Difference between reincarnation and rebirth?

Question

What's the difference between reincarnation (Hinduism) and rebirth (Buddhism) ? I have searched around the web but every answer is so hard to understand. Please give me an easy answer.

Answer 1

“Rebirth” involves the new Body and the new Mind(Citta) but “Reincarnation” involves the new Body but the same Mind (Soul.)



In Buddhism, we believe in the Mind not the Soul. A person consists of Body (Rupa) and Mind (Nama). When one dies on this earth, which is one of the 11 Sense-Spheres -- heaven, ghost, and hell are in different spheres-- the body will decay and the last mind in this sphere will vanish. The new mind will immediately arise in the new body and in the new sphere. Without the mind, an egg and a sperm cannot become a life. This is a Rebirth.



We prefer to call "Rebirth" rather than "Reincarnation" because of the new mind and new body. The Reincarnation involves the new Body but the same Mind (Soul) as in Hinduism. One of the Mind's functions is to accumulate all of the past deeds in their memory. The Karma therefore passes from one mind to the next. That is how exactly someone's karma would pass to a next life.



I have to respond to “Stbb” because I don’t want others to believe that Buddhism is very difficult to learn, to practice and to achieve the enlightenment. This can be compared with going to the top of a mountain. If you have a knowledgeable guide (teacher), you get to the top (Enlightenment) faster with the least amount of energy and time and don't get lost. If you don't have a guide you still can get to your destination if you know the right direction. The right direction is the real knowledge of the Four Noble Truths especially Dukkha and Satipathana (the Direct Path to Enlightenment = Noble Eightfold Path = Threefold Training). Some want to walk up the mountain but others want to climb up a cliff. It is their choices.



It is an ideal to have an arahant or other noble persons to be your teacher but it is hard to find and they don’t brag. Stbb has impressive credentials and if he is enlightened, I am sorry. But from what he wrote I believe he could not abandon at least 2 fetters. One is ignorance (avijjā) and the other Mana. That is the reason why he is always correct and everyone else is wrong.



Māna (Sanskrit, Pali; Tibetan: nga rgyal) is a Buddhist term that is translated as "pride", "arrogance", or "conceit". It is defined as an inflated mind that makes whatever is suitable, such as wealth or learning, to be the foundation of pride.[1] It creates the basis for disrespecting others and for the occurrence of suffering.



I am trying to simplify the answer so the new comer can understand. Below link shows the deep concept of rebirth.



http://aboutbuddhism.hourb.com/content23.html#9

Answer 2

You are all wrong!



The problem is that many people only understand the superficial teaching of the Buddhism, and don't understand and or not trying to understand the era when the Buddha born and raised.



They need to know that the Buddha was born in the sphere influence of the Brahmanism, he was living in the era of Brahmanism, where it was the predominate religion of the area; so in order for him to reach his audiences of his teachings, especially en mass with the people at that time, he must use many of the same terms of the Brahmanism teachings in order to express his new form of philosophy, except he would elaborated using the same terms to interject and to clarify his own philosophy.



So for all you, “Reincarnation” is system of transmigration without soul in Buddhism, same term as Brahmanism, but nevertheless for Buddhism it is with the Alaya consciousness instead of soul, which is exclusive to the Buddhism. This Alaya Consciousness is a form of recording device and classify as the 8th Consciousness of all sentient beings in the “Mind School Philosophy of Buddhism” (this many of you may never know without me actually write it out in this article).



The Alaya Consciousness is an eternal recorder of our infinite lifetimes of experiences, this is where and how those Master Buddhists are able to see into their own past lives, and recalled how our world was formed, and how there was no creator of the Universe, etc... Another name for this Alaya Consciousness is call the "Tathagatagarbha" or "Buddha Nature Storage"- the storage bank of all the seeds of “Six Paths of Samsara”, as well as the seeds for the "Four Sainthood" or sum up as Ten Dharma Realms of this Universe.



This is where the “Book Buddhists” read few books and thinks they know everything about Buddhism, it is impossible for most of you to read and understand the whole of Buddhism within one's lifetime. Therefore, many of you are unable to understand and finished learning the Buddhism without the proper guidance of a Buddhism master- and this is only the intermediate level of teaching for the inner and or more studious students.)



This Alaya Consciousness remains constant throughout the process of Reincarnations; when we mentioned rebirths, we are talking about a particular life or incarnations that we were reborn into. But the main thing for this confusion of terms is because this is all semantic translation problems from the western half-baked Buddhism Writers.



To sum it up, they are basically the same terms, where one refer a systems of Rebirths (Reincarnation), and another quantify (The Rebirths) into a specific reborn of one life, or several specific and particular lives during the cycle of Reincarnation.

Answer 3

In a nutshell, here is the difference:



Reincarnation / Transmigration



A major part of Hinduism

Your permanent and unchanging “soul” (ātman) is reborn again in a new body

Karma: Past actions influence the present, and present actions influence the future (i.e., you’re punished or rewarded in your next life based on what happened in the past, and vice versa)



Rebirth



A major part of Buddhism

There is “no self” or “no soul“ (anattā or anatman) in Buddhism

Ignorance creates desire, and unsatisfied desire cause rebirth

Rebirth happens to you moment-to-moment, and also after death

Karma: Present actions influence the present and future (i.e., what you do is what happens to you, but you are in control)

Rebirth can be stopped



Ven. Master Hsing Yun explains rebirth in this way:



The constant state of flux, renewal and metabolic change that we experience physically (birth, old age, sickness, and death) and in our minds (the forming, existing, changing and ceasing of thoughts) are what we call the wheel of rebirth.

http://www.alanpeto.com/buddhism/understanding-reincarnation-rebirth/



Oh, Bhikshu (Monks), every moment you are born, decay, and die. ~ Shakyamuni Buddha

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There has to be some similarities, for me having read briefly, Buddhism is the practice of not being reborn.



