Possible Case of Again-Birth
(At least it is food for thought)
by Roshi Hogen Berman

THE CASE OF DISNA SAMARASINGHE:

SOURCE OF INFORMATION: Francis Story, (The Anagarika Sugatananda); REBIRTH AS DOCTRINE AND EXPERIENCE, 1975, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

SYNOPSIS OF THE CASE: Disna Samarasinghe; born 26 April 1959 at Udobaga wa, Sri Lanka (about 20 miles from Kandy); the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A.S. Samarasinghe. Mr. Samarasinghe is a grocery merchant; Mrs. Samarasinghe is a school teacher in the nearby village of Mingamuwa. At about three years of age, Disna, while watching her Mother do the laundry, told her that she used to do the wash herself - and perhaps had done an even better job than her Mother was doing. Over the next several months Disna related many other details of her alleged past life. She claimed to have lived as a woman named Babanona in a village about three miles from Udobagawa named Wettewa. In Wettewa she lived with her son, his wife and their children. She expressed a dislike for the daughter-in-law and her children because their skin was too dark and as a result there had been ill feelings between her and the son. She claimed that because of these ill feelings the son had beat her with a cane or walking stick. Because of a fear of being beaten again she expressed a reluctance to ever return to the son's home. During the next two years Disna revealed so much information about Babanona that her Mother's curiosity finally overcame Disna's fears and the two of them, and three other people, traveled by foot to the village of Wettewa (This occurred on 24 April 1964 when Disna was 5 years old). When asked where Wettewa was, Disna pointed them in the right direction. Later, on the way to Wettewa, she showed them a short-cut through the paddy fields, which the others (who had traveled to Wettewa before) knew nothing about - but it saved a half mile of walking. Upon entering the village and passing several houses, Disna finally pointed to a house and told her Mother, "That is the house".

As they approached the house Disna pointed to a woman in the yard and correctly identified her as the Mother (the son's wife). Coming closer to the house they asked the woman for a drink of water - and she invited them into the house. All of the adults entered by the door nearest the road while Disna went around the side of the house and entered by a door that was not visible from the road - but was the entrance normally used by Babanona when she lived there. In the house, Disna's Mother explained the reason for the visit to the son's wife - who then sent a message to the son at his place of employment and he returned home. While in the house Disna made remarks about various household objects. These, together with statements she had made previously to her Mother convinced all concerned that Disna was in fact Babanona reborn. Interestingly, both Babanona and Disna were particularly clean in matters of personal hygiene, preferring to bathe each morning (as opposed to evening bathing preferred by the rest of Disna's family). While at the house, Disna pointed out the place where Babanona was in the habit of bathing each morning (well or river). She also told of hiding a tin cigarette box containing money near the hearth while she lived in the son's house. No one in the son's family knew of the money prior to Babanona's death, but the box had been found later - they assumed it had been hers. The Head Priest (Monk) of the Buddhist Temple in Wettewa, the Venerable Ambanwelle Somasara, had known Babanona well during her lifetime and although he was acquainted with Disna's family, he had never been in their home nor had he previously met Disna. Yet, Disna immediately identified him when they first met and called him by name. He was able to verify many of Disna's statements before her Mother even took her to Wettewa. As an example, Disna showed character traits at 2 years of age that were peculiar relative to her current environment and family. She developed the habit of sitting on the floor in a meditative position, hands folded in an attitude of contemplation and worship - listening to the morning preaching and chanting of the Buddhist Scriptures on the radio. There were no models for such conduct in her current family - in her later years this was a daily habit of Babanona's.

Disna, as a small child, showed a remarkable ability and knowledge of household tasks and skills; often criticizing her Mother's performance - saying she could do better. In this respect Babanona was considered an exceptional cook. Disna, at 3 years of age, exhibited an untaught ability to weave coconut leaves. She claimed to have done this in her previous life. Disna's current family did not weave coconut leaves since they had a tile and sheet metal roof on their house - while Babanona's son's house had a roof of woven coconut leaves. Babanona was known to have been very skillful at weaving the coconut leaves used to repair the roof.

Over a period of three to four years, while her case was being investigated, Disna made 34 statements, all of which were verified by informants familiar with Babanona and her habits. The only unverified report was that her son beat her with the cane or walking stick. Neither the son, his wife nor other informants would verify this statement. Disna was also credited with statements relative to recognition of people or places that played a role in the life of Babanona - but couldn't possibly have been known by the child in her own right. Investigators reported that she was correct in all but one of these statements. Although unusual, Disna made statements regarding experiences she claimed to remember of the period after she died as Babanona and before she was reborn as Disna. She correctly stated, for example, that Babanona had been buried in a particular place near a large anthill; a fact not commonly known.

It should be noted that Disna's current family came from a higher caste and they were not likely, under normal conditions, to have social intercourse of anykind with members of Babanona's family who were of a lower caste. Space does not permit the presentation of the full details, supporting data and considerations presented by F. Story as a result of his investigation. However, the possibility of Disna having overheard the information about the life of Babanona from some friends or relatives who visited her home and related the events of Babanona's life in her proximity, extra sensory perception and possession by Babanona's spirit were also considered. Both the idea of friends discussing the life of Babanona and extra sensory perception were discredited. This left only the possibility of spirit possession or Again-Birth in action. While the possibility of possession cannot be excluded - would not this in itself be a form of Again-Birth?

Although Udobagawa is only three miles from Wettewa, in Sri Lanka, even today, very few people have access to an automobile. There is generally little travel between one village and another even though, to a westerner, the distance appears short. Ordinarily there is very limited socializing and intercourse between members of different villages unless they are related. Often the village dialect is so different they cannot effectively communicate with each other.

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