Rebirth Revisited

[Brian]

Question:

I know that Buddhist belief is based greatly on experiencing teachings
for yourself, and not taking what anyone says (even the Buddha
himself) as truth without first examining it ourselves. However, I am
confused as to where the belief in rebirth and karma comes from in
Buddhism. I agree with this Buddhist belief that we should not blindly
follow anything anyone says, and must figure things out for ourselves
and experience them, but the belief in reincarnation seems to go
against this. How can we possibly know that rebirth occurs if we
cannot see it for ourselves? Thanks for the wonderful podcast.

Answer:

We've talked about this in the past (several times), but I think this
may be the number one point of Buddhism to which Westerners cannot
relate. Most non-Buddhists recognize reincarnation as the butt of
uncountable jokes, scams, and is generally taken seriously only by
some very strange celebrities. The fact that a huge portion of the
world's population do believe in rebirth is irrelevant if all you know
are Shirley Maclaine jokes.

No one really knows the origins of the rebirth idea, it goes way back
beyond Buddhism, into Hinduism, and is likely far older than that. I'm
only guessing here, but I'd bet that the idea of rebirth is probably
older than the concepts of heaven or hell; ancient people understood
the cycle of life very well. You are born, you age, you die; it's no
great leap to see that cycle as a wheel that repeats. The idea is so
old, however, that no one can say absolutely where it came from, but
the idea has been refined and elaborated over the years, first by
Hinduism, then by Buddhism.

As you said, it's not a requirement that you believe anything blindly,
and Buddhism encourages questioning. While it is true, that many of
the writings on Buddhism concern themselves with reincarnation, it's
not really absolutely necessary to believe in it. The majority of
Buddhist ideas relate to your life here on Earth, right now.
"Promotion" or "demotion" in the next life is not something to be
strived for (more attachment and grasping); the goal is to live a good
life now. Whatever happens next time around, just happens. If the
Buddhist concept of rebirth is correct, it will happen to you whether
you believe in it or not, so don't worry about it. If it causes you
doubt and "suffering," then throw it out.

Keep an open mind, do some research into different ways people explain
rebirth, and maybe someday you will come to believe it. Or maybe not.

Here are links to two previous articles on the topic. Be sure to read
the comments below each.

Reincarnation, God, and Things You Don’t Believe: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1323

Rebirth and Karma: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1182

Comment on this article at: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1396