Oh, Bhikshu (Monks), every moment you are born, decay, and die. ~ Shakyamuni Buddha



While Hinduism (Perhaps if not enlightened/redeemed), is a knowing that we're likely to be reborn.

So pretty much the same really.



Ive dragged some referenced together, see what you think.



3500 years+ The Torah (In covenant with G-d), and the 4 Veda's.

The 4 Veda's gave rise to Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism and Zen Buddhism of which enlightened beings are blessed as saviors, deliverers, and redeemers.

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(Metempsychosis (Greek: μετεμψύχωσις) is a philosophical term in the Greek language referring to transmigration of the soul, especially its reincarnation after death)



Plotinus (204/5–270 CE), says that the Soul cannot be separated from the body by an act of violence or by suicide, because acts of violence are not guided by the Reason-Principle of the Soul. Acts of violence or suicide leave the Soul attached to the body (I.9[16]). The Soul can only be released from the body by seeking a higher level of reality in the Intellectual Principle.



Self-Knowledge is the basis of our true being. The ignorant do not have it, and hence they are so called. ASTAVAKRA SAMHITA – Chapter XVIII - P150



Hinduism.

He who is forgetful of the Self, mistaking the physical body for it, and goes through innumerable births, is like one who wanders all over the world in a dream. Thus, realizing the Self would only be like waking up from the dream­wanderings.

Sri Ramana Maharshi (December 30, 1879 – April 14, 1950)



The ultimate goal for Hindus is to achieve Moksha((Sanskrit: मुक्ति; release) is the liberation from samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth) It is when we get rid of all our Karma. Moksha is peeling back all those layers of illusion and becoming one with the universe. It is essentially when we “wake-up” to the nature of reality.



So basically reincarnation is what our “soul” does until it gets to the point of Moksa, it is almost a kind of purgatory where our “souls” prepare themselves for a higher state of being. If I could venture an opinion, I believe that the west has taken the concept of reincarnation out of context and put much more focus on it than it really warrants. Reincarnation is just one part of the whole Hindu view of death, rebirth and the universe at large.



The Bahá’í view.

'The Bahá’í view of 'reincarnation' is essentially different from the Hindu conception. The Bahá’ís believe in the return of the attributes and qualities, but maintain that the essence or the reality of things cannot be made to return. Every being keeps its own individuality, but some of his qualities can be transmitted.

The doctrine of metempsychosis upheld by the Hindus is fallacious.'

(To an individual believer, March 27, 1938)



ISLAM.

The Koran itself seems quite clear: "And you were dead, and He brought you back to life. And He shall cause you to die, and shall bring you back to life, and in the end shall gather you unto Himself." (2:28).



Everything we do is written.

Transgression hypnosis suggests this too.

Answer 4

Reincarnation is the recycling of your spirit/essence into a different, physical, Earthly body after your physical death.



Rebirth is who you become after you achieve enlightenment. Meaning literally the same thing as being born again in Christianity (although most Christians don't understand it), once you have achieved enlightenment, you have relinquished yourself of the divided identity we all possess. Part of each of us believes we are children of our biological parents, children of the Earth. The other part of us knows we are not children of this world, but of the spiritual world.



Rebirth occurs when you kill off the part of your identity attached to all the selfish desires found in the illusory material world and accept yourself as the immortal spiritual entity, who finds importance only in truth and compassion.

Answer 5

Fake Genius, Incongruous, and The Foreigner are right. They are all saying the same thing in a different way.



Everyone else's answer is incorrect.

Answer 6

Reincarnation - you die and come back as something else

Rebirth - you are spiritually awakened (you do not die)

Answer 7

go to a dictionary for reincarnation and rebirth



reincarnation: transmigration of soul

rebirth: birth without the need of soul - Buddhism doesn't advocate there is reincarnation or soul.





read details here:

http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yllblMkRgMMC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=%22Karma+and+Rebirth+in+Indic+Religions%22&ots=_xWY5VW31z&sig=lSgk4Ho4zuqmkXWiswy6YxtGigs#v=onepage&q=%22Karma%20and%20Rebirth%20in%20Indic%20Religions%22&f=false

or

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=IEK4Qgm7Z0kC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=Karma+and+Rebirth+in+Indic+Religions&source=bl&ots=37towGdeiV&sig=A4rRJkCU3VyfoKLHHEfKoBa0xCE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=eLtFU7L4B4HIkAX3iYCoBQ&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Karma%20and%20Rebirth%20in%20Indic%20Religions&f=false



For Buddhism, go to page 2 - two books are the same.

Answer 8

Reincarnation= lie Rebirth= lie. You only live once you die you are judged and go to heaven or hell. both of these philosophies insist you can do whatever you want even rape a child and just come back as a cow or something because you lowered your karma. Satan has invented these religions and philosophy to poison the minds of the people into false belief.

Answer 9

There is no difference unless you evaluate the difference between BS and BS.The result will be BS.I am sorry.