Part One
The Fundamentals of Buddhism
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Chapter Nine
Rebirth
In this chapter, I will look at the effects of karma in the next life
or, to put it another way, I will elaborate on the idea of rebirth. But before we begin to
talk specifically about the Buddha's teaching on rebirth, we may do well to spend a little
time on the concept of rebirth in general.
Rebirth is a concept with which many people have difficulty. This has
been especially true over the past century or so, when we have become increasingly
conditioned to think in what are regarded as scientific terms, that is to say, terms that
many people naively take to be scientific. This attitude has caused many people to
discard the idea of rebirth because they think that it smacks of superstition and belongs to an
old-fashioned, outdated way of looking at the world. For this reason, I think we
need to redress the balance by creating a degree of open-mindedness toward the
concept of
rebirth in general terms, before we begin to consider the Buddhist teaching on the
subject.
There are a number of approaches we can adopt in attempting to make a
case for the reality of rebirth. One line of argument is to recall that, in almost
all the major cultures of the world at one time or another, there has been a strong popular
belief in rebirth. This is particularly true of India, where the idea can be traced back to the
very earliest period of Indian civilization. In India, all the major religions--theist or
atheist, schools of Hinduism or unorthodox doctrines like Jainism--accept the truth of
rebirth. In other cultures, too, belief in rebirth has been common. To take just one
example, in the Mediterranean world, belief in the reality of rebirth was
widespread
before and during the first few centuries of the common era. Even today, it persists among
the Druze, a Middle Eastern sect of Islam. Consequently, belief in the reality of rebirth
has been an important part of the human way of thinking about the world and
our place in
it.
Then there is the testimony of recognized authorities who belong to
various religious traditions. In Buddhism, it was the Buddha himself who taught the
truth of rebirth. We are told that, on the night of his enlightenment, the Buddha acquired
three kinds of knowledge, the first of which was detailed knowledge of his own
past
lives. He recollected the conditions under which he had been born in the past,
and was able to remember what his name and occupation had been in innumerable former
lives. Besides the Buddha's testimony, we have that of his principal disciples, who
were also able to recall their past lives. Ananda, for instance, acquired the ability
to remember his past lives soon after he was ordained as a Buddhist monk. Similarly,
throughout the history of the Buddhist tradition, accomplished practitioners have been able to
remember their past lives. Nonetheless, neither of these two arguments for the reality of
rebirth can be expected to be wholly convincing in the rational and scientific environment in
which we live, so perhaps we need to look a bit closer to home, so to speak. Here
we
receive help from a very unexpected source. Some of you may be aware of the fact that in
the past three decades there has been a vast amount of scientific investigation of
the question of rebirth. Such research has been undertaken by psychologists and
parapsychologists. Through this research we have gradually built up a very convincing case for the
reality of rebirth, a case developed along scientific lines. Many books have been published
in which the details of these investigations are described and discussed.
One scholar who has been particularly active in this area in recent
years is Professor Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia, in the United States. He has
published his findings in about twenty cases of rebirth. One case, which has
received widespread attention, is that of a woman who was able to recall her life lived
more than a hundred years earlier in a foreign land, under the name of Bridey
Murphy--a
land she had never visited in her present life. I will not go into the specific details
of cases here, because anyone interested in the scientific evidence for rebirth can read
about it for him or herself. Nonetheless, I think we are now at a point where even the
most
skeptical among us must admit that there is a lot of circumstantial evidence in favor of the
reality of rebirth. In constructing a case for the reality of rebirth, however, we can
also look even closer to home--namely, within our own experience. We need only recollect and
examine that experience in the truly Buddhist way to see what conclusions we can
derive from it. All of us have our own particular capabilities, our own particular
inclinations and disinclinations, and I think it is fair to ask whether these are all
really the result of chance and social conditioning in early life. For instance, some of us are
more capable in sports than others. Some of us have a talent for mathematics, while others
have a talent for music. Still others like swimming, while others are afraid
of water.
Are all such differences in our abilities and attitudes merely the result of
chance and conditioning? There are often dramatic and unexpected turns in the course of our
personal development. Let me take my own case. I was born into a Roman Catholic family in
the United States. There was absolutely nothing in my early background to indicate that
I would have traveled to India by the age of twenty, and that I would spend the
next two-and-a-half decades of my life predominantly in Asia, where I would become deeply
involved in Buddhist studies.
