Definition of "samsara" []

• Hinduism & Buddhism The eternal cycle of birth, suffering, death, and rebirth. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In Buddhism, we strive to gain liberation from these uncontrollably recurring cycles, which we call samsara, and to go on to become enlightened Buddhas so that we can be of best help to everyone."
• "To which a Buddhist might reply: yes, indeed, better never to have started the march of History, better never to have become involved in samsara, better to have stayed inert, with one's toe in one's mouth, partaking in nothingness."
• "Hindu culture believes in a cycle of birth, death and rebirth, called samsara, whereby how we've behaved in the past affects how we live now."