saMsAra = Reincarnation?

[pslvax!siva!sadhu at UCSD.EDU]

Aloha:

i know this thread is probably long dead (chuckle), but alas, my home
machine has been dead too, and it just came back to life
whereupon i found this:

...................
|I would agree that it is wrong to translate reincarnation/rebirth as saMsAra.
|Etymologically, there is no doubt a connection, but in terms of usage, I very
|much doubt the effectiveness of the translation. "punarjanma" is in fact used
|quite often, but it carries with it an implied reference to "punarmaraNa" -
|redeath, if you will. 
|
|"saMsAra" as used in a Vedantic context is probably better understood as 
|worldly life, not just the world. The material, external world is never 
|called saMsAra, to the best of my knowledge. 
|
|S. Vidyasankar
|...............
 

thought you might find this interesting:

	SAMASARA:  "Flow."  The phenomenal world.  Transmigratory
	existence, fraught with impermanence and change.  The cycle of
	birth, death, and rebirth; the total pattern of successive
	earthly lives experienced by a soul.  A term similar to
	PUNARJANMA (reincarnation), but with broader connotations.  See:
	evolution of the soul, karma, punarjanma, reincarnation.

	PUNARJANMA: "Reincarnation." From punah, "again and again,", 
	and janma, "taking birth." See: reincarnation.


 From 'Dancing with Siva', Lexicon, pages 806, 790, by Sivaya
Subramuniyaswami.

Om Namasivaya
sadhu