If one's consciousness ends when the body dies, that's fine; When the impermanence of life comes, will the mind of a living being end naturally? No, it won't! We Buddhists know that as long as we are not out of samsara, our mind will be like a cicada shedding its shell, just changing its shell and continuing in another body. And the mind that continues over and over again is samsara.

Why is "reincarnation" used to refer to the process of repetitive cycles of life? Just like a wheel turning, at first you can clearly see the point from which the wheel starts, but after a long time, you can't see its starting point clearly, just keep repeating the rotation and can't stop. The same is true of our lives, unless sometimes we have a space to feel clearly because of excessive pain or excessive happiness, most of the time we rotate with our troubles and let life disappear in a state of ambiguity.

We may be reborn upward to the three good realms of heaven, the asura path, and humanity because of the abundance of good fortune. When the good fortune is not enough, it begins to fall down again, and is reincarnated into the three evil realms such as the path of life, the path of hungry ghosts, and the path of hell. As long as we have attachment to the self, we will continue to reincarnate. The so-called "reincarnation side" means that if one day you really realize that reincarnation is the repetition of the same process over and over again, and then you really let go of the cause of reincarnation that is "mainly attached to the self", then there may be a boundary of termination.

Because of ignorance, sentient beings fall into the path of life. It can be roughly divided into those who live in the sea and those who live on land. There are millions of species of creatures in the sea, and there are countless of them. If you have the opportunity to visit the aquarium or the sea world, you will know how strange the underwater world is! Those beings who grow in the water are often large and eat small, and many of them will be captured by humans. And the beings who live on land or can fly in the air are even more powerful and bully the weak, and some have to suffer from all kinds of sufferings such as hunting and killing by humans, and spend their lives in fear and ignorance. As for the animals raised by humans, such as cows, horses, sheep, and other animals, sometimes they have to do heavy work such as plowing the fields and carrying them, and when they are disobedient, they are served with whips, and they are slaughtered and eaten when they are old and useless.

Animals that are pampered by people, although they can live a relatively comfortable life, are not guaranteed, and there is a possibility of being abandoned at any time. Some animals may be better off and can meet a loving owner, but they still can't practice like humans. The most imitating animal is the parrot, and there is a way to teach them to recite two or three Buddha names, but to make it understand what "Nam no Amitabha" means, if you talk about it for a lifetime, it will not be able to understand it.

In any case, it is very painful for sentient beings to be limited by their bodies and the obstacles of ignorance, and they have no way to cultivate! We said that in samsara, all sentient beings have been our parents, and the sentient beings of the Pathway are the most common sentient beings with our physical eyes, so we should not have the intention of killing, but treat them with compassion.

Knowing the suffering of sentient beings with the three negative realms, and knowing that greed and anger can lead to the suffering consequences of all kinds of negative pleasures, when studying Buddhism, we should cut off the source of these sufferings and develop a strong compassion for sentient beings who are reborn in the negative realms.

In humanity, according to the nature of suffering, it can be divided into three fundamental sufferings: becoming suffering (bad suffering), suffering suffering, and doing suffering; In addition, there are eight kinds of suffering, such as the suffering of birth, the suffering of old age, the suffering of illness, the suffering of death, the suffering of resentment of the monks, the suffering of love and separation, the suffering of the evil and the suffering of the body, and the suffering of not seeking (seeking no suffering).

Three kinds of fundamental suffering

1. Becoming bitter (bad bitter). When we encounter impermanence, all peace and happiness disappear and are replaced by troubles and pain. The life that was originally stable became no longer stable, the original comfortable days became no longer comfortable, and the status that originally enjoyed power and fame suddenly became poor and lowly. We taste pain because of change, and these states are called becoming bitter (bad suffering).

Second, bitterness. Suffering is a bit like a disaster, or a house leak that happened to rain overnight. One kind of suffering came, and before it was finished, another suffering followed. It's like a family where the father is unemployed, the mother is sick, and the child is still very young and has no money to pay the rent. This kind of situation where the previous suffering does not go away and the subsequent suffering comes back is called suffering, that is, it means suffering on top of suffering.

