[Buddha-l] Re: rebirth

[Benito Carral]

On Tuesday, January 31, 2006, F.K.L. Chit Hlaing wrote:

> in   this  connection,  then,  if  in  ancient  India
> everyone   supposed  that  in  some  sense  or  other
> life/consciousness.whatever was not utterly over-with
> when  the  body dies, then no wonder Buddhism adopted
> the idea (incorporated, not 'adopted', really)

   One  of  the problems with this argument is that, in
the Buddha's time, not everyone believed in rebirth--in
fact,  if the Buddha wouldn't have believed in rebirth,
we  might  expect  that  he  taught  a different set of
teachings,  maybe  radical  non-violence  would  not be
included in the pack.

   Other  problem  is  that  rebirth  is  an  essential
teaching,  not  an  accesory  one.  I  think  that,  in
relationship with this last point, it is interesting to
note how Chinese Buddhists dealt with rebirth. They had
problems  understanding  such  a  foreign teaching, but
they  finally understood and accepted it as an integral
part of Buddhism.

   Best wishes,

   Beni