(5) Excellence of the Three Birth, & Cause and Effect Theories

　　We know that in our modern age humanity lives in fear of mass destruction. Terrors and stresses of every kind threaten us everywhere and impinge upon our freedom. Why has the world deteriorated to such a state

　　 According to Buddhism, the answer lies in the fact that we human beings have lost the sense of purpose in our lives. We deny our own worth and live with hollow and illusory emotions. Our lives have become either malevolent or corrupted. We are either intoxicated with passion and desire for wealth, or maddened by vengeful violence. Material covetousness and emotional negativity lead this world towards the sombre brink of death.

　　I said: "Human beings have lost the sense of purpose in their lives and renounced their own real worth." What does this statement mean

　　 For this, I wish to give a simple explanation. Human beings view life in three different ways. These are the One Birth, Two Birth and Three Birth Theories.

　　1. The One Birth Theory

　　Nowadays, the One Birth theory of materialism has made raids into human hearts everywhere. Human beings have set their eyes on the realm of substances, considering the material world to be the only reality.

　　Under the influence of materialism people feel that life is nothing but a superficial and inconsequential affair. Birth is merely the result of ones, parents, union. It is purely the result of sexual intercourse and subsequent physical development. Death is merely the decomposition of the bodily organism. It brings the organic process to its end and then vanishes without trace. Life within this cosmos is nothing but that. Materialists recognize only the present, denying everything before birth and rejecting whatever may lie after death. With a life-view that everything ends with death, there is ultimately nowhere for one to go. This leads to extreme emptiness and boundless despair.

　　Life is toilsome, but what is it really aiming for

　　 For the inpidual

　　 The inpidual so lost and alone has nothing to hope for but a senseless life ending in death and annihilation. For his family, his country or the wider world

　　 What kind of relationship does he have with them

　　 The result of this one Birth Theory is to restrict ones, thought to the present and the temporary benefit of oneself only. One becomes selfish. Hence the more learned one is, the more deceitful one becomes. The more good words one speaks, the more evil deeds one performs. One is only thinking of personal benefits. Those of the elder generation strive toward personal desires and lust. Those of the younger generation, having abundant imaginations and vigour of youth fall into temptations and strive toward their aims without considering the righteousness of the means they use. The misdirection of their energies ends up leading us towards a cruel and ruthless world.

　　The idea of everything ending with death tragically obscures the real value of oneself. This is the One Birth Theory or the life-view of materialists. Society nowadays is being infected with this plague that makes the entire world go insane. Some people think that they are anti-materialist or anti-communist, but do not realise that their own life-views are in fact the same as those of the materialists. They also subscribe to the One Birth Theory and unwittingly succumb to its fatal notion that everything ends with death.

　　2. The Two Birth Theory

　　The Two Birth Theory is the general point of view of the polytheist and the monotheist. They believe that there will still be a future after death. As the Chinese of old said: "One dies and becomes a ghost." Those who are virtuous and have accumulated merits ascend to the realms of deities. Those who do evil deeds, or who do not have any descendants, are to becom…

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