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42 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS

LIFE AFTER LIFE:
PERSPECTIVES ON KARMA

AND REBIRTH

Buddhism teaches that when a person dies he is reborn, Ming Wei: It is clear that the Jātakas have various
depending on his karma, and this process of death legendary biographies of the Buddha in both human
and rebirth will continue until Nirvāṇa (nibbāna) is and animal forms. Buddha Śākyamuni spent many
attained. The teaching on karma and rebirth is one of lifetimes in the six realms of transmigration. His lives
the core principles taught by the Buddha. Yet it has its as the monkey king, elephant king, deer king, and so on
complexities. are examples of lives spent in the realm of animals. The
Buddha had also been incarnated many times in the
As such, we have asked our three teachers from the realm of humans. One time, after Sundarī, the courtesan,
various Buddhist traditions – Venerable Aggacitta, made a defamatory accusation against him, the Buddha
Venerable Ming Wei, and Venerable Geshe Dadul explained how actions from the previous life can affect
Namgyal - to provide us an insight into some of the the shaping of events in one’s present life. As a result,
most common questions about karma and rebirth. the Buddha is our greatest authority on rebirth. The
realm into which one is reborn and one’s conditions of
Geshe Namgyal’s article is edited by Martha Leslie rebirth are determined by the past and present actions.
Baker. This is the law of karma at work.

1. What scriptural evidence do we have that the Dadul Namgyal: There is much scriptural evidence
Buddha actually taught that we have past lives that Buddha taught thus. The well-known story
and will be reborn after our death? of his recollection of his past lives soon after his
enlightenment, stories that were made into the subject
Aggacitta: There is an overwhelming number of matter of so many works of later masters such as
passages in the Pāli suttas that mention rebirth Āchārya Aśvaghoṣa’s poetic masterpiece, The Thirty-
after death. A digital search in the Pāli Canon of the Four Life Stories (of Buddha), and King Kṣemendra’s
phrase kāyassa bhedā paraṃ maraṇā ... upapann* / Wish-Fulfilling Tree depicting over one hundred former

upapajj* (on the breakup of the body after death ... is lives of Buddha Śākyamuni, are but a few examples of
(are) / was (were) / will be reborn) shows hundreds Buddha having taught on the subject of rebirth. Besides,
of occurrences. The ultimate goal of the Buddha’s the entire teachings on the twelve-links of dependent
spiritual path is to be liberated from the cycle of birth origination found in both the Pāli and Sanskrit canons
and death and a stock utterance of an arahant who are testimony to the doctrinal confirmation of our
has achieved this is: ayamantimā jāti; natthi dāni continued rebirth into Saṃsāra and instructions on
punabbhavo (this is [my] last birth; now there is no how to attain freedom from the bondage of affliction-
renewal of being). induced rebirth. The stages of gradual freedom from
the clutches of afflictions, from gross to subtle , the
whole teaching about the four stages of attainment, viz.