Editing Reincarnation (section)

===Early Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism===

The concepts of the cycle of birth and death, ''[[Saṃsāra|saṁsāra]]'', and [[moksha|liberation]] partly derive from [[Śramaṇa|ascetic traditions]] that arose in India around the middle of the first millennium BCE.<ref>Flood, Gavin. Olivelle, Patrick. 2003. ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism.'' Malden: Blackwell. pp. 273–274. "The second half of the first millennium BCE was the period that created many of the ideological and institutional elements that characterize later Indian religions. The renouncer tradition played a central role during this formative period of Indian religious history....Some of the fundamental values and beliefs that we generally associate with Indian religions in general and Hinduism in particular were in part the creation of the renouncer tradition. These include the two pillars of Indian theologies: samsara—the belief that life in this world is one of suffering and subject to repeated deaths and births (rebirth); moksa/nirvana—the goal of human existence....."</ref> The first textual references to the idea of reincarnation appear in the [[Rig Veda|Rigveda]], [[Yajur Veda|Yajurveda]] and [[Upanishads]] of the late [[Vedic period]] (c. 1100 – c. 500 BCE), predating the [[Buddha]] and [[Mahavira]].<ref name=damienkeown32>{{cite book|first=Damien |last=Keown |title=Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction |year=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-966383-5 |pages=28, 32–38 }}</ref>{{sfn|Laumakis|2008|p=}} Though no direct evidence of this has been found, the tribes of the [[Ganges]] valley or the [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]] traditions of [[South India]] have been proposed as another early source of reincarnation beliefs.<ref>Gavin D. Flood, ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press (1996), UK {{ISBN|0-521-43878-0}} p. 86 – "A third alternative is that the origin of transmigration theory lies outside of vedic or sramanian traditions in the tribal religions of the Ganges valley, or even in Dravidian traditions of south India."</ref>

The idea of reincarnation, ''saṁsāra'', did exist in the early [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic religions]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/rig-veda-english-translation/d/doc839140.html|title=Rig Veda 10.58.1 [English translation]|date=27 August 2021|website=www.wisdomlib.org|access-date=8 October 2023}}</ref><ref>A.M. Boyer: "Etude sur l'origine de la doctrine du samsara." ''Journal Asiatique'', (1901), Volume 9, Issue 18, S. 451–453, 459–468</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Krishan |first1=Y. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Bi6FWX1NOgC |title=The Doctrine of Karma: Its Origin and Development in Brāhmaṇical, Buddhist, and Jaina Traditions |last2=Krishan |first2=Yuvraj |date=1997 |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |isbn=978-81-208-1233-8 |pages=3–37 |language=en}}</ref> The early Vedas mention the doctrine of [[karma]] and rebirth.{{sfn|Laumakis|2008|pp=90–99}}<ref>{{cite book|title=A Constructive Survey of Upanishadic Philosophy|author=R.D.Ranade|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |pages=147–148 |year = 1926 |url= https://archive.org/stream/A.Constructive.Survey.of.Upanishadic.Philosophy.by.R.D.Ranade.1926.djvu/A.Constructive.Survey.of.Upanishadic.Philosophy.by.R.D.Ranade.1926#page/n181/mode/2up |quote= There we definitely know that the whole hymn is address to a departed spirit, and the poet [of the Rigvedic hymn] says that he is going to recall the departed soul in order that it may return again and live."}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Atsushi Hayakawa |title=Circulation of Fire in the Veda |year=2014| publisher=LIT Verlag Münster| isbn=978-3-643-90472-0| pages=66–67, 101–103 with footnotes}}</ref> It is in the early Upanishads, which are pre-[[Buddha]] and pre-[[Mahavira]], where these ideas are developed and described in a general way.{{sfn|Laumakis|2008|p=90}}<ref name="amboyer">A.M. Boyer (1901), "Etude sur l'origine de la doctrine du samsara", ''Journal Asiatique'', Volume 9, Issue 18, pp. 451–453, 459–468</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The way to Nirvana: six lectures on ancient Buddhism as a discipline of salvation|author=Vallee Pussin|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1917|pages=24–25}}</ref> Detailed descriptions first appear around the mid-1st millennium BCE in diverse traditions, including Buddhism, Jainism and various schools of [[Hindu philosophy]], each of which gave unique expression to the general principle.{{sfn|Laumakis|2008|pp=90–99}}

