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Deshal asked:

Hello, I was just wondering something about Buddhist philosophy and in particular rebirth. How could
rebirth take place and yet we see a continuous increase in human population, particularly the sudden
surge in the last 100 years or so?

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Rebirth is a religious idea, that means it addresses a fundamental philosophical question of
existence. Actually the idea of rebirth addresses a nexus different questions. It is a synthetic or
integrative idea. The idea of rebirth is certainly not descriptive, as your question seems to suggest,
nor is it 'explanatory' in the theoretical sense (that theory purports to explain things, which it only does
for a certain kind of mentality). In other words rebirth is not a demographic concept, nor can it be said
to 'take place' in the everyday literal sense of these words as you use them, as if about some 'thing'.

I am faced with a difficulty of saying something (explaining?!) rebirth. Rebirth presupposes every
other Buddhist concept and can only be properly understood together with them. The abstraction of
rebirth into the Western context conceives it in terms of our psychology and religious bent (which is
basically monotheistic). In Buddhism, however, (this is going to be very rudimentary) everything is
reborn.That does not mean every thing.It means every deed or action will give rise to other deeds
and actions elsewhere. In this way everything is reborn. And even the first deed or action is itself a
consequence of prior actions, itis a rebirth, including your question and my answer. You are not the
source of your question and "I" am not the source of my answer. Scary hey.

Buddhists experience no suffering and no rebirth (they are one and the same) once they are trained
in the Path that leads to them.

Matthew Del Nevo
http://www.sicetnon.com