
There are hundreds of millions of people who call themselves Buddhist. However, only 18% of Buddhists in India say they believe in reincarnation ([Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/06/29/religious-beliefs-2/#:~:text=Although%20many%20people%20might%20consider,say%20they%20believe%20in%20reincarnation.)). If you do not believe in reincarnation, and that the ultimate goal is to be freed from a cycle of death and rebirth, you do not believe in what the Buddha taught. If instead you believe Buddhism has practical application for your worldview and lots of wisdom to offer, do you not realize that you are hijacking other people's beliefs when you call yourself a Buddhist? You are probably actually an atheist or an agnostic who likes Buddhist traditions or ideas.

Yes, famous scientists and famous leaders who call themselves Buddhist completely ignore the clear emphasis of the Buddha on reincarnation and [nirvana](#nirvana), but you should be more honest than them. Instead of deliberately ignoring questions about God and the afterlife and focusing only on how to live this short life, you should confront them. See the [Atheism](./atheism) and [Agnosticism](./agnosticism) pages, which are for people who believe there is no God and people who aren't sure, respectively.


Atheist Buddhists


Buddhism is fundamentally anti-God, though some Buddhists believe in God. Why? Because the Buddha said that questions about origins and God are not important, but liberation from death and rebirth is important.

The Buddha’s dismissiveness assumes many things—chiefly for this discussion, that if there is a God, he does not care whether you seek him out. Any careful and wise person will perceive that this is a reckless and rebellious attitude. After all, if your children have any responsibility to honor you, how much more do you have a responsibility to honor your creator?

Therefore, if God is real, Buddhism is a very dangerous and false belief system. If it is not clear to you that he is, I suggest you start [here](/beliefs/Christianity#is-god-real).

### References

- [Atheism and Devotion in Buddhism](https://www.learnreligions.com/atheism-and-devotion-in-buddhism-449718)—Learn Religions.
- [What does Buddhism say about the idea of God? Best answer: "it's complicated." Are Buddhists theists, atheists or non-theists? Does it even matter?](https://buddhaweekly.com/what-does-buddhism-say-about-the-idea-of-god-best-answer-its-complicated-are-buddhists-theists-atheists-or-non-theists-does-it-even-matter/#google_vignette)—Buddha Weekly.


God or No God?


Buddhism teaches that nothing really matters as long as it points you toward enlightenment. “Buddhism is fundamentally practical,” Buddhists say, “and therefore it blurs the lines between religion and philosophy.” What Buddhists mean when they say this is that Buddhism is often taken as a way to live one's life independently of what one believes about God and the afterlife. But what needs to be pointed out is that all religions actually believe they are practical.

Muslims believe their practices will lead to heaven, and that, if true, would be a very practical concern. The difference with Buddhism is that the Buddha refused to fully explain or justify his worldview,
while giving instructions on how to live and delivering many opinions. Muhammad at least told his followers in some detail about Heaven and
how he knew what one could do to get there (apparently he was spoken to by God). The Buddha, being in India, made the assumption that the Indian view of the cycle of rebirth is true, but that is far from a universal view.

No doubt, what I have said will seem very offensive to an admirer of the Buddha, but I think that if you search his sayings, you will see that what I have said is true. Do not let the reverence for his wisdom and the constant accusations of ignorance against those who are outside blind you to his deception.


Is Buddhism Uniquely Practical?

Very different things are believed about nirvana, but only some of them explain what will actually happen once the cycle of death and rebirth (_samsara_) is escaped. Other views literally dismiss what nirvana actually results in beyond enlightenment in this world. Then of course, there are the naturalistic views that insist nothing after this life exists, which won't be addressed here.

## Dismissing the Question

Much like the Buddha's dismissal of God as an unimportant topic, it is commonly thought that what actually happens when one dies having attained nirvana is only a distraction and should not be considered. Yes, the entire goal of Buddhism is dismissed and not explained. How could anyone devote his or her life to something aimless? Seek out what is true and good instead.

## Extinguishing the Self

A common Buddhist view is that the self will be extinguished all together—and let us be plain about it: this means that you will disappear forever and no longer be aware of anything. This goal is justified with the view that the self is an illusion, and it is good to be free from illusions. How can a person with such a goal be reasoned with, I wonder?

It cannot be true that our entire experience as individuals is an illusion, because tricks (illusions) can only be played on beings with individual minds! You cannot trick a rock, or nothingness.

Just as importantly though, I truly worry for the state of a person who desires to be extinguished forever. I understand that life can be hard, but even if it never got better, nothingness would not be an improvement. No one thinks that life is meaningless when he is striving for something he believes in with all his heart. No one thinks that life is too sad and painful to endure when is happy and pain-free. There are truly good things in the world, and good experiences are not the problem—bad ones are.

