Saṃsāra

2021-08-06T16:32:07Z

2601:40:C100:AD40:1405:6460:A08A:F015: Fixed typo

{{italic title}}
{{short description|cycle of death and rebirth in Buddhism and Hinduism}}
{{Redirect|Sansara|the genus of moth|Sansara (moth)|other uses|Samsara (disambiguation)}}
[[File:The wheel of life, Buddhism Bhavachakra.jpg|thumb|300x300px|Bhavachakra in Buddhism describing Samsara]]
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
'''''Saṃsāra''''' is a [[Sanskrit]]/[[Pali]] word that means "world".{{Sfn|Klaus Klostermaier|2010|p=604}}{{Sfn|Mark Juergensmeyer|Wade Clark Roof|2011|pp=271–72}} It is also the concept of rebirth and "cyclicality of all life, matter, existence", a fundamental belief of most [[Indian religions]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Yadav|first=Garima|chapter=Abortion (Hinduism)|date=2018|pages=1–3|publisher=Springer Netherlands|isbn=978-9402410365|doi=10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_484-1|title=Hinduism and Tribal Religions|series=Encyclopedia of Indian Religions}}</ref><ref>[[Gavin Flood|Flood, Gavin D.]] (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press</ref> Popularly, it is the cycle of death and rebirth.{{Sfn|Mark Juergensmeyer|Wade Clark Roof|2011|pp=271–72}}<ref name="Gross1993p148" /> ''Saṃsāra'' is sometimes referred to with terms or phrases such as transmigration, karmic cycle, [[reincarnation]], and "cycle of aimless drifting, wandering or mundane existence".{{Sfn|Mark Juergensmeyer|Wade Clark Roof|2011|pp=271–72}}<ref name="Firth1997p106" />

The concept of ''Saṃsāra'' has roots in the post-[[Vedas|Vedic literature]]; the theory is not discussed in the [[Vedas]] themselves.<ref>A.M. Boyer: ''Etude sur l'origine de la doctrine du samsara.'' Journal Asiatique, (1901), Volume 9, Issue 18, S. 451–53, 459–68</ref><ref>Yuvraj Krishan: . Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1997, {{ISBN|978-81-208-1233-8}}</ref> It appears in developed form, but without mechanistic details, in the early [[Upanishads]].<ref name=amboyer/>{{sfn|Stephen J. Laumakis|2008|pp=90–99}} The full exposition of the ''Saṃsāra'' doctrine is found in [[Sramana|Sramanic]] religions such as [[Buddhism]] and [[Jainism]], as well as various schools of [[Hindu philosophy]] after about the mid-1st millennium BC.{{sfn|Stephen J. Laumakis|2008|pp=90–99}}<ref name="Krishan1997p17"/> The ''Saṃsāra'' doctrine is tied to the [[karma]] theory of [[Hinduism]], and the liberation from ''Saṃsāra'' has been at the core of the spiritual quest of Indian traditions, as well as their internal disagreements.{{Sfn|Obeyesekere|2005|pp=1–2, 108, 126–28}}{{Sfn|Mark Juergensmeyer|Wade Clark Roof|2011|pp=272–73}} The liberation from ''Saṃsāra'' is called [[Moksha]], [[Nirvana]], Mukti or [[Kaivalya]].<ref name="Firth1997p106"/>{{Sfn|Michael Myers|2013|p=36}}{{Sfn|Harold Coward|2008|p=103}}

==Etymology and terminology==
''Saṃsāra'' ([[Devanagari]]: संसार) means "wandering",{{Sfn|Mark Juergensmeyer|Wade Clark Roof|2011|pp=271–72}}{{Sfn| Lochtefeld|2002|p=589}} as well as "world" wherein the term connotes "cyclic change".{{Sfn|Klaus Klostermaier|2010|p=604}} ''Saṃsāra'', a fundamental concept in all [[Indian religions]], is linked to the [[karma]] theory and refers to the belief that all living beings cyclically go through births and rebirths. The term is related to phrases such as "the cycle of successive existence", "transmigration", "karmic cycle", "the wheel of life", and "cyclicality of all life, matter, existence".{{Sfn|Mark Juergensmeyer|Wade Clark Roof|2011|pp=271–72}}<ref name="Gross1993p148">{{cite book|author=Rita M. Gross |title=Buddhism After Patriarchy: A Feminist History, Analysis, and Reconstruction of Buddhism |url=https://archive.org/details/buddhismafterpat00gros |url-access=registration |year=1993|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-1-4384-0513-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/buddhismafterpat00gros/page/148 148] }}</ref><ref name=ykrishanp24/> Many scholarly texts spell ''Saṃsāra'' as ''Samsara''.<ref name="Gross1993p148"/>{{Sfn|Jeaneane D. Fowler|1997|p=10}}

According to Monier-Williams, ''Saṃsāra'' is rooted in the term ''Saṃsṛ'' (संसृ), which means "to go round, revolve, pass through a succession of states, to go towards or obtain, moving in a circuit".<ref name=monierwilliamssamsara>{{cite book|author=Monier Monier-Williams|title=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_3NWAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1040|year=1923|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=1040–41}}</ref> A conceptual form from this root appears in ancient texts as ''Saṃsaraṇa'', which means "going around through a succession of states, birth, rebirth of living beings and the world", without obstruction.<ref name=monierwilliamssamsara/> The term shortens to ''Saṃsāra'', referring to the same concept, as a "passage through successive states of mundane existence", a transmigration, [[metempsychosis]], a circuit of living where one repeats previous states, from one body to another, a worldly life of constant change, that is rebirth, growth, decay and redeath.<ref name="Firth1997p106"/><ref name=monierwilliamssamsara/><ref name="Doniger1980p268">{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger |title=Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4WZTj3M71y0C |year=1980|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-03923-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4WZTj3M71y0C/page/n290 268]–69}}</ref> The concept is then contrasted with the concept of [[moksha]], also known as ''mukti'', ''nirvana'', ''nibbana'' or ''kaivalya'', which refers to liberation from this cycle of aimless wandering.<ref name="Firth1997p106">{{cite book|author=Shirley Firth |title=Dying, Death and Bereavement in a British Hindu Community |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pYNXC-HK1u0C |year=1997|publisher=Peeters Publishers|isbn=978-90-6831-976-7|pages=106, 29–43}}</ref><ref name=monierwilliamssamsara/>

