What
is Karma?
The theory of Karma[Kamma in Pali] and rebirth in
Buddhism is the most misunderstood in the Indian philosophical traditions and
remains the most controversial subject from its early days.
The Pali word for rebirth is punabbhava , rendered differently as reincarnation, re-existence,
re-becoming, metempsychosis or transmigration of the soul. How to reconcile the Buddhist core doctrine of no-soul [anatta]with this concept of rebirth is
the fundamental question. Let us begin from the basics.
What is kamma? Kamma literally means action. But in
Buddhist understanding it is “volitional action[cetana], ie. intentional action acting on the basis of a motive
and desire. Buddha says: “Mental volition
is what I call action (kamma)”. Having desired and willed , “one acts by body,
speech and thought”[SuttaPitaka]. Kamma
is moral and immoral volition and intentional action-mental[thought], verbal[word]
and physical [deed]. Involuntary and unintentional actions are not kamma,
because desire and volition are not present there. Wholesome, good kamma gives
rise to wholesome, good effect[vipaka]
to oneself and others. Unwholesome, bad, evil kamma gives rise to unwholesome, bad
effect to oneself and others. This is based on the truth of the universal
principle of Cause and Effect. We believe that every intentional act will give
rise to a corresponding result either in the next immediate moment or sometime
later or in a future life.
The Law of Karma in the sphere of intentional action
and moral responsibility is the counterpart of the Newton’s Law in physics that
every action must have an equal and opposite reaction. Every intentional action
has its ripened consequences, effects.” As you show, so shall you reap.”
The results of kamma should not be seen as rewards or
punishments for the acts done, but simply as the results or outcome of some intentional
acts. Positive actions will eventually result in positive consequences to
oneself and others, and negative actions will eventually result in negative
consequences to oneself and others.
Kamma
necessarily leads to effects. The universal principle that determines the
nature of effects according to the moral or immoral volition impelling action
is also kamma, This is the kammic force, the Universal
Law of Cause and effect, as understood in Buddhism. Thus the term Kamma happens
to denote all the three: volitional action, determining force and effect.
Since an intentional action necessarily leads to a
corresponding effect, it may be said to be reborn in the effect. Mental thought
,verbal word , physical deed- thus every kamma is reborn.This is one perspective
from which the concept of rebirth is understood.
But, man with his inborn instinctive desire for
self-preservation and the fundamental will within him striving to live and to
existfor ever and ever cannot think of the prospect of his dying and being no
more. Therfore his desirous mind has come out with the imaginary concept of an unchanging ,
permanent ,ever- existing entity within him underlying as the core or essence
of his being,which is called variously as purusha, soul or atman.This is an
imaginary conceptual construction to satisfy his inner instinctual drive.
Theory
of Anatta in Buddhism
Buddhism does not subscribe to this belief of an
ever-lasting, unchanging entity- atman or soul- which is supposed to reside in
man or animal and go with its subtle body to take possession of a new body on
the death of its old wornout body. Experience shows that whatever exists is subject
to change; nothing is found to be permanent, ever-lasting. Anicca[impermanence] is the first mark , lakkhana of existence[Dhamma
mudra] according to Buddhism. “This means: things never persist in the same
way, but they are dissolving and vanishing from moment to moment.” [VisuddhiMagga]. From this follows necessarily
the truth of anatta, which means no-
atman , no- soul, no-self , no- substance within anything. Everything is
changing and perishing only because there is no permanent controlling or supporting
substance or atman within.
A wilful canard spread against Buddhism is that it
teaches nihilist doctrines, denying the existence of anything. Its doctrine of
sunya is the most misunderstood and the
most vilified. In truth, it does not deny the existence of any person or
entity; it denies only the existence of any permanent unchanging person, entity
or soul. Thus Buddhism avoids not only this false extreme view of permanent
existence, but also equally the other extreme view of non-existence after the
death of the present body. It adheres to the middle-path: middle position of
dependent existence and dependent becoming according to the natural laws of
Cause and Effect.
Against the imaginary concept of soul or atman in the
other philosophical and religious traditions, Buddhism has the theory of Vijñāna[vinnana in Pali ] which term is loosely
translated in English language as “consciousness”. This does not convey the
full meaning of Vijñāna.
What
is Vijnana?