Then, too, there are those situations in which we sometimes feel a
strong presentiment that we have been in a particular place before, although we have not
visited it in our present lifetime. On other occasions, we feel that we have known
someone before: we meet a person for the first time, and yet very soon we feel that we
have known that person all our lives. Alternatively, we can know someone else for years and
still feel we do not really know him or her. Experiences such as these, when we feel that
we have been in a particular situation before, are so common and universal that, even
in the culture of contemporary France, which knows almost nothing of rebirth, there is
a well-known phrase for them--the expression deja vu, which means "already
seen."
If we are not dogmatic, when we add up all these indications
and
suggestions--the belief in rebirth in many cultures and ages throughout the history of human
civilization, the testimony of the Buddha and his prominent disciples, the evidence
provided by scientific research, and our own personal intimations that we have
been here
before--I think we will have to confess that there is at least a strong possibility that
rebirth actually is a reality.
In Buddhism, rebirth is part and parcel of the continuous process of
change. Indeed, we are not only reborn at the time of death, we are reborn at every
moment. This, like other important teachings of Buddhism, is easily verifiable by reference to
our own experience and to the teachings of science. For example, the majority of cells
that compose the human body die and are replaced many times during the course of a
lifetime. Even those few cells which last an entire lifetime undergo continuous internal
change. This is part of the process of birth, death, and rebirth. If we look at the
mind, we
find that mental states (such as worry, happiness, and the like) appear and disappear every
moment. They pass away and are replaced by new and different states. Therefore, whether
we look at the body or the mind, our experience is characterized by constant
birth,
death, and rebirth. Buddhism teaches that there are various realms, spheres, or
dimensions of existence. Some texts list thirty-one such dimensions or planes of existence,
but for our purposes we will make use of a simpler scheme, which refers to six
such realms.
These six realms can be divided into two groups, one that is relatively fortunate and the
other, unfortunate. The first group includes the realm of the gods, the realm of the
demigods, and the realm of human beings. Rebirth in these fortunate realms is the result
of
wholesome karma. The second group includes the realm of the animals, the realm of the
hungry ghosts, and the hell realms. Rebirth in these realms of woe is the result of
unwholesome karma. Let us now look at each of these realms, beginning with the lowest.
There are quite a few hell realms in Buddhism, including eight hot hells and
eight cold
hells. In the hells, living beings suffer incalculable and indescribable pain. It is said that
the suffering experienced in this human world as a consequence of being pierced by three
hundred spears in a single day is only a minute fraction of the suffering
experienced by the
denizens of hell. The cause of rebirth in hell is repeated violent behavior, such as
habitual killing, cruelty, and the like.
Such actions are born of aversion, and living beings who
commit them
suffer the pains of hell until the unwholesome karma they have generated through such
actions is exhausted. This last point is important, because it gives us occasion to note
that, in Buddhism, no one suffers eternal damnation. When their unwholesome karma is
exhausted, the denizens of hell are reborn in more fortunate realms of existence.
The next realm is that of the hungry ghosts. Living beings in this
realm suffer chiefly from hunger and thirst, heat and cold. They are completely bereft of
the things they desire. It is said that when the hungry ghosts see a mountain of rice
or a river of fresh water and run toward it, they find that the mountain of rice is only
a heap of pebbles and the river only a ribbon of blue slate. Similarly, it is said
that in
the summer even the moon feels hot to them, while in the winter even the sun is cold.
The foremost cause of rebirth as a hungry ghost is avarice and
miserliness born of attachment and greed. As with the denizens of hell, the living beings
in this realm are not condemned to eternal existence in the form of hungry ghosts, because
when their unwholesome karma is exhausted, they will be reborn in a more
fortunate realm. In the next realm, that of animals, living beings suffer from a
variety of unhappy circumstances. They suffer from the fear and pain that results from
constantly killing and eating one another. They suffer from the human beings who kill them
for food or for their hides, pearls, or teeth. Even if they are not killed, many
domestic
animals are forced to work for people who drive them on with hooks and whips. All this is a
source of suffering.
