The Hindu - Tibetan concept of Reincarnation
and
The Buddhist concept of Rebirth
Reincarnation is a belief in the transmigration of the “soul” of a person after death to another body.
Rebirth, is the belief in the continuity of karmic tendencies from one life to another,
The concept of reincarnation does not fit within the Buddhist Law of Impermanence, which teaches
that one’s current self is transient, and that there is no fixed soul. For this reason Buddhism
considers the concept of reincarnation as an expression of a futile desire for immortality of the ego
(or lesser) self: “The function that leads us to believe in a permanent self is called the [Mano],
seventh consciousness...operating in the name of self-preservation and expansion. It
seems to correspond to the Western idea of the ego.”
(Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and death, p.156.
In a discussion about the subject, P. Ikeda explains that :”Buddhism does not accept the
immortality of soul or the idea that the body is a vessel for the soul, and after death, the
soul departs from the body, and moves to another body”.(Ikeda/Tehranian:Global Civilisation, p.120).
The concept of reincarnation matches the Hindu belief in the caste system, which teaches that
one’s birth in a certain class of society is a repetition of a previous existence of the same social/
spiritual class: “If taken literally, the reincarnation myth can lead to the legitimisation of rigid
caste systems and gross social injustice”, an observation P.Ikeda agrees with. (Global Civilisation,
p.120).
The Tibetan concepts of after-life
Tibetan literature provides its explanation of the process of reincarnation through giving the
example of the reincarnation of Lamas. The process of choosing a child as the reincarnation of a
deceased Lama is based on a judgement of a committee of monks - about how the examined child
reacted to personal items of the deceased Lama. The reaction of the child is considered as an
indication of a “memory of himself” in a past existence:
“Once the High Lamas have located the boy, they present a number of artefacts to the child.
Among these artefacts are several items that belonged to the deceased Dalai Lama. If the
boy chooses the items that belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, this is seen as a positive
sign, in concert with the other indications, that the boy is indeed a reincarnation of the Dalai
Lama”.
The described process is based on a belief that one’s person (or self) repeats lifetime after lifetime.
Repetition of a person, or “eternity of a person” means that the soul or self of a particular individual
is fixed over time, and that this permanent self would simply migrates to a new body of a child.
Setting aside all the details of this process, the practical outcome here is that a child is told to
believe what the monks believe about him.
From Buddhist point of view, one’s true spiritual identity and mission in life is self-discovered - it
cannot be taught by others or implied by monks. It appears here that the life mission of a Lama is
not self-discovered (as being a karmic tendency of Bodhisattva) - but is a kind of an identity given
by monks to a child.
Example of Tibetan beliefs in Reincarnation:
Among the western followers of Lama Kharmtul Rinpoche, a British-origin Buddhist nun:
Tenzin Palmo, described the circumstances after his death in a well documented book “Cave in the
Snow” :
“According to the Bodhisattva rule, Masters of Khamtrul Rinpoche’s caliber are not meant
to stay away for long, however. Consequently immediately after his cremation his disciples
began to look for clues as to where his future might be found.....Finally the [eminent Lama]
Karmapa gave the name of the place where Khamtrul Rinpoche had been reborn - Bomdila,
a Himalayan town close to Bhutan...the discovery of the ninth Khamtrul Rinpoche was in
the bag. The child was found, recognised and reinstated in Tashi Jong to take up his
spiritual duties where his predecessor - himself - had left off”. page 108/109
As the mentioned passage explains, a quick decision about the reincarnation of a deceased Lama
was taken “immediately after his cremation”. For ordinary people, however, it takes a long time to
reach an enlightened state in their coming reincarnation. The Tibetan concept of the reincarnation
of ordinary individuals teaches practitioners that they have to practice several lifetimes to reach
enlightenment:
“ Enlightenment was plodding and exceedingly hard work. The Lamas said if you reached
there in three lifetimes you were moving incredibly quickly...” page 115
This concept (of attaining enlightenment after many lifetimes) marks a fundamental difference
between Tibetan and Nichiren Buddhism, which is based on attaining enlightenment in this life
time. It is apparent that this view of attaining enlightenment over many lifetimes requires “the same
person” to reincarnate again and again to complete the personal journey, which she or he could
not make or achieve in one lifetime.
The teaching which requires many life times to attain enlightenment is not quiet consistent with the
teaching of the Buddhanature. If the Buddhanature is inherent in each individual (and potentially
existing in this lifetime) then a powerful-enough Buddhist practice is sufficient to enable practitioner
of Buddhism to reveal one’s Buddhanature in this lifetime, not after death or after many
“reincarnations of the same self”.
Continuity of life vs continuity of the person, after death
Buddhism, denies the idea of continuity of a fixed self or person : “There is no fixed self that
lives on as an unchanging entity”(Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death p 26).