Buddhism clearly explains what it truly means by the
term Vijñāna. Vijnana
is the core or fundamental essence of any being ,”the blind will energy”, the
ever-striving blind will to persist in its own being, to become more and more
and to enjoy this and that. It is a
particular conglomeration or coming together of some fundamental primordial forces
according to causes and conditions, which generate three types of cravings:
-Bhava-tanha[craving for existence and
becoming]
-Kāma- tanha[craving
for sensual pleasures including sexual pleasures; craving for whatever produces
happiness]
-Vibhava-tanha[craving for removing or
destroying those things which are sources of pain, craving for non-existence,
hatred towards whatever produces pain]
This fundamental blind agency seeks a sperm-ovum combination
and descends into the embryo in the mother’s womb. In conjunction with it, this
develops into a mind-body organism drawing nourishment from the mother’s blood
and multiplying cells in the embryo
Buddha describes the evolution of this
blind will energy Vijñāna as follows in his MahānidānaSutta:
- Depending on the Vijñānaarises the mind-body complex.
- Depending on the mind-body complex arise the six senses (viz. the five sense faculties and the mind).
- Depending on the six senses arise sense contacts.
- Depending on the sense contacts arise the sensations / feelings.
- Depending on the sensations/feelings arise perceptions, volitional tendencies and cravings:
- If feeling is pleasant, craving
for pleasures and pleasure giving objects;
- If feeling is unpleasant,
craving for dislike and hatred to unpleasant objects.
- If feeling is neutral, uncertainty and
delusion.
- Depending on the craving arises clinging
- Depending on the clinging arises action
- Depending on action arise phenomenon-reaction from outside world;
reaction impacts and seeds the
consciousness;
further action- phenomenon-reaction- again seeding- and so on and on.
This whole process is depicted pictorially as the
Twelve- limbed Wheel of Causation and Becoming. In this, the tenth limb of “Becoming” is the most important and herein the
whole process of how the Vijñāna
continuously
evolves and becomes is explained. Depending on craving and clinging arises
action. This is the volitional or intentional action ie. kamma which produces effects
in two ways.
Vijnana-
parinama[Evolution
ofVijñāna]
First, kamma produces impressions on the stream of
consciousness flowing within at the deeper level. These are described as the
imprints or seeds planted by the actions. Repeated action of the same kind gives rise to habitual
formations which successively become more and more powerful tendencies. They,
as the Buddhist scriptures describe,”eat into one’s nature and settle down
there. [VisuddhiMagga].
They lie deep within like the explosives in the crackers. They are liable to be
ignited by the sensations at any time. These accretions to one’s nature of consciousness [will energy]
within are accumulated by actions not only in this life,but also inherited over
innumerable previous lives. Buddhist scriptures have analysed these inherent
latent tendencies[anusayas] and shown
them to be of seven kinds:
1. Anusaya
of sensuous craving[kāmarāga]
2. Anusaya
of hatred/anger[patigharāga]
3. Anusaya of self-conceit[mānarāga]
4. Anusaya of
erroneous views/false views of individuality and self
5. Anusaya
of doubt and scepticism[vicikiccha]
6. Anusaya
of craving for existence, self-preservation and selfish pursuits[bhavaraga]
7. Anusaya of ignorance[avijjā]
Every sensation arising from contact with the external
world has the potency to arouse the corresponding type of inherent latent
tendency which leads further to the same kind of craving, clinging and action[kamma]-moral
or immoral. Thus builds up the karmic formations[sankhāras] and flows the
evolution of Vijñāna. This is the first type of rebirth of kamma or
kammic formations occurring within.
Secondly, action creates phenomenon and with this,
further parinama[evolution or becoming] of Vijñāna takes
place in a cycle of actions- phenomena in the external world – reactions –
modifications in Vijñāna and again actions and so on. Like this, the
cycle goes on repeating and the Vijñāna is continuously evolving to a
better or lower condition, to a happier or a sorrowful state. Vijñāna of
every individual person, every being in this world thus goes on changing
continuously, never remaining the same even for two consecutive moments. Vijñāna
at any particular moment is not the same as the one of the previous moment; It
is also not entirely different but a continuity, ever changing and flowing. It
is always getting modified depending on its actions (kamma) and the
retributive energy of the reactions that impact on it. Vijñāna is thus reborn from moment to moment, hour to
hour, day to day, year to year and so on. This may be said to be the second
kind of rebirth of kamma and Vijñāna.
Rebirth
in a new life after death
Each unit of Vijñāna or
consciousness perishes giving birth to another and while perishing gives up its
whole energy or all the imprints it received to its successor. Each successive
consciousness therefore consists of the potentialities of all its predecessors
and new desires and emotions generated. Each unit of consciousness (Vijñāna)
is a packet of energy which is constantly changing according to kammic laws of
cause and effect. Now the question is: “What happens to this flow of Vijñāna
or consciousness at the last moment when the body disintegrates and perishes
and is no longer able to support it?”