The concept of Samsara developed in the post-[[Vedas|Vedic]] times, and is traceable in the [[Samhita]] layers such as in sections 1.164, 4.55, 6.70 and 10.14 of the [[Rigveda]].<ref name="amboyer"/><ref name=valleepoussin24>{{cite book|author=Louis de La Vallée-Poussin | author-link=Louis de La Vallée-Poussin|title=The way to Nirvana: six lectures on ancient Buddhism as a discipline of salvation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ito8AAAAIAAJ|year=1917|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=24–29}}</ref><ref name="Krishan1997p11">{{cite book|author=Yuvraj Krishan |title=The Doctrine of Karma: Its Origin and Development in Brāhmaṇical, Buddhist, and Jaina Traditions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Bi6FWX1NOgC |year=1997|publisher= Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|isbn=978-81-208-1233-8 |pages=11–15 }}</ref> While the idea is mentioned in the [[Samhita]] layers of the Vedas, there is lack of clear exposition there, and the idea fully develops in the early [[Upanishads]].{{sfn|Stephen J. Laumakis|2008|p=90}}{{Sfn|Dalal|2010|pp=344, 356–57}} Damien Keown states that the notion of "cyclic birth and death" appears around 800 BC.{{Sfn|Damien Keown|2004|p=248}} The word ''Saṃsāra'' appears, along with [[Moksha]], in several [[Principal Upanishads]] such as in verse 1.3.7 of the [[Katha Upanishad]],<ref>[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/कठोपनिषदत्/प्रथमोध्यायः/तृतीयवल्ली Katha Upanishad प्रथमोध्यायः/तृतीयवल्ली] Wikisource</ref> verse 6.16 of the [[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]],<ref>[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/श्वेताश्वतरोपनिषत्/षष्ठः_अध्यायः Shvetashvatara Upanishad षष्ठः अध्यायः] Wikisource</ref> verses 1.4 and 6.34 of the [[Maitri Upanishad]].<ref>[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/मैत्रायण्युपनिषत् Maitri Upanishad] Wikisource, Quote: ३ चित्तमेव हि '''संसारम्''' तत्प्रयत्नेन शोधयेत्</ref><ref>GA Jacob (1963), [https://archive.org/stream/UpanishadVakyaKosha-AConcordanceOfThePrincipalUpanishadsAndBhagavad/UpanishadVakyaKoshaSktEng#page/n953/mode/2up A concordance to the Principal Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita], Motilal Banarsidass, pp. 947–48</ref>

The word ''Samsara'' is related to ''Saṃsṛti'', the latter referring to the "course of mundane existence, transmigration, flow, circuit or stream".<ref name=monierwilliamssamsara/>

==Definition and rationale==
The word literally means "wandering through, flowing on", states Stephen J. Laumakis, in the sense of "aimless and directionless wandering".{{sfn|Stephen J. Laumakis|2008|p=97}} The concept of ''Saṃsāra'' is closely associated with the belief that the person continues to be born and reborn in various realms and forms.<ref name="GoaEtCoward2014">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/hinduism/|title=Hinduism|encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2015-07-31|archive-date=2014-02-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227223922/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/hinduism/|url-status=live|date=2014-08-21|first1=David J.|last1=Goa|first2=Harold G.|last2=Coward}}</ref>

The earliest layers of Vedic text incorporate the concept of life, followed by an afterlife in heaven and hell based on cumulative virtues (merit) or vices (demerit).<ref>{{cite book|author1=James Hastings|author2=John Alexander Selbie|author3=Louis Herbert Gray|title=Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UD8TAAAAYAAJ |year=1922|publisher=T. & T. Clark|pages=616–18}}</ref> However, the ancient Vedic [[Rishi]]s challenged this idea of afterlife as simplistic, because people do not live an equally moral or immoral life. Between generally virtuous lives, some are more virtuous; while evil too has degrees, and the texts assert that it would be unfair for god [[Yama]] to judge and reward people with varying degrees of virtue or vices, in an "either or,” and disproportionate manner.{{Sfn|Jessica Frazier|Gavin Flood|2011|pp=84–86}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Kusum P. Merh |title=Yama, the Glorious Lord of the Other World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XSoKAQAAMAAJ |year=1996|publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-81-246-0066-5 |pages=213–15}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author= Anita Raina Thapan|title=The Penguin Swami Chinmyananda Reader |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iDiRLzPFOPIC |year=2006|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-400062-3 |pages=84–90 }}</ref> They introduced the idea of an afterlife in heaven or hell in proportion to one's merit, and when this runs out, one returns and is reborn.{{Sfn|Jessica Frazier|Gavin Flood|2011|pp=84–86}}<ref name="Krishan1997p17">{{cite book|author=Yuvraj Krishan |title=The Doctrine of Karma: Its Origin and Development in Brāhmaṇical, Buddhist, and Jaina Traditions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Bi6FWX1NOgC |year=1997|publisher= Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|isbn=978-81-208-1233-8 |pages=17–27 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Patrul Rinpoche|author2=Dalai Lama|title=The Words of My Perfect Teacher: A Complete Translation of a Classic Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40i38mGQ6aAC |year=1998|publisher=Rowman Altamira|isbn=978-0-7619-9027-7|pages=95–96}}</ref> This idea appears in ancient and medieval texts, as the cycle of life, death, rebirth and redeath, such as section 6:31 of the [[Mahabharata]] and section 6.10 of [[Devi Bhagavata Purana]].{{Sfn|Jessica Frazier|Gavin Flood|2011|pp=84–86}}<ref name=ykrishanp24>Yuvraj Krishan (1988), Is Karma Evolutionary?, Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research, Volume 6, pp. 24–26</ref><ref name=valleepoussin24/>

==History==
The historical origins of a concept of a cycle of repeated [[reincarnation]] are obscure but the idea appears in texts of both India and ancient Greece during the first millennium BC.<ref>{{cite book|author=Norman C. McClelland|title=Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S_Leq4U5ihkC |year=2010|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-5675-8 |pages=102–03 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Clifton D. Bryant|author2=Dennis L. Peck|title=Encyclopedia of Death and the Human Experience|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Zt2AwAAQBAJ |year=2009|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4522-6616-9 |pages=841–46 }}</ref>

