The Cycle of Rebirth Is Without Discoverable Beginning (First Discourse)

‘Venerable Sir, how many eons have elapsed and gone by?’

Monks, many eons have elapsed and gone by. It is not easy to count them and say they are so many eons, or so many hundreds of eons, or so many thousands of eons, or so many hundreds of thousands of eons.

‘But is it possible to give a simile, Venerable Sir?’

It is possible, Monks, The Perfectly Enlightened One said.

Suppose, Monks, there were four disciples here each with a life span of a hundred years, living a hundred years, and each day they were each to remember a hundred thousand eons. There would still be eons not yet remembered by them when those four disciples each with a life span of a hundred years, living a hundred years, would pass away at the end of a hundred years.

It is not easy to count them and say that they are so many eons, or so many hundreds of eons, or so many thousands of eons, or so many hundreds of thousands of eons.

For what reason?

Because, Monks, this Cycle of Rebirth is without discoverable beginning. A first point is not identifiable of beings roaming and wandering on hindered by ignorance (unknowing of true reality) and fettered by craving. For such a long time, Monks, you have experienced discontentedness, misery, and disaster, and swelled the cemetery.

It is enough to experience fading away of strong feelings towards all conditions, enough to become free from strong feelings towards them, enough to be liberated from them.

(Reference: SN 15.7)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares that how many eons have transpired throughout the history of the world is not possible to count and that the beginning of time is not identifiable.

In previous Teachings shared in this book, The Buddha shared that one (1) eon is not measurable, it is immeasurable. In this Teaching, he is sharing that how many eons have transpired from the beginning of time is also not measurable, it is immeasurable.

Oftentimes human beings attempt to figure out when the world started. The Buddha is explaining that it is not discernible and is not something that can be discovered. In reality, it does not matter when the beginning of time was or how the world started. The fact is, we are here now, beings are struggling with discontentedness and continuing to roam and wander through The Cycle of Rebirth, and it would be wise to apply effort to eliminating discontentedness to escape The Cycle of Rebirth.

When or how the world started (i.e. when or how The Cycle of Rebirth started) is not important. That is in the past and the goal for each being who is interested to end their discontentedness should be to learn, reflect, and practice The Teachings in order to attain Enlightenment and escape the constant and continuous rounds of discontentedness through continued existence in The Cycle of Rebirth.

What is reincarnation and rebirth? Are they the same thing?

Reincarnation and rebirth are different. They are not the same.

Reincarnation: the reemerging of a soul in a new body.

Reincarnation typically relates to a new existence from a soul, spirit, or entity of a previously existed being. The new existence is seen as being the same as the previous being just in a new body. Reincarnation requires a permanent soul or entity that emerges repeatedly in new existences. Gotama Buddha did not share this as part of his Teachings.

The concept of reincarnation conflicts with Gotama Buddha’s Teachings on The Universal Truth of Impermanence and The Universal Truth of Non-self, thus, was not taught by Gotama Buddha. In Gotama Buddha’s 45-years of teaching, his Teachings never contained any contradictions.

Reincarnation is dependent on a permanent soul or spirit transcending multiple existences. Gotama Buddha left The Teaching concerning a soul as “undeclared” having never taught the concept of a permanent soul or a permanent self that transcends multiple existences.

The concept of reincarnation conflicts with three specific aspects of Gotama Buddha’s Teachings. Reincarnation conflicts with 1.) The Universal Truth of Impermanence, 2.) The Universal Truth of Non-self, and 3.) Gotama Buddha left The Teachings on the soul as an “undeclared” Teaching, thus, Gotama Buddha never taught reincarnation.

Rebirth: a new being that has come into existence through The Cycle of Rebirth based on a previous being’s craving and Kamma.

Gotama Buddha taught rebirth through The Cycle of Rebirth.

Rebirth is a new existence of a new being that has been reborn based on a previous being’s craving. Craving is the fuel that causes rebirth. If there is craving at the time of death, there will be rebirth into a new existence. If Enlightenment has been attained (i.e. all craving, anger, and ignorance are fully extinguished), there will be no rebirth.

The new being may or may not have residual memories of previous existences in its new consciousness that may be recalled over time during the new being’s life. Rebirth is not based on a permanent soul or spirit of any kind but instead is caused by the craving of the previous being which produces a new birth into a new existence.

Each new birth is a new existence or new life. In reality, this should be shared and discussed as The Cycle of New Existence because there is nothing that is actually being reborn.

Kamma of the previous being will determine the destination and life situation of the new being. Kamma of the previous being determines in which realm the new being will be reborn, Hell, Animal, Afflicted Spirits, Human, or the Heavenly realm. Kamma from the previous being also determines the quality of life of the new being. For example, the family and life situation (poverty vs. wealth) one is born into, the appearance of the new being, and the condition of the new being’s body and mind are all determined based on the Kamma of the previous being.

