What About The Asuras?

[camerata]

The possibility of being reborn as a human, an animal, a hungry ghost, or even in a hell realm (thanks to temple murals and "hell gardens") seems to be real to most Buddhists, but no one ever mentions rebirth as an Asura, the highest of the "States of Deprivation" (Apaya). I wonder why?

See http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/loka.html for the whole cosmology.

[rockyysdt]

Rebirth as an "angry demon"?

If one subscribed to "re birth" as a "moment to moment" state of mind, rather than actually being re born as another life, then one could describe many humans as living with this character.

These could include such figures as Adolf Hitler, Stalin, Col Gaddafi, Sadam Hussein, Donald Rumsfeld to mention a few.

Edited January 18, 2012 by rockyysdt

[Polsci]

You brought up an excellent question, C.

As a Thai, I might be able to answer your question that would apply only to Thai Buddhists but not to all other Buddhists. What you already know about Buddhist practices in Thailand may make you rightly conclude that this is how Buddhism as a social and religious tradition has been passed down for generations.

Family background, economic and social status, and physical attractiveness are used as a gauge of how many karmic credits are accrued from past lives. Thai Buddhists’ merit-making is aimed at increasing karmic mileage points in the material plane. Listen closely to Thais, and you’ll hear a typical conversation about how one’s outer beauty and good family with money and connection (schools, employment, business transactions) are linked to past karma. Likewise, karmic worldly goods can be had even if one presently lacks certain items on the checklist.

Back to your question why no Thai Buddhists would wish to be born as an Asura. No one in the right mind ever wants those undesirable physical traits of the Asura. Shallow? Maybe.

No, really. Inner beauty such as calmness, honesty, generosity, and kindness is equally prized as karmic brownie points as well. So, warring Asuras do not make a good role model for sanook-loving Thai Buddhists.