The idea of Samsara is hinted in the late Vedic texts such as the [[Rigveda]], but the theory is absent.<ref name=amboyer>A.M. Boyer (1901), Etude sur l'origine de la doctrine du samsara, Journal Asiatique, Volume 9, Issue 18, pp. 451–53, 459–68</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Vallee Pussin|title=The way to Nirvana: six lectures on ancient Buddhism as a discipline of salvation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ito8AAAAIAAJ|year=1917|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=24–25}}</ref> The late textual layers of the Vedas mention and anticipate the doctrine of karma and rebirth, however states Stephen Laumakis, the idea is not fully developed.{{sfn|Stephen J. Laumakis|2008|p=90}} It is in the early Upanishads where these ideas are more fully developed, but there too the discussion does not provide specific mechanistic details.{{sfn|Stephen J. Laumakis|2008|p=90}} The detailed doctrines flower with unique characteristics, starting around the mid 1st millennium BC, in diverse traditions such as in Buddhism, Jainism and various schools of [[Hindu philosophy]].{{sfn|Stephen J. Laumakis|2008|pp=90–99}}

Some scholars state that the ''Samsara'' doctrine may have originated from the [[Sramana]] traditions and was then adopted by the Brahmanical traditions (Hinduism).<ref name=floodaithp86>Gavin D. Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0521438780}}, p. 86, '''Quote''': “The origin and doctrine of Karma and Samsara are obscure. These concepts were certainly circulating amongst sramanas, and Jainism and Buddhism developed specific and sophisticated ideas about the process of transmigration. It is very possible that the karmas and reincarnation entered the mainstream brahmanical thought from the sramana or the renouncer traditions. Yet, on the other hand, although there is no clear doctrine of transmigration in the vedic hymns, there is the idea of redeath, that a person having died in this world, might die yet again in the next.”</ref><ref>Padmanabh S. Jaini 2001 “Collected Paper on Buddhist Studies” Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|81-208-1776-1}}, p. 51, '''Quote''': "Yajnavalkya’s reluctance to discuss the doctrine of karma in public (...) can perhaps be explained by the assumption that it was, like that of the transmigration of soul, of non-brahmanical origin. In view of the fact that this doctrine is emblazoned on almost every page of sramana scriptures, it is highly probable that it was derived from them."</ref><ref>Govind Chandra Pande, (1994) Life and Thought of Sankaracarya, Motilal Banarsidass {{ISBN|81-208-1104-6}}, p. 135, '''Quote''': (...) They [[Sramanas]] could have been connected with the Harappan Civilization which is itself enigmatic. It seems that some Upanishad thinkers like Yajnavalkya were acquainted with this kind [sramanic] thinking (...) and tried to incorporate these ideas of Karma, Samsara and Moksa into the traditional Vedic thought.</ref> The evidence for who influenced whom in the ancient times, is slim and speculative, and the odds are the historic development of the Samsara theories likely happened in parallel with mutual influences.<ref>{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger |title=Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4WZTj3M71y0C |year=1980|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-03923-0 |pages=xvii–xviii }}; '''Quote''': "There was such constant interaction between Vedism and Buddhism in the early period that it is fruitless to attempt to sort out the earlier source of many doctrines, they lived in one another's pockets, like Picasso and Braque (who were, in later years, unable to say which of them had painted certain paintings from their earlier, shared period)."</ref>

=== Punarmrityu: redeath ===
While ''Saṃsāra'' is usually described as rebirth and reincarnation of living beings, the chronological development of the idea over its history began with the questions on what is the true nature of human existence and whether people die only once. This led first to the concepts of ''Punarmṛtyu'' ("redeath") and ''Punaravṛtti'' ("return").<ref name="Doniger1980p268"/>{{Sfn|Buitenen|1957|pp=34–35}}{{Sfn|Mircea Eliade|1987|pp=56–57}} These early theories asserted that the nature of human existence involves two realities, one unchanging absolute [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]] (soul) which is somehow connected to the ultimate unchanging immortal reality and bliss called [[Brahman]],{{Sfn|Jessica Frazier|Gavin Flood|2011|p=18}}{{Sfn|John Bowker|2014|pp=84–85}} and that the rest is the always-changing subject (body) in a phenomenal world (''[[Maya (religion)|Maya]]'').{{Sfn|Jessica Frazier|Gavin Flood|2011|pp=18–19, 24–25}}{{Sfn|Harold Coward|2012|pp=29–31}}{{Sfn|John Geeverghese Arapura|1986|pp=85–88}} Redeath, in the Vedic theosophical speculations, reflected the end of "blissful years spent in ''svarga'' or heaven", and it was followed by rebirth back in the phenomenal world.<ref name="EllwoodAlles2007p406">{{cite book|author1=Robert S. Ellwood|author2=Gregory D. Alles|title=The Encyclopedia of World Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1pGbdI4L0qsC |year=2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-1038-7|pages=406–07}}</ref> ''Samsara'' developed into a foundational theory of the nature of existence, shared by all Indian religions.{{Sfn|Obeyesekere|1980|pp=139–40 }}

Rebirth as a human being, states John Bowker, was then presented as a "rare opportunity to break the sequence of rebirth, thus attaining Moksha, release".{{Sfn|John Bowker|2014|pp=84–85}} Each Indian spiritual tradition developed its own assumptions and paths (''marga'' or ''yoga'') for this spiritual release,{{Sfn|John Bowker|2014|pp=84–85}} with some developing the ideas of ''[[Jivanmukti]]'' (liberation and freedom in this life),<ref>Klaus Klostermaier, Mokṣa and Critical Theory, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Jan., 1985), pp. 61–71</ref><ref>Norman E. Thomas (April 1988), Liberation for Life: A Hindu Liberation Philosophy, Missiology, Volume 16, Number 2, pp. 149–60</ref><ref>Gerhard Oberhammer (1994), La Délivrance dès cette vie: Jivanmukti, Collège de France, Publications de l'Institut de Civilisation Indienne. Série in-8°, Fasc. 61, Édition–Diffusion de Boccard (Paris), {{ISBN|978-2868030610}}, pp. 1–9</ref> while others content with ''[[Videhamukti]]'' (liberation and freedom in after-life).<ref>M. von Brück (1986), Imitation or Identification?, Indian Theological Studies, Vol. 23, Issue 2, pp. 95–105</ref><ref>[[Paul Deussen]], {{Google books|2h0YAAAAYAAJ|The philosophy of the Upanishads|page=356}}, pp. 356–57</ref>