According to Buddhism, the answer
to this question depends on the condition of Vijñāna at the point of
death of the body. If the Vijñãna has been purified and perfected like
the one of the enlightened Buddha, if it is free from the corruption of sensual
craving, from the corruption of grasping and clinging to hatred and
destruction, from the corruption of craving for existence, and from the
corruption of ignorance, it is delivered; “rebirth is ended; fulfilled the Holy
Life; done what was to be done; there is no more of this state again.”
But if the store of the accumulated
tendencies, impulses and desires in the vijñāna has not been exhausted,
if it still has cravings and clingings, it will seek a new body to continue in
existence. Even when the body decays and dies being subject to the physical
laws of Nature, the inner momentum of the forces of tendencies, impulses and
cravings developed by the fundamental will to become i.e. vijñāna and
built up in the course of its evolutionary life cannot be completely destroyed
all of a sudden at one point. They cannot be said to completely vanish into
thin air suddenly at one moment. This is the Law of Conservation of Energy. Forces or energies cannot
be destroyed, they only change from one form to another.They seek a new body to
further evolve on demise of the old one.This is actually the theory of rebirth according to Buddhism.
What Buddhism teaches here is not
that a permanent unchanging soul or substance remains here and transmigrates to
another life, but only the forces of tendencies, impulses and cravings
accumulated by an ever changing, ever- evolving vijñāna will continue to
remain and continue to evolve further even after the disintegration of the
present physical body. The vijñāna thus remaining at the death point
with all the residual forces of tendencies, impulses and cravings is called the
rebirth or re-linking consciousness. Buddha calls this “gandhabba”. This
seeks a new sperm – ovum combination, enters and vitalizes it driven by the
residual forces of the kammic energy and volitional tendencies. This gives rise
to a new existence and the vijnana (consciousness) evolves further
clinging to.
The most subtle wind force or light
energy leaving the dead body is said to carry the rebirth or re-linking
consciousness to the new sperm-ovum combination driven by the kammic forces and
volitional tendencies. In Buddhism it is said metaphorically that the rebirth
consciousness rides on the horse of the most subtle wind force which was its
counterpart at the deeper unconscious level in the previous body. Thus
psychophysical parallelism is maintained in Buddhism.
Accounting for the event of
rebirth, Buddha says: “Where O monks, three are found in combination, there a
seed of life is planted. Thus, if a father and mother come together, but it is
not the mother’s period and the being to be born (gandhabba) is not present,
then no seed of life is planted. Or, if a father and mother come together and
it is the mother’s period, but the being to be born (gandhabba) is not
present, then again no seed of life is planted. But, when, monks, a father and
mother come together and it is the mother’s period and the being to be born (gandhabba)
is also present, then by the combined agency of these three, a seed of life is
planted.”
Regarding the evolving
consciousness, M.W, Padmasiri De Silva explains thus.:
“—— the
consciousness sustenance is the cause of renewed becoming, of rebirth in the
future. Consciousness is the influx conditioned by a causal pattern and it is a
dynamic continuum. It is also referred to as a stream of consciousness (viññānasota)
and also a stream of becoming (bhavasota). The evolving consciousness
which continues after death maintains its dynamism because it is nourished by
the manifestations of craving. There is a residuum derived from the
psychological part of the individual. This dynamism makes possible the
continuation of the phenomenal existence and the continuation of individuality
(nāma-rūpa)” (Buddhist And Freudian Psychology, p.11/12).
Thus, this stream of consciousness
flows on ad infinitum. At death the consciousness perishes only to give birth
to another in a subsequent birth. This renewed consciousness inherits all the
residual tendencies and cravings of past experiences and is pregnant with the
potentialities of the kammic energies of all the preceding units of
consciousness. This continues in a new existence starting with these
potentialities inherited from the previous birth and evolves further. The
renewed consciusness is not identical with the previous unit of consciousness
since the aggregates that make up its composition are different. And yet it is
not an entirely different being since it is a continuation of the same stream
of kammic energy.
Rationale
for the theory of rebirth in Buddhism
In the above account, we saw how
the force of the consciousness at the death point cannot be absolutely
destroyed all of a sudden and how logically there has to be a continuation of
the same as a new existence establishing a link with a new body to work out its
kammic tendencies. Further Buddhism proves its theory of rebirth analyzing it
from the angle of consciousness at the point of conception. Crucial to the
understanding of Buddhist philosophy is its rejection of the reducibility of
mind or consciousness into matter and also its theory of causation. Matter and
mind are two aspects of reality which display entirely different sets of
qualities, functions and capacities and which are governed by different sets of
laws. Mind cannot be reduced to matter and matter cannot be reduced to mind. They
are entirely different, but always united together.
