In the "accepting rebirth" thread this question was raised
Interesting claim. Show us the text that states the Buddha clearly and overtly refused to say that there was rebirth
This is going to be a copy of a post i made at buddhismwithoutboundries.com since im writting this just before work
A main argument i have against rebirth being part of the teachings is
A) The Buddha refused to give metaphysical answers to people
B) The Buddha taught a doctrine that is immediately applicable, logical, practical, a doctrine that doesnt depend on blind belief
Rebirth view is a view that requires blind belief, it isnt really that practical and isnt all that logical when compared to the rest of the teachings
For example there are discussions in a sutta about how a couple could ensure that they are reunited after death, now obviously this sutta is not in accord with Buddhadhamma, if the buddha did infact teach this sutta then he is obviously teaching the couple a morality in terms that would fit them best
On the metaphysical side, take the suttas that discuss all those cycles of universe birth and death, the lives of the people there, how the gods came to be and how people came to be and all the rest of the metaphysical content of the pali canon and mahayana canon, how can these things be considered part of Buddhadhamma when the Buddha refused to engage in discussions on metaphysics because he considered it pointless since one would never reach the true answer
A good way to think about this is to take into account what the buddha says in the parable of the arrow and compare it to the teachings of rebirth that we have today
""Malunkyaputta, did I ever say to you, 'Come, Malunkyaputta, live the holy life under me, and I will declare to you that 'The cosmos is eternal,' or 'The cosmos is not eternal,' or 'The cosmos is finite,' or 'The cosmos is infinite,' or 'The soul & the body are the same,' or 'The soul is one thing and the body another,' or 'After death a Tathagata exists,' or 'After death a Tathagata does not exist,' or 'After death a Tathagata both exists & does not exist,' or 'After death a Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist'?"
"No, lord."
<Snip>
"So, Malunkyaputta, remember what is undeclared by me as undeclared, and what is declared by me as declared. And what is undeclared by me? 'The cosmos is eternal,' is undeclared by me. 'The cosmos is not eternal,' is undeclared by me. 'The cosmos is finite'... 'The cosmos is infinite'... 'The soul & the body are the same'... 'The soul is one thing and the body another'... 'After death a Tathagata exists'... 'After death a Tathagata does not exist'... 'After death a Tathagata both exists & does not exist'... 'After death a Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist,' is undeclared by me.
"And why are they undeclared by me? Because they are not connected with the goal, are not fundamental to the holy life. They do not lead to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, calming, direct knowledge, self-awakening, Unbinding. That's why they are undeclared by me.
"And what is declared by me? 'This is stress,' is declared by me. 'This is the origination of stress,' is declared by me. 'This is the cessation of stress,' is declared by me. 'This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress,' is declared by me. And why are they declared by me? Because they are connected with the goal, are fundamental to the holy life. They lead to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, calming, direct knowledge, self-awakening, Unbinding. That's why they are declared by me.
"So, Malunkyaputta, remember what is undeclared by me as undeclared, and what is declared by me as declared."
Now a main argument is that these relate to speculative views about the illusional self, but thats forgetting this line
'The cosmos is eternal,' is undeclared by me
The Buddha states that he doesnt give answers to metaphysical questions. Some people do argue that the passage relates to views about the self but that ignores this line
'The cosmos is eternal,' is undeclared by me
If you have rebirth view, then the cosmos is eternal. How many teachers that teach rebirth view also teach that the universe is eternal, despite the fact that this is a speculative view, one among many metaphysical views that the buddha refused to answer. Lets not forget that the Buddha said
"If there is the view that the cosmos is eternal, there can be no living of the holy life" (same for all other metaphysical specualtive views)
Hold rebirth view, you hold a speculative view, you dont/cant live the true holy life IMO
Regardless if there is rebirth or not, regardless of what may or may not happen after death, there is dukkha right now, there is birth, ageing, sickness, death, despair here and now, that which the buddha teaches the ending of right now
All the best
Craig