[[Sangam literature]]<ref name="Kailas">{{cite book|author=K Kailasapathy|title=Tamil Heroic Poetry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kF9kAAAAMAAJ |year=1968|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=978-0-19-815434-1|page=1}}</ref> connotes the ancient [[Tamil literature]] and is the earliest known literature of [[South India]]. The Tamil tradition and legends link it to three literary gatherings around [[Madurai]]. According to [[Kamil Zvelebil]], a Tamil literature and history scholar, the most acceptable range for the Sangam literature is 100 BCE to 250 CE, based on the linguistic, prosodic and quasi-historic allusions within the texts and the [[colophon (publishing)|colophon]]s.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1974|pp=9–10 with footnotes}} There are several mentions of rebirth and moksha in the [[Purananuru]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-134|title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 134 by George L. III Hart|website=www.poetrynook.com|access-date=8 October 2023}}</ref> The text explains Hindu rituals surrounding death such as making riceballs called [[Pinda (riceball)|pinda]] and cremation. The text states that good souls get a place in [[Svarga|Indraloka]] where [[Indra]] welcomes them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-241|title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 241 by George L. III Hart|website=www.poetrynook.com|access-date=8 October 2023}}</ref>

The texts of ancient [[Jainism]] that have survived into the modern era are post-Mahavira, likely from the last centuries of the first millennium BCE, and extensively discuss the doctrines of rebirth and karma.<ref>{{cite book |first=Padmanabh |last=Jaini |editor=Wendy Doniger |title=Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4WZTj3M71y0C |year=1980|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-03923-0 |pages=217–236}}</ref><ref name=dundasp14>{{cite book|author= Paul Dundas|title=The Jains |year=2003|publisher= [[Routledge]]|isbn=978-0-415-26605-5 |pages= 14–16, 102–105 }}</ref> Jaina philosophy assumes that the soul (''[[jiva]]'' in Jainism; ''[[Ātman (Hinduism)|atman]]'' in Hinduism) exists and is eternal, passing through cycles of transmigration and rebirth.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|pp=226–228}} After death, reincarnation into a new body is asserted to be instantaneous in early Jaina texts.<ref name=dundasp14/> Depending upon the accumulated karma, rebirth occurs into a higher or lower bodily form, either in heaven or hell or earthly realm.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kristi L. Wiley |title=The A to Z of Jainism |year=2009|publisher=Scarecrow  |isbn=978-0-8108-6337-8 |page=186}}</ref>{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|pp=227-228}} No bodily form is permanent: everyone dies and reincarnates further. Liberation (''kevalya'') from reincarnation is possible, however, through removing and ending karmic accumulations to one's soul.<ref>{{cite book|author= Paul Dundas|title=The Jains  |year=2003|publisher= Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-26605-5 |pages= 104–105 }}</ref> From the early stages of Jainism on, a human being was considered the highest mortal being, with the potential to achieve liberation, particularly through [[asceticism]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Jeffery D Long|title=Jainism: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ajAEBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT36|year=2013|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-0-85773-656-7|pages=36–37}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author= Paul Dundas|title=The Jains |year=2003|publisher= Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-26605-5 |pages= 55–59 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=John E. Cort|title=Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India| year=2001|publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-803037-9|pages=118–119}}</ref>

