Saṃsāra

Saṅsāra or Saṃsāra (Sanskrit: संसार), (in Tibetan called "khorwa")[1], literally meaning "continuous flow", is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Sikhism, and other Indian religions. In modern parlance, samsara refers to a place, set of objects and possessions, but originally, the word referred to a process of continuous pursuit or flow of life. In accordance with the literal meaning, the word should either refer to a continuous stream of consciousness, or the continuous but random drift of passions, desires, emotions, and experiences.

In most Indian religions, life is not considered to begin with birth and end in death, but as a continuous existence in the present lifetime of the organism and extending beyond. The nature of the actions (karma) committed during the course of each lifetime, (good or ill) determines the future destiny of each being. Samsara is closely linked with the idea of rebirth (or reincarnation), but mainly refers to the condition of life, and the experience of life.

In Buddhism, at the moment of death the consciousness (consciousness of the different senses, such as eye consciousness, ear consciousness etc.), acts as the seed for the spawning of the new consciousness in a new biological structure, conducive to the volitional (Saṅkhāras) impulses at the moment of death (which are themselves affected by previous volitional impulses). In other Indian religions, the volitional impulses accrued from the present life are transmitted to a consciousness structure popularly known as the soul, which, after an intermediate period (in Tibetan called the bardo), forms the basis for a new biological structure that will result in rebirth and a new life. This cyclical process ends in the attainment of moksha. If one lives in extremely evil ways, one may be reborn as an animal or other unfortunate being.[2]

In a modern vernacular context, particularly in the Himalayas, samsara is also a word used to describe the how life is full of attachments and comings-and-goings, a subtle state of suffering. For example, when saying goodbye to a loved one, one might utter, "ah... samsara."

Contents

Etymology and origin

Samsara means "to flow on", to perpetually wander, to pass through states of existence.

The historical origins of a concept of a cycle of repeated reincarnation are obscure but the idea appears frequently in religious and philosophical texts in both India and ancient Greece during the middle of the first millennium BCE.[3] Orphism, Platonism, Jainism and Buddhism all discuss the transmigration of beings from one life to another. . Reincarnation was adopted from this religious culture by Brahmin orthodoxy, and Brahmins first wrote down scriptures containing these ideas in the early Upanishads.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

The Sanskrit word "Samsara" is the root for the Malay word "sengsara", which means suffering.

Cycle of rebirth

The concept of sansara is closely associated with the belief that one continues to be born and reborn in various realms in the form of a human, animal, or other being (depending on karma).[2] In particular, Jainism[10] maintains that, if one performs extremely evil karma, one can be reborn also as a plant or even as a rock, and similar tendencies can be found in Purāṇas, in the Bhagavadgītā, in the Manusmṛti[11] and in similar texts. Nonetheless, most philosophic traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism[12] maintain that plants and even more obviously rocks cannot be included in saṃsāra since they lack the possibility of experience (bhoga) and, hence, of karma.

Saṅsāra in Hinduism

In Hinduism, it is avidya, or ignorance, of one's true self that leads to ego-consciousness of the body and the phenomenal world. This grounds one in kāma (desire) and the perpetual chain of karma and reincarnation. Through egoism and desire one creates the causes for future becoming. The state of illusion that gives rise to this is known as Maya.

Through ascetic practice one finally attains sanctity and liberation (moksha or mukti).

Broadly speaking, the holy life (brahmacarya) which leads to liberation is a path of self-purification by which the effects of sins are released.

The Hindu Yoga traditions hold various beliefs. Moksha may be achieved by love of Ishwar/God (see bhakti movement, see Mirabai), by psycho-physical meditation (Raja Yoga), by discrimination of what is real and unreal through intense contemplation (Jnana Yoga), and through Karma Yoga, the path of selfless action that subverts the ego and enforces understanding of the unity of all.

The Rig Vedic, Yajur Vedic and Atharva Vedic Upanishads like Aiteraya Upanishad, Taittiriya Upanishad, Swetaswatara Upanishad, Mundaka Upanishad etc. contains the most ancient ideas on Reincarnation of soul.[13][14][15] As confirmed by latest research in the field of archeology and Astronomy, Vedas were older than 2600 BC which takes it far earlier than all other religious texts.[16] Hence, based on this, the earliest known texts to have spoken about karma, sansara and Moksha or Mukti, are the Vedas and other Dharmic Texts. (Dharmic Texts stands for the Vedas, Ithihasas and Puranas). The Vedas describe Karma as the result of enjoying the sensory pleasures of this material universe.[17]

Saṅsāra in Jainism

In Jainism, Saṅsāra is the worldly life characterized by continuous rebirths and reincarnations in various realms of existence. Saṃsāra is described as mundane existence, full of suffering and misery and hence is considered undesirable and worth renunciation. The Saṃsāra is without any beginning and the soul finds itself in bondage with its karma since the beginningless time. Moksha is the only liberation from saṃsāra.

