"If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured through eternity and attain supreme enlightenment in this lifetime, you must awaken to the mystic truth which has always been within your life. This truth is Myoho-renge-kyo."

Apart from our feelings, of course, there is no proof whatsoever as to what will happen when we die. Belief in the eternity of life lies in the realm of faith. Nevertheless, there are things we observe about the nature of life which lend support to the idea that life continues. For example, the rhythm of nature is cyclic. Although most plants appear lifeless in the winter, they grow again in the spring. In fact, everything we observe in nature goes through cycles. We also know from science that matter cannot be destroyed, but rather changes into another form of energy. When, for instance, we burn something it is not destroyed, but changes into gases and residual matter. Both our own experience and the observation of natural cycles make it logical to suppose that life continues in some way, rather than coming to an abrupt stop. In accordance with this, Buddhism explains the continuous cycle of life and death throughout eternity.

Myoho, of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, means life and death. Myoho is usually translated as Mystic Law. This law encompasses the two aspects of life and death. It is called mystic because it is difficult to comprehend. Myoho also means seen and unseen, or latent and manifest.

We experience these phases of life and death all the time. For example, one minute we are happy and the next, angry. Where did the happiness go? We cannot say it does not exist, because it will appear again when the circumstances are right. Likewise, we cannot say it exists, because it is not here at this moment, yet we know it has not gone forever. This is the nature of everything - it comes and goes at one moment and at the next, latent. This state of neither existence nor non-existence is called ku.

The life-death cycle is often compared to alternate periods of being awake and asleep. Sleep refreshes us, physically and mentally. Likewise, death is necessary to restore our energy in preparation for a new life. How, then, does Buddhism explain death and rebirth? Our lives have three aspects: body, mind and entity. At the time of death, all three aspects merge with the universe, passing from a sentient to an insentient state. An individual life becomes indistinguishable from universal life.

At the time of death, all three aspects of our lives become one with the eternal flow of the universe. The individual workings of the physical and mental aspects of life are no longer distinguishable from the whole. This is quite different from the idea of transmigration of the 'soul' which is found in other religions. Buddhism denies the existence of soul. The individual entity does not go to some particular place like heaven, nor does it 'wander about' in an unseen form. It is united with the universe.

This can be compared to an iceberg melting into the ocean. While it exists, an iceberg has a massive unseen portion under the surface of the water. Likewise, individuals have huge potential, most of which is not apparent. When we die all of this, seen and unseen, melts back into universal life. The entity of an individual life continues in the state of ku, which transcends existence and non-existence. When the circumstances are appropriate, the individual manifestation of the entity will be born. This continues in a never-ending process, just like the rain cycle.

How rebirth happens is beyond everyday comprehension. Similarly, we do not know what happens while we are asleep. Where does our conscious mind go? While we are asleep it seems to vanish, yet when we wake up it returns. This is explained by the concept of ku. According to Buddhism, this is the state we enter when we die.

We tend to think that our lives are confined within our skins. Yet when we are at work, our influence is still present at home. We are part of our friends' lives even if they are thousands of miles away. Our lives are not confined just to the space occupied by our physical bodies. Furthermore, whether we think about it or not, our lives are integrated with the universe as a whole. We are, at the same time, individual and universal. Viewed like this, it becomes conceivable that when we are in the phase of death, we are merged with the universe and yet retain the seeds of our individuality.

An individual life in the state of ku is not necessarily at peace, just as sleep is not always restful. While alive, we have the power to change our life-condition from moment to moment in response to external influences. However, while in ku, one has no power to change one's life-condition. At the approach of death, external influences like money and power fade into insignificance. A person whose life was dominated by greed may become tortured by frustration. Someone who spent his life seeking power may become terrified. A person who has lived a wise and fulfilled life may feel contented and satisfied with his achievements.

Our dominant state of life remains fixed in death and we are reborn into that same life-state. We are born into circumstances which are exactly right for us. So, from the Buddhist point of view, conception involves not only the sexual union of the parents, but also the entity of life of the potential child.

Life is complex. However, for the sake of clarification, suppose someone was extremely selfish and misused other people's love for these selfish ends. This would be making the cause to be unloved in the future. Hence, this person may be reborn to parents who are undemonstrative and never cuddle their child. In later life, the person might think it was the parents' fault that he or she is unable to develop a loving relationship. However, in the light of Buddhism, it was the child who determined this outcome as an effect of causes made in a past life. To put it in another way, these circumstances offer the opportunity to change this selfish tendency. This is not to make a moral judgement, but to acknowledge that selfishness is small-minded and makes us unhappy. A large part of happiness is to be able to give freely to others. Of course, tension in child/parent relationships are also determined by the life-condition of the parents. So, the right circumstances for birth depend on parents and child as well as environment.

There are innumerable different circumstances for birth: rich or poor; man or woman; race and culture. Individual karma accounts for these. While alive, we have the opportunity to shape our own future through the causes we make. If we believe that life is eternal and that the effects of these causes continue, there is all the more reason to challenge our weaknesses in this lifetime. Belief in the eternity of life gives us perspective and security. Fear of all kinds stems ultimately from fear of death. Expressing our true humanity and savouring each moment is real happiness.

"Cycles of life and death can be likened to the alternating periods of sleep and wakefulness. Just as sleep prepares us for the next day's activity, death can be seen as a state in which we rest and replenish ourselves for new life. In this light, death should be acknowledged, along with life, as a blessing to be appreciated. The Lotus Sutra, the core of Mahayana Buddhism, states that the purpose of existence, the eternal cycles of life and death, is to be "happy and at ease." It further teaches that sustained faith and practice enable us to know a deep and abiding joy in death as well as in life, to be equally "happy and at ease" with both. Nichiren describes the attainment of this state as the "greatest of all joys."

If the tragedies of this century of war and revolution have taught us anything, it is the folly of believing that reform of external factors, such as social systems, is the linchpin to achieving happiness. I am convinced that in the coming century, the greatest emphasis must be placed on fostering inwardly-directed change. In addition, our efforts must be inspired by a new understanding of life and death". (Daisaku Ikeda, A New Humanism, p.153)

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This page was last modified on Sunday, August 20, 2006.