Rebirth can happen into any realm or form, including those which are considered undesirable in human society. In deep meditation you can recall memories from your past lives. This can prove rebirth is a fact. Some people’s character traits come from their past lives, which they can’t remember. The law of karma and rebirth explains how people can come from different species in rebirth, and there’s not that much difference between human beings and some of the other higher animals. In Buddhism, karma is the texture of our lives. The good karma we create in this life carries on to the next life. Karma is the result of your actions in past lives and it can be a source of suffering or happiness, depending on how you use it.

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You can find the text transcription and other related information on the Ajahn Brahm Podcast website.

This dhamma talk was originally recorded using a low quality MP3 to save on file size (because internet connections were slow back then – remember dialup?) on 24th May 2003. It has now been remastered and published by the Everyday Dhamma Network, and will be of interest to his many fans. If you like the Ajahn Brahm Podcast, you may also like the Treasure Mountain Podcast and / or the Forest Path Podcast which are also produced by the Everyday Dhamma Network.

These talks by Ajahn Brahm have been recorded and made available for free distribution by the Buddhist Society of Western Australia under the Creative Commons licence. You can support the Buddhist Society of Western Australia by pledging your support via their Patreon page.