Does it matter to Dharma Practice if Rebirth is true or false?

The question “Is rebirth true or false?” can never be answered with absolutely certainty. In the same way as we can never answer with certainty about the existence of heaven or god from within this universe.  The questions are perhaps not meaningless, but they seem close.  At most we can have a faith.

Some faiths are backed up by science and experience and reason, others stand blindly on their own while  all else must stand on them. But they are all faiths, from the extremely scientific and empirical to the mystical and unsupported.

So this fact that we must have some degree of faith in our reasonings about rebirth means there is no certainty. It is a pointless discussion that may be fun and interesting, but in terms of  Dharma Practice  it is just wasting time.

This does not mean  that there are no serious and interesting and relevant questions about the issue of Rebirth in Buddhism. Perhaps , for Buddhists, the important metaphysical question is not “Is there rebirth?” but, “How would it change my life if I knew rebirth was false?”

Consider these two grounding metaphysical personal beliefs:

• A: This is my only life, it is short and rare.
• B: This is one of my countless lives, when I have left this life I will be reborn in the next life.

I don’t think we have to commit to either to see how a belief in one is incompatible with a belief in other.  They are not the same belief, in any sense.

Now you can ask yourself is this Question:

“If I believe  A will my life be morally, mentally and spiritually different than if I believe B?”

If you think that A and B would lead to comparable moral, mental and spiritual lives then it shouldn’t matter to you if Rebirth is true or false. If you think it does matter then it seems sensible that your Dharma practice contains an investigation of your reasons for believing in Rebirth or not, and your understanding of why it is important to you.

Incidentally, Buddhism is different from the Abrhamic religions and antitheists who hold that it matters very much if  followers believe  in A or B.