Rebirth and the Western Buddhist - Khamkoo

Preface to the Second Printing
We are brought up under an ideology that insists there
is no truth in the idea of rebirth, but when we come
into contact with Buddhist teachings we find that Buddhist
tradition has always taken the truth of rebirth as a
matter of course, and often lays great stress on it. This
clash of incompatible views. is a problem for many who
for one reason or another feel attracted to Buddhism. Few
Westerners can accept without question everything that
is taught in one of the great Buddhist traditions, but the
opposite extreme of rejecting the teaching of rebirth
altogether reduces certain systems of meditation to scattered
fragments that do not add up to a coherent
method of practice.
This essay examines the subject of rebirth from the
point of view of a Western Buddhist with scientific
training in seach of the most suitable middle path between
these two extremes. It was written at Tharpa
Choeling, Switzerland, in 1981-2, for a Buddhist magazine
(which in the event never appeared). It is basically
what scientists call a review article, not intended as a
substitute for reading the more important of the original
works, but drawing together salient points from a wide
range of literature to show what sort of overall pattern is
starting to emerge, despite all the deficiencies and uncertainties
of the data so far available.
M.A.G.W.
January 1986