Page 36 - Suffering

‘‘ Knowing There is a Way ‘‘

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* Pali: No further Becoming literally means no further Rebirth. It refers to the
teaching that the actions of a person lead to a new existence after death, in an
endless cycle called samsara. This cycle is considered to be dukkha, unsatisfactory
and painful. The cycle stops only if liberation is achieved by insight and the
extinguishing of craving. Rebirth is one of the foundational doctrines of
Buddhism, along with karma and nibbana.

The rebirth doctrine asserts that rebirth does not necessarily take place as
another human being, but can also lead to an existence in one of the six
realms of existence, which also include heaven realms, the animal realm, the
ghost realm and hell realms. Rebirth, as stated by various Buddhist traditions,
is determined by karma, with good realms favoured by good or skillful karma
(Kusala), while a rebirth in evil realms is a consequence of bad karma (Akusala).
While nibbana is the ultimate goal of Buddhist teaching, much of traditional
Buddhist practice has been centered on gaining merit and merit transfer,
whereby one gains rebirth in the good realms and avoids rebirth in the woeful or
evil realms.

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