By this, he meant not only that human existence is occasionally painful but that all beings; humans, animals, ghosts, hell- beings, even the gods in the heavens; are caught up in samsara, a cycle of rebirth, a maze of suffering in which their actions, or karma, keep them wandering (Coomaraswamy 53). ... The Buddhists called this end of suffering nirvana and conceived of it as a cessation of rebirth, an escape from samsara. ... By performing them, individuals, through the working of karma, can seek to assure themselves rebirth in one of the heavens or a better station in life, from which th...

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• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Life is determined by the laws of karma, according to which rebirth is dependent on moral behavior in a previous phase of existence. ... The goal of existence is liberation from the cycle of rebirth and death and entrance into the indescribable state of what in Hindu texts is called moksha (liberation). ...

• Word Count: 2765
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate