Shay, Gassho,
I have read the other postings in response to your questions and I'm not sure your quewry has been answered. Here are some notes from my notebook which gives a general Buddhist outlook on this subject.Not everyone agrees with his, but generally it is accepted by many:

REBIRTH: Rendered in Sanskrit as Punarjanma. A Doctrine of Buddhism, which teaches that man returns life cycle after life cycle (after each death) as a result of his Karma, Desire, Thirst and Ignorance.

The Buddhist Rebirth concept is believed by many to be an ancient Indic doctrine that The Buddha embodied into his own teachings in a modified form; however this is probably not the case. On the night The Buddha experienced enlightenment, he is said to have become aware of his many previous lives and the causes for each rebirth. The Buddhist doctrine of rebirth differs from the many other similar beliefs throughout the world, such as Reincarnation and Transmigration, because Rebirth does not include an immortal personal soul (or spirit) that migrates from one life to another. Rebirth, under Buddhism, is a corollary of Karma and the resulting Karmic energy that manifests itself as an impersonal stream of consciousness that is in a constant state of flux. While death to a human being is the total non-functioning of the physical body, the will, volition, desire, thirst to exist, to continue, to become more and more, is a force that has the power to move the world. (In Japanese Buddhism this force is called Nyoi). This is the greatest force, the greatest energy in the world. It does not stop with the death of the body, but continues to manifest itself in another form producing re-existence called rebirth. It is the impersonal stream of consciousness (Karmic energy) that flows from one life cycle to another.

Rebirth is distinguished from Reincarnation since under the Buddhist concept one may be reborn into the kingdom of man, animal or the sea in any creature form - or in a state of formlessness on one of the many planes of existence. Reincarnationist generally hold that a personal soul moves ever upward after each life cycle based upon lessons supposedly learned in its past. Thus, although Rebirth and Reincarnation both deal with a concept of again-birth, they differ in terms of the factor that migrates from one life cycle to another and in the potential disposition of that factor in the next life cycle.

Transmigration, a term not commonly used, also has some of the same qualities as Rebirth and Reincarnation; however it also has some differences from both. Under the concept of Transmigration a personal immortal soul migrates from one life cycle to another (the same, in this respect, as Reincarnation; but as opposed to the Rebirth concept). However, based upon the way one lived in his previous existence’s (his Karma or actions), migration may be to a heavenly, neutral or hellish plane of existence - or one may be reborn on this plane as a so-called lower form of animal life (similar to the Rebirth concept but opposed to Reincarnation).

Buddhist believe that the concept of Rebirth, when viewed in conjunction with the law of Karma, results in perfect justice for all living beings. One may quickly recognize (e.g.) the impact of Karma (action / cause) and Karma Vipaka (the effect of the action) in this life cycle, but have difficulty grasping how this energy field can create effects and conditions in the next life cycle. Rebirth, under the Buddhist doctrine, comes about as one takes the next breath after death or termination of this life cycle - that is, one being ceases to exist; another is born. For a being to be born, another must cease to exist (i.e. die). There is no birth without death. The conditions of one's rebirth are brought about by a process known as Elective Affinity; that is, the new Mother and Father's Karma act as a magnet to attract the Karmic energy of the being that just terminated. The Karma that is carried over is considered unripened (i.e. the full effects have not yet been realized) and determines the conditions of the new life cycle; the type of Karma and many other conditioning factors, determine the character of the new born, the intelligence, appearance, family, conditions etc. There are hundreds of influencing factors, all related to the Karma of those contributing to these conditions. For example, if one is reborn in human form, in just ten generations there would have been over 2,000 grandparents involved whose Karma will have exercised some influence on the new born's life.

The new characters, the conditions of the life (poor, rich, high, low, geographical location, etc.), race, physical structure, health etc. all are products of Dependent Origination - with the ripening Karma of many like-type beings being one of the major contributing factors. As a result of this new form and new life, the one experiencing rebirth will go on to create new Karma - an on and on the cycles will go.

"There is Akusala-vipaka (Immoral resultant) and the other is Kusala-vipaka (Moral resultant), Rebirth (Patisnadhi) in the animal kingdom, and in Peta and asura realms takes place with Upekkha-sahagata Santîrana (Akusala Vipaka). Bhavanga and Cuti of that particular life are identical with this Patisandhi Citta.

These human beings, who are congenitally blind, deaf, dumb, etc., have for Patisandhi-citta the Kusala-vipaka, Upekkhã-sahagata, Santîrana. Though deformity is due to an evil Kamma, their rebirth as a human is due to good Kamma."

During the Persian wars, roughly 560 to 479 BC, the west came into contact with the East and history tells us that there was a revolt against the ideas of Homer dealing with death, resurrection, and immortality; thus causing a search for a deeper explanation of the life cycle. The search is thought to have been initiated by the Ionian Greeks of Asia Minor and it is taught that their conclusions were greatly influenced by the customs and beliefs of India.

Pythagoras, who was born in circa 580 BC on the island of Samos, is said to have traveled widely and studied the teachings of the people of India. He taught the West the doctrine of Karma and Rebirth. The author Garbe, in his works, “Greek Thinkers” wrote: “It is easy to assume that the curious Greek, Pythagoras, who was a contemporary of the Shakyamuni Buddha… would have acquired a working knowledge of the Eastern Philosophy in that age of intellectual fermentation, through the medium of Persia.

Many Philosophers and historians consider the doctrines of karma and rebirth the keystones of Plato’s philosophy and as such, proof that the doctrines of rebirth and Karma had migrated to the West. He taught that living beings are forever traveling through a “cycle of necessity;” the evil they do in one semi circle of their pilgrimage is expiated in the other [via Karma vipaka and the ripening of karmas].

Narada Thero, in his book, “The Buddha-Dhamma” discusses this in more detail when speaking of Plato’s Republic. He says that karma is personified as Lechesis, the daughter of necessity, at whose hands disembodied beings choose their next incarnations; Orpheus chooses the body of a swan, Theristes that of an ape, Agamemnon that of an eagle, and in the same manner, some of the animals passed into men and into one another. The unjust passing in to the wild and the just into the tame. One might refer to the Cula-kammavibhanga Sutra for the conditions that can be expected in rebirth as a result of this life’s karmic debt.

Metta

Hogen

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