The current study focuses on two essential themes: the Buddhist doctrine of rebirth as revealed in the Pratītyasamutpāda (twelve factors of Dependent Origination), and its conceptual evolution as interpreted in the philosophy of Yogācāra. The study is based on (1) the early Buddhist teachings of rebirth and (2) rebirth in the Vijñapati-mātratā-vāda (Consciousness Only School) of Yogācāra, especially within the system of eight consciousnesses introduced by Vasubandhu. Both of these approaches are conducted within the context of Indian philosophy and religion. The study consists of five parts: (I) Part One provides a general outline of several critical problems related to rebirth in a wide range of religion and philosophy as well as the methodology with which the present study was conducted. (II) Part Two reviews the ideas of rebirth in Hinduism and the Vedic literature, concentrating in particular on the historical background of the conception of rebirth within the Indian context of religious culture as well as arguments of self and rebirth in the early of Indian Buddhist schools. (III) Part Three discusses the Buddhist traditional doctrine of rebirth, the role of the mind or consciousness in Buddhist traditional teachings of rebirth, the process of rebirth in the mechanism of Pratītya-samutpāda, the nature of karma and the matters of realms of existence revealed in the doctrine of Pratītya-samutpāda , and the concept of antarabhava (intermediary existence) in the process of rebirth. (IV) Part Four concentrates on the conceptual evolution of rebirth in the Yogācāra, focusing in particular on Vasubandhu's philosophy and his interpretation of Pratītya-samutpāda , the structure of eight consciousnesses, and the Ālaya-vijñāna as the foundation of samsāra. (V) Part Five provides several important conclusions about the Buddhist doctrine of rebirth, including the historical lineage of rebirth, the continuity of transformation of the consciousness in the process of samsāra, rebirth in the absence of an immortal soul, and the significance of ethics, humanism, and spirituality in the Buddhist doctrine of rebirth.

The present study aims to achieve three humble targets: (1) to provide an intensive, comprehensive, and systematic survey of the Buddhist principle of rebirth; (2) to identify the conceptual development of the Buddhist principle of rebirth from the philosophy of Theravada to that of Yogācāra; and (3) to introduce the Buddhist doctrine of experience with practical applications for improving the life of human beings, both mentally and spiritually.