{{Quote box
|quote = '''The First Truth'''
<poem>
The first truth, suffering (Pali: dukkha; Sanskrit: duhkha),
is characteristic of existence in the realm of rebirth,
called samsara (literally “wandering”).
</poem>
|source = —''[[Four Noble Truths]]'', Donald Lopez<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/topic/Four-Noble-Truths Four Noble Truths, Buddhist philosophy], Donald Lopez, Encyclopædia Britannica</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Robert E. Buswell Jr.|author2=Donald S. Lopez Jr.|title=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DXN2AAAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-4805-8|pages=304–05}}</ref>
|bgcolor=#ffd068
|align = right
}}

The [[Sramana]]s traditions (Buddhism and Jainism) added novel ideas, starting about the 6th century BC.{{Sfn|Michael Myers|2013|p=79}} They emphasized human suffering in the larger context, placing rebirth, redeath and truth of pain at the center and the start of religious life.{{Sfn|Michael Myers|2013|pp=79–80}} ''Samsara'' was viewed by the Sramanas as a beginningless cyclical process with each birth and death as punctuations in that process,{{Sfn|Michael Myers|2013|pp=79–80}} and spiritual liberation as freedom from rebirth and redeath.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Paul Williams |author2=Anthony Tribe |title= Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BVvFBQAAQBAJ |year=2000|publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415207002 |pages=18–19, chapter 1 }}</ref> The samsaric rebirth and redeath ideas are discussed in these religions with various terms, such as ''Āgatigati'' in many early Pali Suttas of Buddhism.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Thomas William Rhys Davids |author2=William Stede |title=Pali–English Dictionary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Guw2CnxiucC&pg=PA94 |year=1921 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1144-7 |pages=94–95, Entry for ''Āgati''}}</ref>

=== Evolution of ideas ===
Across different religions, different [[soteriology]] were emphasized as the ''Saṃsāra'' theories evolved in respective Indian traditions.{{Sfn|Mark Juergensmeyer|Wade Clark Roof|2011|pp=272–73}} For example, in their ''Saṃsāra'' theories, states Obeyesekere, the Hindu traditions accepted Atman or soul exists and asserted it to be the unchanging essence of each living being, while Buddhist traditions denied such a soul exists and developed the concept of ''Anatta''.{{Sfn|Obeyesekere|1980|pp=139–40 }}{{Sfn|Mark Juergensmeyer|Wade Clark Roof|2011|pp=272–73}}<ref name=6sourcesatman>'''[a]''' [http://www.britannica.com/topic/anatta Anatta], Encyclopædia Britannica (2013), Quote: "Anatta in Buddhism, the doctrine that there is in humans no permanent, underlying soul. The concept of anatta, or anatman, is a departure from the Hindu belief in atman (“the self”)."; '''[b]''' Steven Collins (1994), Religion and Practical Reason (Editors: Frank Reynolds, David Tracy), State Univ of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791422175}}, p. 64; "Central to Buddhist soteriology is the doctrine of not-self (Pali: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman, the opposed doctrine of ātman is central to Brahmanical thought). Put very briefly, this is the [Buddhist] doctrine that human beings have no soul, no self, no unchanging essence."; '''[c]''' Edward Roer (Translator), {{Google books|3uwDAAAAMAAJ|Shankara's Introduction|page=2}} to ''Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad'', pp. 2–4; '''[d]''' Katie Javanaud (2013), [https://philosophynow.org/issues/97/Is_The_Buddhist_No-Self_Doctrine_Compatible_With_Pursuing_Nirvana Is The Buddhist ‘No-Self’ Doctrine Compatible With Pursuing Nirvana?], Philosophy Now; '''[e]''' David Loy (1982), Enlightenment in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta: Are Nirvana and Moksha the Same?, International Philosophical Quarterly, Volume 23, Issue 1, pp. 65–74; '''[f]''' KN Jayatilleke (2010), Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, {{ISBN|978-8120806191}}, pp. 246–49, from note 385 onwards;</ref> Salvation ([[moksha]], mukti) in the Hindu traditions was described using the concepts of [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]] (self) and [[Brahman]] (universal reality),<ref name=gtumoksha>[http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/moksha Moksha], Georgetown University</ref> while in Buddhism it (nirvana, nibbana) was described through the concept of [[Anatta]] (no self) and [[Śūnyatā]] (emptiness).{{sfn|Stephen J. Laumakis|2008|pp=68–70, 125–28, 149–53, 168–76}}<ref>{{cite book|author1=Masao Abe |author2=Steven Heine |title=Buddhism and Interfaith Dialogue |url=https://archive.org/details/buddhisminterfai0000abem |url-access=registration |year=1995 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-1752-7 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/buddhisminterfai0000abem/page/7 7]–8, 73–78}}</ref><ref name=davidloyp65>{{cite journal | last=Loy | first=David | title=Enlightenment in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta: Are Nirvana and Moksha the Same? | journal=International Philosophical Quarterly | volume=22 | issue=1 | year=1982 | pages=65–74 | doi=10.5840/ipq19822217 }}</ref>