In its theory of causation,
Buddhism shows two principal categories of causes: the “substantial cause” and
the “supportive or complementary cause”. According to Buddhism, consciousness
(mind) and matter support each other and depend on each other, but one can
never become a substantial cause of the other. On the basis of this thesis,
Buddhism maintains that the sperm-ovum combination being simply of material
elements cannot become the substantive cause of the consciousness taking root
at conception. As Buddha shows in his account of rebirth we have just seen
earlier, the substantive cause of that consciousness is the ‘gandhabba’
or the rebirth or re-linking consciousness from a previous existence. The
sperm-ovum combination is considered here only as a supportive cause.
It is on the basis of such logical
inferences that Buddhist thinkers like Dharmakirti
have rationally argued for the tenability of the theory of rebirth. As His
Holiness The Fourteenth Dalai Lama explains:
“The issue revolves around the
argument that the various instances of consciousness we experience come into
being because of the presence of preceding instances of consciousness; and
since matter and consciousness have totally different natures, the first moment
of consciousness of the new being must be proceeded by its substantial cause,
which must be a moment of consciousness. In this way, the existence of a
previous life is affirmed” (The Universe In A Single Atom, p.132)
Some other Buddhist scholars like
Bhavaviveka have tried to prove the theory of rebirth pointing out such
habitual instincts as the new born calf’s instinctive knowledge of where to
find its mother’s teats and how to suck milk that continue in the new life.
Such phenomena of innate knowledge cannot be adequately explained without the
basis of some form of previous existence.
Some Buddhist thinkers point out
the instances of child prodigies, geniuses and perfected holy ones like the
Buddha, Mahavira, Jesus and others and argue that the births of such gifted
people cannot be satisfactorily explained by hereditary factors alone. Such
perfections and accomplishments could not have been possible without going
through some evolutionary process over a series of life times. Buddha’s
perfections could not have been obtained by the practices of one life-time
alone. Buddha also talks about series of
his previous births.
Whereas the Buddhist teachings are
generally found to be in accord with the modern advanced scientific theories
and do not contradict them, however on this subject of rebirth its teachings
differ from the propositions of science in as much as it advances its theory of
relinking (rebirth) consciousness against the naturalistic explanation of the
emergence of new life in science. The Buddhists raise fundamental questions
against the materialistic explanation and hereditary theory. If hereditary
principle only is operative, the mental make-ups, characteristics and
tendencies of the off-springs should be at least similar if not wholly
identical with those of the parents. But in life we actually find the children
to be of entirely different characters compared to their parents. No doubt
heredity and environment play their parts. But they cannot adequately explain
the subtle distinctions in the psychological, intellectual and moral
capabilities we come across in the individual beings and particularly in the
twins. We come across twins born of the same parents, under the same conditions
of time and environment, one of whom is an angel and the other a demon, though
their physical forms closely resemble each other. Likewise, the births of child
prodigies, geniuses and perfected holy ones cannot be explained and accounted
for by heredity alone. The case of Mahatma Gandhi and his wayward eldest son
will illustrate the point regarding the inadequacy of the hereditary theory.
Heredity and environment fail to provide convincing answers to the problems of
inequality, variations and incongruities in life. Therefore, Buddhism believes
that these theories should be supplemented by the doctrine of Kamma and
rebirth for an adequate explanation of these puzzling problems.
I am born like this because of my
own actions in previous existences. My future will be decided by my own
intentional actions (kamma) in this life. “I am the result of my own
deeds; heir to deeds; deeds are matrix; deeds are kin; deeds are foundation;
whatever deed I do, whether good or bad, I shall become heir to it.” (AnguttaraNikāya
III)
Relinking consciousness is the heir
to the deeds of the previous life-stream and it evolves and “becomes” further
in the present life-stream. Strictly speaking, the term “rebirth” is not
applicable in the Buddhist philosophy since there is no permanent being – the
same one which is taking birth again. It is series of consciousnesses that are
evolving.
In spite of the arguments advanced
by the Buddhists in support of their doctrine of rebirth on the basis of
inference and the impossibility otherwise of explaining the inequalities of
beings in life, their doctrine may seem to be a metaphysical speculation. But
Buddhism maintains that this doctrine is based on the direct personal
experience of Buddha himself and the supramundane knowledge he gained in his
deep meditation that enabled him to perceive the past life-streams of his own
and also other beings. The Buddha teaches that, through deep mental
concentration founded on a life of perfect purity and virtue, one can gain a
vision of not only one’s own former lives but also other beings disappearing
from one state of existence and reappearing in another in accordance with their
deeds.
