What's the difference between rebirth and reincarnation!
Myoma Myint Kywe
Rebirth is the process
of being reborn.
Reincarnation is a never ending cycle of rebirths without control.
Reincarnation is a never ending cycle of rebirths without control.
As long as this kammic force exists
there is rebirth, for beings are merely the visible manifestation of this invisible
kammic force. Death is nothing but the temporary end of this temporary
phenomenon. It is not the complete annihilation of this so-called being. The
organic life has ceased, but the kammic force which hitherto actuated it has
not been destroyed. As the kammic force remains entirely undisturbed by the
disintegration of the fleeting body, the passing away of the present dying
thought-moment only conditions a fresh consciousness in another birth.
It is kamma, rooted in ignorance and
craving, that conditions rebirth. Past kamma conditions the present birth; and
present kamma, in combination with past kamma, conditions the future. The
present is the offspring of the past, and becomes, in turn, the parent of the
future.
Karma (kamma) means action, work or deed; it also refers to the principle
of causality where intent and actions of an
individual influence the future of that individual. Good intent and good deed
contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deed
contribute to bad karma and future suffering. Karma is closely associated with
the idea of rebirth in some schools
of Asian religions. In these schools, karma in the present affects one's future
in the current life, as well as the nature and quality of future lives - or,
one's saṃsara.
In Buddhism, we believe in the Mind,
not the Soul. A person consists of Body (Rupa) and Mind (Nama). The new
mind will immediately arise in the new body and in the new sphere. Without the
mind, an egg and a sperm cannot become a life. This is a Rebirth. We prefer to
call "Rebirth" rather than "Reincarnation" because of the
new mind and new body. The Reincarnation involves the new Body but the same
Mind (Soul) as in Hinduism. One of the Mind's functions is to accumulate all of
the past deeds in their memory. The Karma therefore passes from one mind to the
next. That is how exactly someone's karma would pass to a next life.
Buddhists generally do not believe
in reincarnation since that presupposes the existence of a "soul" (atman)
or some other form of an "eternal self." Upon death the atman (soul)
enters a new vessel (body) and the cycle continues.
The Buddha taught there is no "self" (anatman): that the concept of an eternal self is nonexistent since everything is impermanent. This is a fundamental difference between Hinduism and Buddhism. Buddhists may, however, believe in rebirth. The difference between the two may seem confusing since rebirth at first glance appears to imply the existence a soul. In rebirth consciousness enters into an new body upon conception but it, as is everything in Buddhism, is impermanent and the process will cease upon attaining enlightenment.
Buddhists use fire as an example to illustrate the concept of rebirth. If you transfer the flame from a lighted candle to an unlit candle, the new flame is contingent on the old flame for its existence but they are not the same flame. There is continuity between the two but they are distinct. Reincarnation would mean that the old flame is exactly the same as the new flame. Rebirth recognizes there is a contiguous relationship of one life to the other but each is otherwise distinct.
The question of rebirth was asked by the Indo-Greek King Milinda in approximately 100 BCE-130 BCE. of the Buddhist sage Nagasena. The Venerable Nagasena was a Buddhist noble monk from Kashmir and lived around 100 BCE-150 BCE. His answers to questions about Buddhism posed by Menander I (Pali: Milinda), the Indo-Greek king of northwestern India (now Pakistan), are recorded in the Milinda Panha.
The Buddha taught there is no "self" (anatman): that the concept of an eternal self is nonexistent since everything is impermanent. This is a fundamental difference between Hinduism and Buddhism. Buddhists may, however, believe in rebirth. The difference between the two may seem confusing since rebirth at first glance appears to imply the existence a soul. In rebirth consciousness enters into an new body upon conception but it, as is everything in Buddhism, is impermanent and the process will cease upon attaining enlightenment.
Buddhists use fire as an example to illustrate the concept of rebirth. If you transfer the flame from a lighted candle to an unlit candle, the new flame is contingent on the old flame for its existence but they are not the same flame. There is continuity between the two but they are distinct. Reincarnation would mean that the old flame is exactly the same as the new flame. Rebirth recognizes there is a contiguous relationship of one life to the other but each is otherwise distinct.
The question of rebirth was asked by the Indo-Greek King Milinda in approximately 100 BCE-130 BCE. of the Buddhist sage Nagasena. The Venerable Nagasena was a Buddhist noble monk from Kashmir and lived around 100 BCE-150 BCE. His answers to questions about Buddhism posed by Menander I (Pali: Milinda), the Indo-Greek king of northwestern India (now Pakistan), are recorded in the Milinda Panha.