3. Suffering. Doing suffering is the root of becoming bitter (bad) and suffering. We think that we don't feel pain right now, but in fact everything we enjoy or do has a cause for suffering. It's like getting a bowl of rice, from sowing, irrigation, fertilization, spraying pesticides, etc., I don't know how many little lives are harmed. Pazu Rinpoche said, "One bowl of tsampa, half a bowl of worms." If you think about it, eating tsampa is like eating the powder of an insect. By analogy, eating, dressing, housing, enjoying wealth, and so on have actually become the causes of sinful karma, and what we do is inseparable from the actions of sinful karma. Therefore, all the things that we are happy and happy on the surface actually contain the cause of suffering, and they all have the nature of suffering.

The eight branches are bitter

One of the most intimate feelings of human beings occurs in the body, and the other is generated in the heart. The most obvious changes that occur in the body are the four kinds of sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, and death, and in the heart there are four kinds of sufferings of resentment, love and separation, what you can't ask for (can't ask for it), and what you don't want (you can't ask for it), and what you don't want to be.

1. Suffering. Every mortal is born from the mother's womb, and at birth, the mother endured the danger and pain of losing her life to give birth to us. And when a person is born from the womb to the birth, there will be all kinds of changes in the mother's womb and all kinds of suffering, which are recorded in great detail in the Buddhist scriptures. When the fetus is about to come out of the mother's body, not only the mother, but also the fetus has to endure the pain of birth. If it is unfortunate, there is even the possibility that both mother and child will die. Although many people come into the world safely and rejoice in the arrival of the baby, mothers and babies who experience this kind of pregnancy and birth pain will have to pass the dangerous tests of life!

Second, the old bitterness. No one is born without growing old. Every minute and every second, human cells are growing, changing, and aging at any time. Historically, Qin Shi Huang sought the elixir of immortality, and even today, with the progress of science, many anti-aging drugs have also been invented. Women, in particular, find it difficult to accept the fact of old age, so there are beauty and makeup products on the market, or the use of various medical techniques to maintain people's youthful beauty. In fact, no matter how long these technologies or products can maintain their youth, as long as they are alive, people will slowly age.

Why are people so afraid of aging? Because people are old, in addition to the loss of youth and beauty, physical strength has also begun to decline, the eyes have become presbyopia, the ears have begun to hear hard, the teeth are slowly shaking, and the hair has turned yellow and white. Gradually, my brain became clearer, and my movements were no longer agile, and I became more and more slow. When the body's spirit becomes weaker and weaker, there is a fear of death. People are most likely to get sick when they are old, and the pain of old age will also come with illness.

3. Sickness and suffering. Being sick is not the preserve of the elderly. Human beings are the physical body of the four major combinations, and ordinary people will get sick as long as the four major imbalances or external infections are affected. Sickness makes no difference between people, from infants, young children, teenagers, prime of life to old age, whether poor or rich, as long as they are sick, they are at the mercy of doctors and diseases. Sickness is very painful, because the pain is in one's own body, and no matter how close to oneself it is, no one can bear it for you. There is a saying that "there is no filial son in front of the bed for a long time", people who have been sick for a long time, cannot afford to be seriously ill, and cannot be treated, not only the patient suffers, but even others are very hard, all kinds of troubles and the ugly side of human nature will appear, which is very pitiful!

Fourth, death is bitter. Among the four major sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death, although the suffering of death is placed at the end, it can actually happen to anyone at any time. There is a saying that "the coffin does not necessarily contain the elderly", some people die at birth, some people die when they are young, and some people encounter accidents in the prime of life...... People will end their lives in different ways of dying at any possible time, because of any possible factor. It's just that the length of each person's life and the state of death will vary according to karmic cause and effect, and the pain of death will also be different.

Death is an inaccessible experience for those who are alive in this world, and as such, the pain of death is foreign to the living. When death comes, in addition to the physical pain that is constantly changing, the most serious is the fear and panic of the consciousness. Because when ordinary people are about to die, the good and evil of many lives will become the factor that determines where to be reincarnated.