In contrast to the idea of “continuity of person” after death, Buddhism teaches “continuity of life”
after death. All phenomena, stars, galaxies, plants, animals, people..etc... undergo the eternal
cycle of birth and death. Rebirth in a future existence is not a continuity of a past personality or
past social status - but a new fresh start.
In the same time, Buddhism teaches that Rebirth is not a random or accidental occurrence. Each
newborn has certain features and tendencies - which are not the result of “chance” or
“randomness”. Rebirth implies that the general tendencies of a new life are modulated by the
tendencies of a past life, however the new life is not strictly dictated by a fixed or unchanging
personality - but has open potentials of continual change.
If one - for example - creates a tendency for action as a Bodhisattva: searching for enlightenment
and happiness for self and others, then at death, one’s karmic-tendencies (created throughout
one’s lifetime) do not simply vanish. Karmic tendencies are like energy, which does not vanish, but
will be carried further to a next rebirth for future manifestation. Because Rebirth is not a repetition
of a past person, the new birth is not restricted to past gender, social class, spiritual position,
education, individual factors or fixed self.
The Buddhist Teaching of Rebirth
A clear perspective of continuity of the cycle of life and death is found in Ikeda’s illustration:
“I find it helpful to compare the cycles of life and death to the daily rhythms of waking and sleeping.
Just as we look forward to the rest sleep brings after the efforts and exertions of the day, death can
be seen as a welcome period of rest and re-energizing in preparation for a new round of active life.
And just as we enjoy the best sleep after a day in which we have done our very best, a calm and easy
death can only follow a life lived to the fullest without any regrets.” Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku
Ikeda, May 23, 2013.
According to the teaching of the “Nine Consciousnesses” - what continues from one lifetime to the
next is not one’s person, gender or particular situation - but one’s tendencies created throughout
life before death.
One’s actions in daily life express inner tendencies - manifested in particular relationships,
memories and personal skills...etc. These details are recorded and stored in a certain level of
consciousness, called the Mano (Sanskrit for ‘Comprehending’).
While the details of each action in one’s life gets recorded in the Mano-level of mind, the
motivations of action (or tendencies which led to particular events) gets recorded on the
subconscious level of mind, called the Alaya (Storehouse) Consciousness. The Alaya level of mind
continually records the mechanisms, patterns, trends or tendencies of one’s actions. These
patterns and tendencies remain dormant until a trigger from the environment activates them (like
‘seeds’ which have the potential to sprout, however depending on availability of appropriate
external conditions). If no trigger from the surrounding occurs to activate the stored tendencies,
then the stored karmic seeds remain dormant in the Alaya .
Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death pages 156-160.
At the moment of death, the Mano field of consciousness - which contains detailed personal
memories formed by the five senses - becomes irrelevant and dissolves, while the Alaya
consciousness, which contains the essence of life’s karmic tendencies (of the Ten World) - remains
in the filed of non-substantiality (Sunyata): “The Alaya consciousness is sometimes called
“non-vanishing” because the karmic seeds stored within it do not disappear at death. Our
individual lives are accompanied into latency by all the effects of our karma”. (Unlocking the
Mysteries of Birth and Death p.160) Only one’s general life tendencies (of the Ten Worlds) stored
in the Alaya affect one’s future Rebirth: “ ... the elements that will determine our life-condition
after death remain within the Alaya Consciousness” (Unlocking the Mysteries, p.160).
The concept of Karma in Nichiren Buddhism: Karma means creating tendencies through one’s
actions. Nichiren Buddhism is focused on taking responsibility for our karmic actions we create at
the present moment.
We are continuously creating karma at each moment (through the three causes of thoughts,
speech and deeds) - and this present moment shapes the future and gives meaning to the past.
P.Ikeda explains: “Karma is viewed as the potential force through which to influence our
future”. (Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death p. 27),
and : “Nichiren Buddhism enables us to fundamentally reform our destiny. When we truly
base ourselves on Buddhism's view of life's eternity, we realize the first thing to change is
how we live in the present”.
In his lecture The Importance of the Present Moment Ikeda emphasises : “The important thing is
right now - the present moment. Our present inner resolve, our determination, enables us to
sever the bonds of karmic causality by the strength arising from within - and enter the sure
path of happiness”.
The value of creating karmic tendencies through Buddhist activities: Continuous efforts to
transform our negative tendencies through the process of self-mastery (human revolution) lead to
creating beneficial tendencies and good fortune:
“If we attain the state of Buddhahood in this lifetime, that state will forever pervade our
lives. Throughout the cycle of birth and death in each new lifetime we will be endowed with
good health, wealth and intelligence along with a supportive and comfortable environment,
leading a life that overflows with good fortune. Each of us will also possess a unique
mission and be born in an appropriate form to fulfil it”. (Ikeda: Faith into Action page 23)
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Tibetan and SGI Buddhism
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