The [[Buddhist texts#Texts of the Early schools|early Buddhist texts]] discuss rebirth as part of the doctrine of ''[[Saṃsāra (Buddhism)|saṃsāra]]''. This asserts that the nature of existence is a "suffering-laden cycle of life, death, and rebirth, without beginning or end".<ref name=jeffwilsonbudsam>{{cite book|author=Jeff Wilson|year= 2010|title= Saṃsāra and Rebirth, in Buddhism| publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0-19-539352-1| doi=10.1093/obo/9780195393521-0141}}</ref><ref name="Trainor2004p63">{{cite book|first=Kevin |last=Trainor |title= Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide |year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-517398-7 |pages=62–63 }}; ''Quote:'' "Buddhist doctrine holds that until they realize nirvana, beings are bound to undergo rebirth and redeath due to their having acted out of ignorance and desire, thereby producing the seeds of karma".</ref> Also referred to as the wheel of existence (''[[Bhavacakra]]''), it is often mentioned in Buddhist texts with the term ''punarbhava'' (rebirth, re-becoming). Liberation from this cycle of existence, ''Nirvana'', is the foundation and the most important purpose of Buddhism.<ref name=jeffwilsonbudsam/><ref name="Conze2013p71">{{cite book|author=Edward Conze |title= Buddhist Thought in India: Three Phases of Buddhist Philosophy |year=2013|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-54231-4|page=71|quote="Nirvana is the ''raison d'être'' of Buddhism, and its ultimate justification."}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last =Gethin | first =Rupert | year =1998 | title =Foundations of Buddhism | publisher =Oxford University Press | isbn =978-0-19-289223-2 | page =[https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe/page/119 119] | url =https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe/page/119 }}</ref> Buddhist texts also assert that an [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightened]] person knows his previous births, a knowledge achieved through high levels of [[samadhi|meditative concentration]].<ref>Paul Williams, Anthony Tribe, ''Buddhist thought: a complete introduction to the Indian tradition.'' Routledge, 2000, p. 84.</ref> Tibetan Buddhism discusses death, [[bardo]] (an intermediate state), and rebirth in texts such as the ''[[Bardo Thodol|Tibetan Book of the Dead]]''. While Nirvana is taught as the ultimate goal in the Theravadin Buddhism, and is essential to Mahayana Buddhism, the vast majority of contemporary lay Buddhists focus on accumulating good karma and acquiring merit to achieve a better reincarnation in the next life.<ref name="Merv Fowler 1999 65">{{cite book|author=Merv Fowler |title=Buddhism: Beliefs and Practices|year=1999|publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-898723-66-0 |page=65|quote="For a vast majority of Buddhists in Theravadin countries, however, the order of monks is seen by lay Buddhists as a means of gaining the most merit in the hope of accumulating good karma for a better rebirth."}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Christopher Gowans|title=Philosophy of the Buddha: An Introduction|year=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-46973-4|page=169}}</ref>

In early Buddhist traditions, ''saṃsāra'' cosmology consisted of five realms through which the wheel of existence cycled.<ref name=jeffwilsonbudsam/> This included hells (''[[niraya]]''), [[hungry ghosts]] (''[[pretas]]''), animals (''[[Tiryakas realm|tiryaka]]''), humans (''[[manushya]]''), and gods (''[[Deva (Buddhism)|deva]]s'', heavenly).<ref name=jeffwilsonbudsam/><ref name="Trainor2004p63"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Robert DeCaroli |title=Haunting the Buddha: Indian Popular Religions and the Formation of Buddhism |year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-803765-1|pages=94–103}}</ref> In latter Buddhist traditions, this list grew to a list of six realms of rebirth, adding demigods (''[[Asura (Buddhism)|asuras]]'').<ref name=jeffwilsonbudsam/><ref>{{cite book|author=Akira Sadakata|title=Buddhist Cosmology: Philosophy and Origins|year=1997|publisher= Kōsei Publishing 佼成出版社, Tokyo|isbn=978-4-333-01682-2|pages=68–70}}</ref>

