Buddhism The Human Condition Samsara Means the cycle of life death and rebirth Unenlightened beings are trapped in the cycle of life death and rebirth because of greed hatred amp ignorance the 3 root poisons ID: 498568
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Slide1
Samsara
Buddhism: The Human ConditionSlide2
Samsara
Means
the cycle of life, death, and
rebirth.
Unenlightened beings are trapped in the cycle of life, death and rebirth because of greed, hatred & ignorance (the 3 root poisons).
We can be born into one of six realms:
Human Realm
Realm of the Hungry Ghosts
Animal Realm
Deva
(gods) Realm
Ashura
(demi-gods) Realm
This is illustrated in the wheel of samsara.Slide3
Wheel of SamsaraSlide4
Human Realm
The Human realm is the best realm to be born into, as it is only from this realm is it possible to attain enlightenment as a Buddha. (A Buddha being a person who has attained enlightenment without the help of the teaching of others).
Theravada
An arhat (who has the help of teachers) can attain enlightenment
from the realms of
the devas.
Mahayana
A bodhisattva
can appear in many different types of lives, for instance
as a human
an animal or as a deva. Slide5
Realm of the Hungry Ghosts
The hungry ghosts are just that, constantly hungry and thirsty but never able to satisfy their hunger or thirst.Slide6
Animal Realm
It takes many lives in the animal realm to build up enough merit to be reborn as a human.Slide7
Deva (gods)
Realm
The
Deva realm is also
sometimes called the realm of the
gods,
because
its inhabitants are so powerful within their own realm, that compared to humans, they resemble the gods of Greek or Roman mythology.
They are not gods in the way we normally think of them.
Mahayana
The disadvantage of this realm is that things are so very comfortable there, that these beings completely neglect to work towards enlightenment. Instead they gradually use up the good karma they had previously accumulated, and so they subsequently fall to a lower rebirth
.
Theravada
They only have 5 realms because they count the Deva &
Ashura
Realms as one Realm.
According to Theravada tradition it
is
possible to attain enlightenment from this realm.Slide8
Ashura
(demi-gods) Realm
The
Asura
realm
is the realm of the
demigods (half gods).
They
may be here because in human form they had good intentions but committed bad actions such as harming others.
The
Asuras are said to experience a much more pleasurable life than humans, but they are plagued by envy for the devas, whom they can see just as animals can perceive humans
.
Theravada
They only have 5 realms because they count the Deva &
Ashura
Realms as one Realm.
According to Theravada tradition it
is
possible to attain enlightenment from this realm.Slide9
Hell Realm
The
Hell Realm
is a rebirth based on strong states of hatred cultivated in a previous life or lives.Slide10
Samsara
In Buddhism, there is
no reincarnation
as there is
no soul
to be reborn.
Rebirth
in Buddhism is more like a
transfer of
energy.
Think about one pool ball hitting another, the first one stops dead and the ball which has been hit travels on. Another way to imagine it is lighting a new candle with the flame of an old one.
Sometimes this energy can carry a memory with
it
(see Tibetan Buddhist idea of
Tulkus
/ Dalai Lama
etc
).