As is well known, Buddhism teaches about karma and reincarnation, and the reincarnation of sentient beings does not end in one or two lifetimes. It is possible that reincarnation occurs in every life. According to Buddhist doctrine, sentient beings do not have a "beginning" or "end" node throughout the entire cycle of reincarnation, just like a circular ring without a fixed "beginning" or "end" node. So, why does Buddha say that there are three generations of causality and reincarnation?

Many people interpret this as' three generations' referring to passing away, the present life, and the future life. This explanation is not wrong, but it does not align with the Buddha's original meaning of 'three lifetimes'.

The past life has passed, and no one knows what the past will be like. The future life has not yet arrived, and no one can say what the future will be like. Simply and roughly speaking of the cycle of three lifetimes is obviously inappropriate. What if a sentient being has passed away without creating karma and is not in the cycle of the six realms, but now voluntarily reincarnates to save others?

Another example is that a living being is a human being in the present world, and as a result, this life will prove the Arohango position. Then, his future life will not be reincarnated. Then, where will the third reincarnation come from?

So, it is not appropriate to use death, present life, and future life to explain the causal cycle of the three lifetimes.

So, why does Buddha say that there are three lifetimes of causality instead of multiple lifetimes? Here, I, Shengzhong, would like to share some viewpoints of Buddhist researchers.

First of all, let's talk about the viewpoint: The three lifetimes mentioned by Buddha are determined by twelve causes and conditions, which are called "karmic arising". The twelve causes and conditions together form the cycle of karma and reincarnation, which means breaking free from the cycle of reincarnation.

The cycle of reincarnation composed of twelve causes and conditions does not have a "beginning" or "end" node, but the twelve causes and conditions appear in the three lifetimes of sentient beings. We assume to use the first, second, and third to illustrate, then:

The causes and conditions of the first life are ignorance and action

The causes and conditions of the second generation are: recognition, fame and color, six in, touch, receive, love, take, and have

The cause and effect of the third generation is: life and death

The basic principle of the three-stage causal cycle is as follows:

The "life" of the second reincarnation is determined by the "ignorance" and "actions" of the first reincarnation. Therefore, 'ignorance and action' are referred to as the 'past two causes'.

Wuming is ignorance, (lingering feeling);

Action is action, creation, (lodging).
 
Driven by the sense of lodging, there will be lodging karma, and with lodging karma, reincarnation will occur. After reincarnation, the "consciousness" is driven by the karmic attachment, followed by reincarnation. At the moment of reincarnation, it already possesses the subtle five aggregates, but "consciousness" still dominates.

Then, in the mother's womb, the mind and body are formed, which is called 'name and color'. Next is the acquisition of senses, which is known as the 'six in' stage.

For humans, the stage from leaving the mother's womb to the age of three is called 'touching'. At this stage, people are unable to distinguish between good and evil, good and bad, and right and wrong, based on their roots, environment, and consciousness.

The next stage of being able to distinguish between good and evil, good and bad, right and wrong, but not having sexual desires, is' receiving '. That is, the stage before human physiological maturity, which is also known as the childhood stage.

Then the physiology gradually matures, giving rise to the desire for love, and even the desire for lust. This stage is called "love". And the "love" of the second life is equivalent to the "ignorance" of the first life. That is to say, "love" and "ignorance" are similar, both being foolish and ignorant, which can lead to the creation of karma and even behavior.

Then, the desire becomes increasingly strong, wanting fame, money, status, and so on. This stage is called 'taking'. The same goes for 'taking', which is equivalent to the 'ignorance' of the first life, because taking will give rise to the heart and behavior of creation.
 
Afterwards, it is through the karma of "taking" that many karmic rewards are accumulated (that is, the stage of "taking" will create many karmic rewards, which will determine the next life's karmic rewards), and this stage is "having". Having "is equivalent to passing away, and at this stage, the lodging industry is basically predetermined.

With the second's "love, take, have", the third's reincarnation is basically determined. So it is called "love, taking, and having" as the "three causes of the present".

Now the three factors determine the "birth" of the third generation, called "Jieshengshi", which is equivalent to the "consciousness" of the third generation. The third reincarnation will also go through the complete process of the second reincarnation: recognition, fame and color, six in, touch, receive, love, take, and have. That is to say, the "birth" of the cycle of twelve causes and conditions is equivalent to the "consciousness" of the third generation.

The result of life is old death. Buddha said that where there is life, there must be death, and the result of life must be death. If you want to not die, you will not live. The "old death" in the cycle of twelve causes and conditions is equivalent to the "name and color, six entrances, touch, and reception" of the third generation.

Then 'love, take' is equivalent to the 'ignorance' of the first life, and 'have' is equivalent to the 'action' of the first life. In this way, the tail and head are connected, and the cycle of the three reincarnations repeats itself in this way.

So, we Buddha speak of the cycle of karma in three lifetimes, not multiple lifetimes. This is a theory based on the theory of twelve causes and conditions.