====Rationale====
The earliest layers of Vedic text incorporate the concept of life, followed by an [[afterlife]] in heaven and hell based on cumulative virtues (merit) or vices (demerit).<ref>{{cite book|author1=James Hastings|author2=John Alexander Selbie|author3-link=Louis Herbert Gray|author3=Louis Herbert Gray|series=[[Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics]]|title=Volume 12: Suffering-Zwingli|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.500005|year=1922|publisher=T. & T. Clark|pages=616–618|author1-link=James Hastings}}</ref> However, the ancient Vedic [[rishi]]s challenged this idea of afterlife as simplistic, because people do not live equally moral or immoral lives. Between generally virtuous lives, some are more virtuous; while evil too has degrees, and the texts assert that it would be unfair for people, with varying degrees of virtue or vices, to end up in heaven or hell, in "either or" and disproportionate manner irrespective of how virtuous or vicious their lives were.{{Sfn|Jessica Frazier|Gavin Flood|2011|pp=84–86}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Kusum P. Merh |title=Yama, the Glorious Lord of the Other World |year=1996|publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-81-246-0066-5 |pages=213–215}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author= Anita Raina Thapan|title=The Penguin Swami Chinmyananda Reader  |year=2006|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-400062-3 |pages=84–90 }}</ref> They introduced the idea of an afterlife in heaven or hell in proportion to one's merit.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Jessica Frazier |author2=Gavin Flood |title= The Continuum Companion to Hindu Studies  |year=2011|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-0-8264-9966-0|pages= 84–86 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Patrul Rinpoche|author2-link=Dalai Lama|author2=Dalai Lama|title=The Words of My Perfect Teacher: A Complete Translation of a Classic Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism|year=1998|publisher=Rowman Altamira|isbn=978-0-7619-9027-7|pages=95–96|author1-link=Patrul Rinpoche}}</ref><ref name="Krishan1997p17">{{cite book|author=Yuvraj Krishan |title=The Doctrine of Karma: Its Origin and Development in Brāhmaṇical, Buddhist, and Jaina Traditions  |year=1997|publisher= Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|isbn=978-81-208-1233-8 |pages=17–27 }}</ref>

====Comparison====
Early texts of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism share the concepts and terminology related to reincarnation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Paul |last2=Tribe |first2=Anthony |last3=Wynne |first3=Alexander | year=2012 |title=Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-52088-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NOLfCgAAQBAJ |access-date=2016-09-25 |archive-date=2020-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120065316/https://books.google.com/books?id=NOLfCgAAQBAJ |url-status=live |pages=30–42}}</ref> They also emphasize similar virtuous practices and [[karma]] as necessary for liberation and what influences future rebirths.<ref name="damienkeown32"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Michael D. Coogan|title=The Illustrated Guide to World Religions | year=2003| publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn=978-0-19-521997-5| page=192}}</ref> For example, all three discuss various virtues—sometimes grouped as [[Yamas]] and [[Niyama]]s—such as [[Ahimsa|non-violence]], [[Satya|truthfulness]], [[Asteya|non-stealing]], [[Aparigraha|non-possessiveness]], [[compassion]] for all living beings, [[Dāna|charity]] and many others.<ref>{{cite book|author1=David Carpenter|author2=Ian Whicher|title=Yoga: The Indian Tradition|year=2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-79606-8|page=116}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Rita Langer |title=Buddhist Rituals of Death and Rebirth: Contemporary Sri Lankan Practice and Its Origins |year=2007|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-15873-7 |pages=53–54 }}</ref>

Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism disagree in their assumptions and theories about rebirth. Hinduism relies on its foundational belief that the 'soul, Self exists' ([[Atman (Hinduism)|''atman'']] or ''attā''), while Buddhism aserts that there is 'no soul, no Self' ([[Anattā|''anatta'']] or ''anatman'').<ref>{{cite book|author=Christmas Humphreys|title=Exploring Buddhism |year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-22877-3 |pages=42–43 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Brian Morris |title=Religion and Anthropology: A Critical Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PguGB_uEQh4C&pg=PA51 |year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85241-8|page=51|quote="(...) anatta is the doctrine of non-self, and is an extreme empiricist doctrine that holds that the notion of an unchanging permanent self is a fiction and has no reality. According to Buddhist doctrine, the individual person consists of five skandhas or heaps—the body, feelings, perceptions, impulses and consciousness. The belief in a self or soul, over these five skandhas, is illusory and the cause of suffering."}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Gombrich|title=Theravada Buddhism|year=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-90352-8|page=47|quote="(...) Buddha's teaching that beings have no soul, no abiding essence. This 'no-soul doctrine' (anatta-vada) he expounded in his second sermon."}}</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/topic/anatta Anatta] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210185046/http://www.britannica.com/topic/anatta |date=2015-12-10 }}, Encyclopedia Britannica (2013), Quote: "Anatta in Buddhism, the doctrine that there is in humans no permanent, underlying soul. The concept of anatta, or anatman, is a departure from the Hindu belief in atman ("the self").";</ref><ref>Steven Collins (1994), Religion and Practical Reason (Editors: Frank Reynolds, David Tracy), State Univ of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-2217-5}}, p. 64; "Central to Buddhist soteriology is the doctrine of not-self (Pali: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman, the opposed doctrine of ātman is central to Brahmanical thought). Put very briefly, this is the [Buddhist] doctrine that human beings have no soul, no self, no unchanging essence."</ref><ref>Edward Roer (Translator), {{Google books|3uwDAAAAMAAJ|Shankara's Introduction|page=2}} to ''Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad'', pp. 2–4;</ref><ref>Katie Javanaud (2013), [https://philosophynow.org/issues/97/Is_The_Buddhist_No-Self_Doctrine_Compatible_With_Pursuing_Nirvana Is The Buddhist 'No-Self' Doctrine Compatible With Pursuing Nirvana?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206211126/https://philosophynow.org/issues/97/Is_The_Buddhist_No-Self_Doctrine_Compatible_With_Pursuing_Nirvana |date=2015-02-06 }}, Philosophy Now;</ref><ref name=Loy1982/><ref>KN Jayatilleke (2010), Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0619-1}}, pp. 246–249, from note 385 onwards;</ref><ref name=johnplott3>John C. Plott et al (2000), Global History of Philosophy: The Axial Age, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0158-5}}, p. 63, Quote: "The Buddhist schools reject any Ātman concept. As we have already observed, this is the basic and ineradicable distinction between Hinduism and Buddhism".</ref> Hindu traditions consider soul to be the unchanging eternal essence of a living being, which journeys through reincarnations until it attains self-knowledge.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bruce M. Sullivan|title=Historical Dictionary of Hinduism|year=1997|publisher=Scarecrow|isbn=978-0-8108-3327-2|pages=235–236 (See: Upanishads)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Klaus K. Klostermaier|title=A Survey of Hinduism: Third Edition|year=2007|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-7082-4|pages=119–122, 162–180, 194–195}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kalupahana |first=David J. |date=1992 |title=The Principles of Buddhist Psychology |location=Delhi |publisher=ri Satguru Publications |pages=38–39}}</ref> Buddhism, in contrast, asserts a rebirth theory without a Self, and considers realization of non-Self or Emptiness as Nirvana (''[[nibbana]]'').

The reincarnation doctrine in Jainism differs from those in Buddhism, even though both are non-theistic [[Sramana]] traditions.<ref name=naomiappleton76/><ref>{{cite book|author=Kristi L. Wiley|title=Historical Dictionary of Jainism|year=2004|publisher=Scarecrow|isbn=978-0-8108-5051-4|page=91}}</ref> Jainism, in contrast to Buddhism, accepts the foundational assumption that soul (''[[Jiva]]'') exists and asserts that this soul is involved in the rebirth mechanism.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kristi L. Wiley|title=Historical Dictionary of Jainism|year=2004|publisher=Scarecrow|isbn=978-0-8108-5051-4|pages=10–12, 111–112, 119}}</ref> Furthermore, Jainism considers [[asceticism]] as an important means to spiritual liberation that ends the cycle of reincarnation, while Buddhism does not.<ref name=naomiappleton76>{{cite book|author=Naomi Appleton |title=Narrating Karma and Rebirth: Buddhist and Jain Multi-Life Stories  |year=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-91640-0|pages=76–89 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Gananath Obeyesekere |title=Karma and Rebirth: A Cross Cultural Study |year=2006|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-2609-0 |pages=107–108 }};<br />{{cite book|author=Kristi L. Wiley|title=Historical Dictionary of Jainism|year=2004|publisher=Scarecrow|isbn=978-0-8108-5051-4|pages=118–119}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=John E. Cort|title=Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India | year=2001|publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-803037-9|pages=118–123}}</ref>