The [[Ajivika]] tradition combined ''Saṃsāra'' with the premise that there is no free will, while the Jainism tradition accepted the concept of soul (calling it ''"jiva"'') with free will, but emphasized [[asceticism]] and cessation of action as a means of liberation from ''Saṃsāra'' it calls bondage.<ref>{{cite book|author=Padmanabh S Jaini, George L Jart III |editor=Wendy Doniger |title=Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4WZTj3M71y0C |year=1980|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-03923-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4WZTj3M71y0C/page/n156 131]–33, 228–29}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Christopher Partridge|title=Introduction to World Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3AjAwAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Fortress Press|isbn=978-0-8006-9970-3|pages=245–46}}</ref> The various sub-traditions of Hinduism, and of Buddhism, accepted free will, avoided asceticism, accepted renunciation and monastic life, and developed their own ideas on liberation through realization of the true nature of existence.<ref>{{cite book|author=George L Jart III |editor=Wendy Doniger |title=Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4WZTj3M71y0C |year=1980|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-03923-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4WZTj3M71y0C/page/n156 131]–33}}</ref>

=={{IAST|Samsāra}} in Hinduism==
{{multiple image
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| footer = Release from Saṃsāra, or Moksha, is considered the ultimate spiritual goal in Hinduism, but its traditions disagree on how to reach this state. Left: Loving devotion is recommended in dualistic Hindu traditions. Right: Meditation is recommended in nondualistic Hindu traditions.
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In Hinduism, ''Saṃsāra'' is a journey of the soul.{{Sfn|Mark Juergensmeyer|Wade Clark Roof|2011|p=272}} The body dies, assert the Hindu traditions, but not the soul which it assumes to be the eternal reality, indestructible and bliss.{{Sfn|Mark Juergensmeyer|Wade Clark Roof|2011|p=272}} Everything and all existence is connected, cyclical and composed of two things, the soul and the body or matter.{{Sfn|Jeaneane D. Fowler|1997|p=10}} This eternal soul called ''Atman'' never reincarnates, it does not change and cannot change in the Hindu belief.{{Sfn|Jeaneane D. Fowler|1997|p=10}} In contrast, the body and personality, can change, constantly changes, is born and dies.{{Sfn|Jeaneane D. Fowler|1997|p=10}} Current karma impacts the future circumstances in this life, as well as the future forms and realms of lives.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mukul Goel|title=Devotional Hinduism: Creating Impressions for God|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=63w84TKjEu0C |year=2008|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-0-595-50524-1|page=6}}</ref><ref>Christopher Chapple (1986), Karma and creativity, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|0-88706-251-2}}, pp. 60–64</ref> Good intent and actions lead to good future, bad intent and actions lead to bad future, in the Hindu view of life.{{Sfn|Jeaneane D. Fowler|1997|p=11}}

A virtuous life, actions consistent with dharma, are believed by Hindus to contribute to a better future, whether in this life or future lives.<ref name="Flood2009"/> The aim of spiritual pursuits, whether it be through the path of [[bhakti]] (devotion), karma (work), [[jnana]] (knowledge), or [[raja]] (meditation) is self-liberation (moksha) from ''Samsara''.<ref name="Flood2009">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/concepts/concepts_1.shtml |last=Flood|first=Gavin|date=2009-08-24|access-date=2015-07-31|archive-date=2014-04-11 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140411171600/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/concepts/concepts_1.shtml |url-status=live | title=Hindu concepts| work=[[BBC Online]]| publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=George D. Chryssides|author2=Benjamin E. Zeller|title=The Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HLZMAgAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn=978-1-4411-9829-7|page=333}}</ref>

The [[Upanishads]], part of the scriptures of the Hindu traditions, primarily focus on self-liberation from ''Saṃsāra''.{{Sfn|Jeaneane D. Fowler|1997|pp=111–12}}<ref>{{cite book|author1=Yong Choon Kim|author2=David H. Freeman|title=Oriental Thought: An Introduction to the Philosophical and Religious Thought of Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=omwMQA_DUVEC|year=1981|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8226-0365-8|pages=15–17}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Jack Sikora|title=Religions of India: A User Friendly and Brief Introduction to Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and the Jains|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FLRifVnKnh8C |year=2002|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-1-4697-1731-9|pages=17–19}}</ref> The [[Bhagavad Gita]] discusses various paths to liberation.{{Sfn|Mark Juergensmeyer|Wade Clark Roof|2011|p=272}} The Upanishads, states Harold Coward, offer a "very optimistic view regarding the perfectibility of human nature", and the goal of human effort in these texts is a continuous journey to self-perfection and self-knowledge so as to end ''Saṃsāra''.{{Sfn|Harold Coward|2008|p=129}} The aim of spiritual quest in the Upanishadic traditions is find the true self within and to know one's soul, a state that it believes leads to blissful state of freedom, moksha.{{Sfn|Harold Coward|2008|pp=129, 130–55}}

===Differences within the Hindu traditions===
All Hindu traditions and [[Hindu philosophy|Darśanas]] share the concept of Saṃsāra, but they differ in details and what they describe the state of liberation from Saṃsāra to be.{{Sfn|Jeaneane D. Fowler|1997|pp=10–12, 132–37}} The Saṃsāra is viewed as the cycle of rebirth in a temporal world of always changing reality or ''Maya'' (appearance, illusive), Brahman is defined as that which never changes or [[Sat (Sanskrit)|Sat]] (eternal truth, reality), and moksha as the realization of Brahman and freedom from Saṃsāra.<ref name=gtumoksha/><ref>H Chaudhuri (1954), The Concept of Brahman in Hindu Philosophy, Philosophy East and West, 4(1), pp. 47–66</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=M. Hiriyanna |title=The Essentials of Indian Philosophy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QeRIP-TuKLAC |year=1995|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1330-4 |pages=24–25, 160–66 }}</ref>

The dualistic devotional traditions such as [[Madhvacharya]]'s Dvaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism champion a theistic premise, assert the individual human soul and Brahman ([[Vishnu]], [[Krishna]]) are two different realities, loving devotion to Vishnu is the means to release from Samsara, it is the grace of Vishnu which leads to moksha, and spiritual liberation is achievable only in after-life (''videhamukti'').{{Sfn|Jeaneane D. Fowler|2002|pp=340–47, 373–75}} The nondualistic traditions such as [[Adi Shankara]]'s Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism champion a monistic premise, asserting that the individual human soul and Brahman are identical, only ignorance, impulsiveness and inertia leads to suffering through Saṃsāra, in reality they are no dualities, meditation and self-knowledge is the path to liberation, the realization that one's soul is identical to Brahman is moksha, and spiritual liberation is achievable in this life (''jivanmukti'').<ref name=davidloyp65/>{{Sfn|Jeaneane D. Fowler|2002|pp=238–40, 243–45, 249–50, 261–63, 279–84}}

