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The Buddhist World View: Samsara and Karma-The Cycle of Birth and ...
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Short Description: Karma-The Law of Action and Result. In samsara you can be reborn as a human or an animal, as a ghost or a god, in heaven. or in hell. Buddhists believe that ...
Content Inside: 1The Buddhist World View: Samsara and Karma-The Cycle of Birth and Deathand the Law of Action and Result.Many people believe that the self dies with the body and that there is no suchthing as life after death but, of the six major world religions, all have a belief insome kind of afterlife.Of these six, the three Middle Eastern religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islambelieve that we are created by God. We then live one life and when we die, dependingon what kind of life we have lived, we go to heaven or hell forever. The three Indianreligions, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism, believe that when we die, we are rebornagain and again until, eventually, we gain freedom from the cycle of birth, death, andrebirth.Samsara-Going Round in CirclesIn India, this process of being born, dying, and then being born again is called`samsara'. Samsara is a Sanskrit word (an old Indian language) that means `to cycle'or `go round'. The idea is that until people behave properly they go round and roundin circles, from one rebirth to another. The final aim of each of the Indian religions isto break free or be liberated from samsara, the cycle of birth and death.Karma-The Law of Action and ResultIn samsara you can be reborn as a human or an animal, as a ghost or a god, in heavenor in hell. Buddhists believe that the type of rebirth you get is determined by how youlive your life. For them, bad rebirths and indeed all suffering are the result of negativeactions done in the past; good rebirths and all happiness are the result of positive ones.This is known as `the law of action and result'.Because they believe this `law', Buddhists are very careful about how they act. Whenpeople are careful about their actions like this, Buddhists sometimes say they are`watching their karma'; karma is another Sanskrit word meaning `action'. So someonewho follows the law of action and result and `watches their karma' is basicallywatching their actions. They do this because they believe that all of their actions haveresults.KS3 Buddhism, lesson 2: Samsara and Karma G Beesley & the Dechen Community
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