It is a purely mental existence; consciousness is nothing but a subtle body, created by the mind. In that state we still have experiences, but, not being grounded to the physical existence, they are extraordinarily vivid, strange and frightening. Ordinary consciousness longs desperately to find a new physical incarnation, reaffirm its existence, for which seeks what is familiar or, in other words, the same kind of situation where it was when it died. In Buddhist Reincarnation terms, it tries to link itself to a situation that matches its karmic state at death.
In their search for a body and an environment that are familiar, consciousness is attracted to a man and a woman whose union can offer the karmic continuity it craves. According to Buddhism, conception occurs when, on the one hand, a female can get pregnant and, on the other, a consciousness is looking for the karmic situation that will arise from this conception.
But not all are reborn in human bodies. The accumulated karma of some consciences leads to other realms of existence. In Buddhism we known six, all of samsaric nature and conditioned by karma, but different by the relative amount of suffering or happiness that exists in each of them.
They are divided into three lower realms: the hell beings, hungry ghosts and animals, and three higher realms: that of humans, demigods and gods.
Of the three lower, the lowest is the kingdom of hell with burning heat and freezing cold naraka , characterized by an aggressive environment and a painful end. Consciences whose karma has been generated by anger and uncontrolled aggression, and the damage caused to other beings reborn in the hell realm, which corresponds to that state of mind. Above this is the realm of hungry ghosts preta , who have a constant feeling of physical and psychological misery, and experience intense hunger and thirst.
The karma that generates a life based on desire, greed and ambition, and sees in others a means to achieve their goals leads to a reincarnation here. Also reborn here are consciences of people whose life was cut short prematurely and could not let go of their attachment to it.
These spirits roam among the living for many years, or even centuries, and frequent the places they knew, trying to contact the living and satisfy their sense of dissatisfaction. The highest realm of the three lower is that of animals, and is characterized by ignorance and fixed behavior. Consciences who are born here are the ones that in other lives behaved clumsily and foolishly, and willingly ignored everything that was foreign to their routine, which caused harm to others or ignored important needs.
In the three lower realms what prevails is suffering, while in the top three there is less pain and more happiness. The next higher realm is the human manusya , in which a relative balance of suffering and happiness coexists.
The human kingdom is the most conducive to achieving enlightenment and the only one where the state of a Buddha can be achieved.
The advantage of the human kingdom is that in the two upper realms, happiness is such that things are not motivated to change their situation, while in the lower realms, the suffering is such that beings are not able to distance themselves enough from it to learn from their experiences and change. Only in the human realm there is enough necessary suffering for the emergence of motivation to seek spiritual development, but not to the point that people are completely beaten by the pain.
Above the human kingdom are the realms of the gods Deva and the demigods Asura , where happiness is great and life span is very extensive. Reincarnation in the two higher realms is the result of kindness and generosity practiced in previous lives. However, despite the positive aspects of their existence, beings in these two realms still live immersed in samsara, for attachment to their situation produces karmic seeds that will sooner or later make them fall.
The doctrine of reincarnation in Buddhism as the transition from one life to another is related to a more subtle conception, according to which reincarnation occurs within the same functions of the mind.
Buddhism teaches that the concept of a solid and continuous self does not come from reality, but it is an idea we impose on our fundamental experience of transience and discontinuity. However, we cling to the existence of a self because we long to be, to exist, to grow, to gain power and control, to never cease, to never die.
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Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Barbara O'Brien. Zen Buddhism Expert. Updated January 15, Cite this Article Format. O'Brien, Barbara. Rebirth and Reincarnation in Buddhism. Buddhist Perspectives on the Abortion Debate. What Does "Samsara" Mean in Buddhism? Buddhism: 11 Common Misunderstandings and Mistakes.
The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. The Principle of Dependent Origination in Buddhism. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for LearnReligions. One has to read the Pali Thripitake get the most authentic statements of the Buddha.
Once The Buddha has argued with a person names Sachchaka to the effect there is no soul. The Buddha told him if there is a soul within the body it should be able to control it when there is pain, or when it is aging. So there is no soul. Buddihism is an 'ana:thmavada". The process of thoughts are caused by ignorance. So the process continues This explanation has to be seen in a spiritual level [very minute level more smaller than quantum levels as I think] so we cannot see how it happens.
The process creates a similar [not the same] life form somewhere else without the time dimension involved in it. So the person reborn is called "neither the same nor a different one". It is like saying you are not the same when you were 10 years ago. The cause is the same but the whirlpools are different.
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