Translations of saṃsāra (Hinduism) | |
---|---|
English | cycle of existence, endless rebirth, wheel of dharma, beginningless time |
Sanskrit | saṃsāra, sangsara (Dev: संसार) |
Pali | saṃsāra (Dev: संसार) |
Bengali | সংসার (sôngsar) |
Burmese | သံသရာ (MLCTS: θàɰ̃ðajà) |
Chinese | 生死, 輪迴, 流轉 (Pinyin: shēngsǐ, lúnhuí, liúzhuǎn) |
Japanese | 輪廻 (Rōmaji: rinne) |
Khmer | សង្សារ, វដ្ដសង្សារ (UNGEGN: sângsar, vôddâsângsar) |
Korean | 윤회, 생사유전 Yunhoi, Saengsayujeon |
Lao | ວັດຕະສົງສານ |
Mongolian | ᠣᠷᠴᠢᠯᠠᠩ, орчлон (orchilang, orchlon) |
Sinhala | සංසාරය (sansāra) |
Tibetan | འཁོར་བ་ (khor ba) |
Tagalog | Samsala |
Thai | วัฏสงสาร |
Vietnamese | Luân hồi, Lục đạo |
Glossary of Buddhism |
Saṃsāra (Sanskrit : संसार, Pali : saṃsāra; also samsara) in Buddhism and Hinduism is the beginningless cycle of repeated birth, mundane existence and dying again. [1] Samsara is considered to be dukkha , suffering, and in general unsatisfactory and painful, [2] perpetuated by desire and avidya (ignorance), and the resulting karma and sensuousness. [3] [4] [5]
Rebirths occur in six realms of existence, namely three good realms (heavenly, demi-god, human) and three evil realms (animal, ghosts, hellish). [note 1] Samsara ends if a person attains nirvana, [note 2] the "blowing out" of the desires and the gaining of true insight into impermanence and non-self reality. [7] [8] [9]
In Buddhism, saṃsāra is the "suffering-laden, continuous cycle of life, death, and rebirth, without beginning or end". [2] [10] In several suttas of the Samyutta Nikaya's chapter XV in particular it's said "From an inconstruable beginning comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmigrating & wandering on". [11] It is the never-ending repetitive cycle of birth and death, in six realms of reality (gati, domains of existence), [12] wandering from one life to another life with no particular direction or purpose. [13] [14] [note 3] Samsara is characterized by dukkha ("unsatisfactory," "painful"). [note 4] Samsara relates to the Four Noble Truths in Buddhism, as dukkha ("unsatisfactory," "painful") is the essence of Samsara. [17] [18] Every rebirth is temporary and impermanent. In each rebirth one is born and dies, to be reborn elsewhere in accordance with one's own karma. [19] It is perpetuated by one's avidya ("ignorance"), particularly about anicca (“impermanence”) and anatta , (“no-self”) [20] [21] and from craving. [note 5] Samsara continues until moksha is attained by means of insight and nirvana, [15] [note 2] the "blowing out" of the desires and the gaining of true insight into impermanence and non-self reality. [7] [8] [9] Samsara and the notion of cyclic existence dates back to 800 BCE. [25]
The Saṃsāra doctrine of Buddhism asserts that while beings undergo endless cycles of rebirth, there is no changeless soul that transmigrates from one lifetime to another - a view that distinguishes its Saṃsāra doctrine from that in Hinduism and Jainism. [26] [27] This no-soul (no-self) doctrine is called the Anatta or Anatman in Buddhist texts. [28] [29]
The early Buddhist texts suggest that Buddha faced a difficulty in explaining what is reborn and how rebirth occurs, after he innovated the concept that there is "no self" (Anatta). [30] Later Buddhist scholars, such as the mid-1st millennium CE Pali scholar Buddhaghosa, suggested that the lack of a self or soul does not mean lack of continuity; and the rebirth across different realms of birth – such as heavenly, human, animal, hellish and others – occurs in the same way that a flame is transferred from one candle to another. [31] [32] Buddhaghosa attempted to explain rebirth mechanism with "rebirth-linking consciousness" (patisandhi). [33] [34]
The mechanistic details of the Samsara doctrine vary within the Buddhist traditions. Theravada Buddhists assert that rebirth is immediate while the Tibetan schools hold to the notion of a bardo (intermediate state) that can last at least forty-nine days before the being is reborn. [35] [36] [37] In Mahayana Buddhist philosophy Samsara and Nirvana are seen as the same. According to Nagarjuna, an ancient Indian philosopher, and a teacher of Mahayana Buddhism, "Nothing of Samsara is different from Nirvana, nothing of Nirvana is different from Samsara. That which is the limit of Nirvana is also the limit of Samsara, there is not the slightest difference between the two." [38]
Part of a series on |
Buddhism |
---|
Buddhist cosmology typically identifies six realms of rebirth and existence: gods, demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts and hells. [39] Earlier Buddhist texts refer to five realms rather than six realms; when described as five realms, the god realm and demi-god realm constitute a single realm. [6]
The six realms are typically divided into three higher realms (good, fortunate) and three lower realms (evil, unfortunate), with all realms of rebirth being Independent completely of reality and nature in all forms, with the deva realm being the "ultimate" reality. [40] [41] The three higher realms are the realms of the gods, humans and demi-gods; the three lower realms are the realms of the animals, hungry ghosts and hell beings. [42] [43] The six realms are organized into thirty one levels in east Asian literature. [44] Buddhist texts describe these realms as follows: [42] [43]
There are six Enlightened Buddhas that exist in each of the six realms. These six Buddhas have also been known as the "Six Sages." Their names are Indrasakra (Buddha in the god realm), Vemacitra (Buddha of the petty god realm), Sakyamuni (Buddha in the human realm); Sthirasimha (Buddha in the animal realm), Jvalamukha (Buddha in the hungry ghost realm), and Yama Dharmaraja (Buddha in the hot hell realm). [45]
Samsara is perpetuated by one's karma, which is caused by craving and ignorance (avidya). [20] [21] [note 5]