Samsara in Buddhism

The concept of Saṃsara as a cycle of rebirth and suffering within the six realms is taught in Buddhism. To understand the concept of Saṃsara it is important to know about the six realms, rebirth, karma, and nirvana, which is known as the state beyond the suffering of Samsara.

Saṅsāra in Sikhism

In Sikhism, it is thought that due to the commendable past actions and deeds (known as karma or kirat) that people obtain the chance of human birth, which is regarded in Sikhism as the highest possible opportunity on Earth and therefore should not be wasted. Only by continued good actions and the "Grace of the Almighty" can one obtain liberation from the continuous cycle of births and deaths of various bodily forms that the soul has been undergoing since the creation of the universe. The end of the cycle of transmigration of the soul is known as mukti. For Sikhs, the state of mukti can be achieved whilst still alive, known as "Jivan Mukat", literally "liberated whilst alive".

Saṅsāra in Surat Shabda Yoga

In Surat Shabda Yoga, attaining self-realization results in jivan moksha/mukti, liberation/release from sansara, the cycle of karma and reincarnation while in the physical body.

Surat Shabda Yoga cosmology presents the constitution of the initiate (the microcosm) as an exact replica of the macrocosm. Consequently, the microcosm consists of a number of bodies, each one suited to interact with its corresponding plane or region in the macrocosm. These bodies developed over the yugas through involution (emanating from higher planes to lower planes) and evolution (returning from lower planes to higher planes), including by karma and reincarnation in various states of consciousness.

In popular culture

Samsara appears in the manga series Naruto, in which there's a Eye Technique after Byakugan and Sharingan called the Rinnegan. In English, it literally means the Samsara Eye, and allows the user to perform any Jutsu wanted because its power taps directly into the wheel of life. It is also frequently referenced in the Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga video game series, of which the plot revolves around one point; to reach a paradise called Nirvana.