=={{IAST| Saṃsāra}} in Jainism==
{{main article|Saṃsāra (Jainism)|Karma in Jainism}}
[[File:Saṃsāra.jpg|thumb|Symbolic depiction of Saṃsāra at Shri Mahaveerji temple of Jainism.]]
In [[Jainism]], the ''Saṃsāra'' and karma doctrine are central to its theological foundations, as evidenced by the extensive literature on it in the major sects of Jainism, and their pioneering ideas on karma and ''Saṃsāra'' from the earliest times of the Jaina tradition.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|pp=217–36}}<ref name=dundasp14/> ''Saṃsāra'' in Jainism represents the worldly life characterized by continuous rebirths and suffering in various realms of existence.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|pp=226–28}}<ref name=dundasp14>{{cite book|author= Paul Dundas|title=The Jains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ |year=2003|publisher= Routledge|isbn=978-0415266055 |pages= 14–16, 102–05 }}</ref><ref name="Sethia2004p31">{{cite book|author=Tara Sethia |title=Ahimsā, Anekānta, and Jainism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYdlKv8wBiYC |year=2004|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-2036-4|pages=30–31}}</ref>

The conceptual framework of the Saṃsāra doctrine differs between the Jainism traditions and other Indian religions. For instance, in Jaina traditions, soul (''jiva'') is accepted as a truth, as is assumed in the Hindu traditions, but not assumed in the Buddhist traditions. However, Saṃsāra or the cycle of rebirths, has a definite beginning and end in Jainism.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|p=226}}

Souls begin their journey in a primordial state, and exist in a state of consciousness continuum that is constantly evolving through ''Saṃsāra''.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|p=227}} Some evolve to a higher state, while some regress, a movement that is driven by karma.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|pp=227–28}} Further, Jaina traditions believe that there exist ''Abhavya'' (incapable), or a class of souls that can never attain [[moksha]] (liberation).{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|p=226}}<ref name="Dundas2003p105">{{cite book|author= Paul Dundas|title=The Jains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ |year=2003|publisher= Routledge|isbn=978-0415266055 |pages= 104–05 }}</ref> The ''Abhavya'' state of soul is entered after an intentional and shockingly evil act.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|p=225}} Jainism considers souls as pluralistic each in a karma-''Saṃsāra'' cycle, and does not subscribe to [[Advaita Vedanta|Advaita]] style [[nondualism]] of Hinduism, or [[Madhyamaka|Advaya]] style nondualism of Buddhism.<ref name="Dundas2003p105"/>

The Jaina theosophy, like ancient [[Ajivika]], but unlike Hindu and Buddhist theosophies, asserts that each soul passes through 8,400,000 birth-situations, as they circle through ''Saṃsāra''.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|p=228}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Padmanabh S. Jaini|title=Collected Papers on Jaina Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HPggiM7y1aYC |year=2000|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1691-6|pages=130–31}}</ref> As the soul cycles, states Padmanabh Jaini, Jainism traditions believe that it goes through five types of bodies: earth bodies, water bodies, fire bodies, air bodies and vegetable lives.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|pp=223–24}} With all human and non-human activities, such as rainfall, agriculture, eating and even breathing, minuscule living beings are taking birth or dying, their souls are believed to be constantly changing bodies. Perturbing, harming or killing any life form, including any human being, is considered a sin in Jainism, with negative karmic effects.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|pp=224–25}}<ref name="Sethia2004p31"/>

A liberated soul in Jainism is one who has gone beyond ''Saṃsāra'', is at the apex, is omniscient, remains there eternally, and is known as a ''Siddha''.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|pp=222–23}} A male human being is considered closest to the apex with the potential to achieve liberation, particularly through asceticism. Women must gain karmic merit, to be reborn as man, and only then can they achieve spiritual liberation in Jainism, particularly in the Digambara sect of Jainism;<ref>{{cite book|author=Jeffery D Long|title=Jainism: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ajAEBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT36|year=2013|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=978-0-85773-656-7|pages=36–37}}</ref><ref name=harveyp182>{{cite book|author=Graham Harvey |title=Religions in Focus: New Approaches to Tradition and Contemporary Practices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wrTsCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT182|year=2016|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-93690-8|pages=182–83}}</ref> however, this view has been historically debated within Jainism and different Jaina sects have expressed different views, particularly the Shvetambara sect that believes that women too can achieve liberation from ''Saṃsāra''.<ref name=harveyp182/><ref>{{cite book|author= Paul Dundas|title=The Jains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ |year=2003|publisher= Routledge|isbn=978-0415266055 |pages= 55–59 }}</ref>

In contrast to Buddhist texts which do not expressly or unambiguously condemn injuring or killing plants and minor life forms, Jaina texts do. Jainism considers it a bad karma to injure plants and minor life forms with negative impact on a soul's {{IAST|Saṃsāra}}.<ref name=lschmithausen>[[Lambert Schmithausen]] (1991), Buddhism and Nature, Studia Philologica Buddhica, The International Institute for Buddhist Studies, Tokyo Japan, pp. 6–7</ref> However, some texts in Buddhism and Hinduism do caution a person from injuring all life forms, including plants and seeds.<ref name=lschmithausen/><ref>Rod Preece (1999), Animals and Nature: Cultural Myths, Cultural Realities, {{ISBN|978-0-7748-0725-8}}, University of British Columbia Press, pp. 212–17</ref><ref>Christopher Chapple (1990), Ecological Nonviolence and the Hindu Tradition, in ''Perspectives on Nonviolence'', Springer, {{ISBN|978-1-4612-4458-5}}, pp. 168–77;<br>L Alsdorf (1962), Beiträge zur Geschichte von Vegetarismus und Rinderverehrung in Indien, Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, F. Steiner Wiesbaden, pp. 592–93</ref>