There is an alternative: A perfect, eternal life where we live in a world with no temptation and no suffering whatsoever is the goal of Christians. This would be amazing, and anyone would be silly to suggest that there could be a more perfect goal. It is literally a "and they lived happily ever after story." Surely, if this is possible, it should be sought instead.


Nirvana


The Buddha assumed that the Indian gods and goddesses, along with karma and rebirth, are all true, yet we ought to examine the evidence. As the Buddha also said himself, “Do not believe in what you have heard; do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations” (_Kalama Sutta_).

## Soul or No Soul?

Reincarnation is believed in Buddhism despite [many Buddhists saying](https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/s0s8og/souls_arent_real_according_to_buddhism/) that there is no soul. If there is no soul and no memory of my past lives, in what possible sense have I been reincarnated? It seems that the only Buddhist defense is to reject the "Western view" of a soul and explain that the Buddha only rejected another type of soul. There is much disagreement, and the explanations I have seen only make things vaguer. Moving on...

## Evidence for Reincarnation

There are some challenges to reincarnation that may immediately spring to mind:

- The population has increased dramatically in recent centuries. Where were all these souls that were needed for the extra people?
- Why has this belief been mostly specific to India?
- Why does almost no one claim to remember a single thing about our supposed past lives?

Pressing on, we should acknowledge that there are many reports, notably by Dr. Ian Stevenson, of children getting uncanny details about people they claim to have been correct. This is indeed serious evidence if there is no trickery going on, but we need to consider reasonable objections, some of which I will list:

- The details about these "past lives" are still scant. No one to my knowledge has actually been born with a full memory of a past life that can be checked—only scattered bits of information.
- Failure to remember basic facts about the “past life” is apparently common, such as the high school attended and close family members’ names.
- All or most of these children are from families who believe in reincarnation, making coaching by parents a very reasonable explanation.

  - Children are highly suggestable: until recently, claiming to be a boy when you are a girl was extremely uncommon, but now, many tiny children are "choosing" to gender-swap.

- When a child gets impressive details right, he can also get some major things wrong. Isn't that extremely fishy?

As for adults, fraud is an obvious concern, as is simply knowing things and forgetting where you heard of them.

Finally, in an instance where the person really was receiving knowledge he could not have known, our conclusion does not have to be reincarnation. Belief in reincarnation cheapens this life, and as explained below, it is a system which does not make sense. Therefore, an evil spirit would love to convince people of reincarnation.

## Is Karma Flowing Between Lives Helpful or Fair?

How can one's soul be improved when at the beginning of a new life, whatever character one had is lost? And why would there be punishment in this life for transgressions in previous lives? It would not be helpful for recognizing your failings if you do not remember them. Moreover, if I am born as an animal with little understanding, how could I possibly be rewarded or punished for what I did? Would I not become stuck as an earthworm, if that's what I ended up as?

It also does not seem fair to punish a person for a previous life. If he does not remember his past life—which even a devout Buddhist must admit is the norm—and starts innocent as a child, then he might as well be a different person, though his soul may be of the same essence. If we still retained our memories and character from past lives, it would make sense for karma to flow between lives, but what fairness is there in punishing a person who started with a blank slate and chose the right path?

## Paying for Wrongs

In the karmic system, you can make up for bad actions with good actions. However, it is everyone’s duty to do good. Should doing what is your duty to do make up for rebelling and doing evil? That would be like getting a question wrong on a quiz and saying that the one you got wrong should be cancelled out by another one that you got right. Instead, because you got one wrong, your score is imperfect, and you cannot make it perfect by getting more answers correct.

Again, let us say there is a man who murders a child. He cannot make things right by being generous with his money, or any other act of decency. Even if he sacrificed his life to save someone else, does that make up for the murder of the little child? I do not think so. He has done well to turn his ways around, but he cannot undo the evil he has done. This is why Christians believe that everyone needs salvation from God himself, because we have all done wrong and cannot make up for it.

## Resources

### 📜 Articles

- [Who gets what? Assessing the reincarnation debate](https://scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0259-94222022000300010#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20foremost%20problems,former%20life%20or%20past%20existence.) by Nicholas U. Asogwa and Michael E. Onwuama.

## 🎞️ Videos

- [The Incredible Evidence for Reincarnation Thoughtfully Examined](https://youtu.be/6KvlJFZBZbc?si=itv1QmYsI0HoO5Al) by Capturing Christianity
- [Do Past Lives Prove Reincarnation is True? A Christian Response.](https://youtu.be/hpTpFpQHRCw?si=aYq14xARgB8xZP2Y) by Melissa Dougherty


Reincarnation and Karma


Buddhists believe in the teachings of the Buddha, including the Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths. The goal of religious Buddhists is nirvana, but many atheists who do not believe in any spiritual realities also call themselves Buddhists.


Buddhism

Atheist Buddhists

God or No God?

Is Buddhism Uniquely Practical?

Nirvana

Reincarnation and Karma

New Age