仏教と差別 : 前世の業の報いはあるのか(<特集>社会福祉実習教育の10年と今後の展望)

概要

論文の詳細を見る
The traditional Indian idea of karma (retribution; karman in Sanskrit) and samsara (metempsychosis; samsara in Sanskrit) had been introduced from India to the vast areas of Asia with the wide spread of Buddhism. This idea is generally regarded as follows : The souls of all sentient beings continually transmigrate. What one did in his former life has an effect on his current life, and the state of one's life in the next world is decided by what he does in this life. This idea explains neatly the causes of the sufferings which are not explicable rationally. But this interpretation of karma and samsara is apt to cause a lapse into fatalism as represented by the following remark: "Since the miserable plight you are in is punishment for sins you committed in a former life, you have to resign yourself to your fate." We should be reminded that this kind of fatalism was adamantly rejected by the Buddha. The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the idea of karma and samsara in Buddhism and to show its proper interpretation.
山口県立大学の論文
2004-03-20