Rebirth (Buddhism) - Ideas of Rebirth

Ideas of Rebirth

There are many references to rebirth in the early Buddhist scriptures. These are some of the more important; Mahakammavibhanga Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 136); Upali Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 56); Kukkuravatika Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 57); Moliyasivaka Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 36.21); Sankha Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 42.8).

Some English-speaking Buddhists prefer the term "rebirth" or "re-becoming" (Sanskrit: punarbhava; Pali: punabbhava) to "reincarnation" as they take the latter to imply a fixed entity that is reborn. It is said to be the "evolving consciousness" (Pali: samvattanika viññana, M.1.256) or "stream of consciousness" (Pali: viññana sotam, D.3.105) that reincarnates. The early Buddhist texts make it clear that there is no permanent consciousness that moves from life to life. The lack of a fixed self does not mean lack of continuity. In the same way that a flame is transferred from one candle to another, there is a conditioned relationship between one life and the next: they are neither identical nor completely distinct.

While all Buddhist traditions seem to accept some notion of rebirth, there is no unified view about precisely how events unfold after the moment of death. The medieval Pali scholar Buddhaghosa labeled the consciousness that constitutes the condition for a new birth as described in the early texts "rebirth-linking consciousness" (patisandhi). Some schools conclude that karma continued to exist and adhere to the person until it had worked out its consequences. For the Sautrantika school each act "perfumed" the individual and led to the planting of a "seed" that would later germinate as a good or bad karmic result. Theravada Buddhism generally asserts that rebirth is immediate while the Tibetan schools hold to the notion of a bardo (intermediate state) that can last up to forty-nine days. This has led to the development of a unique 'science' of death and rebirth, a good deal of which is set down in what is popularly known as The Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Theravada Buddhism generally denies there is an intermediate state, though some early Buddhist texts seem to support it. There are zero teachings about this state found in the Agamas/Nikayas of the early schools, only vague references to said state that are open to interpretation. Among the thousands of suttas there is not a single one that gives any instruction on how one could influence one's rebirth in some kind of in between stage, just a handful of passages that could imply that there is some kind of interval between death and birth. There are some passages that imply one could reach Nibbana/Nirvana in this between state but as mentioned above there is zero instruction on how to do so. Therefore it's just as likely that the practices allowing one to reach Nibbana/Nirvana in this state are totally unrelated to the state itself and instead would simply be the end result of the standard practices laid out in the Agamas/Nikayas (as opposed to being the result of some kind of practice similar to the Tibetan Bardo practice). One school that adopted the view of possibly influencing ones rebirth while in the in between state was the Sarvastivada, who believed that between death and rebirth there is a sort of limbo in which beings do not yet reap the consequences of their previous actions but may still influence their rebirth. The death process and this intermediate state were believed to offer a uniquely favourable opportunity for spiritual awakening. There are zero teachings about this state found in the Agamas/Nikayas of the early schools. Only vague references to said state.