See also

References

  1. ^ - « "Khorwa" is a Tibetan term for the Sanskrit word "samsara". Khorwa literally refers to the circular nature of samsara, of endlessly doing the same things over and over expecting a different result or looking for happiness to arise if we just try one more time. » ref/ net : ( http://labelingthoughts.org/wiki/Khorwa )
  2. ^ a b "Reaching the Level of the Gods", Hinduism, The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  3. ^ See McEvilley (2002)
  4. ^ “This confirms that the doctrine of transmigration is non-aryan and was accepted by non-vedics like Ajivikism, Jainism and Buddhism. The Indo-aryans have borrowed the theory of re-birth after coming in contact with the aboriginal inhabitants of India. Certainly Jainism and non-vedics ... accepted the doctrine of rebirth as supreme postulate or article of faith.” Masih, page 37.
  5. ^ Karel Werner, The Longhaired Sage in The Yogi and the Mystic. Karel Werner, ed., Curzon Press, 1989, page 34. "Rahurkar speaks of them as belonging to two distinct 'cultural strands' ... Wayman also found evidence for two distinct approaches to the spiritual dimension in ancient India and calls them the traditions of 'truth and silence.' He traces them particularly in the older Upanishads, in early Buddhism, and in some later literature."
  6. ^ Gavin D. Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University - Press : UK ISBN 0-521-43878-0 - “The origin and doctrine of Karma and Samsara are obscure. These concepts were certainly circulating amongst sramanas, and Jainism and Buddhism developed specific and sophisticated ideas about the process of transmigration. It is very possible that the karmas and reincarnation entered the mainstream brahaminical thought from the sramana or the renouncer traditions.” Page 86.
  7. ^ Padmanabh S. Jaini 2001 “Collected Paper on Buddhist Studies” Motilal Banarsidass Publ 576 pages ISBN 81-208-1776-1: "Yajnavalkya’s reluctance and manner in expounding the doctrine of karma in the assembly of Janaka (a reluctance not shown on any other occasion) can perhaps be explained by the assumption that it was, like that of the transmigration of soul, of non-brahmanical origin. In view of the fact that this doctrine is emblazoned on almost every page of sramana scriptures, it is highly probable that it was derived from them." Page 51.
  8. ^ Govind Chandra Pande, (1994) Life and Thought of Sankaracarya, Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 81-208-1104-6 : Early Upanishad thinkers like Yajnavalkya were acquainted with the sramanic thinking and tried to incorporate these ideals of Karma, Samsara and Moksa into the vedic thought implying a disparagement of the vedic ritualism and recognising the mendicancy as an ideal. Page 135.
  9. ^ "The sudden appearance of this theory [of karma] in a full-fledged form is likely to be due, as already pointed out, to an impact of the wandering muni-and-shramana-cult, coming down from the pre-Vedic non-Aryan time." Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, Early Buddhism and the Bhagavadgita. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1998, page 76.
  10. ^ Schmithausen,L. (1991a).Buddhism and Nature. The Lecture delivered on the Occasion of the EXPO1990. An Enlarged Version with Notes. Number VII in Studia Philologica Buddhica Occasional Paper Series. The International Institute for Buddhist Studies.
  11. ^ śarīrajaiḥ karmadoṣair yāti sthāvaratāṃ naraḥ (Manusmṛti 12.9).
  12. ^ Kelsang Gyatso. (1994). Tantric grounds and paths: How to begin, progress on, and complete the Vajrayana path. London: Tharpa Publications, p. 151
  13. ^ Rig-Veda: Aiteraya Upanishad II-i-4: This self of his (viz. the son) is substituted (by the father) for the performance of virtuous deeds (which is nothing but Karma). Then this other self of his (that is the father of the son), having got his duties ended and having advanced in age, departs. As soon as he departs, he takes birth again. That is his (i.e. the son’s) third birth.
  14. ^ Rig-Veda: Aiteraya Upanishad II-i-5: This fact was stated by the seer (i.e. mantra): “Even while lying in the womb, I came to know of the birth of all the gods. A hundred iron citadels held me down.Then, like a hawk, I forced my way through by dint of knowledge of the Self”. Vamadeva said this while still lying in the mother’s womb
  15. ^ Yajur Veda- Mundakopanishad 3.1.8 - It is not comprehended through the eye, nor through speech, nor through the other senses; nor is It attained through austerity or Karma. Since one becomes purified in mind through the favourableness of the intellect, therefore can one see that indivisible Self through meditation.
  16. ^ Dr. Subhash Kak- On dating the Vedas - There were until recently two main views regarding the date of the Rig Veda: a. The traditional scholars in India, who assigned it roughly 3000 BC; b. Most Western scholars, who gave it various dates ranging from the early of 2000 BC to as late as 1200 BC. Our understanding has improved lately with the discovery by archaeologists that the Sarasvati river, hailed in the Rig Veda as the greatest river of its times and flowing form the mountains to the sea, dried up perhaps before 2600 BC (because there are no Harappan habitation sites below Bahawalpur) and definitely before 1900 BC, when a tectonic event caused the river to be further reduced so that the Harappan civilization, eighty percent of whose sites are in the Sarasvati valleys, collapsed economically and people migrated eastward. This means that the Rig Veda is definitely prior to 1900 BC and perhaps before 2600 BC, bringing its date quite close to the traditional view. I believe that the date of the third millennium BC as the latest date of the Rig Veda is emerging as the new consensus. In reality, the traditional account might indeed be true.Further support to this new date is provided by the various astronomical references in the Vedic texts. For details of this evidence, see my book The Astronomical Code of the Rgveda. The astronomical references go to as early as mid-fourth millennium BC. One must also note that the geography of the Rig Veda is identical to the Harappan civilization, which has now been seen to go back to at least 7000 BC in its earliest form.
  17. ^ Yajur Veda- Swetasvatara Upanishad IV-6: Two birds of beautiful plumage, who are inseparable friends, reside on the self-same tree. Of these, one eats the fruits of the tree (worldly enjoyment) with relish while the other looks on without eating. IV-7: Sitting on the same tree the individual soul gets entangled in Karma and feels miserable, being deluded on account of his forgetting his divine nature. When he sees the other, the Lord of all, whom all devotees worship, and realizes that all greatness is His, then he is relieved of his misery (Karma).

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