One question that is often asked is, "What happens to us after death?" According to the Buddhists, rebirth takes place at the end of this life. Buddhists regard rebirth as a fact. There is evidence that each person has lived many lives
in the past and will continue to lives more in the future.

                              The Case for Rebirth

Rebirth is a reality although one may not be aware of it. The existence of past lives has been confirmed by those who have developed their minds through meditation. Meditators who has attained powers of concentration have been able to
recall their previous lives in great detail. The Buddha and His prominent disciples in many countries and at different times have been able to prove the existence of past lives. The Buddha, on the night of His Enlightenment, developed the ability to see His past lives. He also saw beings dying in one state of existence and being reborn in another, according to their actions. Thus it was from personal experience that the Buddha taught His followers the truth of rebirth.

In recent years, evidence has been collected and documented, which confirm that rebirth is a fact. There have been cases of people who have been able to recollect their experience Of previous lives. Their description of places and
persons of the past were confirmed after thorough investigations.

The best known example of this is the case of Bridey Murphy. A Mrs. Ruth Simmons of the United States recollected a previous life in Ireland, more than 100 years ago. She said she has been Bridey Murphy in the year 1789 and gave
full details of Bridey's life. The details were later checked and found to be quite accurate. although in the present life,
Mrs. Simmons had never been outside America.

In another case in England, a woman called Mrs. Naomi Henry recollected two previous lives. In the first instance, she recalled her life as an Irishwoman living in a village called Greehalgh in the seventeenth century. Research into her
case was carried out and this revealed that such a village did exist then. In the second instance, she remembered that in one of her previous lives, she was a Englishwoman who became a nurse to several children in an English town called
Downham in 1902. A search into the official records kept in Downham proved that such a woman did exist.

Professor Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia, U.S.A., has researched and published his finding on over twenty cases of rebirth. These cases, which have been well documented and verified, are form various countries including France, Italy, India, Sri Lanka and Burma.

                             Rebirth in the Six Realms

Buddhism teaches that birth, death and rebirth are part of the continuing process of change. This is similar to the continuous process of growth, decay and replacement of cells in one's body. According to medical expert, after every seven years, all the cells in one's body are replaced by new ones.

At the moment of death, when this life is over, and the body can no longer survive, the mind is separated from the body. At that time, the craving for lives causes one to seek a new existence, and the karma done previously determine the place of one's rebirth.

There are six realms in which one may be reborn after death. They are the realms of gods, the demigods, human beings, animals, hungry ghosts and the hells. These are just general categories and within each, there exist many sub-categories. The six realms of existence include three relatively happy states, and three relatively miserable states. The realms of the gods, the demigods and human beings are considered more happiness and less suffering. The realms of animals, hungry ghosts and the hells are considered relatively miserable because living beings there
suffer more from fear, hunger, thirst, heat ,cold and pain.

In general, wholesome actions like good conduct, charity and mental development, are the cause of rebirth in the happy realms of gods, demigods and human beings. On the other hand, unwholesome actions like immoral conduct, miserliness and cruelty cause rebirth in the unhappy realms of animals, hungry ghosts and the hells.

One need not wait until one is reborn to imagine what existence in other realms is like. For instance, when one is intensely happy or totally at peace with oneself, one experience a sate similar to that of the gods. When one follows one baser instincts and is totally preoccupied with eating, sleeping and sex, one's existence is like that of the animals. Then again, when one is overwhelmed by fear and pain, or is tortured and killed in this life, one experience suffering like that of the hells.

Of all the six realms, the realm of human beings is considered the most desirable. In the realm of human beings, the conditions for attaining Nirvana are better. In general, in the unhappy realms, the suffering of living beings is
so intense and their ignorance so great that they are unable to recognise the Truth and follow the path to attain freedom. Alternatively, living beings in the realms of the gods and demigods experience so much happiness and have so many distractions that they do no think of rebirth until is too late. Then they may be reborn in one of the lower realms of suffering. In the realm of human beings, however, people experience both happiness and suffering, and are intelligent enough to recognise the Truth and follow the path to attain freedom from the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, one is indeed fortunate to be born as a human being, and should remember that the principal cause of birth in this realm is Good Conduct.

                            The Cycle of Birth and Death

The Buddha pointed out that whenever one is reborn, whether as a human beings, as an animal, or as a god, non of these states of existence is permanent. The average life span of the living beings in the six realms of existence
differ but none of them lasts forever. Eventually, rebirth will take place. The realm into which one is reborn and one's conditions of rebirth are determined by one's past and present actions. This is the law of karma at work.