If the previous being generated significant amounts of wholesome Kamma to be reborn into the human realm, the new being is reborn into a favorable destination within a wealthy family, beautiful appearance, and/or with a healthy body and mind.

If the previous being generated significant amounts of unwholesome Kamma, the new being is reborn into an unfavorable destination of the lower realms (Hell, Animal, or Afflicted Spirits Realm) or if reborn into the human realm, the being will be reborn into difficult circumstances in the new existence based on the previous being’s Kamma.

Difficult circumstances that result from the previous being’s Kamma would include in what realm the new being is reborn, what part of the world, the type of family, the amount of wealth, ability to acquire necessities to sustain life, appearance, and the health of the body and the mind.

Craving determines if there is rebirth while Kamma determines in what realm, what situation, and the condition of the new being upon rebirth.

Can I be a Buddhist without believing in rebirth?

Yes, one does not need to understand, believe, or know the truth regarding rebirth to learn and practice The Teachings of Gotama Buddha.

Let’s explore this topic further to provide you additional information for a deeper understanding.

Considering a person Buddhist or not is only a label. Labels of being a Buddhist or not will not determine whether you are or are not learning and practicing these Teachings closely. There is nothing to determine whether you are or are not a Buddhist.

In fact, Gotama Buddha himself was not a Buddhist. This label did not exist during his lifetime. The Teachings and practices Gotama Buddha shared were offered to humanity as a “life practice” that would improve the condition of the mind through awakening it to true reality, Enlightenment.

There are many people who have advanced in their practice to the point of observing past lives. It is through these observations that people, including Gotama Buddha, know that rebirth is the truth. You may or may not ever observe past lives as part of your pursuit to attaining Enlightenment.

The good news is that you do not need to observe past lives in order to attain Enlightenment. What transpired in the past is in the past and has no impact on whether you attain Enlightenment in this very life. Part of this good news is that your Kamma in your previous lives was wholesome enough that you were able to obtain the human state for this rebirth and now you have an opportunity to attain Enlightenment in this very life.

What happened in the past or may happen in the future is not important to attain Enlightenment in this very life. The mind needs to reside in the present moment learning and practicing The Teachings that lead to good wholesome decisions to attain Enlightenment.

Additionally, there are no Teachings in this practice that one should merely “believe”. Belief does not allow you to attain the wisdom that would ultimately liberate the mind. It is only when you learn The Teachings putting them into practice that you will be able to independently verify the truth in The Teachings that will ultimately liberate the mind to attain Enlightenment.

You should never believe anything in these Teachings but instead, work to learn and practice The Teachings so that you can independently verify the truth for yourself. This will ensure you are gaining wisdom to liberate the mind.

For more details on how rare it is for one to obtain the human state, see Gotama Buddha’s simile “Rare That One Obtains the Human State” available in this book series in the Chapter titled “Why Study Gotama Buddha’s Teachings?” (Volume 1 - Chapter 2).

Confirming The Cycle of Rebirth

The Cycle of Rebirth is part of The Natural Laws of Existence.

An individual should not believe in The Cycle of Rebirth but instead, learn, reflect (i.e. independently verify), and practice to be able to see the truth. The Cycle of Rebirth is what is actually occurring but, the mind will need to independently verify this through direct experience to be able to know with 100% certainty that it is the truth.

If there is craving/desire/attachment in the mind at the time of death, this will produce rebirth in one of The Five Realms of Existence: hell, animal, afflicted spirits, human, or heavenly realms. Then, it is Kamma that determines what realm and in what condition the being will be in within that realm.

This natural law is observable through independent verification if one chooses to observe the aspects of their direct experience that points to The Cycle of Rebirth.

For example, these are all indications that one can observe and confirm to know The Cycle of Rebirth is the truth.

1.) Experiencing deja vu (i.e. residual memories that surface in the mind from previous lives).

2.) Profound memories and experiences from previous lives.

3.) Observing how there are human beings who function much like beings that exist in the hell, animal, afflicted spirits, or heavenly realms. The more you know about each of these realms, you can observe how there are human beings currently functioning like beings in those realms.

4.) Observing how human beings are fascinated with the animal realm through studying and researching animals along with, having animals as pets, observe them in zoos and natural habitats, and even wear animal prints for clothing.

5.) Observing how the unEnlightened human mind functions much like an animal as the majority of us have had countless animal rebirths and now being in the human realm, the mind’s conditioning from the animal realm is also being experienced in the human realm.

6.) Aggression and hostility of animals is mimicked by humans through the unEnlightened mind’s aggressive and hostile intentions, speech, and actions as one might attempt to use fear to get what it wants.

7.) Animals have a pecking order for the purposes of survival while human beings maintain this in the unEnlightened state as part of the mind’s ego where there is conceit (i.e. arrogance, pride, boastfulness, measuring and comparing as superior and inferior) which is conditioning of the mind based on countless animal existences.

