Buddhism, as it was originally taught by the Buddha, differs from Hinduism in that it denies the existence of an immortal soul but speaks of the individual as “a combination of physical and mental forces or energies.”c Nonetheless, its teachings are still centered on the ideas that all humanity is wandering from life to life through countless rebirths (samsara) and suffering the consequences of actions past and present (Karma).

42. How does a Buddhist scholar explain rebirth?

⁴² As for rebirth, here is an explanation by the Buddhist scholar Dr. Walpola Rahula:

“A being is nothing but a combination of physical and mental forces or energies. What we call death is the total non-functioning of the physical body. Do all these forces and energies stop altogether with the non-functioning of the body? Buddhism says ‘No.’ Will, volition, desire, thirst to exist, to continue, to become more and more, is a tremendous force that moves whole lives, whole existences, that even moves the whole world. This is the greatest force, the greatest energy in the world. According to Buddhism, this force does not stop with the non-functioning of the body, which is death; but it continues manifesting itself in another form, producing re-existence which is called rebirth.”