The conceptual framework of the Saṃsāra doctrine differs between the Jainism traditions and other Indian religions. For instance, in Jain traditions, soul (''jiva'') is accepted as a truth, as is assumed in the Hindu traditions. It is not assumed in the Buddhist traditions. However, Saṃsāra or the cycle of rebirths, has a definite beginning and end in Jainism.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|p=226}} The Jain theosophy, unlike Hindu and Buddhist theosophy, asserts that each soul passes through 8,400,000 birth-situations, as they circle through ''Saṃsāra''.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|p=228}}{{sfn|Jaini|2000|pp=130–31}} As the soul cycles, states Padmanabh Jaini, Jainism traditions believe that it goes through five types of bodies: earth bodies, water bodies, fire bodies, air bodies and vegetable lives.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|pp=223–24}} With all human and non-human activities, such as rainfall, agriculture, eating and even breathing, minuscule living beings are taking birth or dying, their souls are believed to be constantly changing bodies. Perturbing, harming or killing any life form, including any human being, is considered a sin in Jainism, with negative karmic effects.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|pp=224–25}}{{sfn|Sethia|2004|pp=30–31}}

Souls begin their journey in a primordial state, and exist in a state of consciousness continuum that is constantly evolving through ''Saṃsāra''.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|p=227}} Some evolve to a higher state; some regress asserts the Jain theory, a movement that is driven by the karma.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|pp=227–28}} Further, Jain traditions believe that there exist ''Abhavya'' (incapable), or a class of souls that can never attain ''[[moksha]]'' (liberation).{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|p=226}}{{sfn|Dundas|2002|pp=104–05}} The ''Abhavya'' state of soul is entered after an intentional and shockingly evil act.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|p=225}} Jainism considers souls as pluralistic each in a karma-samsara cycle, and does not subscribe to ''[[Advaita Vedanta|Advaita]]''-style (not two) [[nondualism]] of Hinduism, or ''[[Madhyamaka|Advaya]]''-style nondualism of Buddhism.{{sfn|Dundas|2002|pp=104–05}} A liberated soul in Jainism is one who has gone beyond ''Saṃsāra'', is at the apex, is omniscient, remains there eternally, and is known as a ''Siddha''.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|pp=222–23}}

=={{IAST|Samsara}} in Buddhism==
[[image:The wheel of life, Trongsa dzong.jpg|thumb|Traditional Tibetan [[thangka]] showing the [[bhavacakra]] and six realms of ''Saṃsāra'' in Buddhist cosmology.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Patrul Rinpoche|author2=Dalai Lama|title=The Words of My Perfect Teacher: A Complete Translation of a Classic Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40i38mGQ6aAC&pg=PA61|year=1998|publisher=Rowman Altamira|isbn=978-0-7619-9027-7|pages=61–99}}</ref>]]
{{main article|Saṃsāra (Buddhism)| Bhavacakra |Six realms}}
''Saṃsāra'' in Buddhism, states Jeff Wilson, is the "suffering-laden cycle of life, death, and rebirth, without beginning or end".<ref name=jeffwilsonbudsam>{{cite book|author=Jeff Wilson|year= 2010|title= Saṃsāra and Rebirth, in Buddhism| publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0195393521| doi=10.1093/obo/9780195393521-0141}}</ref> Also referred to as the wheel of existence (''Bhavacakra''), it is often mentioned in Buddhist texts with the term ''punarbhava'' (rebirth, re-becoming); the liberation from this cycle of existence, ''Nirvana'', is the foundation and the most important purpose of Buddhism.<ref name=jeffwilsonbudsam/><ref name="Conze2013p71">{{cite book|author=Edward Conze |title= Buddhist Thought in India: Three Phases of Buddhist Philosophy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kY5TAQAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-54231-4|page=71 }}, '''Quote:''' "Nirvana is the ''raison d’être'' of Buddhism, and its ultimate justification."</ref>{{sfn|Gethin|1998|p=119}}

Samsara is considered permanent in Buddhism, just like other Indian religions. Karma drives this permanent Samsara in Buddhist thought, states Paul Williams, and "short of attaining enlightenment, in each rebirth one is born and dies, to be reborn elsewhere in accordance with the completely impersonal causal nature of one's own karma; This endless cycle of birth, rebirth, and redeath is ''Saṃsāra''".{{sfn|Williams|2002|pp=74–75}} The [[Four Noble Truths]], accepted by all Buddhist traditions, are aimed at ending this Samsara-related re-becoming (rebirth) and associated cycles of suffering.{{sfn|Paul Williams|Anthony Tribe|Alexander Wynne|2012|pp=30–42}}{{sfn|Robert Buswell Jr. |Donald Lopez Jr. |2013|pp=304–05}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Peter Harvey|editor=Steven M. Emmanuel|title=A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_lmCgAAQBAJ |year =2015| publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-119-14466-3|pages=26–44}} '''Quote:''' "the first features described as painful [dukkha] in the above DCPS [Dhamma-cakka-pavatana Sutta in ''Vinaya Pitaka''] quote are basic biological aspects of being alive, each of which can be traumatic. The dukkha of these is compounded by the rebirth perspective of Buddhism, for this involves repeated re-birth, re-aging, re-sickness, and re-death."</ref>

Like Jainism, Buddhism developed its own Samsara theory, that evolved over time the mechanistic details on how the wheel of mundane existence works over the endless cycles of rebirth and redeath.<ref name="Trainor2004p63">{{cite book|author=Kevin Trainor |title= Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_PrloTKuAjwC |year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-517398-7 |pages=62–63 }}; '''Quote:''' "Buddhist doctrine holds that until they realize nirvana, beings are bound to undergo rebirth and redeath due to their having acted out of ignorance and desire, thereby producing the seeds of karma".</ref>{{sfn|Dalai Lama|1992|pp=xi–xii, 5–16}} In early Buddhist traditions, ''Saṃsāra'' cosmology consisted of five realms through which wheel of existence recycled.<ref name=jeffwilsonbudsam/> This included hells (''niraya''), hungry ghosts (''pretas''), animals (''tiryak''), humans (''manushya''), and gods (''devas'', heavenly).<ref name=jeffwilsonbudsam/><ref name="Trainor2004p63"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Robert DeCaroli |title=Haunting the Buddha: Indian Popular Religions and the Formation of Buddhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q_2XtkSRyTYC|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-803765-1|pages=94–103}}</ref> In latter traditions, this list grew to a list of six realms of rebirth, adding demi-gods (''asuras''),which were included in gods realm in earlier traditions.<ref name=jeffwilsonbudsam/><ref>{{cite book|author=Akira Sadakata|title=Buddhist Cosmology: Philosophy and Origins|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bcYGAAAAYAAJ|year=1997|publisher= Kōsei Publishing 佼成出版社, Tokyo|isbn=978-4-333-01682-2|pages=68–70}}</ref> The "hungry ghost, heavenly, hellish realms" respectively formulate the ritual, literary and moral spheres of many contemporary Buddhist traditions.<ref name=jeffwilsonbudsam/><ref name="Trainor2004p63"/>

