What The Buddha Taught: Samsara

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“'Thirst', volition, karma, whether good or bad, has one force as its effect: force to continue—to continue in a good or bad direction. Whether good or bad it is relative, and is within the cycle of continuity”(Rahula, Ch. 3) In the book, What the Buddha Taught, the notion of Karma is prevalent throughout. In the quote above, Rahula gives us insight on Samsara in Buddhism on how good and bad in one’s life and the path one chooses determines his faith. Samsara is also known as the continuity of repeated cycle of birth, suffering (dukkha), and death. Throughout the cycle of Samara, one goes through several phases that result in good or bad karma. We see that Rahula demonstrates to us the desire of one to continue to live the life we chose even after death until we reach the state of Nirvana. Through his writing, he teaches us how we constantly change during our lifetime and how the mistakes we make directly impact our karma even beyond death in a different form. …show more content…
Although Nirvana is the final state, there are several trials and tribulations that one must go through to achieve it, which involve good and bad karma. “ 'O bhikkhus, it is volition (cetana) that I call karma. Having willed, one acts through body, speech and mind. Volition is 'mental construction, mental activity. Its function is to direct the mind in the sphere of good, bad or neutral activities.” Karma is not only in your actions, but also in your direct thoughts and in your subconscious mind. The idea of reward and punishment motivates Buddhists to stay on track towards Nirvana as they know that good actions equals good karma and vice

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