What 's It All For?

Reincarnation is, “The eternal cycle of birth, suffering, death, and rebirth,” (“Reincarnation,” 2014). Where the soul comes back to earth in a new human body or form,” (“What is Reincarnation?” 2014). In the United States, a survey was taken to see how many Americans in Western cultures believe in reincarnation. Twenty percent of the surveyed Americans stated they believe reincarnation exists. Twenty percent said they were unsure and sixty percent said reincarnation does not exist (Walter, 2012). Reincarnation is believed to have started in the east, however it remains a more popular belief in the Western society, (Alberecht, 1987). No earlier than 300 B.C did the idea of reincarnation reach some form of acceptance. The first complete mention of reincarnation was briefly stated in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, which is an advanced philosophical and mystical text (Swami Krishnananda, 2014). There are many religions and belief systems around the world that believe in reincarnation including, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, (“Reincarnation Facts and Resources,” 2013). In

Not everybody has the same beliefs about certain things. The world is a big place with billions of people and a lot of them have their own beliefs. One belief about death is the way Buddhism people see it and their belief is reincarnation. Today, Buddhism is found in Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and China and in India, Sri Lanka Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, Cambodia, also in the European countries and the USA. It is believed that the Buddhist population of the world is over five hundred million. Five hundred million people believe that if you die it is not the end of your life but the beginning of a new one. Your new life would be reborn in one of six realms which are: heaven, human beings, Asura, hungry ghost, animal and hell. This all depends on the karma of your life; the better your karma is, the better your reincarnation would be, and that is called the

Buddhists believe that they have no identity. That there is no constant substantial self. They believe that after death, the spirit is recycled. During this formation, the personality is disintegrated and only certain memories, personal traits, and skills would be recycled to create a new person and when death approaches, then the process starts all over again (Rivas, T., 2005).

Hinduism believes in the reincarnation or rebirth of souls. They believe that souls are eternal and divine and that death is only temporary.

Hindus believe in an eternal soul that carries on after death, known as an atman. Buddhist believe in a finite self, with no eternal soul lasting beyond the grave, known as an anatman.

Buddhism is seen as a way of life rather than a form of religion that needs to be closely followed and constantly practiced. The idea of “enlightenment” carries through one’s entire lifetime in an attempt to reach nirvana, which is an end to all suffering. A person’s lifetime is spent being faithful and relying on karma to eventually achieve nirvana and enlightenment, in which people embark on the path of awakening. The awakening is a very crucial aspect of the Buddhist religion, as it was Buddha’s own personal awakening and understanding of how the world works, in which he passed it on to be believed and understood by others. It’s closely related to other religions in the way that rebirth and reincarnation are the beliefs surrounding the idea of the afterlife, however Buddhism in particular is an anatta tradition, or ‘not-self,’ which often sets it apart from other religions.This complex ideal entails that one’s external self, consciousness, feelings

There is belief of life after death. The soul of a dead person first lingers around the earth for three days as a result of separation from its body. On the third day, the soul is judged by its doings an is either taken to paradise (heaven) or to the world of punishment (hell).

The Buddhist believe if they reached enlightenment, or nirvana, they would never have to be reincarnated again. There are three different types of Buddhism, each of which have their own beliefs. Theravada Buddhism is the earliest, then there is Mahayana Buddhist, and then Esoteric

In the fifth century BC Buddhism was started by Siddhartha Guatama. Buddhism teaches that both life and death are impermanent. Damien Keown (1996) explains that when humans die they go through a cycle of rebirth that could place them in heaven, humans again, Asura, hungry ghost, animal, and hell. That being said none of those fates are permanent either and depending on karma created during existence through good or evil actions your next rebirth cycle is altered. The ultimate goal of any Buddhist is to achieve Nirvana (Dickinson & Leming, 2011). This is a state that is obtainable in this life through correct aspiration, purity, and complete elimination of egotism. It is a state that completely frees one from the cycle of rebirth between the mentioned possibilities earlier. Since this is the ultimate goal Buddhists prepare for death by trying to be as responsible and good as possible towards others. They strive for calmness and happiness in themselves and try to exude an aura of these emotions to contribute to the happiness and calmness of others. A dying Buddhist patient may seek the guidance of a monk or nun to help ease the transition through prayer and chants to maintain peace. The most important moment of all is the final moment of thought before death. A monk or nun will pray and chant constantly during this time to give peace in the final moments of

The amount of good or bad karma that a person has will determine what level of being they will become when they are reincarnated. The most important difference between Buddhist and Hindu conceptions of the afterlife is the concept of soul. For Buddhists, the soul is not eternal while Hindus believe that the soul, like Brahman, is eternal. Another important difference is that Hindus believe in hells and punishment. The most evil of persons will be transported in a purgatory of sorts where will be punished before entering the endless cycle of reincarnation again.

Hinduism believes that realizing the soul is the embodiment of Brahman is essential to being released from the cycle of rebirth, Samsara. Hindus understand that the soul, atman, is permanent and only inhabits a physical shell which dies and passes the soul on to the next mortal shell, which can be better or worse than the previous depending on karma. With that said, Hindus believe in rebirth until one realizes the ultimate divine at which point they would be free from the punarjanma, the transmigration of the soul, liberating their souls to achieve moksha. Buddhism, on the other hand, challenges Atman with the belief in Anatman, which is non-self. Buddhists believe that the world is constantly changing, nullifying the concept of the permanent soul, Atman. There is no reason the soul remains unchanged in a perpetually changing environment.

Both Hinduism and Buddhism have components of religion and philosophy intertwined, but for the purposes of examination, a cohesive philosophical argument cannot hinge on the religious metaphysics of the discussion. Hinduism and Buddhism both have similarities when describing life and death. They share ideas of self, impermanence, and lack of attachment, but their metaphysics create glaring differences when they describe how to live life, how to view life and death separately or as a process, and how to deal with the suffering associated with life and death. Buddhism, when examined through a contemporary western lens, explains life and death in a helpful and understandable way, and has a more fortified philosophical argument.

Buddhism believes in escaping the cycle of rebirths not through coming to an ultimate soul (it doesn't believe in this), but through Nirvana the ultimate relinquishing of attachment to materialism by transcending response to earthy feeling. In this way, one ends suffering by escaping the cycle of rebirths. and reincarnations. Karma from past life can affect the happenings in a present one according to both Hinduism and Buddhism, but Buddhism believes that one can escape this karma and cycle of rebirths by practicing the 8-fold path which culminates in Nirvana. With this Nirvana too, one gains a spirit of meditation or blissful mindfulness which is the epitome of the Hindu Moksha. (The Buddha Garden.)

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

There are many religions that have different beliefs about dying. Buddhist?s do not believe in life after death meaning heaven. Buddhist?s believe that when one dies he is reborn again and this continues until the person reaches Nirvana. Nirvana is