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Piya Tan SD 57.1 Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Its Significance 1 Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Its Significance Understanding karma and survival without any abiding agent A survey by Piya Tan ©2020 “What’s past is prologue.”1 SD 57.1 Contents §§ §§ 1 Rebirth: believe or accept? 4.4 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RIGHT VIEW 1.1 THE BUDDHA’S PERSONAL EXPERIENCE 4.4.1 The denial or rebirth 1.2 A MODERN CASE SUGGESTIVE OF REBIRTH 4.4.2 The right view pericope 1.3 ASSESSMENT OF REBIRTH BELIEF 4.4.3 Alternative definitions of right view 1.2 THE 3 TRAININGS (SUTTA DEFINITION) 4.4.4 The sure teaching 2 Dependent arising 4.4.5 Personal verification 2.1 THE 12 LINKS 4.4.6 Speculation and direct knowledge 2.2 SPECIFIC CONDITIONALITY 4.4.7 Overview of karma and rebirth 2.3 THE MOMENT OR OVER CONSECUTIVE 3 LIVES? 5 Speculation and vision 2.4 CONSCIOUSNESS AND NAME-AND-FORM 5.1 THE UNDETERMINED QUESTIONS 2.4.1 The Mahā,nidāna Sutta (D 15) 5.1.1 Right view and speculative views 2.4.2 The (Nidāna) Vibhaṅga Sutta (S 12.2) 5.1.2 Who have seen have no views 2.5 DEPENDENT ARISING AND REBIRTH 5.2 THE PROBLEM WITH SPECULATIVE VIEWS 2.5.1 Birth, death, rebirth 5.2.1 The 10 undetermined points 2.5.2 “Being conscious” 5.3.2 The Buddha as the silent sage 2.5.3 Gandhabba 5.2.3 The parable of the poisoned arrow 2.6 REBIRTH AND THE LATENT TENDENCIES 5.3 WHY THE BUDDHA SETS ASIDE SPECULATIVE VIEWS 3 Recollection of past lives 5.4 THE DESTINY OF ONE AWAKENED 3.1 RECALLING OUR PAST EXISTENCES 5.4.1 A 5th thesis? 3.2 THE BUDDHA’S REBIRTH RECOLLECTION 5.4.2 Tathāgata as one liberated 3.2.1 Continuity and identity 6 The ancient Indian debate on rebirth 3.2.2 Rebirth and realms 6.1 MISUNDERSTANDING REBIRTH 3.3 THE BUDDHA’S RECOLLECTION OF OTHERS’ REBIRTH 6.2 A MATERIALIST’S EXPERIMENTS: PĀYĀSI SUTTA (D 23) 3.3.1 Of the Buddha’s past and of past buddhas 6.3 CONSCIOUS CONTINUITY WITHOUT AN ABIDING AGENT 3.3.2 The Buddha’s retrocognition of others’ lives 7 The rebirth debate in modern times 3.4 SPONTANEOUS REBIRTH AND THE INTERMEDIATE STATE 7.1 MISINTERPRETATIONS OF KARMA AND REBIRTH 3.4.1 The non-returners 7.2 THE SEEMING QUIRKS OF KARMA 3.4.2 Intermediate state, intermediate being 7.2.1 Karmic conditionality 3.4.3 The spontaneously born (opapātika) 7.2.2 No body-mind duality 4 The moral context of rebirth 7.2.3 Karma and numbers 4.1 KARMA ACCORDING TO EARLY BUDDHISM 7.3 THE CONFIRMATION BIAS 4.1.1 Karma and rebirth 8 Phenomena suggestive of rebirth 4.1.2 Karma is intentional 8.1 NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES 4.2 KARMA AND ITS FRUITS 8.2 PAST-LIFE REGRESSION. MEMORY AND ITS PROBLEMS 4.2.1 Karma as one of the natural orders 8.3 REPORTS OF CHILDREN AND THE BLIND 4.2.2 Karma is not deterministic 8.4 CHILDREN’S PAST-LIFE MEMORIES & CHILD PRODIGIES 4.2.3 The relativity of karmic fruition 8.4.2 Researches by Ian Stevenson 4.3 KARMA AND RIGHT VIEW 8.4.3 Child prodigies 4.3.1 When the good suffers and the bad prospers 8.5 XENOGLOSSY. DHAMMARUWAN 4.3.2 One life is not enough 8.5.2 A genuine case of xenoglossy 1 Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act 2, scene 1, line 253, Antonio to Sebastian. http://dharmafarer.org 1 SD 57.1 Rebirth in Early Buddhism 1 Rebirth: believe or accept? 1.1 THE BUDDHA’S PERSONAL EXPERIENCE Although the ancient Indians reportedly believed in rebirth (punabbhava)2 or were at least aware of it, the suttas and Commentaries consistently report the Buddha’s direct knowledge or personal verifica- tion of rebirth experiences both of his own and of others. For us, the unawakened, who have no such powers, we should at least be properly informed of this key early Buddhist teaching. 1.2 A MODERN CASE SUGGESTIVE OF REBIRTH 1.2.2 Fortunately, by the time this chapter was due to be written the learned scholar monk and medita- tor, Analayo Bhikkhu of Germany, has published one of the most remarkable scholarly researches on re- birth [2018]. It started as a documented study of the xenoglossy [12.1.1] exhibited by a young Sri Lankan boy, Dhammaruwan, who was able to spontaneously recite ancient Pali texts [12.4]. Analayo’s present work gives greater emphasis on the Āgamas, the Chinese versions of the Pali suttas. Yet, these same materials found in the Pali suttas give a fuller treatment of the topics at hand. Hence, in this study, the emphasis is on the suttas, with the Āgama versions as support where relevant. This study is partly based on Analayo’s work, which should be read in full, especially his study of Dhammaruwan (ch IV and Conclusion: Transcriptions of sutta texts recited by Dhammaruwan). SD 57.1, however, not only focuses on the Pali texts, but also on the practice aspects of the teachings on karma and rebirth. 