Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Current Research

H-Buddhism NEW BOOK> Wisdom Publications: Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Current Research

Discussion published by Daniel Aitken on Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to announce the publication of a new book,Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Current Research, by Bhikkhu Anālayo, published by Wisdom Publications.

Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Current Research brings together the many strands of the debate on rebirth in one place, making it both comprehensive and compact. It is not a polemic, but an interrogation of the evidence, inviting readers to draw their own conclusions.

This succinct volume presents Bhikkhu Anālayo's findings, approaching the topic from four directions. The first chapter examines the presentation of rebirth in the earliest Buddhist sources and the way rebirth relates to core doctrinal principles. The second chapter reviews debate about rebirth throughout Buddhist history and up to modern times, including the role of confirmation bias in the evaluation of evidence. The third chapter reviews the merits of current research on rebirth, including near-death experiences, past-life regression, and childhood recollection of previous lives. This chapter concludes with an examination of xenoglossy, the ability to speak languages one has not learned previously. Finally, the fourth chapter examines the particular case of the Sri Lankan Dhammaruwan, who, as a boy, would chant Pāli-language scriptures that he had not apparently learned in his present life. Please see the detailed Table of Contents below.

The book is now available in hardcover and electronic formats at Wisdom Publications: https://www.wisdompubs.org/book/rebirth-early-buddhism-and-current-research. We are pleased to offer H-Net scholars a 25% discount when using the code RBRT18 (code expires 9/1/18).

You can also order it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble: ISBN 9781614294467

Daniel Aitken CEO and Publisher Wisdom Publications [email protected]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama ix

Foreword by Bhante Gunaratana xiii

Acknowledgments xvi

Citation: Daniel Aitken. NEW BOOK> Wisdom Publications: Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Current Research. H-Buddhism. 07-25-2018. https://networks.h-net.org/node/6060/discussions/2101310/new-book-wisdom-publications-rebirth-early-buddhism-and-current Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 1 H-Buddhism

Abbreviations xvii

Introduction 1

I. The Early Buddhist Doctrine of Rebirth 5

Introduction 5

1. Dependent Arising 6 The Twelve Links 7 Consciousness and Name-and-Form 9 Dependent Arising and Rebirth 12 Rebirth and the Underlying Tendencies 15

2. Recollection of Past Lives and the Intermediate Existence 18 The Buddha’s Preawakening Recollection of Past Lives 18 The Buddha’s Preawakening Witnessing of the Rebirth of Others19 The Intermediate Existence 20

3. The Principle of Karma 22 Karma and Its Fruit 23 Karma and Right View 25

4. The Significance of Right View 27 The Denial of Rebirth 28 Different Types of Right View 30 Speculation and Direct Knowledge 32

Summary 34

II. Debates on Rebirth 37

Introduction 37

1. The Undeclared Questions 37 Right View and Speculative Views 37 The Poisoned Arrow of Speculative Views 39 The Reason for Setting Aside Speculative Views 41 The Destiny of an Awakened One after Death 42

2. Debating Rebirth in Ancient India 44 Misunderstandings of the Teaching on Rebirth 44 Experiments to Prove the Materialist Position 45 Continuity without an Unchanging Agent 48

3. Discussions on Rebirth in China during the Early Imperial Period 50 Arguments against Rebirth and Karma 51

Defending the Rebirth Doctrine 53 Near-Death Experiences in Ancient China 55

4. Debates on Rebirth in Modern Times 56 Misinterpretations of Karma and Rebirth 56 Confirmation Bias 60

Summary 62

III. Evidence Considered Supportive of Rebirth 65

Introduction 65

1. Near-Death Experiences 66 From Ancient to Contemporary Reports of Near-Death Experiences 67 The Case of Pam Reynolds 72 Verified Information Apparently Obtained During Near-Death Experiences 74 Children and the Blind 77

2. Past-Life Regression 80 The Workings of Memory 81 Therapeutic Benefits 83 Verified Information Apparently Obtained from Past-Life Regression 85

3. Children’s Memories of a Past Life 89 Specific Information Recalled and Behavioral Continuities 91 Cases Documented Before Verification Attempts 99 Birthmarks and Birth Defects 108

4. Xenoglossy 113 Recitative Xenoglossy 113 Responsive Xenoglossy 114

Summary 116

IV. Case Study in Pāli Xenoglossy 119

Introduction 119

1. The Case History 119 Personal Contacts 119 The Present-Life Story 120 The Past-Life Story and a Verification of the Recordings 122

2. The Chanted Texts and Their Background 125 The Transmission of the Pāli Canon 125 Textual Memory 126

The Chanted Texts 127

3. Errors and Variants 129 Memory Errors 130 Minor Variants 136 Major Variants 144

4. Omissions and Additions 148 Loss of Text 148 The Brain in the Listing of Anatomical Parts 151 The Devas’ Acclaim of the Buddha’s First Sermon 154

Summary 162

Conclusion 163

Transcriptions 167

Introduction 167

DN 15 Mahānidāna-sutta 168 DN 16 Mahāparinibbāna-sutta 174 DN 22 Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna-sutta 179 SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa-sutta 209 SN 46.14 Gilāna-sutta (1) 213 SN 46.15 Gilāna-sutta (2) 214 SN 46.16 Gilāna-sutta (3) 215 SN 56.11 Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta 216 AN 10.60 Girimānanda-sutta 222 Khp 5 / Sn 258–69 (Mahā-)maṅgala-sutta 226 Khp 6 / Sn 222–38 Ratana-sutta 228 Khp 9 / Sn 143–52 Metta-sutta 232 Dhp Dhammapada 234

References 237

Index 273

About the Author 281