Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s8.t2.3

v1.c7.s8.t2.3

The core thought of Indian philosophy of religion was formed in the Upanishad period, when the Samsara concept gradually developed into a system. At this period, Samsara was directly related to Vimukti, and closely connected with ethics. The famous theory of Samsara in Upanishad was “five stages and two approaches”. “Five stages” referred to the five Samsara stages from death to rebirth, namely, a human is cremated after death, first enters the moon, then becomes the rain, subsequently, turns into food after raining, sperm after eating food, finally enters the mother’s womb. The so-called “two approaches” referred to devayana and pitçyàna. Devayana is the road in which humans cannot return to the original world after death, while pitçyàna is the road in which humans can return to the original world following the order of the five stages after death.