The principal cause of rebirth as an animal is ignorance. The blind,
heedless pursuit of one's animal desires; preoccupation with eating, sleeping, and sexual
gratification, accompanied by disregard for the need to develop one's mind and
practice virtue--all these lead one to be reborn as an animal.
Now, when we say, for instance, that aversion is the cause of
rebirth
in the hells, that attachment is the cause of rebirth among hungry ghosts, and that
ignorance is the cause of rebirth in the realm of animals, it does not mean that an isolated
act motivated by aversion, attachment, or ignorance will result in rebirth in the
corresponding class of living being. What it does mean is that there
is a definite, proven
relationship between aversion or hatred and rebirth in the hells, just as there is between
attachment and greed and rebirth among the hungry ghosts, and between ignorance and
rebirth among the animals. If unimpeded and unobstructed by countervailing virtuous
actions, actions habitually motivated by these unwholesome attitudes are likely to
lead to rebirth in these three states of woe.
I am going to skip the realm of human beings for the moment in
order
to go on to the realm of the demigods. The demigods are physically more powerful and
mentally more acute than human beings, yet they suffer because of jealousy and
conflict. According to ancient Indian mythology, the demigods and gods share a
celestial
tree. While the gods enjoy the fruit of this tree, the demigods are custodians of its
roots. Consequently, they are envious of the gods and constantly attempt to take the fruit from
them. They fight the gods but are defeated and suffer greatly as a result. Because of this
rampant jealousy and conflict, rebirth among the demigods is unhappy and unfortunate.
As in the case of the other realms, there is a cause of rebirth among
the demigods. On the positive side, the cause is generosity, while on the negative side,
the cause is jealousy and envy.
The realm of the gods is the happiest of the six realms. As a
consequence of wholesome actions done in the past, observation of the codes of good conduct,
and the practice of meditation, living beings are reborn among the gods, where they enjoy
sensual pleasures, spiritual happiness, or supreme tranquillity, depending on the level
of the realm in which they are born. Nonetheless, the realm of the gods is not to be
desired because the happiness of the gods is impermanent. No matter how much they may
enjoy their existence, when the force of their wholesome karma is exhausted, the
effects of their good conduct and experience of meditation spent, the gods
fall from
heaven and are reborn in another realm. At that moment, it is said that the gods
suffer even more mental anguish than the physical pain suffered by other living beings in the
other realms. The gods are reborn in the heavens as a consequence of their practice
of good conduct and meditation, but there is also a negative factor
associated with
rebirth in the heavens, and this is pride.
As you can see, we have an affliction or defilement associated with
each of these five realms--hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, demigods, and
gods--namely, aversion, attachment, ignorance, jealousy, and pride, respectively. Birth in
any of these five realms is undesirable. The three lower realms are undesirable for obvious
reasons--both because of the intense suffering in them and because of the total ignorance
of the beings who inhabit these realms. Even rebirth in the realms of the demigods and
gods is undesirable because, although one experiences a certain degree of happiness
and
power among them, existence there is impermanent. Besides, the distractions and
pleasures in these realms keep the beings there from looking for a way out of the cycle of
birth and death. This is why it is said that, of the six realms of existence, the most
fortunate, opportune, and favored is the human realm. This is also why I have
left our
discussion of the human realm until last.
The human realm is the most favored of the six realms because, as a
human being, one has the motivation and opportunity to practice the Dharma and achieve
enlightenment.One has this motivation and opportunity because the conditions
conducive to practicing the path are present. In the human realm, one experiences
both
happiness and suffering. The suffering in this realm, though terrible, is not as great as the
suffering in the three realms of woe. The pleasure and happiness experienced in the human
realm are not as great as the pleasure and intense happiness experienced by
beings in
the heavens, nor are humans overwhelmed by the unbearable suffering that beings in the
hells undergo. And unlike animals, human beings possess sufficient intelligence to
recognize the necessity of looking for a means to achieve the total end of
suffering.
Human birth is difficult to gain from a number of points of view.
First of all, it is difficult from the point of view of its cause. Good
conduct is the foremost
cause of rebirth as a human being, but truly good conduct is exceedingly rare. Second,
human birth is difficult to gain from the point of view of number, for human beings are only a
small fraction of the living beings who inhabit the six realms. Third, it
is not enough
simply to be born as a human being, because there are countless humans who do not have the
opportunity to practice the Dharma. It is therefore not only necessary to be born as
a human but also to have the opportunity to practice the Dharma, developing one's
qualities of morality, mental development, and wisdom.
