Samsara | Karma, Reincarnation & Dharma

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[{"p":1,"t":520716},{"p":1,"t":312474},{"p":1,"t":160657},{"p":1,"t":214989},{"p":36,"t":266312},{"p":23,"t":83184},{"p":1,"t":618602},{"p":6,"t":299478},{"p":1,"t":496541},{"p":1,"t":387852}], "sequence": 1, "topics": {} }); </script> <article class="article-content container-lg qa-content px-0 pt-0 pb-40 py-lg-20 content " data-topic-id="520716"> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/samsara">samsara</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <span class="toc-extra-link selected link-gray-900 mt-15"> Introduction </span> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/samsara/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/samsara">Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-read-next"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> Read Next </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative 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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-02-01T00:00:00CST" >Feb 1, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/samsara/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 module-spacing js-inline-ai-ask-button p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Sanskrit: </dt> <dd>“flowing around”</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/Buddhism" topicid="83184">Buddhism</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Indian-philosophy" topicid="285905">Indian philosophy</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Jainism" topicid="299478">Jainism</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/afterlife-religion" topicid="8552">afterlife</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/moksha-Indian-religion" topicid="387852">moksha</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>On the Web: </dt> <dd><a href="https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ibk1952/18/2/18_2_1062/_pdf/-char/ja" target="_blank">J-Stage - The Conception of Samsara' (PDF)</a> (Feb. 01, 2025)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/samsara"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref55938"></span>samsara</strong>, in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indian-philosophy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Indian philosophy</a>, the central <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="conception" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conception" data-type="MW">conception</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/reincarnation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">metempsychosis</a>: the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/soul-religion-and-philosophy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">soul</a>, finding itself awash in the “sea of samsara,” strives to find release (<em><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/moksha-Indian-religion" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">moksha</a></em>) from the bonds of its own past deeds (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/karma" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">karma</a>), which form part of the general web of which samsara is made. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buddhism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Buddhism</a>, which does not assume the existence of a permanent soul, accepts a semipermanent personality core that goes through the process of samsara.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The range of samsara stretches from insects (and sometimes vegetables and minerals) to the generative god <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahma-Hindu-god" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Brahma</a>. The rank of one’s birth in the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="hierarchy" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hierarchy" data-type="MW">hierarchy</a> of life depends on the quality of the previous life. A variety of explanations of the workings of the karmic process within samsara have been proposed. According to several, the soul after <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/death" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">death</a> first goes to a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/heaven" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">heaven</a> or <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/hell" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">hell</a> until it has consumed most of its good or bad karma. Then it returns to a new womb, the remainder of its karma having determined the circumstances of its next life. In theory this allows for the possibility of remembering one’s previous lives (<em>jatismara</em>), a talent that great saints possess or can <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="cultivate" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cultivate" data-type="MW">cultivate</a>. Typical of this belief are the so-called <em><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jataka" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jataka</a></em> stories, in which the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Buddha-founder-of-Buddhism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Buddha</a> (Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism) gives accounts of his previous lives. The <em>Jataka</em> stories also illustrate the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="moral" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moral" data-type="MW">moral</a> and salvific potential that comes with an accurate, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="enlightened" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enlightened" data-type="MW">enlightened</a> appraisal of the vast network of interconnections described by the idea of samsara.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature font-12">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Matt-Stefon/6763">Matt Stefon</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-simplify-root"></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":520716,"pageLength":240,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.36"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.36' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"SMALL","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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