Samsara is perpetuated by karma. [note 7] Karma or 'action' results from an intentional physical or mental act, which causes a future consequence. [note 8] Gethin explains:
Thus acts of body and speech are driven by an underlying intention or will (cetanā), and they are unwholesome or wholesome because they are motivated by unwholesome or wholesome intentions. Acts of body and speech are, then, the end products of particular kinds of mentality. At the same time karma can exist as a simple 'act of will', a forceful mental intention or volition that does not lead to an act of body or speech. [62]
In the Buddhist view, therefore, the type of birth one has in this life is determined by actions or karma from the previous lives; and the circumstances of the future rebirth are determined by the actions in the current and previous lives. [note 9]
Inconsistencies in the oldest texts show that the Buddhist teachings on craving and ignorance, and the means to attain liberation, evolved, either during the lifetime of the Buddha, or thereafter. [63] According to Frauwallner, the Buddhist texts show a shift in the explanation of the root cause of samsara. [64] Originally craving was considered to be the root cause of samsara, [note 10] which could be stilled by the practice of dhyana , leading to a calm of mind which according to Vetter is the liberation which is being sought. [68] [69]
The later Buddhist tradition considers ignorance (avidya) to be the root cause of samsara. [65] [20] [21] Avidya is misconception and ignorance about reality, leading to grasping and clinging, and repeated rebirth. [70] [71] According to Paul Williams, "it is the not-knowingness of things as they truly are, or of oneself as one really is." [72] It can be overcome by insight into the true nature of reality. In the later Buddhist tradition "liberating insight" came to be regarded as equally liberating as the practice of dhyana. [73] [69] According to Vetter and Bronkhorst, this happened in response to other religious groups in India, who held that a liberating insight was an indispensable requisite for moksha , liberation from rebirth. [74] [75] [note 11]
The ideas on what exactly constituted this "liberating insight" evolved over time. [68] [77] Initially the term prajna served to denote this "liberating insight." Later on, prajna was replaced in the suttas by the four truths. [78] [79] This happened in those texts where "liberating insight" was preceded by the four jhanas, and where this practice of the four jhanas then culminates in "liberating insight." [80] [note 12] The four truths were superseded by pratityasamutpada, and still later, in the Hinayana schools, by the doctrine of the non-existence of a substantial self or person. [83] And Schmithausen states that still other descriptions of this "liberating insight" exist in the Buddhist canon:
"that the five Skandhas are impermanent, disagreeable, and neither the Self nor belonging to oneself"; [note 13] "the contemplation of the arising and disappearance (udayabbaya) of the five Skandhas"; [note 14] "the realisation of the Skandhas as empty (rittaka), vain (tucchaka) and without any pith or substance (asaraka). [note 15] [84]
Samsara ends when one attains moksha , liberation. [85] [86] [87] [88] In early Buddhism, Nirvana, the "blowing out" of desire, is moksha. In later Buddhism insight becomes predominant, for example the recognition and acceptance of non-self, also called the anatta doctrine. [89] One who no longer sees any soul or self, concludes Walpola Rahula, is the one who has been liberated from the samsara suffering-cycles. [9] [note 16] The theme that Nirvana is non-Self, states Peter Harvey, is recurring in early Buddhist texts. [91]
Some Buddhist texts suggest that rebirth occurs through the transfer of vinnana (consciousness) from one life to another. When this consciousness ceases, then liberation is attained. [92] There is a connection between consciousness, karmic activities, and the cycle of rebirth, argues William Waldron, and with the destruction of vinnana, there is "destruction and cessation of "karmic activities" (anabhisankhara, S III, 53), which are considered in Buddhism to be "necessary for the continued perpetuation of cyclic existence." [92]
While Buddhism considers the liberation from samsara as the ultimate spiritual goal, in traditional practice, Buddhists seek and accumulate merit through good deeds, donations to monks and various Buddhist rituals in order to gain better rebirths rather than nirvana. [93]
A value of Buddhism is the idea of impermanence. All living things, causes, conditions, situations are impermanent. [94] Impermanence is the idea that all things disappear once they have originated. According to Buddhism, Impermanence occurs constantly "moment to moment", [95] and this is why there is no recognition of the self. [96] Since everything is considered to be in a state of decay, permanent happiness and self cannot exist in Samsara. [97]
Anatta is the Buddhist idea of non-self. Winston L. King, a writer from the University of Hawai'i Press, references two integral parts of Anatta in Philosophy East and West. [98] King details the first aspect, that Anatta can be "experienced and not just described." [99] King states the second aspect of Anatta is that it is the liberation from the "power of samsaric drives." [100] Obtaining awareness of Anatta and non-self reality results in a, "freedom from the push-pull of his own appetites, passions, ambitions, and fixations and from the external world's domination in general, that is, the conquest of greed, hatred, and delusion." [101] This "push-pull" of mundane human existence or samsara results in dukka, but the recognition of Anatta results in a "freedom from the push-pull."