The Saṃsāra concept, in Buddhism, envisions that these six realms are interconnected, and everyone cycles life after life, and death is just a state for an afterlife, through these realms, because of a combination of ignorance, desires and purposeful karma, or ethical and unethical actions.<ref name=jeffwilsonbudsam/><ref name="Trainor2004p63"/> Nirvana is typically described as the freedom from rebirth and the only alternative to suffering of ''Samsara'', in Buddhism.<ref name="Collins2010p38"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Carl B. Becker |title=Breaking the Circle: Death and the Afterlife in Buddhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hbgjrC7o-mYC |year=1993|publisher=Southern Illinois University Press |isbn=978-0-8093-1932-9 |pages=viii, 57–59 }}</ref> However, the Buddhist texts developed a more comprehensive theory of rebirth, states Steven Collins, from fears of redeath, called ''amata'' (death-free), a state which is considered synonymous with nirvana.<ref name="Collins2010p38">{{cite book|author=Steven Collins |title=Nirvana: Concept, Imagery, Narrative |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5pshUYiUVwC |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-88198-2 |pages=38 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Frank J. Hoffman |title=Rationality and Mind in Early Buddhism |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=O3ecE9j3qXsC|year=2002|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1927-6 |pages=103–06 }}</ref>

=={{IAST|Saṅsāra}} in Sikhism==
Sikhism incorporates the concepts of ''Saṃsāra'' (sometimes spelled as Sansara in Sikh texts), karma and cyclical nature of time and existence.<ref name="Mandair2013p145">{{cite book|author= Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair|title= Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jn_jBAAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-5366-1 |pages=145–46, 181, 220 }}</ref><ref name=colesambhi13/> Founded in the 15th century, its founder [[Guru Nanak]] had a choice between the cyclical concept of ancient Indian religions and the linear concept of early 7th-century Islam, and he chose the cyclical concept of time, state Cole and Sambhi.<ref name=colesambhi13>{{cite book|author1=W.O. Cole |author2=Piara Singh Sambhi |title=Sikhism and Christianity: A Comparative Study |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G8KMCwAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Springer |isbn= 978-1-349-23049-5 |pages= 13–14}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author= Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair|title= Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jn_jBAAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-5366-1 |page=176 }}</ref> However, states Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair, there are important differences between the ''Saṅsāra'' concept in Sikhism from the ''Saṃsāra'' concept in many traditions within Hinduism.<ref name="Mandair2013p145"/> The difference is that Sikhism firmly believes in the grace of God as the means to salvation, and its precepts encourage the [[bhakti]] of One Lord for ''mukti'' (salvation).<ref name="Mandair2013p145"/><ref>{{cite book|author=H. S. Singha |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gqIbJz7vMn0C |year=2000|publisher=Hemkunt Press|isbn=978-81-7010-301-1 |pages=68, 80}}</ref>

Sikhism, like the three ancient Indian traditions, believes that body is perishable, there is a cycle of rebirth, and that there is suffering with each cycle of rebirth.<ref name="Mandair2013p145"/><ref>{{cite book|author1=Pashaura Singh |author2=Louis E. Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7YwNAwAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-100411-7|pages=231, 607}}</ref> These features of Sikhism, along with its belief in Saṃsāra and the grace of God, is similar to some bhakti-oriented sub-traditions within Hinduism such as those found in [[Vaishnavism]].<ref>{{cite book|author=James Thrower |title= Religion: The Classical Theories|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=luQnAAAAYAAJ|year=1999|publisher= Georgetown University Press|isbn=978-0-87840-751-4 |pages=40 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=J. S. Grewal |title=Religious Movements and Institutions in Medieval India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MSkvAAAAYAAJ |date=2006 |publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-567703-4 |pages=394–95}}</ref> Sikhism does not believe that ascetic life, as recommended in Jainism, is the path to liberation. Rather, it cherishes social engagement and householder's life combined with devotion to the One God as Guru, to be the path of liberation from ''Saṅsāra''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Pashaura Singh |author2=Louis E. Fenech |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7YwNAwAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-100411-7|pages=230–31}}</ref>

==Popular culture==
A popular culture song under the title 'Sansara' was released by the Russian rapper [[Basta (rapper)|Basta]] in 2017 as a top charting song with many cover releases.<ref>'Sansara' cover version. 11.4.2021. Toch-v-tco. [https://www.1tv.ru/shows/toch-v-toch-pyatyy-sezon/vystupleniya/aleksandr-panayotov-basta-sansara-toch-v-toch-pyatyy-sezon-fragment-vypuska-ot-11-04-2021]</ref>

==See also==
* [[Rebirth (Buddhism)]]
* [[Resurrection]]

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{{Reflist|30em}}

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==External links==
* [http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/samsara-hinduism Samsara (Hinduism)], Georgetown University
* [http://www.stephen-knapp.com/reincarnation_a_simple_explanation.htm Reincarnation: A Simple Explanation]
* [http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/samsara.html The Wheel of Life], C. George Boeree, Shippensburg University
* [http://english.mnsu.edu/vwp/samplepapers/philosophy/phil100paper1.pdf The difference between Samsara and Nirvana], Minnesota State University, Mankato
* [http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195393521/obo-9780195393521-0141.xml Saṃsāra and Rebirth], Buddhism, Oxford Bibliographies

{{Indian philosophy}}
{{Buddhism topics}}
{{Hindudharma}}
{{Jainism topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Buddhist philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Jain philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Reincarnation]]
[[Category:Sikh philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]

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