The Buddha used a simile to illustrate the rarity and precious
nature
of opportune birth among human beings. Suppose the whole world were a vast ocean, and on
the surface of this ocean a yoke floated, blown about by the wind. Suppose, further,
that at the bottom of the ocean there lived a blind tortoise who came to the
surface
only once every hundred years. The Buddha said that it is as rare to attain opportune birth
as a human as for that tortoise to place his neck through the yoke when rising to the
surface. Elsewhere, it is said that to be born as a human being with the
opportunity to
practice the Dharma is as rare as it would be to throw a handful of dried peas against a stone
wall and have one pea stick in a crack in it.
Thus it is foolish to waste human existence, not to mention the
fortunate conditions that we enjoy in free societies such as the opportunity we have to
practice the Dharma. It is extremely important that, having this opportunity, we make use of it.
If we fail to practice the Dharma in this life, there is no way of knowing where
in the six
realms we will be reborn, or when we will have such a chance again. We must strive to
free ourselves from the cycle of rebirth because failing to do so means that we continue
to circle endlessly among these six realms of existence. When the karma,
wholesome or
unwholesome, that causes us to be born in any of the six realms is exhausted, rebirth
occurs, and we find ourselves again in another realm.
It is said that all of us have circled in these six realms since
beginningless time. It is also said that if all the skeletons we have had in our various lives were
heaped up, the pile would exceed the height of Mount Sumeru, that if all the mother's
milk we have drunk in our countless existences were collected together, it would amount
to
more than all the water in all the oceans. Now that we have the opportunity to practice
the Dharma, we must do so without delay.
In recent years, there has been a tendency to interpret the six
realms in psychological terms. Some teachers have suggested that the experiences of the six
realms are available to us in this very life. This is true as far as it goes. Men and
women who find themselves in prisons, tortured, killed, and so forth are undoubtedly
experiencing situations similar to those of the hell beings; those who are miserly and avaricious
experience a state of mind similar to that of the hungry ghosts; those who are animal-like
experience a state of mind similar to that of animals; those who are quarrelsome,
power-hungry,
and jealous experience a state of mind like that of the demigods; and those who
are pure, tranquil, serene, and exalted experience a state of mind similar to that of the
gods. And yet, although the experiences of the six realms are to some
extent available to us in this human existence, I think it would be a mistake
to assume or
believe that the other five realms of existence do not have a reality which is as real as
our own human experience. The hell realms and the realms of the hungry ghosts,
animals, demigods, and gods are as real as our human realm. You will recall that mind is
the
creator of all things. Actions done with a pure mind (motivated by generosity, love, and so
forth) result in happiness, in states of existence like the human realm and the realm
of the gods. But actions done with an impure mind (motivated by attachment,
aversion,
and the like) result in unhappy states like those of the hungry ghosts and hell beings.
Finally, I would like to distinguish rebirth from transmigration.
You
may not know that, in Buddhism, we consistently speak of rebirth, not transmigration.
This is because in Buddhism we do not believe in an abiding entity, or substance, that
transmigrates. We do not believe in a self that is reborn. This is why, when we explain
rebirth, we make use of examples that do not require the transmigration of an essence or a
substance. For example, when a sprout is born from a seed, there is no substance
that transmigrates. The seed and the sprout are not identical. Similarly, when we light
one candle from another candle, no substance travels from one to the other, even
though the first is the cause of the second. When one billiard ball strikes another, there is
a continuity; the energy and direction of the first ball is imparted to the second. The
first ball is the cause of the second billiard ball moving in a particular direction
and at a
particular speed, but it is not the same ball. When we step twice into a river, it is not the
same river, and yet there is continuity, the continuity of cause and effect.
Hence there is rebirth, but not transmigration. Moral
responsibility
exists, but not an independent, permanent self. The continuity of cause and effect
exists, but not permanence. I want to end with this point because we will be
considering the example of the seed and the sprout, and the example of the flame in an oil lamp,
in Chapter 10, when we discuss interdependent origination. Thereafter, we will better
understand how interdependent origination makes moral responsibility and not-self
compatible.
