall back into the concepts or conventional truth, rather than ultimate truth).

Life, more precisely Mind, may simply represent a continuous stream of a certain form of energy, spun by successive wheels of thoughts (after 100 years of searching, scientists still lack a modern and proper tool or instrument to probe or measure the mind yet), rolling on and on, and illusively expresses as a 'self-image' which one clings to. It is driven by the impulse of biased thoughts of greed, hatred, and delusion, or the hidden force of karma (or action). It continues to travel through time and space (charged with thoughts and concepts which always involve time and space) endlessly, as a cycle of 'birth' and 'death' (Samsara).

Only when this 'self' concept or self-image hologram is shattered, through awareness with pure perception, transcending 'name' and 'form', then there will no longer be any impulse or force to hold, confine, or bundle this flow of energy into an individual 'self' entity. The pure and formless mind energy, void of 'self' concept, will equilibrate with the true essence or original nature of the universe, which is but a limitless ocean of emptiness, and voidness.

There is a Buddhist saying that, "It is better to live one day and witnesses the arising and ceasing of name & form (mind & body), than to live to be a hundred years old without realizing this truth."

A life would be futile without experiencing self-awareness, as it frees oneself from unawareness, delusion or ignorance, through seeing one's thoughts, as they arise, embedded with greed, hatred, and delusion, and how they arise, sustain, and cease.***

The awakening or enlightenment is the resonance between the voidness of the pure mind and the emptiness of the original universe, free from birth, death, changing, conditioning, and simply maintaining the selfless nature of life.

Bodhidharma (the First Zen Patriarch) firmly believed in being one with the Real Substance of the Universe in this life!

Mind and the 'substance' do not differ one bit - that substance is mind.****

They cannot possibly be separated. The moment of realizing the unity of mind and the 'substance' which constitutes reality may truly be said to baffle description (Blofeld, John. The Zen Teaching of Huang Po. New York: Grove Press, 1958).

That life will no longer be touched by the ups and downs of life, but be absolutely free, or one may simply put it as,

"I am not. I have not. I simply watch."

* Why then we do not remember the experience of our past lives? If one would carefully consider this issue, one may realize that we all have very limited remote memories. Do you remember how old were you when your parents taught you the first word? What were you doing, sitting, crawling, walking, or eating? It has been noted that those people, who could remember their past lives, were usually dealt with very tragic incidents, e.g., got killed unexpectedly (without being able to say goodbye to their families), or they were deeply concerned with their loved ones, which engraved a very strong hold of their past memories into their mind at the moment of their deaths. It has been stated that well-trained meditators who have reached higher absorption levels are capable of recollecting the memories of their past lives, some for one previous life, some two or three, and some for many past lives, depending on their absorption levels.

** Nirvana is departure from the cycle of rebirths and entry into an entirely different mode of existence. It requires a complete overcoming of the tree poisons - desire, hatred, and delusion - and the cessation of active volition. It means freedom from the effects of karma. Nirvana is unconditioned. Its qualities are the absence of arising, subsisting, changing and passing away.

*** Everyone is capable of awakening oneself into self-awareness through practicing Insight/Mindfulness Meditation, based on the simplified, perfected technique taught by the Buddha, "The Four Foundations of Mindfulness." It requires self-observation or self-monitoring of one's own Body, Feeling, Mind, and Mental Phenomena/Objects/Events.

**** In Buddhism, universal consciousness is completely refuted. There is no universal consciousness. Consciousness is always individual. Buddhism does not accept any concept of an all-encompassing consciousness of which our consciousness is a part. When you refine, develop and strengthen your mental potential, you are not creating a cosmic consciousness that overpowers all other individuals or other consciousnesses. That is not posssible. What does happen is that you transform your mind into omniscient mind. The state of omniscience is sometimes described as the mind pervading all phenomena. This does not mean that the fully developed individual mind now controls all phenomena. Nor does it mean that each individual consciousness comes from this mind. Rather, it means that the mind of an individual is completely enlightened and, therefore, omniscient. You know everything. There is nothing that your mind cannot know. Pervading all means knowing all in this context (The Dalai Lama. The Buddha Nature. Death and Eternal Soul in Buddhism. Woodside, California: Bluestar Communications, 1997). Basically, the Buddha rejected the concepts of 'Atman' and 'atman.'