Buddhism And Reincarnation Essay

843 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Hinduism and Buddhism differences

Ramakrishna Paramhansa says, “Just as only honey will drop from the honey-comb, only good actions will ensue from the self”. Buddhism started in South Asia and people have strong beliefs in reincarnation. Buddhism believes that the accumulated karma in this life will bring forward to the next life, thus karma determines an individual’s status in the next life. Different from Hinduism, Buddhism strongly opposes the idea of soul and self, they believe that self is impermanent and is only an illusion which leads to the notion of renunciation. This paper discusses the two important notions of karma and anatman in Buddhism, and emphasises the process of reincarnation without one’s soul. Reincarnation is crucial in Buddhism religion, and the ultimate of reincarnation is nirvana. …show more content…

Keown states in his article that “karma is not a system of rewards and punishments meted out by God but a kind of natural law skin to the law of gravity. Individuals are thus the sole authors of their good and bad fortune” (Keown 37). In other words, the status of one’s next life is not determined by God, instead, it is determined by oneself. People also believe that the status of this life is determined by the accumulated karma from previous life, only good actions will result in moving upwards. In Buddhism, people believe that karma also determines one’s physical appearance and personalities (Keown 37), thus, many people think a beautiful person is warm-hearted sometimes. However, Buddhism believes that “karma does not determine precisely what will happen or how anyone will react to what happens” (Keown 39). People consider that winning a prize or losing a wallet are all about fortune, karma does not affect small things like these. Overall, karma plays a crucial role in reincarnation which determines one’s social status, physical appearance and

Show More
Related

  • A Tibetan Perspective on Birth and Death

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    In ancient India, many members of lower casts wanted to come back as members of higher casts. While this is an important goal of reincarnation, the main goal is to reach either moksha (Hinduism) or nirvana (Buddhism). In other words, the goal is to reach a point of spiritual enlightenment that removes the person from the reincarnation process. Geoff Childs, an anthropologist, examines the views of the Buddhist religion by studying the lives of the people in Tibetan villages. He looks at issues that adversely affect these people, such as infant mortality.

    Read More

  • Seven Karma Themes

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    Karma is the moral law of cause and effect (Bowker 2006, 60-1). This law is one of the many bases of the Hindu faith, Buddhist faith,

    Read More

  • The Thoughts and Beliefs Surrounding Karma

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    Karma is ancient belief whose history can be traced back to when Buddhism had just been established by the Buddha and it was still in its early stages.Early Buddhism taught that karma was non-linear,meaning that your past actions would not affect you in the present, and your present actions would not affect your future. The quote, “Karma isn’t fate.Nor is it a punishment imposed on us by some external agent.We create our own karma. Karma is the result of choices that we make every moment of every day.” means that the actions we commit every day will create karma, and whether the outcome of that karma is good or bad is determined by your actions. On the contrary, some Indian schools taught that karma was linear, meaning your past and present actions would affect you later in life. The doctrine of the belief states that one person’s karma cannot affect another person’s future.For example, the transfer of merit states that one person can transfer good karma to another, and this is found in both Buddhism and Hinduism. However, a wide spectrum of various aspects of Indian religions believe that karma can be shared. The outcome of your karma is determined by whether your actions were helpful and kind, or if your actions were cruel and decadent.The quote, “Ka...

    Read More

  • Differences And Compare And Contrast Hinduism And Buddhism

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the present day, karma is basically understood by most people as, “what goes around comes around,” and while this is an accurate way of thinking about the concept of karma, it is simply much more complex than that. When talking about karma in Hinduism, the one who follows the order of their caste system creates positive karma for themselves, while an individual who doesn’t follow social order in the caste system creates unfavorable karma for themselves. “When a soul is reborn it may enter a body in a higher or lower state of existence than its previous one. The new body may be that of a king, a beggar, or even an animal or insect. The determining factor of a soul’s new existence is the quality of life led by the individual soul in its previous existence. This is called the law of karma” (Wangu 2002). Basically, in Hinduism one’s karmic actions are compensated for by the host body which they occupy in their later life. On the contrary, the Buddhist faith teaches that a person’s social status is insignificant and that their karma is reliant on conformity to religious practices and laws. Contrastingly, both Buddhism and Hinduism claim that the life in which one is born into depends on one’s own karma however the way in which one attains and loses karma in each faith are

    Read More

  • Hinduism Vs. Buddhism: Different Characteristics Of Hinduism And Buddhism

    1333 Words  | 3 Pages

    Reincarnation is a central belief among Hindus and Buddhists. This is the belief that a person will be reborn into a new body over and over again. Being born into a human body is considered a “precious and rare opportunity for the soul to advance toward its ultimate goal of liberation from rebirth and merging with absolute reality.” The ultimate goal is to escape this cycle through good deeds (Fisher 75). For Hinduism this is called moksha, and for Buddhism this is called nirvana.

    Read More

  • Hindu Religious Traditions

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    Karma "means action, and also the consequences of action. Every act we make, and even every thought and every desire we have, shape our future experiences. Our life is what we have made it. And we ourselves are shaped by what we have done: "As a man acts, so does he become. . . . A man becomes pure through pure deeds, impure through impure deeds." Not only do we reap in this life the good or evil we have sown; they also follow us after physical death, affecting our next incarnation. Ethically, this is a strong teaching, for our every move has far-reaching consequences." (pg 87) In order to

    Read More

  • Guilt Causes Physical, Psychological, and Emotional Damage

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a child, your parents always told you that old moral lesson, “What goes around comes around.” Some may call it good luck or bad luck, but I refer to it as karma. When one is faced with a moral choice, he or she has to differ right from wrong. People are hesitant about making the wrong decision because the outcome you may endure is the negative feeling of guilt.

