Title: Reflections on Kant and

2007

Attempts to provide a thoroughly naturalized reading of the doctrine of karma have raised important issues regarding its role in the overall economy of the Buddhist soteriological project. This paper identifies some of the most problematic aspects of a naturalized interpretation of karma: (1) the strained relationship between retributive action and personal identity and (2) the debate concerning mental causation in modern reductionist accounts of persons. The paper explores the benefits of a phenomenological approach in which reductionist accounts of karma are replaced with accounts that interpret virtuous and compassionate actions as emergent properties of consciousness that can be further enhanced through socialization.

Religion, 2022

In the preface to his new book, Rebirth: A Guide to Mind, Karma, and Cosmos in the Buddhist World, Roger Jackson notes that accepting that one's consciousness goes on to another life after this one is a 'stumbling block' for many modern practitioners of Buddhism (xiv). My own interest in reviewing Jackson's book comes from grappling with the claims of the Buddhist traditions around karma and rebirth, as the two are deeply intertwined. Considering Jackson's background as a scholar and practitioner, there may be no one around today better prepared to engage with these facets of the Buddhist traditions. However, Jackson is careful to warn that 'this small book will not resolve my, or anyone's, questions about the possibility of rebirthnor is it intended to' (xiv). Rather, the aim of the book is to survey more than two centuries of Buddhist thought on rebirth. Jackson achieves this aim over the fifteen chapters of his book. Each chapter is dense with information, and as such detailed summary of each one is outside the parameters of this review given the constraints. As a heuristic of sorts, I believe the chapters of Jackson's book can be divided into five parts, each containing varying numbers of chapters. Chapters one through three, the first part, provides an overview of rebirth from three different scales. In chapter one, 'Introduction: Rebirth in World Cultures,' Jackson surveys beliefs about rebirth found various cultures throughout time and space. Following the typology developed by Gananath Obeyesekere, Jackson contrasts 'rebirth eschatologies' from 'karmic eschatologies.' Whereas the former kind typically does not ethicize rebirth, the latter does ethicize rebirth negatively. Chapter two, 'Pre-Buddhist Indian Rebirth Theories,' zooms in from the broad, global view of the previous chapter toward the context of ancient India. We are introduced here to Vedic literature, particularly the Upanishads, as well as the views of the various sramanas mentioned in the Pali Samannaphala sutta. Upanishadic Vedism and the heterogenous assemblage of sramana across northern India set the stage for the appearance of the Buddha. Chapter three, 'The Buddha on Rebirth,' considers the Buddha's views on rebirth, drawing primarily from the Pali canon. Jackson emphasizes that for the Buddha rebirth was not just a doctrine he taught but was something he experienced first-hand; it laid the basis for his teachings and his narratives of past-lives serve to illustrate the workings of karma and realities of rebirth in the various realms of existence. Considering this, Jackson finds it hard to escape the conclusion that a rebirth cosmology undergirds the Buddha's teachings. He reviews arguments to the effect that the Buddha either did not emphasize rebirth or only believed in it as a sop to convention, yet ultimately dispatches with both. For Jackson, we have no 'principled reason' accept these arguments. (47) Chapters four through six, the second part, concern the where, how, and why of rebirth. Chapter four, 'Where Rebirth Happens,' Jackson plays the part of Virgil, and guides his reader through various realms of possible rebirth. He begins with the hells and ascends up through the animal, hungry ghost, asura, human, and heavenly realms, considering the complicated place of human female rebirth along the way. Chapter five, 'How Rebirth Happens,' considers the process of rebirth, from one life to another. Here, Jackson's focus is the concept RELIGION

Jurnal Pencerahan

The theory of rebirth is widely accepted in Indian philosophy and it is mostly connected with the soul which keeps moving from one life to another life. Since the Buddha rejects the concept of the eternal soul by presenting Anatta theory, many questions are risen whether the Buddha teaches rebirth. Some people assume that the Buddha accepts the doctrine of rebirth because it is popular in pre-Buddhist traditions. This present research purpose is to give a critical explanation of the question of whether the Buddha teaches rebirth. This research is carried out with a library approach by collecting information from canonical texts as well as their commentaries. This research results from a comprehensive explanation of rebirth taught by the Buddha which is very unique and different from the theory of rebirth explained by other Indian traditions. The theory of rebirth (punabbhava) taught by the Buddha neither has an association with any external authority such as Brahma, Jagadātma, or Go...

The Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 2004

In an effort to articulate a naturalized concept of karma for the purposes of contemporary ethical reflection, this paper raises four critical questions about the Buddhist doctrine of karma. The paper asks (1) about the advisability of linking the concept of karma to assurance of ultimate cosmic justice through the doctrine of rebirth; (2) about the effects of this link on the quest for human justice in the social, economic, and political spheres of culture; (3) about the kinds of rewards that the doctrine of karma attaches to virtuous action, whether they tend to be necessary or contingent consequences; and (4) about the extent to which karma is best conceived individually or collectively. The paper ends with suggestions for how a non-metaphysical concept of karma might function and what role it might play in contemporary ethics. The Buddha warned1 that karma is so mysterious a process that it is essentially unfathomable, declaring it one of the four topics not suited to healthy ph...

History of Religions , 2005

Philosophy Compass, 2008

Global Dialogues in the Philosophy of Religion: from Religious Experience to the Afterlife, 2024

What should the Buddhist attitude be to rebirth if it is believed to be inconsistent with current science? This chapter critically engages forms of Buddhist agnosticism that adopt a position of uncertainty about rebirth but nevertheless recommend ‘behaving as if’ it were true. What does it mean to behave as if rebirth were true, and are Buddhist agnostics justified in adopting this position? This chapter engages this question in dialogue with Mark Siderits’ reductionist analysis of the Buddhist doctrine of the two truths, conventional and ultimate. Richard Hayes (1998) characterises talk of rebirth as a useful fiction. Siderits characterises talk of persons as a useful fiction and explains and justifies statements that involve it as conventionally true despite persons not featuring in our final or ultimate ontology. Does rebirth satisfy the same criteria to count as conventionally true, and does thinking of it in these terms help explain and justify what it might mean to behave as if rebirth were true? This chapter will defend a conditional yes to these questions. In the process, it will clarify what is distinctive about the traditional Buddhist approach to rebirth, provide an analysis of how the concept of rebirth might relate to practical outcomes, and address some limitations of this approach.

Religions, 2017

This article is a reflection on a conception of death, that of karma and rebirth, and its value in interpreting one's life. I have thought about this conception in two ways. The first is that I can see the circumstances of my life as the result of causes of which I was the agent, and the second is that I can see my life and the relationships in my life as part of a much larger narrative that began before this life. Through an examination of Vaishnava and Advaita theology, Nyāya philosophy, and some Puranic and Epic texts, I argue for an interpretation of karma and rebirth as a rational system that allows one to see relationships as involving many layers of complexity.

2020

Faith […] refers to the firm conviction (abhisampratyaya), the serene acceptance (prasāda) 3 of the mind, the [sincere] aspiration (abhilāṣa) [directed] at the [law of] act (karman) and fruition (phala), the [four Noble] Truths (satya), and the [three] Jewels (ratna). 1 I have nothing against New Age approaches and re-interpretations of Buddhist philosophy in a modern key. On the contrary! I think they should be as bold and creative as they choose to be. Such creativity is not only in tune with the paradigm of our times but also helps Buddhism develop as a living system of ideas and practices. What I feel rather objectionable is that (quite?) a few modernising approaches present themselves as faithful reflections of the traditional Buddhist doctrines and practices. Boldness should, I believe, be also directed at the admission that our modern adaptations, or at least part of them, may depart from the historically attested corpus of teachings and praxis. 2 For Sthiramati's dating, see Deleanu 2019, 19-22. 3 Skt. prasāda can also be translated as 'clear acceptance'.

This article is a reflection on a conception of death, that of karma and rebirth, and its value in interpreting one's life. I have thought about this conception in two ways. The first is that I can see the circumstances of my life as the result of causes of which I was the agent, and the second is that I can see my life and the relationships in my life as part of a much larger narrative that began before this life. Through an examination of Vaishnava and Advaita theology, Ny¯ aya philosophy, and some Puranic and Epic texts, I argue for an interpretation of karma and rebirth as a rational system that allows one to see relationships as involving many layers of complexity.