8.) Just like animals “mark their territory” through urine and other scent glands while becoming aggressive and hostile to intruders, human beings do the same with borders and fences to mark one’s territory and oftentimes become aggressive and hostile to those who cross over a border or fence.

9.) Observing and confirming the existence of beings in this life that are in the realms of hell, animal, afflicted spirits, human, and heavenly realms. You can observe beings from all of these five realms within this life.

10.) Observing that as beings in the animal realm have been decreasing, there is an increase of beings in the human realm. This is exactly what we would observe as beings are being reborn from one realm to the next.

11.) Communication with beings in all the five realms.

12.) Observing cravings/desires/attachments that are from previous lives that are experienced in this life within your own mind.

13.) Observing how the unEnlightened mind is stuck in a cycle of experiencing the same exact situations over and over and over again until it has cultivated wisdom to overcome those challenges and escape the constant cycle. Examples might be, continuously broken relationships, continuous arguments, various continued difficulties and struggles in life, etc.

14.) Observing the obsession and continuous “loop” the mind is on when it is having specific cravings/desires/attachments and the escape from this is to eliminate the craving/desire/attachment.

15.) Observing how some children at the age of 4-6, for example, are capable of doing things such as, playing piano as a master pianist without having ever seen a piano or taken any lessons. There are individuals who are a master/expert with capabilities in this life that were not trained or developed in this life. These are residual memories from previous lives that are in the mind and accessible to that being in this life.

16.) Research news where others have reported observing past lives.

Four-year-old boy says he was Princess Diana in past life

https://littlethings.com/family-and-parenting/boy-reincarnation-princess-diana/boy-reincarnation-princess-diana-6

Recounting Past Lives: Meet 6 People Who Have Memories of Living Before

https://www.rd.com/true.../chilling-reincarnation-stories/

17.) Learn, reflect on (i.e. independently verify), and practice The Buddha’s Teachings on Dependent Origination - The Highest Law of Nature in Volume 5 - Chapter 14.

Not everyone has all of these experiences but, some people do. This is how I have observed The Cycle of Rebirth and know it to be true with 100% certainty.

The truth is, that one should never believe in The Cycle of Rebirth and instead, as they have experiences that confirm The Cycle of Rebirth, note that and continue to move forward in life to develop their life practice.

Confirming The Cycle of Rebirth is not required to attain Enlightenment. However, it can give one 100% confidence to know the truth, especially if a Practitioner observes their past lives.

The goal is to train the mind to eliminate The Ten Fetters to attain Enlightenment. Observation and confirmation of The Cycle of Rebirth is not required to accomplish this goal. However, as one is eliminating the pollutions of mind (i.e. The Ten Fetters), it is normal to experience the recollection of past lives, be able to communicate with beings in other realms, observe beings in the other realms, etc. So, it is highly beneficial to know about The Cycle of Rebirth so that one understands that they are not insane or going crazy when these things occur. It is quite normal and typical and one can just move on with life making their way to Enlightenment.

Just as you can communicate with another human or animal in this life, if you see or are able to communicate with beings in the formless realms of hell, afflicted spirits, or heavenly realms, this is very normal and one does not need to be shaken up or otherwise have fear related to this. It is completely normal and if you are not causing harm, no harm will come to you.

If a Practitioner was unaware of The Cycle of Rebirth and started having some of these experiences, as mentioned above, it could shake them up and they could think they are going insane when in reality, it is just the opposite. The mind lifting out more and more pollution and being able to observe/communicate with beings in other realms is quite normal. These individuals are oftentimes being labeled as having a mental disorder such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, multiple personality disorders, or others when in reality, what they are experiencing is quite normal and they nor the doctors understand it to be able to lessen the effects of these experiences.

Additionally, with regards to The Cycle of Rebirth and in general, what has happened in the past is in the past. What may or may not happen in the future, is in the future. There is no need to worry or fear that now in the present moment, as the mind would only be discontent. It will only hinder you from experiencing complete liberation of mind to attain Enlightenment.

Instead, focus on training the mind to eliminate The Ten Fetters and attain Enlightenment realizing, there are past lives and there will be future lives if the mind is unEnlightened but, the goal is to attain Enlightenment and escape this Cycle of Rebirth so that one can experience the peace, calm, serenity, and contentedness with joy that is Enlightenment, which will be a permanent mental state.

The Cycle of Rebirth is 100% the truth but, an individual may just not have the wisdom of how to independently confirm it, as I have shared here, or have had these experiences to be able to confirm it. But, not knowing how to confirm it or not having had the experiences to confirm it does not mean it is not the truth. It is just that one lacks the wisdom of how to confirm The Cycle of Rebirth or has not had the experiences to confirm The Cycle of Rebirth.

The Cycle of Rebirth is happening at all times all around us and confirming it can help, but is not required to attain Enlightenment.