Karma and Rebirth in Buddhism

One of the aspects of Buddhism that is hard to explain but central to its teachings is Samsara. Samsara is how Buddhism explains the world we live in, describes the kind of aimless wandering that all beings do lifetime after lifetime ad nauseum, and why Buddhist teachings are relevant.

But why do people continue on in Samsara?

Because we naturally crave continuity. We crave existence on our terms. Even someone who wishes to end their life still on some deep fundamental level wants to keep going, they simply find life unbearable nonetheless. On the other hand, the state of Nirvana described by the Buddha isn’t a wish for extinction either, because that’s still predicated on a sense of craving.

The issue in Buddhism isn’t so much life of death, it’s craving.

Craving is not something we consciously think about or do. It’s deep in our nature. We can suppress it, we can discipline ourselves, but we cannot make ourselves stop craving. Even striving to end craving is just another form of craving, isn’t it?

As long as one craves in any form, they create karma. By creating karma, they pave the way for future conditions, future rebriths, and so on:

[At Saavatthii the Blessed One said:] “Monks, what a man wills, what he plans, what he dwells on forms the basis for the continuation of consciousness. This basis being present, consciousness has a lodgment. Consciousness being lodged there and growing, rebirth of renewed existence takes place in the future, and from this renewed existence arise birth, decay-and-death, grief, lamentation, suffering, sorrow and despair. Such is the uprising of this entire mass of suffering.

The Cetanā Sutta (SN 12.38), translation by Maurice O’Connell Walshe

It’s a huge, tangled ball of karma, intention, volition, craving, etc. Untangling such a mess is extremely difficult, hence reaching the state of a bodhisattva, let alone a fully-awakened buddha, is nothing to sneeze at.

But what is the alternative then?

Aimless wandering across eons, lifetime after lifetime. Sometimes it’s a good life, sometimes it’s a terrible one, lots of middling lifetimes in between. But there’s no rest, no sense of direction.

Sooner or later, once a person comes to realize this, they face the realization that the only way to attain peace and liberation is to untangle the mind.

Namo Shakamuni Buddha

P.S. Featured image is from the game Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I play this game too much (speaking of craving), and love Claude’s insights on more than one occasion.