Kathmandu, Aug 22: Buddhist scholars have presented various perspectives on life and rebirth in Himalayan Buddhism. The scholars shared their views during a program organized by Nepal Samaj Media Pvt. Ltd. in Kathmandu on Saturday.
Special guest Namgyal Rinpoche said that the path taught by Lord Buddha is essentially a means of calming and purifying the mind through meditation, which constitutes the essence of Dharma. He said that bringing peace to the human mind is the purpose of Dharma. He stressed that Dharma cannot be practiced merely by focusing on the present life and that one should also consider the life beyond the present. According to him, Lord Buddha taught that working toward a better future life is also an essential aspect of Dharma.
At the program, Nepal Buddhist Federation President Geshe Thupten Jinpa presented a paper titled “Buddhist Concepts of Consciousness, Death and Rebirth.” Presenting the paper, he said that Buddhist philosophy explains previous lives and rebirth on the basis of the nature of consciousness, causes and conditions, and the continuity of the mental continuum. He highlighted the special roles of the object condition (ālambana-pratyaya), dominant condition (adhipati-pratyaya), and immediately preceding condition (anantara-pratyaya) in the arising of consciousness.
He said that differences observed in innate talents, intelligence, interests and mental tendencies can also be understood in relation to previous mental continuities and practices. He explained that rebirth is understood through the argument that the causal continuity of the mental continuum can continue even after the moment of death. From the Buddhist perspective, he said, death is not the complete destruction of consciousness; rather, when the necessary karma and other causes and conditions are present, it is a process through which a connection with another mental continuum is established.
Former Nepal Buddhist Federation President Acharya Nurbu Sherpa presented a paper titled “The Nature of Mind and the Buddhist Perspective on Rebirth.” He explained that Buddhist philosophy does not view rebirth as the transfer of an eternal and unchanging soul, but rather as a continuous stream of consciousness influenced by karma. He also explained the differences among Buddhist, Vedic and materialist perspectives on rebirth and karmic consequences.
He said that the materialist Charvaka or Lokayata philosophy rejects rebirth and the consequences of karma, holding that consciousness ends when the body is destroyed and that human beings have only one life. According to this perspective, differences in people’s happiness and suffering, wealth and poverty, or lifespan are not attributed to karma from previous lives.
He said that in the Buddhist tradition, karma is regarded as an important basis connected to rebirth, with the belief that good actions produce positive results while harmful actions lead to suffering. He explained that, according to their karma, beings are reborn in different realms and continue to revolve within the cycle of existence under the influence of karma.
At the event, Khenpo Jamyang Lodro presented a paper on “Mind, Karma and Rebirth.” He discussed the relationship among mind, karma and rebirth, as well as their significance in Buddhist philosophy.
Acharya Chhopal Gyatso presented a paper titled “Bardo and the Continuity of Consciousness.” He explained the concept of Bardo in relation to the processes of life, death and rebirth. He said that the concept of Bardo is directly associated with karma, consciousness and rebirth.
Similarly, Bhutanese Buddhist scholar Dr. Karma Phuntshok presented a paper virtually on “Reassessing Our Understanding of Mind, Karma and Rebirth: Buddhist Thought in the 21st Century.”
Nepal Samaj advisor and Buddhist scholar Lochawa Punyaprasad Parajuli shed light on the significance of the program.
Nepal Buddhist Federation Chief Executive Officer Acharya Sarki Sherpa provided comments on the papers presented at the event.
Nepal Samaj Media Pvt. Ltd. Chairman Dhruba Paudel announced that the organization would organize a program on “Socialism and Buddhist Thought” in the coming days.