Beacuse of the force of their karma, people are born and reborn endlessly, in one realm of existence or in another. The Buddha declared that there is no permanent rest in this cycle of birth and death. It is only when one follows the Noble Eightfold path taught by the Buddha and eventually attains Nirvana, that one finally becomes free from this ceaseless cycle and gains supreme and permanent happiness.

People who understand karma and rebirth see life in a better perspective. They understand that every action they perform will have its effects now and in the future. The knowledge gives them hope and strength in the face of difficulties. It gives them courage to continue doing good. They are convinced that they will experience the good effects of their wholesome actions either in the short-term or in the long-term.

Dependent Origination

All things arise from causes and conditions. A sprout, for example, arises from a seed but it depend on soil, moisture, air and sunlight for its growth. If any of these conditions is missing, then the sprout will not growth. The flame of an
oil lamp depends on the wick and oil. When either the wick is totally burnt up or the last drop of oil is used up, the flame will die out. In the same way, life arises from cause and conditions, and not through mere chance.

Dependent Origination and Rebirth

Just as the flame of an oil lamp depend upon the wick and the oil for its existence , so rebirth and suffering occur dependent on0an impure mind and actions(karma).

The mind is impure so long as it is not free from ignorance, craving and clinging. Ignorance is failing to see thing as they really are. Out of ignorance, people crave for pleasant experience arise, they cling to them. They fail to understand
that pleasant experience such as wealth, friendship, youth and even life, are impermanent. All these will eventually slip through their fingers like a handful of sand.

As a result of an impure mind, people commit unwholesome acts to obtain the things they crave for and soon become used to acting in the same way. If some people find that they can obtain what they want by dishonest means on one
occasion, they may be tempted to do it again on future occasions. Eventually, dishonesty becomes a habit. However, other may find that they can succeed by hard work. As a result, they are encouraged to work hard at each task and
hard work becomes a habit for them.

In the same way, other habits are formed and become part of the personality. When people come face to face with a new situation, they will respond to it in their accustomed way and so reinforce their habits. At death, an impure mind
with its habitual actions becomes the cause of a person's rebirth just as the seed which is supplied with soil, moisture, air and sunlight,, is the cause of a sprout. So long as people's minds are not freed from ignorance, craving and
clinging, they will continue to act in their accustomed way, and so long as they act in this way, they will be reborn.

Rebirth is suffering because experience conditioned by ignorance, craving and cling is never satisfactory. Even the pleasant experience which people crave for and cling to, are impermanent. Consequently, people experience the suffering of loss, aging, death, sorrow and grief.

To end rebirth and suffering, people need to purify their minds of ignorance, craving and clinging. When they have freed their minds of impurities, action(karma) will not take place. Then rebirth and suffering will also cease and freedom from the cycle of birth and death is achieved
 
Dependent Origination and Relativity

At the beginning of this topic, it was seen how a sprout and the flame of an oil lamp depend on a combination of causes and conditions for their existence. this means that the sprout and the flame, like all things, do not exist independently. They exist only in relation to other things. This is called relativity or "emptiness" in Buddhism and is another aspect of Dependent Origination.

Things are what they are, only in relation to other things, for instance, the same man is a father to his son and a son to his father. His identity depends upon his relation to another, and is relative.

The distance between London and Italy is long in relation to the distance between London to Ireland, but in relation to the distance between London and New York, it is short. Short and long, like father and son, are therefore relative.
They exist and make sense only in relation to other things.

Relativity or "emptiness" means that because things do not exist independently, they do not have an unchanging nature of their own. One is not independently or by nature a father. A man becomes a father of his relation to his son.
"Emptiness" does not mean nothingness. On the contrary, it means openness and infinite possibility. Any son can become a father if the right combination of causes and conditions is present. Similarly, anyone can be enlightened if he
cultivates Good Conduct, Mental Development and Wisdom **.

The principle of Dependent Origination is the central teaching of the Buddha. Through the understanding of Dependent Origination, the Buddha attained Enlightenment. He said, "Deep indeed is Dependent Origination. It is by not realizing this principle that all men have become entangled like a ball of thread, unable to stop suffering and rebirth."

** Good Conduct :Right speech, Right action, Right Livelihood.
Mental Development :Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Meditation
Wisdom : Right Understanding, Right Thought.