The Nature of Ultimate Reality: Pratityasamutpada, Karma and Rebirth

Question 1

AO3: How can Buddhist doctrine often be seen to not be representative of reality?

Answer 1

As it is too pessimistic.

Question 2

AO3: How can Karma not be seen to be representative of reality?

Answer 2

It could be viewed as religious fantasy.

Question 3

AO3: What can Karma be misunderstood as?

Answer 3

‘Sins’ rather than psychological drives inherent to the cycle of existence.

Question 4

AO3: What does Karma aid us in understanding in the natural world?

Answer 4

It’s complex nature - allows us to reflect the appropriate mental states to develop.

Question 5

AO3: In what does the religious expression of Karma depart it from reality?

Answer 5

In the bhavachakra - the different realms are not representative.

Question 6

AO3: In what does the religious expression of Karma depart it from reality?

Answer 6

In the bhavachakra - the different realms are not representative.

Question 7

AO3: Where are speculations of God rejected in Buddhism?

Answer 7

In the Pali Canon.

Question 8

AO3: What does the Parable of the Arrow outline?

Answer 8

A man will not pull the bow out unless he knew who shot it or what is was made out of.

Question 9

AO3: What does Buddha believe is more important than metaphysical questions?

Answer 9

Addressing Dukkha before these questions are explored.

Question 10

AO3: What other questions does the Buddha reject?

Answer 10

Questions about whether the world is eternal.

Question 11

AO3: What does Lopez say about the effect of the ignorance of an almighty God?

Answer 11

In his ‘Scientific Buddha’, Buddhism is made to be compatible with science.

Question 12

What is Pratityasamutpada?

Answer 12

Pratityasamutpada can be understood as ‘dependent origination’, which means that every cause has an effect in an unending cycle. Existence and time are therefore cyclic rather than linear, and there is no original starting point.

Question 13

What is Karma?

Answer 13

Karma (action) refers to human activity in the human realm where every action has consequences. This can be expressed in a variety of ways, e.g. as we reap so shall we sow. Good actions gain good consequences and evil actions gain evil consequences, if not in this life then in the next rebirth.

Question 14

What is Rebirth?

Answer 14

Rebirth (punabhava) means that unless a person has achieved parinirvana (passed over to nirvana at death) they remain in samsara (the wheel of existence/life, the endless round of birth, death, rebirth).

Question 15

What does the wheel of existence do?

Answer 15

The bhavachakra (the wheel of existence) depicts samsara with elaborate iconography (images/symbols).

Question 16

Structure of the Wheel of existence:

Answer 16

Yama - the god of impermanence and death - holds the wheel and at the centre of the wheel are the three poisons/fires of ignorance (the pig), greed (the cockerel) and hatred (the snake).

Question 17

What is on the outer circle of the WOE?

Answer 17

The outer circle shows Pratityasamutpada in symbolic form through a series of images, such as the house with six windows representing the six senses and two men in a boat representing a person’s mind and matter.

Question 18

The six realms in the WOE:

Answer 18

The next circle shows the six realms of rebirth: (1) the human realm, which is the highest since here most spiritual progress can be made; (2) the animal realm where beings have limited consciousness; (3) the hell realm where beings suffer but not for eternity; (4) the Preta (hungry ghost) realm where beings are reborn, who because of greed and hatred, can never be satisfied; (5) the asura (demi-god) realm where beings are reborn wanting always to be reborn in the next realm which is (6) the deva (god) realm where beings live without suffering but not for ever. Outside of the wheel, the Buddha points to liberation from samsara.

Question 19

What does chapter one of the Dhammapada refer to?

Answer 19

Chapter one of the Dhammapada is ‘The Pairs’ and refers to how the pure/impure mind controls a person’s actions so that with negative actions, suffering follows as a wheel follows the ox’s foot, and with positive actions, happiness follows as a person’s shadow always follows them.

Question 20

What does chapter nine of the Dhammapada refer to?

Answer 20

Chapter nine is ‘Evil’. It describes how the karmic seed of intentional good/wholesome and evil/unwholesome actions always ripens. Thus, the former should be accumulated, and the latter avoided. Conquering the three poisons (ignorance, greed and hatred) is crucial in accumulation of karma.

Question 21

What happens in the parable of the Poisoned arrow?

Answer 21

In the Parable of the Poisoned Arrow, the Buddha tells of how a man wounded with a poisoned arrow refuses to have the arrow removed until a variety of irrelevant questions are answered such as who shot it, what feathers were used, what wood was used, etc. The Buddha explained that the man would die before all his questions were answered.

Question 22

What is the analogy of the parable of the Poisoned arrow?

Answer 22

The Buddha explains that time should not be wasted on metaphysical/ cosmological questions about God, the soul and the universe, these are avyakata (unanswered questions). Instead, a person should focus on removing the three poisons, accumulating good karma, removing dukkha and following the Eightfold Path in order to achieve nirvana.