Rebirth

Life is a cycle of rebirths. The common assumption is that there are many rebirths, but in Buddhist thought they are innumerable. The word samsara, literally 'wandering on', is used to describe this cycle, and life is seen as wandering on limitlessly through time, through the birth and extinction and rebirth of galaxies and worlds. There are six levels of rebirth, or realms of existence. It is important to accumulate enough merit to avoid the three lower realms, though in the long cycle of rebirth all beings pass through them at some point. The three lower realms comprise hells of torment, ghost worlds and the world of animals. The three higher realms are human beings, demigods and gods. These six levels are depicted on the Wheel of Life. All beings are fated to tread this wheel continuously until they make a commitment to enlightenment.

Karma

All beings pass through the same cycle of rebirths. Their enemy may once have been their mother, and like all beings they have lived as an insect, as a god and suffered in one of the hell realms. Movement within this cycle, though, is not haphazard. It is governed by karma.

Karma is a slippery concept. It is sometimes translated simply as 'action', but it also implies the consequences of action. Karma might be thought of as an over-arching condition of life.

Every action in life leaves a psychic trace that carries over into the next rebirth. It should not be thought of as a reward or punishment, simply a result. In Buddhist thought karma is frequently likened to a seed that ripens into a fruit: thus a human reborn as an insect is harvesting the fruits of a previous immoral existence.

Merit

Given that karma is a kind of accumulated psychic baggage that we must lug through countless rebirths, it is the aim of all practicing Buddhists to try and accumulate as much 'good karma', or merit, as possible. Merit is best achieved through the act of rejoicing in giving, though merit can even be achieved through giving that is purely motivated by will for merit. The giving of alms to the needy and to monks, the relinquishing of a son to monkhood, acts of compassion and understanding are all meritorious and have a positive karmic outcome.

The Four Holy Truths

If belief in rebirth, karma and merit are the basis of lay followers' faith in Buddhism, the Four Holy Truths might be thought of as the deep structure of the faith, its philosophical underpinning. The Buddha systematised the truths in the manner of medical practice of his time: (1) diagnose the illness, (2) identify its cause, (3) establish a cure, and (4) map a course for the cure.