According to Chogyam Trungpa the realms of samsara can refer to both "psychological states of mind and physical cosmological realms". [note 17]
Gethin argues, rebirth in the different realms is determined by one's karma, which is directly determined by one's psychological states. The Buddhist cosmology may thus be seen as a map of different realms of existence and a description of all possible psychological experiences. [103] The psychological states of a person in current life lead to the nature of next rebirth in Buddhist cosmology. [104]
Paul Williams acknowledges Gethin's suggestion of the "principle of the equivalence of cosmology and psychology," but notes that Gethin is not asserting the Buddhist cosmology is really all about current or potential states of mind or psychology. [105] The realms in Buddhist cosmology are indeed realms of rebirths. Otherwise rebirth would always be into the human realm, or there would be no rebirth at all. And that is not traditional Buddhism, states Williams. [105]
David McMahan concludes that the attempts to construe ancient Buddhist cosmology in modern psychological terms is modernistic reconstruction, "detraditionalization and demythologization" of Buddhism, a sociological phenomenon that is seen in all religions. [106]
A pre-modern form of this interpretation can be seen in the views of Zhiyi, the founder of the Tiantai school in China. The Record of Linji, a text attributed to the 9th Century Chan teacher Linji Yixuan, also presents the view that the Three Realms originate with the mind.
Duḥkha (Sanskrit: दुःख; Pali: dukkha), "suffering", "pain," "unease," "unsatisfactory," is an important concept in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Its meaning depends on the context, and may refer more specifically to the "unsatisfactoriness" or "unease" of transient existence, which we crave or grasp for when we are ignorant of this transientness. In Buddhism, dukkha is part of the first of the Four Noble Truths and one of the three marks of existence. The term also appears in scriptures of Hinduism, such as the Upanishads, in discussions of moksha.
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths are "the truths of the noble one ," a statement of how things really are when they are seen correctly. The four truths are
Nirvana is a concept in the Indian religions of Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism that refers to the extinguishing of the passions which is the ultimate state of salvational release and the liberation from duḥkha ('suffering') and saṃsāra, the cycle of birth and rebirth.
The Noble Eightfold Path or Eight Right Paths is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
Saṃsāra is a Sanskrit word that means "wandering" as well as "world," wherein the term connotes "cyclic change" or, less formally, "running around in circles." Saṃsāra is referred to with terms or phrases such as transmigration/reincarnation, karmic cycle, or Punarjanman, and "cycle of aimless drifting, wandering or mundane existence". When related to the theory of karma it is the cycle of death and rebirth.
In Buddhism, the term anattā or anātman is the doctrine of "no-self" – that no unchanging, permanent self or essence can be found in any phenomenon. While often interpreted as a doctrine denying the existence of a self, anatman is more accurately described as a strategy to attain non-attachment by recognizing everything as impermanent, while staying silent on the ultimate existence of an unchanging essence. In contrast, dominant schools of Hinduism assert the existence of Ātman as pure awareness or witness-consciousness, "reify[ing] consciousness as an eternal self."
In Buddhism, the three marks of existence are three characteristics of all existence and beings, namely anicca (impermanence), dukkha, and anattā. The concept of humans being subject to delusion about the three marks, this delusion resulting in suffering, and removal of that delusion resulting in the end of dukkha, is a central theme in the Buddhist Four Noble Truths, the last of which leads to the Noble Eightfold Path.
