In Buddhism do some one give Nirvana like a gift/result of
devotion?
No, it is the result of practicing the Noble Eightfold
Path by one's effort. Nirvana cannot be given.
It seems many people follow Buddhism but no one is guaranteed
Nirvana even following all these practises.But given a chance of
Nirvan provided you follow Noble Path.
Actually, the Buddha does give guarantee that one will certainly
attain liberation by practicing the teachings. The problem is that
we are not putting enough effort, most people are not bothered with
practicing. Many people have attained liberation and many continue
to do so.
His assurance:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.bpit.html
404. Indeed,
bhikkhus, whosoever practises these four methods of Steadfast
Mindfulness in this manner for seven years, one of two results is
to be certainly expected in him: arahatship[125] in this very existence, or if there yet be any
trace of Clinging left, the state of an anāgāmi.[126]
Let alone seven years, bhikkhus, whosoever practises these four
methods of Steadfast Mindfulness in this manner for six years...
for five years... for four years... for three years... for two
years... for one year
Let alone one year, bhikkhus, whosoever practises these four
methods of Steadfast Mindfulness in this manner for seven months,
one of two results is to be certainly expected in him: arahatship
in this very existence, or if there yet be any trace of Clinging
left, the state of an anāgāmi.
Let alone seven months, bhikkhus, whosoever practises these four
methods of Steadfast Mindfulness in this manner for six months...
for five months... for four months... for three months... for two
months... for one month... for half-a-month...
Let alone half-a-month, bhikkhus, whosoever practises these four
methods of Steadfast Mindfulness in this manner for seven days, one
of two results is to be certainly expected in him: arahatship in
this very existence, or if there yet be any trace of Clinging left,
the state of an anāgāmi.
405. Because of
these beneficial results, I have declared at the beginning thus:
"Bhikkhus, this is the one and only way for the purification of the
minds of beings, for overcoming sorrow and lamentation, for the
complete destruction of physical pain and mental distress, for
attainment of the noble Ariya Magga, and for the realization of
Nibbāna. That only way is the practice of the four methods of
Steadfast Mindfulness."
Thus spoke the Bhagava. Delighted, the bhikkhus received the
words of the Buddha with respectful appreciation.
I still don't get how without soul there can be belief of
karma carried over to next birth.is it a difference in terminology
or concept?
On rebirth:
http://newbuddhist.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4215
Continuing consciousness after
death is, in most religions, a matter of revealed truth. In
Buddhism, the evidence comes from the contemplative experience of
people who are certainly not ordinary but who are sufficiently
numerous that what they say about it is worth taking seriously into
account. Indeed, such testimonies begin with those of the Buddha
himself.
Nevertheless, it’s important to
understand that what’s called reincarnation in Buddhism has nothing
to do with the transmigration of some ‘entity’ or other. It’s not a
process of metempsychosis because there is no ‘soul’. As long as
one thinks in terms of entities rather than function and
continuity, it’s impossible to understand the Buddhist concept of
rebirth. As it’s said, ‘There is no thread passing through the
beads of the necklace of rebirths.’ Over successive rebirths, what
is maintained is not the identity of a ‘person’, but the
conditioning of a stream of consciousness.
Additionally, Buddhism speaks of
successive states of existence; in other words, everything isn’t
limited to just one lifetime. We’ve experienced other states of
existence before our birth in this lifetime, and we’ll experience
others after death. This, of course, leads to a fundamental
question: is there a nonmaterial consciousness distinct from the
body? It would be virtually impossible to talk about reincarnation
without first examining the relationship between body and mind.
Moreover, since Buddhism denies the existence of any self that
could be seen as a separate entity capable of transmigrating from
one existence to another by passing from one body to another, one
might well wonder what it could be that links those successive
states of existence together.
One could possibly understand it
better by considering it as a continuum, a stream of consciousness
that continues to flow without there being any fixed or autonomous
entity running through it… Rather it could be likened to a river
without a boat, or to a lamp flame that lights a second lamp, which
in-turn lights a third lamp, and so on and so forth; the flame at
the end of the process is neither the same flame as at the outset,
nor a completely different one…
