Editing Karma (section)

====Rebirth====
The third common theme of karma theories is the concept of [[reincarnation]] or the cycle of rebirths (''[[saṃsāra]]'').<ref name="jbowker" />{{Sfn|Obeyesekere|2005|pp=1-2, 108, 126–128}}{{Sfn|Juergensmeyer|Roof|2011|pp=272–273, 652–654}} Rebirth is a fundamental concept of [[Reincarnation in Hinduism|Hinduism]], [[Rebirth (Buddhism)|Buddhism]], Jainism, and Sikhism.<ref name="jamesloch">James Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Rosen Publishing, New York, {{ISBN|0-8239-2287-1}}, pp 351–352</ref> Rebirth, or ''saṃsāra'', is the concept that all life forms go through a cycle of reincarnation, that is, a series of births and rebirths. The rebirths and consequent life may be in different realm, condition, or form. The karma theories suggest that the realm, condition, and form depends on the quality and quantity of karma.<ref>James Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Volume 2, Rosen Publishing, New York, {{ISBN|0-8239-2287-1}}, pp 589</ref> In schools that believe in rebirth, every living being's soul transmigrates (recycles) after death, carrying the seeds of Karmic impulses from life just completed, into another life and lifetime of karmas.<ref name="jbowker" /><ref name=Coward-Karma/> This cycle continues indefinitely, except for those who consciously break this cycle by reaching ''[[moksha]]''. Those who break the cycle reach the realm of gods, those who do not continue in the cycle.

The concept has been intensely debated in ancient literature of India; with different schools of Indian religions considering the relevance of rebirth as either essential, or secondary, or unnecessary fiction.<ref name="wkasrb" /> Hiriyanna (1949) suggests rebirth to be a necessary corollary of karma;<ref>M. Hiriyana (1949), Essentials of Indian Philosophy, George Allen Unwin, London, pp 47</ref> Yamunacharya (1966) asserts that karma is a fact, while reincarnation is a hypothesis;<ref>M Yamunacharya (1966), Karma and Rebirth, Indian Philo. Annual, 1, pp 66</ref> and Creel (1986) suggests that karma is a basic concept, rebirth is a derivative concept.<ref>Austin Creel (1986), in Editor: Ronald Wesley Neufeldt, Karma and Rebirth: Post Classical Developments, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0-87395-990-2}}, Chapter 1</ref>

The theory of 'karma and rebirth' raises numerous questions – such as how, when, and why did the cycle start in the first place, what is the relative Karmic merit of one karma versus another and why, and what evidence is there that rebirth actually happens, among others. Various schools of Hinduism realized these difficulties, debated their own formulations – some reaching what they considered as internally consistent theories – while other schools modified and de-emphasized it; a few schools in Hinduism such as [[Charvaka]]s (or Lokayata) abandoned the theory of 'karma and rebirth' altogether.<ref name=halbfass2000/><ref name=halbfass1998/><ref name="ReferenceA">Ronald Wesley Neufeldt, Karma and Rebirth: Post Classical Developments, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0-87395-990-2}}</ref><ref>A. Javadekar (1965), Karma and Rebirth, Indian Philosophical Annual, 1, 78</ref> Schools of Buddhism consider karma-rebirth cycle as integral to their theories of [[soteriology]].<ref>Damien Keown (2013), Buddhism: A very short introduction, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-966383-5}}</ref><ref>Étienne Lamotte(1936), Le traité de l'acte de Vasubandhu: Karmasiddhiprakarana, in Mélanges chinois et bouddhiques 4, pp 151–288</ref>