Rebirth is one of those topics that many Western Buddhists—that is, Buddhist converts—approach with skepticism and doubt. Mainly, they come to Buddhism after rejecting previous religious beliefs and practices. Included in their rejection is the notion of an afterlife, particularly as presented in Judeo-Christian doctrine. Buddhism is pragmatic and based solely on what is reasonable and rational. Rebirth, in the Western mindset, is metaphorical: Every moment in this lifetime is a rebirth. I adopted this microcosmic view, leaving aside the macrocosmic view of many lifetimes as unreasonable. The teachings of rebirth were based on an ancient cosmology that no longer works, thanks to scientific discovery.
But I’ve reconsidered that view after reading Ajahn Thanissaro’s The Truth of Rebirth: And Why It Matters for Buddhist Practice. Here are some of the points I came away with:
“What is reborn?” is an inappropriate question, to be put aside
It’s a logical question to a rational thinker. We learn, living under the influence of Judeo-Christian doctrine, after death the soul (a thing) goes to heaven or hell for eternity. So it follows that in Buddhism there must be some thing that goes to the next life. It can’t be the soul, because the doctrine of anata (not-self, sometimes translated as no-self or no-soul) says there isn’t such a thing. This doctrine, surely among the most confusing and misunderstood, is also among the most attractive for its mysteriousness. And if it can’t be the soul that goes to the next life, then what does? If that question is inappropriate, then what is the appropriate question?
What is rebirth?
Rebirth is a process. This catalyzed my new understanding. It encapsulated the many Dhamma talks I’d heard over the years where a teacher instructed: “The self is a process. The body is a collection of processes. The mind is a collection of processes.” To the eager novice, this is really profound stuff. Not to mention appealing in a what-is-the-sound-of-one-hand-clapping sort of way.
The self is a process within a larger process called samsara. The definition of samsara is “round of rebirth.” Samsara is depicted in the twelve links of dependent origination, shown in the outer ring of the picture above. (Click the image for a guided tour of the symbols. Opens in a new window.)
The importance of the teaching of rebirth
Karma is action with intention. It’s not just the big things, the obvious things a person decides to do. Deep in the mind, very subtle acts of intention arise. This is karma. About karma, the Buddha says good action brings good results, bad actions bring bad result. This is true not just some of the time; it’s true all of the time, with every act. On the surface, taking an ordinary life, this seems ridiculous. That’s whey we invented the phrase “I was only trying to help.” We all know how our acts of good intention sometimes go badly. However, if they are truly acts of good intention, they must bring good results, according to the law of karma. If not immediately, then sometime in the future. Maybe a long, long time in the future as the karma plays itself out. And bad actions will always bring bad results. Eventually. You can see the necessity of an ongoing process. Without it, the teaching of karma becomes irrelevant. If the teaching of karma is irrelevant, then all of the Buddha’s teachings are.
Rebirth as a strategy
If I understand Ajahn Thanissaro correctly, the Buddha also used karma and rebirth as a strategy to negotiate between two common views of the day: eternalism and nihilism. Eternalists believed in a life beyond death. Nihilists believed dead is dead. The Buddha refused to take a position one way or the other, except to say both are wrong view. Yet he urged people toward good actions, to make good karma, to avoid ending up in a bad destination.
Investigating right view
Right view—or right understanding—is the first factor of the eightfold path. I thought I had this one figured out. Now I’m not so sure. Karma and rebirth are integral to right view. Rejecting rebirth as an unnecessary artifact of an ancient time is a rejection of right view. Accepting rebirth does not mean blind adherence to some dogma that makes no sense. Rather, I think, it means having faith in the teachings while at the same time taking an investigative look not only at how things work deep in the mind, but how the entire process of life works. Investigation of the Dhamma is an act of intention that, presumably, will have a good outcome: Investigation of the Dhamma is one of the seven factors of awakening.
