samsara

American  

[suhm-sahr-uh] / səmˈsɑr ə /

noun

1. Buddhism. the process of coming into existence as a differentiated, mortal creature.

2. Hinduism. the endless series of births, deaths, and rebirths to which all beings are subject.

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samsara British  

/ səmˈsɑːrə /

noun

1. Hinduism the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth

2. Buddhism the transmigration or rebirth of a person

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Etymology

Origin of samsara

First recorded in 1885–90, samsara is from the Sanskrit word samsāra literally, running together

Example Sentences

At the personal level, the incentive behind amassing karma was samsara, the continuance of the soul after death and the soul’s transformation.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

This informs the belief that an individual will bear a future burden for harms committed in the present through the process of samsara, or transmigration and rebirth of the soul.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

And not only like humans: In the cycle of life known as samsara, your consciousness, or that of a loved one, might have once been born in animal form.

From New York Times • Mar. 3, 2022

In short, human beings dwell, as the Buddhists say, in the realm of samsara, bound to a repeated cycle of desire and suffering.

From Washington Post • Jan. 13, 2021

Helen Rumbelow in the Times called it "truly brilliant": "It's 'groundhog life', or samsara, depending on your low or highbrow preferences".

From The Guardian • Mar. 15, 2013