Expert: Buddhis8 - BuddhismIS.com - 3/24/2009

Question
Hi,

Hope this finds you in the best of your health and spirts.
I am Rajendran Menon from India.

I became interested in the Buddhist way of life about two years ago after I read the path breaking book 'The Tibetan book of the Living and the Dying'. I found answers to many of my questions in the Buddhist teachings.

In this connection, I have a question.

Buddhism is based on continuity. It states that the beings are in the Samsara from an un-known beginning and it has no end. Each being goes through many births and re-births till all the negative karmas are purified and finally when all the negative karamas are purified, becomes enlighted. After one attains enlightment, theoretically there are no more re-births. My question is if this process continues, after some time ( may be millions of years) all the beings can attain enlightment and then there will not be any more beings in the samsara. Is this true ? Are new being introduced into the samsara so that the balance is kept up at all times and if so how and from where ? Buddhism does not seem to mention the original source of the beings currently in the samsara

Thank you for answering my question.

Regards

Rajendran Menon

Answer
Dear Rajendran,

The Gautama Buddha did not give any specific teaching regarding the origin of the universe or of life, the question was said to be unanswerable from the level of ordinary mundane, intelligence.
  The Buddha explains "The origin of beings revolving in Samsara (Life Cycle) being cloaked by Avijja (ignorance) is undiscoverable.

At the same time it is laid down as a natural consequence of the law of Dependant Origination, (paticca-samuppada) that in the ceaseless cycle of cause and effect there cannot be any link in the sequence that can be designated a first cause.

Some say: the origin of Samsara is the duality of thought...
  
they also say..the end point is when thought recognizes itself in its sameness and difference. will beings cease to be at that point? maybe they will start to just "be" and stop running elsewhere.

and The Buddha explains
"The origin of beings revolving in Samsara (Life Cycle) being cloaked by Avijja (ignorance) is undiscoverable."

- at the end of the day, this is a question which answer is beyond the human intellect and therefore impossible to explain in language. One must experience it directly. I wish you fruitful practice Rajendran Menon

Metta
Shozen

Further Reading:
http://www.knowbuddhism.info/2009/03/rebirth-is-unsatisfactory.html
http://www.knowbuddhism.info/2009/03/rebirth-reincarnation-and-recognition.html
http://www.knowbuddhism.info/2009/03/how-does-rebirth-happen.html
http://www.knowbuddhism.info/2009/03/mechanics-of-rebirth.html