1.2.3 Vasubandhu’s Sanskrit classic Abhidharma,kośa and Bhāṣya (it’s autocommentary), of Sarvâstivāda tradition (late 4th century CE), have also been extensively used here in the discussion on the intermediate state [3.4.2]. He gives many helpful details not found in the Pali suttas and also affirms sutta teachings. This work also benefits from Analayo’s extensive references, to which are added further readings, espe- cially from the suttas. 1.2.4 Since a key theme of this paper is that “the mind can be independent of the body and the brain,” this paper should be read with the closely related study, Meditation, the brain and survival (SD 24.5). 1.3 ASSESSMENT OF REBIRTH BELIEF 1.3.1 Like many informed Buddhists, rebirth for me personally is not a crucial issue, since I find no reason not to believe in it; I accept it, in principle at least, as it is taught in the suttas. I would also welcome any scientific or academic study on rebirth, even those with compelling evidence that rebirth is impossible. Such findings would be of great interest to me in understanding how science and the academic mind work. It would be highly unlikely that such learning would bring any major change in my acceptance of rebirth as taught by the Buddha. 2 “Rebirth” is the widely accepted translation for punabbhava, “again-becoming.” Reincarnation properly means “taking a physical body again,” which is only one aspect of rebirth as taught in early Buddhism. Metempsychosis (Latin from Gk: meta, “with, after, from” + empsychos, “animate,” from en- + psykhē, “breath, life, soul”) is not only technical but also suggest the involvement of a “soul.” 2 http://dharmafarer.org Piya Tan SD 57.1 Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Its Significance 1.3.2 Not a dogma but a truth to be verified 1.3.2.1 In the spirit of early Buddhism, we are not required, even as Buddhists, to blindly believe in rebirth. If there is any good reason for us not to accept any teachings on rebirth, we judiciously set them aside since early Buddhism is a quest for true reality. Even some prominent monks in the Thai tradition were known to reject the rebirth doctrine. One of Thailand’s best known kings, Mongkut (1804-1868), during the time of his monkhood (1824-1851), was often skeptical of the existence of heaven and hell or any kind of future state or rebirth.3 1.3.2.2 One of Thailand’s best known monks and teachers, Buddhadasa often spoke and wrote of rebirth in terms of our practice of understanding and cultivating the good and avoiding the bad in this life itself. He often interpreted even canonical references to rebirth in a metaphorical manner.4 As practising Buddhists, we begin with having faith in, even a provisional acceptance, of the Bud- dha’s teachings, especially on karma and rebirth, which are, after all, taught in an empirical manner (yathā,bhūta) or in a metaphorical manner (pariyāyena). Our task, then, is to see how these teachings work in the real world, in our own life. The best tool for our task is our understanding of the suttas: the ancient and authentic records of the historical Buddha’s teachings. To understand the suttas, we must befriend them, be well connected with them, in a way, like how we get and read our daily papers, or use our phone to communicate with others. In this case, we learn to know and live the suttas. We begin by studying what we find interesting in the suttas and build up our understanding of them by “link and sense.” The link is how we connect with the suttas and remember their teachings. The sense is our growing insight into the suttas, seeing how they connect with one another, and with true reality. All this helps in our Dharma practice and spiritual progress. 1.3.3 As one who practises early Buddhism and who respectfully values academic learning, I am confid- ent that good scientific and academic research would actually help us better understand rebirth. My task is to search the suttas and understand, as it really is (yathā,bhūta), what the Buddha teaches, especially of karma and rebirth. My respect for academic discipline hopefully will prime and prepare me for careful reading and insight into the suttas and related teachings, as may be seen in this study.
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