Rebirth in Buddhism refers to the teaching that the actions of a sentient being lead to a new existence after death, in an endless cycle called saṃsāra. This cycle is considered to be dukkha, unsatisfactory and painful. The cycle stops only if Nirvana (liberation) is achieved by insight and the extinguishing of craving. Rebirth is one of the foundational doctrines of Buddhism, along with karma and Nirvana. Rebirth was a key teaching of early Buddhism along with the doctrine of karma. In Early Buddhist Sources, the Buddha claims to have knowledge of his many past lives. Rebirth and other concepts of the afterlife have been interpreted in different ways by different Buddhist traditions.
In Buddhism, parinirvana describes the state entered after death by someone who has attained nirvana during their lifetime. It implies a release from Saṃsāra, karma and rebirth as well as the dissolution of the skandhas.
Taṇhā is an important concept in Buddhism, referring to "thirst, desire, longing, greed", either physical or mental. It is typically translated as craving, and is of three types: kāma-taṇhā, bhava-taṇhā, and vibhava-taṇhā.
Buddhism, also known as Buddha Dharma, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers, known as Buddhists, who comprise seven percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a śramaṇa movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played a major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to the West in the 20th century.
Avidyā in Buddhist literature is commonly translated as "ignorance". The concept refers to ignorance or misconceptions about the nature of metaphysical reality, in particular about the impermanence and anatta doctrines about reality. It is the root cause of Dukkha, and asserted as the first link, in Buddhist phenomenology, of a process that leads to repeated birth.
Karma is a Sanskrit term that literally means "action" or "doing". In the Buddhist tradition, karma refers to action driven by intention (cetanā) which leads to future consequences. Those intentions are considered to be the determining factor in the kind of rebirth in samsara, the cycle of rebirth.
Brahmā is a leading God (deva) and heavenly king in Buddhism. He is considered as a protector of teachings (dharmapala), and he is never depicted in early Buddhist texts as a creator god. In Buddhist tradition, it was the deity Brahma Sahampati who appeared before the Buddha and invited him to teach, once the Buddha attained enlightenment.
Pre-sectarian Buddhism, also called early Buddhism, the earliest Buddhism, original Buddhism, and primitive Buddhism, is Buddhism as theorized to have existed before the various Early Buddhist schools developed, around 250 BCE.
Nirvana is the extinguishing of the passions, the "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activity of the grasping mind and its related unease. Nirvana is the goal of many Buddhist paths, and leads to the soteriological release from dukkha ('suffering') and rebirths in saṃsāra. Nirvana is part of the Third Truth on "cessation of dukkha" in the Four Noble Truths, and the "summum bonum of Buddhism and goal of the Eightfold Path."
The three poisons in the Mahayana tradition or the three unwholesome roots, in the Theravada tradition are a Buddhist term that refers to the three root kleshas that lead to all negative states. These three states are delusion, also known as ignorance; greed or sensual attachment; and hatred or aversion. These three poisons are considered to be three afflictions or character flaws that are innate in beings and the root of craving, and so causing suffering and rebirth.
Karma is an important topic in Buddhist thought. The concept may have been of minor importance in early Buddhism, and various interpretations have evolved throughout time. A main problem in Buddhist philosophy is how karma and rebirth are possible, when there is no self to be reborn, and how the traces or "seeds" of karma are stored throughout time in consciousness.
Impermanence, called anicca (Pāli) or anitya (Sanskrit), appears extensively in the Pali Canon as one of the essential doctrines of Buddhism. The doctrine asserts that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is "transient, evanescent, inconstant".
The Six Paths in Buddhist cosmology are the six worlds where sentient beings are reincarnated based on their karma, which is linked to their actions in previous lives. These paths are depicted in the Bhavacakra. The six paths are:
Although not mentioned by name, samsara is the situation that is characterized as suffering (*duhkha) in the first of the *Four Noble Truths (aryasatya).
The word samsara does not appear in the *Vedas, but the notion of cyclic birth and death is an ancient one and dates to around 800 BCE.
A fundamental tenet of *Buddhism is that all formations (*samskara)—things that come into being dependent on causes and conditions— are impermanent.
Impermanence refers to the arising, passing away, changing, and disappearance of things that have arisen, and according to the *Abhidharma is a process that takes place from moment to moment.
It is because of the impermanence of the five aggregates (*skandha) that Buddhism teaches there can be no eternal self or soul (see ANATMAN).
For the same reason it is thought that there can be no permanent happiness in *samsara, because situations constantly change and in time all things decay (see DUHKHA).
One is that anatta can be experienced, not just described. Indeed all vipassana meditational techniques have as their purpose the production of a visceral, fully existential awareness of one's own body-mind "self" as a set of temporarily associated factors which have no integral unity.
The second point about anatta is that this experience is also one of release, release from the power of samsaric drives into a new and different self-aware