Some people do not believe in the idea of reincarnation, and believe that Buddhism uses the relationship between good and evil retribution and reincarnation to intimidate people. In fact, no matter whether you accept the concept of reincarnation or which religion you believe in, the retribution of good and evil and the cycle of life and death are unavoidable facts, and as long as you are living beings, you must face them.

Fifth, resentment will be bitter. We often encounter people in our lives who are unkind to us and even hurt us. The possessions we own or everything else are often invaded, stolen and robbed by those around us, and we feel insecure and fearful. In addition, we have to be with people we don't like, things we are afraid of, and we can't stay away from them. These are the "bitterness of resentment".

Sixth, love and leave suffering. Love, parting from suffering, and resentment will be bitter, just the opposite. Our loved ones often fail to be with us because of the impermanence of the world and the changes in the cycle of reincarnation, which must be separated from each other in life or death. Whether you are close to your parents, children, siblings, or even friends and family, it is difficult not to face these pains. Sometimes, you can't enjoy all the possessions you have forever, and you have to leave you when you are impermanent or when death comes. These are love, parting from suffering.

7. What you ask for must not be bitter (ask for no suffering). People's whole life is in the pursuit of comfort and well-being, the pursuit of delicious food, comfortable houses, higher education, resounding reputation, etc., in the pursuit of the process, most people are very hard. Hopefully, hard work will pay off, but there are also many things that are not always rewarded. Hard work doesn't necessarily pay off. There are also people who work hard all their lives, and although they get everything they want, they often suffer from it. Just as some tycoons are kidnapped because they are too rich, high-ranking officials are reduced to civilians or prisoners because of political changes.

A lot of impermanent changes make "what you can't ask for" (can't ask for) become a kind of pain, and even "getting" is also a kind of pain! But if we suffer in pursuit of the suffering of liberation from samsara, this suffering will definitely give you something to gain, because what you get from suffering for the sake of practicing in the Dharma is a blessing that will never go away.

8. Suffering from evil. Things that you don't like or dislike often come to you, and they are called evil suffering. All the people in the world don't like suffering, but they have to endure many painful things. Because of karma, some people are unwilling to do bad things, but when they are forced by bad people, they have to break the law, and they will eventually be punished by the law; Some people don't like to kill, but when war breaks out, they are forced to kill. There are too many things in the world that you are not happy with, but you must face and accept them, which is the evil and suffering.

When we develop bodhichitta, we all make a vow to benefit ourselves and others, so that all sentient beings can be liberated from suffering, so that they can temporarily receive the blessings of heaven and man and the ultimate attainment of Buddhahood in the future. The basis for achieving these blessings is that we must first understand the existence of the suffering of sentient beings before we can empathize with them and develop compassion! When compassion arises, we can find the root cause of suffering, and then we can cut off the root cause of suffering. That's why when we make vows, we always say, "May all sentient beings be free from suffering and its causes forever." "It's not just about wanting sentient beings to be free from suffering, but also from the causes of suffering. When we meditate on the sufferings of the six realms of samsara, we will know that there is no real happiness in samsara, and we will want to practice the Dharma in our hearts, and we will be able to have faith in cause and effect, we will be able to let go of all kinds of attachments to this life, and we will be able to develop compassion for sentient beings. So, if you don't have a solid understanding of the suffering of samsara, you have to keep meditating.

We suffer because we are not humble enough to let go of our self-knowledge and arrogance to see and recognize impermanence. We always think that the self can control everything, including cause and effect, and this is a blind way of thinking, so the Buddhist scriptures say, "Abandon the original and go to the end, and turn sentient beings upside down." If we can contemplate reincarnation with correct knowledge, we will understand that "all things are like dreams and bubbles", and that everything that is in harmony with causes and conditions is impermanent, and they will also be exhausted because of the convergence and extinction of conditions, without exception. For the attachment in the heart, learn to let go, and the pain will be much less.