Which word is the Pali word for "rebirth":

by **Sobeh** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 3:10 am

I came by this list on another forum, and thought to ask the question here.

:heart:

by **David N. Snyder** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 3:38 am

You forgot "all of the above." :tongue:

But I think Punabbhava is probably best, so chose that one.

by **Sobeh** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 3:47 am

You can pick multiple... and re-vote! I set it up to be very user-friendly.

by **David N. Snyder** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 4:07 am

Sobeh wrote:You can pick multiple... and re-vote! I set it up to be very user-friendly.

Oh, okay, in that case, I'll choose a few others too. :smile:

by **Will** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 4:50 am

The dictionary mentions patisandhi also.

by **fabianfred** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:49 am

I believe the word differs depending upon which realm you are being reborn into...

by **retrofuturist** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:53 am

I like this topic already.

Metta,
Retro.

by **PeterB** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 9:03 am

Oh yes indeedy ! Thats more like it..

by **retrofuturist** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 9:50 am

Greetings,

I'm not entirely sure, so I'd value a second and third opinion here, but I think the words above (or at least, those I recognise) are actions (kamma), whereas what the English word "rebirth" commonly points to is not a volitional action itself, but the consequence of past volitional action.

Metta,
Retro.

by **Sobeh** » Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:48 pm

If that was the case, Retro, mightn't we have the Pali? Without it, I hear you claiming that rebirth is inferred from the Suttas, as opposed to declared in the Suttas, so I must be missing something (or not...).

Is it similar to Sankhara perhaps, where the word refers to the cause, effect, and process all in one?

And what of fabianfred's comment on the word used being indicative of the destination?

My own comment at this point is: without the word jati in the Pali term, the translation "re-birth" is simply wrong. Is this a matter of my ignorance of Pali?

by **retrofuturist** » Fri Aug 13, 2010 10:02 pm

Greetings Sobeh,

Sobeh wrote:If that was the case, Retro, mightn't we have the Pali? Without it, I hear you claiming that rebirth is inferred from the Suttas, as opposed to declared in the Suttas, so I must be missing something (or not...)

I'm a bit confused by the way you've structured that sentence as to exactly what you mean (maybe I need to drink this coffee I've got sitting here), but I'm suggesting there mightn't there be a Pali word that directly accords with the English notion of rebirth. That's not to say that there aren't many words that are close, or related, and I'm not denying that the English rebirth might point towards certain concepts, processes etc. that appear in the suttas, only that I'm not seeing a 1:1 correlation between any of them.

Sobeh wrote:Is it similar to Sankhara perhaps, where the word refers to the cause, effect, and process all in one?

And what of fabianfred's comment on the word used being indicative of the destination?

Interesting questions, and it would be interesting to know how the matter of tense applied to the words polled above.

Sobeh wrote:My own comment at this point is: without the word jati in the Pali term, the translation "re-birth" is simply wrong. Is this a matter of my ignorance of Pali?

Jati has various meanings, but I believe the Mahavihara tradition takes it to mean the kind of literal birth that those who use the term rebirth refer to. It would be interesting to see some of the compounds in which the word jati appears.

I would also be interested to know what the original Pali wording is for the notion we read about in the Abhidhamma literature called (in English) rebirth-linking consciousness, and how and why it's constructed as it is.

Unfortunately I come with more questions than answers, as I'm no Pali expert.

Metta,
Retro.