Samsara

In Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and other related religions, samsāra refers to reincarnation or rebirth in Indian philosophical traditions. Etymologically, Samsara is derived from the the Sanskrit and Pāli phrases "to flow together," "to go or pass through states", "continous movement", "continuous flowing" or "to wander". In most Indian philosophical traditions, including the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain systems, an ongoing and beginningless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is assumed to be a principle of nature. This cycle is inextricably linked with the doctrine of karma, which is said to determine one's rebirth in within the material world. Each tradition differs, however, in the terminology with which they describe the process and in the metaphysics they use to interpret it. There are also variations between sects within the tradition. Most of these traditions, in their evolved forms, regard Samsāra negatively, as a fallen condition marked by suffering, sorrow and inpermanence. Actions motivated by desire, selfish individualism, and/or ignorance of the true nature of the self and reality lead to rebirths. According to the merit of their karma, an individuals may be reincarnated as another human, an animal, or even an insect or plant. One may also be reborn in a particular locale, such as heaven or hell. The ultimate goal of all three religions is to escape this realm. Some later adaptations of these traditions identify Samsāra as a mere metaphor. The term is also generally applied to conditioned, transient existence within the material world, which is in juxtaposed with liberated states such as moksha and nirvana.

Origins

Belief in the cycle of rebirth has been linked, by some scholars, to the Aryan emphasis on fire sacrifices as is seen in the Vedas. During Vedic rituals, fire (personified by the god Agni), was seen as the medium through which humanity connected with the heavens, and thereby allowed human beings to gain favour of the gods. This notion that actions in the present could have effects upon the future results may have been reconceptualized in the later doctrine of karma. Further, Vedic religion upheld the idea of punar mrtyu, or "redeath" which took place in heaven, and preceded punar avrtti, or return to life on earth. Alternate theories attribute the rebirth doctrine to ancient non-Aryan tribal people, or else groups located around the Ganges which opposed the Vedas. Regardless of origin, the doctrine of rebirth was widespread in India during the sixth century B.C.E., when the Upanishads were composed, and the new religions of Buddhism and Jainism were founded.

Samsāra in Hinduism

Most Hindu traditions view the process of rebirth of the transmigration of the individual self (or jiva) to another body, as determined by their karma, after leaving the body at death. The eternal self, or atman, which resembles the western concept of the soul, remains unaffected by karma, and is consistent no matter what form an individual is reincarnated in. In Hinduism, it is avidya, or ignorance, of one's true self, that leads to ego-consciousness of the body and therefore the perceptioin of the phenomenal world. This grounds one in desire and the perpetual chain of karma and reincarnation. There are several possible outcomes for the reincarnated soul in the traditional understanding. Karma of the worst variety may result in rebirth in hell, or else on earth as an insignificant being such as an insect, plant, or small animal. A step up from this is the so-called "way of the ancestors", where a soul is converted to rain and brought back down to the earth. The water nourishes plants, which are then consumed by animals, who expel the water as semen which gives the sould new life. The desired result of reincarnation is the "way of the gods", which leads to the cessation of rebirth, and therefore liberation. Hinduism had many terms for the state of liberation like moksha, mukti, nirvana, and mahasamadhi.

In general, Hindus believe that once the karma of this eternal self is purified, one can escape the bonds of existence in samsara. The Hindu Yoga provides four different means by which to attain liberation: 1) by love and devotion of Ishvara, the personalized form of God, often called the bhakti yoga; 2)by psycho-physical meditation (Raja Yoga), 3) by discrimination of what is real and unreal through intense study and contemplation (Jnana Yoga) and 4) through Karma Yoga, the path of selfless action and subversion of the ego. All of these paths provide an equal oppurtunity for liberation

Various schools prescribe specific means by which to attain liberation. Some, such as Advaita Vedanta believe the atman to be one and the same as Brahman, the supreme divinity. Any perception of a difference is merely human egoism, caused by maya, or illusion. The phenomenal world itself and samsāric participation in it is fundamentally a consequence of maya. For Advaitans, liberation from samsara is gained when one transcends the illussion of samsara and comes to realization of the equivalence of their soul with Brahman. The tradition of Visistadvaita Vedanta, in contrast, believes that the individual soul is only a part and not wholly equivalent with Brahman. Therefore, mere realization of the nature of atman is not sufficient for purposes of escaping samsara, and one must practice bhakti in order to obtain Ishvara's grace and therefore, liberation.

Samsāra in Jainism

In Jainism, karma, anuva (ego) and the veil of maya are central. Liberation from samsara is called moksha or mukti.

Samsāra in Buddhism

Samsāra, term for refers in Buddhism to the concept of a cycle of birth (jāti) and consequent decay and death (jarāmaraṇa), in which all beings in the universe participate and which can only be escaped through enlightenment. It is generally opposed to nirvāṇa or nibbāna.

Whereas in Hinduism some being (Atman], jīva, etc.) is regarded as being subject to Samsāra, Buddhism was founded on a rejection (anatta) of such metaphysical substances, and originally accounts for the process of rebirth/reincarnation by appeal to phenomenological or psychological constituents. Later schools of Buddhism such as the Pudgalavāda, however, re-introduce the concept of a "person" which transmigrates. The basic idea that there is a cycle of birth and rebirth is, however, not questioned in early Buddhism and its successors, and neither is, generally, the concept that saṃsāra is a negative condition to be abated through religious practice concluding in the achievement of final nirvāṇa.

According to several strands of the Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition, the division of Samsāra and nirvāṇa is attacked using an argument that extends some of the basic premises of anātman and of Buddha's attack on orthodox accounts of existence. This is found poetically in the "Perfection of Wisdom" literature and more analytically in the philosophy of Nāgārjuna and later writers. It is not entirely clear which aspects of this theoretical move were developed first in the sutras and which in the philosophical tradition.

Samsārais uncontrollably recurring rebirth, filled with suffering and problems (according to Kālacakra tantra as explained by Dr. A. Berzin). In this sense, Samsara may be translated "Wheel of Suffering."

See also

• Bhavacakra
• Reincarnation
• Nirvana
• Moksha

External links

• Samsara - tour of this universe and beyond

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