King Milinda once asked the Buddhist
sage Nagasena: "He who is born, Nagasena, does
he remain the same or become another?"
"Neither the same nor another."
"Give me an illustration."
"Suppose a man, O king, were to light a lamp, would it burn the night through?"
"Yes, it might do so."
"Now, is it the same flame that burns in the first watch of the night, Sir, and in the second?"
"No."
"Or the same that burns in the second watch and in the third?"
"No."
"Then is there one lamp in the first watch, and another in the second, and another in the third?"
'No. The light comes from the same lamp all the night through.'
"Just so, O king, is the continuity of a person or thing maintained. One comes into being, another passes away; and the rebirth is, as it were, simultaneous. Thus neither as the same nor as another does a man go on to the last phase of his self-consciousness." (The Questions of King Milinda" translated by Thomas William Rhys Davids. He was a British scholar of the Pali language and founder of the Pali Text Society).
"Neither the same nor another."
"Give me an illustration."
"Suppose a man, O king, were to light a lamp, would it burn the night through?"
"Yes, it might do so."
"Now, is it the same flame that burns in the first watch of the night, Sir, and in the second?"
"No."
"Or the same that burns in the second watch and in the third?"
"No."
"Then is there one lamp in the first watch, and another in the second, and another in the third?"
'No. The light comes from the same lamp all the night through.'
"Just so, O king, is the continuity of a person or thing maintained. One comes into being, another passes away; and the rebirth is, as it were, simultaneous. Thus neither as the same nor as another does a man go on to the last phase of his self-consciousness." (The Questions of King Milinda" translated by Thomas William Rhys Davids. He was a British scholar of the Pali language and founder of the Pali Text Society).
The Buddha Shakyamuni taught there
is no self, no soul (anatman) in his teachings yet, in the
Aggi vacchagotta sutta, it is one of the ten (some say fourteen) unanswered
questions. The Buddha essentially states it is futile to be concerned with
certain questions pondered by various sects that created heated debates at the
time. In a meeting with the wandering ascetic Vaccha, the Buddha explained the
futility in attempting to determine the existence of a soul (atman). The
following is a portion of the discourse.
"...no...the position that 'the soul and the body are the same' is a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views. It is accompanied by suffering, distress, despair, and fever, and it does not lead to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation; to calm, direct knowledge, full Awakening, Unbinding...the position that 'the soul is one thing and the body another' is a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views. It is accompanied by suffering, distress, despair, and fever, and it does not lead to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation; to calm, direct knowledge, full Awakening, Unbinding." ("Majjhima Nikaya" : Sutta 72, The Aggi vacchagotta sutta from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/)
"...no...the position that 'the soul and the body are the same' is a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views. It is accompanied by suffering, distress, despair, and fever, and it does not lead to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation; to calm, direct knowledge, full Awakening, Unbinding...the position that 'the soul is one thing and the body another' is a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views. It is accompanied by suffering, distress, despair, and fever, and it does not lead to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation; to calm, direct knowledge, full Awakening, Unbinding." ("Majjhima Nikaya" : Sutta 72, The Aggi vacchagotta sutta from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/)
The king asked: "Venerable Nagasena, is it
so that one does not transmigrate and one is reborn?"
"Yes, your majesty, one does not transmigrate
and one is reborn." "How, venerable Nagasena, is it that one
does not transmigrate and one is reborn? Give me an analogy."
"Just as, your majesty, if someone kindled one
lamp from another, is it indeed so, your majesty, that the lamp would transmigrate
from the other lamp?" "Certainly not, venerable sir." "Indeed just so, your majesty, one does not transmigrate
and one is reborn." "Give me another analogy." "Do you remember, your majesty, when you were a boy learning some
verse from a teacher?" "Yes, venerable sir." "Your majesty,
did this verse transmigrate from the teacher?" "Certainly not,
venerable sir." "Indeed just so, your majesty, one does not
transmigrate and one is reborn."
As I understand the above, the Buddha is stating simply it is of no importance to debate whether or not the soul exists except to ensnare the individual in an unanswerable concept.
As I understand the above, the Buddha is stating simply it is of no importance to debate whether or not the soul exists except to ensnare the individual in an unanswerable concept.
May all beings be
well, happy and peaceful.
May all beings be free
from suffering.