    Read More

  • The Argument for Reincarnation in Hinduism

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    The concept of reincarnation is related to karma, karma deals with a system of rewards and punishment based on the actions of the individual (Oxtopy & Segal 266). Due to bad karma by the individual, it takes many lifetimes for the karma to be worked out; reincarnation also known as samsara in Hinduism is an ongoing cycle of death and rebirth. To be released from the cycle of samsara, to achieve moksha one must reach enlightenment (Oxtopy & Segal 266-267). In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna, an incarnation of the ultimate deity as a personal god in the Hindu religion, explains three ways to moksha: the way of action, the way of knowledge, and the way of devotion. The Gita also made it clear that one should strive for moksha in everyday of our life as long as we act without attachment (Oxtopy & Segal 274). Reincarnation a concept widely receive by Hindu’s around the world, there are evidence to support the truth of this concept.

    Read More

  • Reincarnation

    4249 Words  | 9 Pages

    In the light of this belief, it would be interesting to explore the process of reincarnation scientifically. Through the last century, as Buddhism gained more popularity in the West, various people have attempted to study reincarnation systematically. These studies range from in-depth case studies to hypnotic regression experiments and experiences of people who have been through near-death experiences. By conducting these studies researchers wish to see if there exists a scientific basis to Buddhist beliefs.

    Read More

  • Buddhism: The Doctrine Of No Self In Buddhism

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the Buddhist doctrine, there is no self. Buddhists believe that the body is impermanent and behaves as a covering for what is permanent— your soul. What is focused on in Buddhist beliefs the doctrine of the “non-self”. In this paper, I will support the idea of the “non-self”. The doctrine of having no self means that the parts of who you are as a person is not you. All things on earth are not static, including people. First, I will go over what a Buddhist’s view of the self is and state reasons why one may be convinced that there is no self. Then, I will explain some objections of why other non-Buddhists would believe otherwise. Lastly, I will draw to a close of how the principle of no self is plausible.

    Read More

  • Karma and Reincarnation

    4820 Words  | 10 Pages

    In the western world, a dominant belief is that after life, a person’s soul is sent to a place of eternal bliss, heaven, or a place of eternal damnation, hell. To Buddhists, this concept is not the norm. Buddhists believe that a person is reincarnated into another life form, either human or animal. What life form a person is reincarnated as is determined by the person’s karma. The concept of karma not only affects reincarnation, but also what path a person’s life takes. While much of the concept of karma is believable and comprehensible by a person of any denomination, some aspects are dependant upon a belief in reincarnation and that a person will eventually be punished for his sins or rewarded for his good deeds, whether in this life or the next. At the same time, in order to believe in how reincarnation works, a person must understand the idea of karma.

    Read More

  • How To Compare Mooksha And Hindu Moksha

    1669 Words  | 4 Pages

    Moksha is a common belief in the Hindu religion and it describes a state where one’s soul connects with God’s soul. In the Hindu religion, achieving moksha removes one from the cycle of life and death, which is the state of reincarnation as one moves from one life to the next. In essence, moksha is a state of unification of one’s soul with that of the creator, therefore achieving oneness of atman and Brahman. This essay discusses the various similarities and differences that exist between Buddhist Nirvana and Hindu Moksha. It can be noted that Buddha was raised in a rich family and he lived through the riches up to some point in his life when he realized that he wanted to discover something different.

    Read More

  • The Hindu Concepts of Karma and Reincarnation and Their Relationship

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some people believe that karma means action and reaction, this is not strictly true, karma actually means " `act', `action' or `activity' "(Fowler. 1997. p11). It can be said, however, that for every action there must be a reaction. Karma is not confined to physical actions, mental actions also count. So Hindus believe that everything a person does or thinks is an action and depending on whether the action is good or bad that person receives good or bad karma as a reaction. "So, if some are happy then they must have done good in the past; if others are suffering they must have done something bad." "This is not fatalism; the law of karma says that we alone - not God or the Devil - are responsible for our fate" (Prinja. 1998. p36). Karma returns to us through everything we do. If a person does something good, with the sole intention of bettering him or herself, they will receive bad karma. Good karma is only received when a person commits a good action without thinking of himself or herself. Most Hindus will spend their entire lives attempting to accrue more good than bad karma. In the case of someone who has accrued sufficiently high levels of bad karma, the said person's spirit may not return after reincarnation as a human. It is possible for a spirit to return as an animal " in order to reap the results of bad karma until it is used up sufficiently to allow reincarnation as a human being once more." (Fowler. 1999. p208). This karma builds up inside a person in the form of the jivatman or personality.

    Read More

  • The Law of Karma

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    Karma, also known as Karman is a basic concept common to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The doctrine of Karma states that one's state in this life is a result of actions both physical and mental in past carnations, and action in this life can determine one's destiny in future incarnations. Karma is a natural, impersonal law of moral cause and effect and has no connection with the idea of a supreme power that decrees punishment of forgiveness of sins. Karmic law is universally applicable, and only those who have attained liberation from rebirth, called mukti (or moksha) or nirvana, can be transcend it. (The Columbia Encyclopedia)

    Read More

  • Reincarnation: Do you Believe?

    1749 Words  | 4 Pages

    Reincarnation channels through many cultures and experiences which are examined by skeptics. In this research paper I will examine what is reincarnation, the evidence of people’s experiences of this, some of the views of the skeptics on this issue, and my own beliefs with reincarnation. Reincarnation can’t be given a concert scientific explanation, can’t be fully proven to humans, but there are assumptions and beliefs that make up the idea of reincarnation. This paper will give an analysis on reincarnation and the possibilities of this phenomenon to be true.

    Read More

More about Buddhism And Reincarnation Essay

Open Document