In East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism, rebirth is not instantaneous, and there is an intermediate

state (Tibetan "bardo") between one life and the next.[114][115] The orthodox Theravada position
rejects the wait, and asserts that rebirth of a being is immediate.[114] However there are passages in
the Samyutta Nikaya of the Pali Canon that seem to lend support to the idea that the Buddha
taught of an intermediate stage between one life and the next.[116][117][page needed]

Karma

Main article: Karma in Buddhism

In Buddhism, Karma (from Sanskrit: "action, work") drives samsrathe endless cycle of
suffering and rebirth for each being. Good, skilful deeds (Pali: "kusala") and bad, unskilful deed
(Pli: "akusala") produce "seeds" in the unconscious receptacle (laya) that mature later either in
this life or in a subsequent rebirth.[118][119] The existence of Karma is a core belief in Buddhism, as
with all major Indian religions, it implies neither fatalism nor that everything that happens to a
person is caused by Karma.[120][note 15]

A central aspect of Buddhist theory of karma is that intent (cetan) matters and is essential to
bring about a consequence or phala "fruit" or vipka "result".[121][note 16] However, good or bad
karma accumulates even if there is no physical action, and just having ill or good thoughts create
karmic seeds; thus, actions of body, speech or mind all lead to karmic seeds.[120] In the Buddhist
traditions, life aspects affected by the law of karma in past and current births of a being include
form of rebirth, realm of rebirth, social class, character and major circumstances of a lifetime.[120]
[125][126]
It operates like the laws of physics, without external intervention, on every being in all six
realms of existence including human beings and gods.[120][127]