Cook: Heredity Denied by Buddhists 



475 



HEREDITY VERSUS TRANSMIGRATION 



To those who are following the 

 progress of genetics, or the modern 

 scientific study of heredity in plants 

 and animals, it may be of interest to 

 know that heredity is challenged as a 

 fact and that even the idea of heredity 

 dismissed as a delusion, by exponents 

 of a great Oriental religion. A conflict 

 is seen between the modern ideas of 

 heredity and the ancient belief in the 

 transmigration of souls, which is the 

 foundation of the Buddhist philosophy 

 of escape from the world of sense. The 

 idea of the soul passing through many 

 successive births, from one stage of 

 creation to another, has at least a super- 

 ficial similarity to evolution, but the 

 Hindoo idea of birth is different from 

 ours. The infant child, or even the 

 young animal, is not a new creature 

 derived from its parents, but a "soul" 

 that has passed already through in- 

 numerable existences, and is now enter- 

 ing another, determined by its merits 

 in the previous stages. The idea of 

 heredity, of a new creature combining 

 hereditary characteristics of the paren- 

 tal families, is not consistent with the 

 belief in "lasting individuality of the 

 soul," through the endless stages of 

 transmigration imagined by Buddhists. 



A REVIEW OF BUDDHIST BELIEF 



With the belief in transmigration 

 accepted as a fact the whole back- 

 ground of human existence is changed, 

 and all of our usual reckonings reversed. 

 For the genuine Buddhist, life is not a 

 blessing to be prized and developed 

 but a grievous burden to be escaped 

 at any cost, even to a complete nega- 

 tion of all the "values" that we recog- 

 nize as motives of investigation and 

 progress. It is interesting to follow 

 this complete divergence of Buddhist 

 thought that leads to a denial of the 

 facts of heredity, and seeks an end to 

 "birth-renewal" as the highest good, 

 and ultimate goal of human endeavor. 



"What is Sansara? 



Sansara is the world we live in, the 

 world of illusion, error, guilt, and sor- 

 row, of birth and decay, of endless 

 change, disappointment and pain, of 



the never-ending circle of transmigra- 

 tion from which no escape is possible 

 until the redeeming light of true knowl- 

 edge has dawned upon us." 



''What is the cause of sorrow, and of 

 death and birth-renewal? 



The will or desire to live (tanha), 

 inherent in every one of us, the craving 

 for individual existence either in this 

 world or another (Heaven, Paradise)." 



''How can sorrow, death, and birth- 

 renewal be overcome? 



By a free renunciation of the lust of 

 life; by a killing out of the craving for 

 individual rxistence either in this world 

 or another. Therein lies deliverance 

 this is the way to eternal peace." 



' 'Btit what is it prevents us from giving 

 up this desire of life and from attaining 

 deliverance? 



Our being ignorant, that is, our want 

 of true knowledge, our want of insight 

 into the real nature of things (avidya)." 



"This, brethren, is the grand truth 

 concerning the riddance from suffering: 



It is the extinction of the lust of life, 

 of the craving for existence : this must 

 be overcome, get rid of, rooted out 

 utterly." 



"He who keeps in the path of true 

 holiness, will safely cross this dreary 

 ocean of life, and reach the heaven of 

 eternal peace, where all suffering and 

 all birth-renewal is at an end." 



' ' What is Nirvana? 



It is a condition of heart and mind in 

 which every earthly craving is extinct ; 

 it is the cessation of every passion and 

 desire, of every feeling of ill-will, fear, 

 and sorrow." 



"Is every one able to reach Nirvana in 

 this present life? 



Only the few can do so. Most men, 

 in consequence of their acts in former 

 lives, are morally and mentally so defi- 

 cient that a great many rebirths or re- 

 incarnations are required to purify 

 them ere they can attain deliverance. 

 But whoever is in earnest may be re- 

 born under more favorable circum- 

 stances." 



"Is man^s birth-renewal only on this 

 earth? 



No; there are countless multitudes 

 of other worlds moving in space, which 



