Reincarnation

Reincarnation is from the Latin re (again) and incarnare (to make flesh), giving a literal sense of being made flesh again[1]. The English term was coined to name the South Asian doctrine of rebirth as it became known to European thought. The Sanskrit term punarjanma (rebirth) captures the same concept[2]; punarbhava (becoming again) is used in Buddhist contexts.

different traditions define the self and the mechanics of rebirth differently, so the English label can mislead.

Reincarnation is central in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, and various other South Asian thought, and appears in modified forms in other traditions including Druze religion, some Spiritist movements, and certain modern Western new religious movements[3]. The basic claim: consciousness or some continuing principle returns to embodied life after death, with the conditions of the new life shaped by past actions.

The metaphysics differs significantly across traditions that teach rebirth[3]. Hindu thought (in most schools) holds that the atman, a continuing self or soul, takes successive bodies until liberation. Buddhist thought, by contrast, denies a permanent self while still teaching rebirth: the continuity is described in terms of conditioned arising and the persistence of patterns rather than a soul that transmigrates[4]. Jain teaching describes the jiva (soul) as the continuing principle, weighed down by karmic matter. Sikh teaching accepts rebirth while emphasizing that grace can free one from the cycle.

The relationship between reincarnation and the broader cycle of samsara is important. Samsara is not just succession of lives; it is the whole framework of karma, suffering, and the conditions that produce continued existence[3]. Liberation (moksha, nirvana, mukti) is not just stopping reincarnation; it is recognizing or attaining the truth that ends the cycle altogether.

Reincarnation is distinguished from resurrection in Abrahamic traditions. Resurrection is the raising of the body for eternal life; reincarnation is the return of consciousness in a new body within samsara[3]. The two concepts emerge from different theological frameworks and are not equivalent.

Modern interest in reincarnation in Western contexts has often borrowed the concept without the broader framework. The traditions that teach reincarnation typically embed it within karma doctrine, the goal of liberation, and specific theological metaphysics that the modern borrowings rarely include.

Comparative study of reincarnation has produced significant literature. Christopher Bache, Wendy Doniger[3], Steven Collins (on Buddhist rebirth without self)[4], and others have explored the topic. Ian Stevenson's controversial research on cases suggestive of reincarnation generated extensive debate; mainstream scholarship is skeptical of his methodology while acknowledging the difficulty of investigating these claims.

• Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditionsby Wendy Doniger
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• Selfless Personsby Steven Collins
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