“And again, Udayin, a course has
been pointed out by me for my disciples, practising which disciples with purified
clairvoyance surpassing that of men, can recollect their former dwelling
places, that is to say: one birth, two births, three, four—————a hundred
thousand births————— in all modes and details. ————— also see beings as they
were deceasing and rising up again —— according to the consequences of their Karma———”
(MajjhimaNikāya 77)
Thus, one is taught to verify and
ascertain for himself the truth of the Buddhist doctrines by direct experience
instead of relying on the words of others and belief and faith.
Apart from the many rational
arguments advanced in Buddhism relying on logical inferences and also the
supramundane knowledge of the previous births said to be attainable through
refined meditational practices, many instances of people having remembrances of
Their previous lives are pointed
out to prove the theory of rebirth. His Holiness The Fourteenth Dalai Lama
writes:
“I know of a remarkable case of a
young girl from Kanpur in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh in the early 1970s.
Although initially her parents dismissed the girl’s descriptions of a second
set of parents in a place she described specifically, the girl’s accounts were
so concrete that they began to take her seriously. When the two whom she
claimed to be her parents during her previous life came to see her, she told
them very specific details of their deceased child’s life, which only a close
member of the family could have known. As a result, when I met her, the other
two parents had also fully embraced her as a member of their family. This is
only anecdotal evidence, but such phenomena cannot be easily dismissed.
“… The point I wish to make is that
Dharmakirti clearly did not think that the theory of rebirth was purely a
matter of faith. He felt that it falls within the purview of what he
characterized as “slightly hidden” phenomena which can be verified by means of
inference.” (The Universe In A Single Atom, pp.132/133).
How some modern Buddhists view rebirth
According to Venerable
Nāgasena in Milindapañha and Venerable Buddhaghosa in Visuddhi
Magga, the process of rebirth is similar to one candle flame lighting
another candle flame and becoming the cause for the latter, or a teacher
passing on some verse of poetry or some teaching to the student.Based on this
understanding, some modern Buddhists like Dr. Babhasaheb Ambedkar, P. Lakshmi Narasu,
G.Appaduraiyar and others view rebirth of any person only as a rebirth of his
kammas in other individuals. According to them, whatever mental, verbal or
physical deeds one commits, these impinge on other individuals and produce
effects. In these effects, he is reborn. This is the second type of rebirth we
have discussed earlier in the foregoing. These scholars completely overlook the
first type of rebirth ie..
Vijñānasanthanam or parināma and
are silent on the question of what happens to
the bundle of desires and inherent latent tendencies[the seeds] within, ie.
what happens to the fundamental Vijñāna.
Realms of existence and rebirth
Traditional
Buddhism teaches that there are
thirty-one planes of existence in which beings are born according to their
kammic energy accumulated and inherited from previous births.These can be
reduced to mainly six: hell, animal realm, ghostrealm, asura realm ,human realm
and heavenly realm of gods and Brahmas.
Buddhists
generally believe that there is a possibility of a kammic descent to lower
realms. That is, a human being may be reborn as an animal or in any other lower
realm according to the nature of his deeds. But, modern Buddhists, particularly
western Buddhists, do not accept this. Their view is that man is continuously
being reborn moment to moment in the mental states similar to these planes in
this very life itself. With his normal aspirations and emotions ,he is normally
in human realm; some times with his anger, hatred and jealousy, he descends
into the asura realm, sometimes with his avarice and miserliness he descends
into the ghost realm and sometimes with his love and compassion and noble
ideals he ascends to the heavenly Brahma realms. When he is in intense pains,
sufferings and sorrows, he is actually in hell.
Conclusion
Irrespective
of whether one believes in the Buddhist theory of rebirth or not ,it may be
safely said that nobody can deny the basic Buddhist doctrine:
“What you are to-day is
determined by what you did yesterday;
What you do to-day will
determine what you will be tomorrow.”
Is there any scientific proof of rebirth?
There
are in fact many well-researched and documented cases of people, including many
children, who remember their past lives.
The
conclusion reached is that not only is rebirth probable, it is just about as
good as proven.
Well
known researchers in this field:
Carol Bowman
Prof Ian Stevenson, University of Virginia (3000 case studies)
Dr. Jim Tucker
Dr. Raymond Moody
Thomas Shroder.