In the fall of 2021, I took the course Introduction to Buddhist Thought and Practice. This religion course offered perspectives on significant aspects of Buddhist thought and practice, primarily as it manifests in the literature and traditions of India, South Asia, and East Asia. Through this course I gained an understanding of the historical Buddha’s life and the development of early Buddhist ideas and practices – the Mahāyāna tradition that emerged around the first century BCE, as well as later forms of esoteric Buddhism known as Tantra. We subsequently discussed how these traditions led to the development of modern Buddhism in Asia and its manifestation in the West. As a final project for the course, our class created a website that served as a dictionary of terms we studied throughout the semester. For my contribution to the website, I compiled information on Samsara, a foundational term in Buddhist thought and practice:
SAMSARA
Samsara refers to the Buddhist concept of the world as a cycle of life, death, and rebirth where all things are impermanent and subject to chance. This cyclical form of existence has no beginning and no end and is characterized by the presence of suffering. Samsara is made up of six distinct realms which beings move between. In this wheel of life, rebirth is determined by the sum of one’s karma. There is no escape from Samsara unless one chooses to embark on the path of the Buddha in order to become enlightened. This liberation from suffering is a founding ideal of Buddhist practice (Wilson).
REALMS OF TRANSMIGRATION
Beings of the universe take rebirth within one of the six realms of gods, demigods, humans, animals, ghosts, and hell beings (Realms of Rebirth, 1). The deva realm (deva-gati) is made up of god-like beings who enjoy great prosperity and other fortunes. However, even these beings experience old age, death, and suffering. The realm of asura (asura-gati) is populated by demi gods and is characterized by the traits of jealousy, envy, and hatred. Addiction, obsession, and craving is associated with the realm of hungry ghosts (preta-gati). Known to be the most excruciating of the six realms, beings of the hell realm (naraka-gati) experience intense feelings of anger and aggression. The animal realm (tiryagyoni-gati) is marked by complacency, stupidity, and ignorance. Finally, the human realm (manyusa-gati) is characterized by desire, passion, and craving. This realm is unique in that it is the only realm in which enlightenment can be attained. However, few are able to attain this cessation of suffering (Williams).
Depiction of Samsara, Tibet, early 20th century,
The Rubin Museum of Art
https://rubinmuseum.org/blog/karma-101-lessons-from-the-buddhist-wheel-of-existence
THE ROLE OF KARMA IN SAMSARA
Within Samsara, actions that beings take in their current and previous lives determine which realm they take rebirth in. In Buddhism, this idea of karma can be understood as a natural sequence of cause and effect. The sanskrit word karma is translated literally to “action”. In the context of samsara however, this Buddhist term can be interpreted as exclusively referring to moral actions and choices. There are three modes of actions that can accrue karma: body, speech, and mind. Furthermore, karma can be deemed either good or bad depending on the factors of intention and choice. Positive intentions must be paired with right actions for one to acquire good karma and consequently rebirth in a more desirable realm.
The following are examples of this karmic connection between actions (both positive and negative) and states of rebirth: those who are discontented are reborn as monkeys, those who are selfish and prevent others from giving are reborn as ‘needle mouthed and big bellied’ hungry ghosts, and those who give food to others are reborn as humans bestowed with long life, good health, and wisdom. In Buddhist practice, this idea of accumulating good karma in order to take a positive rebirth fosters a sense of high morality and devotion to the teachings of the Buddha.
VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS OF SAMSARA
The wheel of life is a common theme in Buddhist artwork and is consistently represented through specific visual choices. As seen in the image above, this representation of samsara contains the following elements:
At the center of the wheel of life are the three poisons. These three poisons depict the primary qualities that keep all beings trapped within samsara. The snake represents anger, the rooster attachment, and the pig ignorance. Within the next circle, life is depicted through the imagery of ascending beings, and death through the imagery of descending beings. This highlights the cyclic quality of existence in samsara. Moving outwards, the six realms are represented within sections of a larger circle. Finally, the outermost circle depicts the twelve links of dependent origination, beginning with ignorance and concluding with old age and death.
This entire wheel is held by Yama, the lord of death. Yama is a wrathful being who represents impermanence and the inevitability of death and rebirth. Additionally, within this visual representation of samsara, the Buddha is depicted as existing outside the bounds of the wheel of life. These beings have transcended samsara and give hope to others who seek liberation from suffering.
Yama the lord of death, Tibet, 18th century,
Himalayan Art Resources
ENLIGHTENMENT: TRANSCENDING SAMSARA
As referenced in the previous section on the realms of transmigration, the human realm is unique in that it fosters the opportunity for enlightenment. A central part of the human experience is the awareness of suffering, impermanence, and emptiness. Because of this, the human mind is constantly thinking about the very ideas which caused the Buddha himself to seek enlightenment. Furthermore, human beings are creatures with the ability to think freely and use reason. This gives them the ability to understand the Buddha’s teachings and embark on the path to enlightenment.
In the Theravada tradition of Buddhism, one transcends samsara and becomes an arhat, or worthy individual, after reaching nirvana. In this enlightened state, their mental attitudes of suffering are extinguished and they gain insight into the true nature of reality. Arhats are not reborn after death and therefore escape the cyclic nature of the universe. In contrast, the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism presents the bodhisattva, a being who not only has the intent of gaining enlightenment, but who has gained the intention to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings in samsara. This mentality, referred to as bodhicitta, exemplifies the deep compassion that characterizes bodhisattvas. These enlightened beings remain in samsara as long as necessary in order to help all sentient beings attain liberation.
Early depiction of the Buddha attaining enlightenment and transcending Samsara,
Gandhara, 2nd – 3rd century CE
Smithsonian, Freer Gallery of Art
REFERENCES
Boeree, George. The Wheel of Life. Shippensburg University. Web. 26 Nov 2021.
Keown, Damien and Charles S Prebish, Encyclopedia of Buddhism. London: Routledge, 2007.
Williams, Paul. Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies. London ; New York: Routledge , 2005. Print.
Wilson, Jeff. Samsara and Rebirth. Oxford Bibliographies, 13 Sept 2010. Web. 26 Nov 2021.
