[Buddha-l] Re: rebirth

[Bob Zeuschner]

ronleifer at aol.com wrote:
> 
> When I first went to see Khenpo Khartar Rinpoche, the first thing he 
> said to me is
> "Whether you believe it or not, there is rebirth.
> Otherwise you could do anything you want with no consequences."

This puzzles me. This seems to contradict _pratityasamutpada_.  It isn't 
restricted just to some possible future life.

It is clear that every culture that does NOT have rebirth as a part of 
its cultural baggage will quite happily provide consequences when you 
rob, steal, or kill or act in ways which are anti-social.
When you act out of ignorance, anger, or ego-centeredness, there seem to 
be consequences, many of them societal.
There may be psychological consequences to hatred, anger, envy, and 
confusion.

I cannot help but conclude that Khenpo Khartar Rinpoche was mistaken, or 
perhaps was providing a teaching aimed at just one particular person.

It is clear to me that rebirth is a part of the Indian cultural baggage, 
but in the absence of any good reasons to accept it (other than the 
authority of Indian and Tibetan religious leaders), I see no reason to 
accept it. By and large Chinese and Japanese Buddhists ignore rebirth. 
It is not the centerpiece of Buddhism in these cultures.
Rebirth is an extraordinary claim for which there is only anecdotal 
evidence.

I recall a Zen reference to rebirth which basically indicated that when 
you were overcome with remorse for something you'd done, you were being 
reborn in hell. When overcome with animal lust, you were being reborn in 
the animal realm. When overcome with greed and envy, you were being 
reborn as a hungry ghost. When filled with loving kindness you were 
being reborn in a heavenly realm.
Thus, we all have undergone innumerable rebirths _in this very life_.
That interpretation works just fine for me.

Bob Zeuschner
Dept. of Philosophy