Pablo Antuna is a professor of comparative religions. He specializes in Eastern religions: Buddhism and Hinduism.
Indian sages took the position that human beings, and beings in general, don't live just one life, but cycle in a process of death and rebirth. What does this really unique doctrine means for Buddhist and Hindu people? How does it change the way they live?
The process of death and rebirth is called "Samsara" in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the ancient language of India. Samsara simply means to wander. This etymological meaning gives you a taste of what this doctrine really means for religious people in India. They don't see the process of deaths and rebirths as a pleasurable one.
In the Western world, we often think of reincarnation as something positive. We think that it means that we are going to have another chance in a future life. If we don't make it in this life, we're going to live again anyway and try again. Or we maybe think "I want to be a butterfly in a future life. How beautiful!". Well, it doesn't work like that in India.
After the doctrine of reincarnation was accepted in the religious world, the sages took the position that this process didn't encompass just two or three lives strung together, but millions and millions of livetimes. What does this mean? It means that anything that we accomplish or we plan to acomplish in our existence is meaningless compared to the cosmic existence that we are part of. Anything that we get or accomplish will pass away, nobody will remember it.
Indians, and afterwards, Buddhists, came to view reincarnation as a problem. Samsara is really the problem that Indian religions try to solve.
In another articles in my site you can further continue your study and understanding of this deep and unique tradition.
- Buddhism Through Buddhist Eyes: Here you will find all the articles by author Pablo Antuna. He explains the doctrines and teachings of Buddhism in a clear style so everyone could understand them.
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