The word reincarnation actually isn't used within Theravadin Buddhism by the translators, they use the word rebirth. Because reincarnation, as it is defined, or as it's used or understood commonly, means that there's a kind of soul that is being reincarnated in different bodies. Buddhism wants to get away from that concept, because it sees us as a changing thing, our consciousness as a changing thing, rather than the same thing that gets reincarnated. So they use the word rebirth. Whether that's better or worse, I really can't say, that's just what's used.
I personally do believe it's probably true that we're going to get reborn. It makes sense to me as a theory, as a practical answer to why we are born different. To me, the answer of God looking down and just choosing that person to die in three days or that person to be tortured by their uncle or that person to live 90 years, now to me that doesn't hold too well. But the thought of rebirth based on our Kamma, something we've done in the past, that we've earned what we've got now, it makes sense to me.
All of you are here now. Buddhism says you've earned this. You've earned this wonderful opportunity. This is a tourist island; how many farangs (foreigners) are on the island today? Let's guess, 5000? 50 are here? Hmm! Are you a bunch of special people or what? A lot of them don't want this, a lot of them couldn't care less. A lot of them will speak badly of what's happening here, we're all jerks. "Religion? You must be suffering!" I used to say the same thing when I was eighteen! To imagine that I would end up being a Dhamma teacher! Living in a monastery, bowing to a Buddha statue! When I was eighteen, forget it! That was for weak people! Absolutely forget it. No, you couldn't have found anyone more opposite to who I am now if you looked back at me when I was eighteen.
OK, rebirth, yes it makes sense. It makes sense that we've earned this, because we've seen in the law of Kamma, moment to moment, that we do earn what we get. So, maybe we've earned this particular experience from our past life, the amount of good Kamma, our Parami growth. Here's some examples of people with different Parami growth.
All of you are now doing at least your second retreat, many of you have done many more than that, some of you have practiced with us for over ten years. Great! Now often in between retreats we're eating lunch and one or two people come up on a motorbike. Vroom! Farangs. They pull in the driveway, they look around, and they wonder, "Where am I? This isn't the waterfall! What happened?" And they pull out a map. One of these assistants goes over and starts telling them, "Yeah right, this is not the waterfall, this is Wat Kow Tahm." And all they want to know then is, "Where is the waterfall?" And the assistant says something or other, and off they go down the hill. For some people that's the closest they get to this teaching. Now somebody else comes up the hill on the motorbike, finds out they're lost, and just wonders, "What is this place anyhow? I'm here, so what's this?" They ask the assistant a few things, get a few answers, and say, "Oh, interesting" and go back down the hill. Someone else comes up the hill lost, finds out what it is, has a little walk around, gets on their bike and goes down the hill. Someone else comes up the hill, has a walk around, looks at the board, but doesn't read it. The next person comes up, walks around, reads the board, but doesn't care. The next person reads the board, signs up for the retreat ("This is a good idea"), but they don't come. The next person comes for registration, but gets scared and doesn't register.
OK, you can see, this is Parami growth. This is indicating to me, if Buddhism is true, that where people "are at" is according to their past Kamma. That's how close they get. That's it. Maybe the person who read the board and left will sign up in their next life. Maybe it takes them another life before they show up. Maybe it will take them fifteen lifetimes before they do the retreat, I don't know. It makes sense though. And in that sense, I have a belief in the rebirth theory. But once again, I don't hold to it totally rigidly either, in the sense that I'm going to say it's absolutely true. It just makes sense.