Do we reincarnate into similar or polar-opposite lives
In MN 41 - Saleyyaka Sutta: The Brahmans of Sala, the Buddha is wandering in the Kosalan country with a large group of monks when he arrives at a village named Sala. Here a brahmin householder from the village hears about the Buddha being in Sala and want to ask him about why beings fare as they do after death. The brahmin householder asks the Buddha:
"... Master Gotama, what is the cause and condition why some beings here, on
the breakup of the body, after death, are reborn in a state of misery, in
a bad destination, in the lower world, in hell? And what is the cause
and condition why some beings here, on the breakup of the body, after
death, are reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world? ...”.
The Buddha then answers:
“... Householders, it is by reason of unrighteous conduct, conduct
not in accordance with the Dhamma, that some beings here, on the breakup of the body, after death, are reborn in a state of misery, in a
bad destination, in the lower world, in hell. It is by reason of righteous
conduct, conduct in accordance with the Dhamma, that some beings
here, on the breakup of the body, after death, are reborn in a good destination,
in a heavenly world ...”.
The brahmin householders explain that they do not understand the phrase "unrighteous / righteous conduct and conduct not in accordance with the Dhamma" and ask the Buddha to further expound on his teaching.
The Buddha then explains in details what unrighteous and righteous conduct in accordance with the Dhamma is:
- "... Householders, there are three kinds of unrighteous bodily conduct,
conduct not in accordance with the Dhamma. "
- "There are four kinds of unrighteous verbal conduct, conduct not in accordance with the Dhamma. "
- "There are three kinds of unrighteous mental conduct,
conduct not in accordance with the Dhamma ..."
The Buddha continues to explain unrighteous bodily conduct:
“... And how, householders, are there three kinds of unrighteous
bodily conduct, conduct not in accordance with the Dhamma? Here
someone kills living beings; he is murderous, bloody-handed, given
to blows and violence, merciless to living beings. He takes what is not
given; he takes by way of theft the wealth and property of others in
the village or forest. He commits sexual misconduct; he has intercourse
with women who are protected by their mother, father, mother and
father, brother, sister, or relatives, who have a husband, who are protected
by law, and even with those already engaged. That is how there
are three kinds of unrighteous bodily conduct, conduct not in accordance
with the Dhamma ...".
Then unrighteous verbal conduct:
“And how, householders, are there four kinds of unrighteous verbal
conduct, conduct not in accordance with the Dhamma? Here
someone speaks falsehood; when summoned to a court, or to a meeting,
or to his relatives’ presence, or to his guild, or to the royal family’s
presence, and questioned as a witness thus: ‘So, good man, tell what
you know,’ not knowing, he says, ‘I know,’ or knowing, he says, ‘I do
not know’; not seeing, he says, ‘I see,’ or seeing, he says, ‘I do not see’;
in full awareness he speaks falsehood for his own ends, or for
another’s ends, or for some trifling worldly end. He speaks maliciously;
he repeats elsewhere what he has heard here in order to divide [those people] from these, or he repeats to these people what
he has heard elsewhere in order to divide [these people] from those;
thus he is one who divides those who are united, a creator of divisions,
who enjoys discord, rejoices in discord, delights in discord, a speaker
of words that create discord. He speaks harshly; he utters such words
as are rough, hard, hurtful to others, offensive to others, bordering on
anger, not conducive to concentration. He engages in idle chatter; he
speaks at the wrong time, speaks what is not fact, speaks what is useless,
speaks contrary to the Dhamma and the Discipline; at the wrong
time he speaks such words as are worthless, unreasonable, immoderate,
and unbeneficial. That is how there are four kinds of unrighteous
verbal conduct, conduct not in accordance with the Dhamma.
Then unrighteous mental conduct:
“... And how, householders, are there three kinds of unrighteous
mental conduct, conduct not in accordance with the Dhamma? Here
someone is covetous; he covets the wealth and property of others thus:
‘Oh, may what belongs to another be mine!’ Or he has a mind of ill
will and intentions of hate thus: ‘May these beings be slain and slaughtered,
may they be cut off, perish, or be annihilated!’ Or he has wrong
view, distorted vision, thus: ‘There is nothing given, nothing offered,
nothing sacrificed; no fruit or result of good and bad actions; no this
world, no other world; no mother, no father; no beings who are reborn
spontaneously; no good and virtuous ascetics and brahmins in the
world who have themselves realized by direct knowledge and declare
this world and the other world. That is how there are three kinds of
unrighteous mental conduct, conduct not in accordance with the
Dhamma ..."
The Buddha finishes expounding on these unrighteous types of conduct by saying:
"... So, householders, it is by reason of such unrighteous conduct,
such conduct not in accordance with the Dhamma, that some
beings here on the breakup of the body, after death, are reborn in a
state of misery, in a bad destination, in the lower world, in hell ...".
The Buddha then continues to expound upon the three kinds of righteous bodily conduct, conduct not in accordance with the Dhamma. I will not refer to them here as they are opposites of the above mentioned Dhamma and can be found in the sutta. The Buddha then ends these three types of righteous conduct by saying:
"... So, householders, it is by reason of such righteous conduct, such conduct in
accordance with the Dhamma that some beings here, on the breakup
of the body, after death, are reborn in a good destination, even in a
heavenly world ...".
So to sum up on your question, the Buddha teaches that it is our actions done by body, speech or mind that play a part in the rebirth destination. The Buddha teaches what to do in order to be reborn both in the lower realms and in the heavenly realms. This is of course only one sutta there are other suttas as well. I chose this sutta as I think the Buddha here gives a very clear and detailed exposition on conduct in relation to the Dhamma and rebirth destination.
Hope this helps. If you have any questions to what I wrote feel free to ask.