A common skepticism of the Buddha’s teachings on rebirth and kamma is that he merely adapted these beliefs because they were culturally widespread. The response to this is that a) many in his day did not believe in rebirth and kamma and b) his views regarding rebirth and kamma differed significantly from those of his contemporaries (See eg DN 2). Thus, it seems plausible that these beliefs entered his teaching because of his insight into them on the night of his enlightenment and not because of cultural absorption.
However, the Buddha’s views on rebirth and kamma prior to his awakening seem to mirror his views after his awakening. This seemingly complicates the matter. Consider his remarks in e.g. the Ariyapariyesanasutta (MN 26) regarding his first two teachers, Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta:
Then it occurred to me,
Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi:
‘This teaching doesn’t lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. It only leads as far as rebirth in the dimension of nothingness.’
‘nāyaṁ dhammo nibbidāya na virāgāya na nirodhāya na upasamāya na abhiññāya na sambodhāya na nibbānāya saṁvattati, yāvadeva ākiñcaññāyatanūpapattiyā’ti.
Realizing that this teaching was inadequate, I left disappointed.
So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, taṁ dhammaṁ analaṅkaritvā tasmā dhammā nibbijja apakkamiṁ.
Then it occurred to me,
Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi:
‘This teaching doesn’t lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. It only leads as far as rebirth in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.’
‘nāyaṁ dhammo nibbidāya na virāgāya na nirodhāya na upasamāya na abhiññāya na sambodhāya na nibbānāya saṁvattati, yāvadeva nevasaññānāsaññāyatanūpapattiyā’ti.
Realizing that this teaching was inadequate, I left disappointed.
So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, taṁ dhammaṁ analaṅkaritvā tasmā dhammā nibbijja apakkamiṁ.
From these comments, the following seem to be true:
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Prior to awakening, the Buddha believed strongly in rebirth
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Prior to awakening, the Buddha had a unique view of kamma in which one’s rebirth depended highly on the mental states one cultivated during life.
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Prior to awakening, the Buddha believed even the highest possible destinations after death were impermanent.
These beliefs seem uncannily similar to the Buddha’s unique conception of kamma and rebirth after his awakening. The obvious question follows: why is this? It would appear to reduce the significance and uniqueness of the Buddha’s direct insight into these matters under the Bodhi tree if he already held quite strong confidence in these beliefs. And consequently, the skepticism I began with seem unfortunately strengthened. It is also surprising that the Buddha already recognizes nibbana as the supreme goal in these texts.
A few possibilities:
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The Early Buddhist understanding of kamma and rebirth was simply a belief the Buddha absorbed from his society and then altered somewhat and thus not born of any special insight. This would make taking on these beliefs less justified.
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The Buddha somehow arrived at a correct understanding of kamma and rebirth without insight, but in some other means that is still reliable (e.g. past life knowledge).
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Through an unlikely coincidence, the Buddha happened to hold the correct view prior to awakening and then had those views confirmed through direct insight.
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The biographical sections of the Sutta Pitaka are not reliable in this case. This raises major difficulties for the accuracy of the Suttas as a whole in describing the Buddha’s life and beliefs.
All of these possibilities seem to carry varying drawbacks vis-a-vis belief in the Buddha’s teaching as found in the EBTs.
What do you think?