Samsara is derived from “to flow together”, to go or pass through states, to wander between life and death.
The concept of samsara (along with karma, reincarnation, and moksha) was likely first developed in India by non-Aryan people outside of the caste system. The spiritual ideas of these people greatly influenced later Indian religious thought. Buddhism and Jainism are continuations of this tradition, and the early Upanishadic movement was influenced by it. Reincarnation was adopted from this religious culture by Brahmin orthodoxy, and Brahmins first wrote down scriptures containing these ideas in the early Upanishads.
The Sanskrit word “Samsara” is the root for the Malay word “sengsara”, which means suffering.
Tibetan Wheel of Life
represents the essence of Buddhist life and the endless cycles of Samsara, or impermanence. It also shows the path out of Samsara, in the form of the Buddha standing on a cloud.
out of samsara
Nirvana means “liberation” and refers to liberation from the realm of samsara. In many ways, the buddhist goal of Nirvana is similar to the Hindu goal of moksha. It is the way out of samsara–out of the cycle of rebirth and redeath. It is accomplished through meditation, and it is usually done by removing oneself from the regular activities of life. However, there is a key difference. Whereas Hinduism described moksha as the realization of the unity of the individual (atman) and the cosmic essence (Brahman), Buddhism sees nirvana as the extingushing of desire and hence the elimination of suffering. In Theravada Buddhism, this is the only religious goal and the person who experiences it is called an arhat. The single aim of Theravada is to help people become arhats and thus release them from samsara at their death. One then goes to a state of being outside (or beyond) the realm of samsara, that is, a state of being that has no form and no place.
Only a human being can attain nirvana. No other state of being, including that of god, can do so. While this is understandable for the three “evil” states of being, this is surprising for the gods. One explanation is that the gods live in such a state of bliss that they cannot conceive of suffering, and thus cannot realize the truth of the Four Noble Truths. Thus they must die and be reborn in human form to attain liberation.
Samsara
According to the Buddha, the beginning point of Saṃsāra is not evident, just as there is no beginning point to a circle. All beings have been suffering in Saṃsāra for an unimaginable period, and they continue to do so until the attainment of Nirvana. The Assu Sutta of the Pali Canon provides an explanation of our existence in Saṃsāra:
At Savatthi. There the buddha said: “From an inconstruable (sic) beginning comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmigrating & wandering on. What do you think, monks: Which is greater, the tears you have shed while transmigrating & wandering this long, long time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated from what is pleasing — or the water in the four great oceans?”
“As we understand the Dhamma taught to us by the Blessed One, this is the greater: the tears we have shed while transmigrating & wandering this long, long time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated from what is pleasing — not the water in the four great oceans.”
“Excellent, monks. Excellent. It is excellent that you thus understand the Dhamma taught by me.
“This is the greater: the tears you have shed while transmigrating & wandering this long, long time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated from what is pleasing — not the water in the four great oceans.
“Long have you (repeatedly) experienced the death of a mother. The tears you have shed over the death of a mother while transmigrating & wandering this long, long time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated from what is pleasing — are greater than the water in the four great oceans.
“Long have you (repeatedly) experienced the death of a father… the death of a brother… the death of a sister… the death of a son… the death of a daughter… loss with regard to relatives… loss with regard to wealth… loss with regard to disease. The tears you have shed over loss with regard to disease while transmigrating & wandering this long, long time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated from what is pleasing — are greater than the water in the four great oceans. “Why is that? From an inconstruable beginning. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmigrating & wandering on. Long have you thus experienced stress, experienced pain, experienced loss, swelling the cemeteries — enough to become disenchanted with all fabricated things, enough to become dispassionate, enough to be released.”
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