Thoughts on reincarnation . . . keep living lives than what ?

Question

I believe in reincarnation (and those of you who don't...fine...go preach to some other question if you don't mind).

My question is this . . . With reincarnation...a person keeps returning to experience and live various lifes for purpose of soul growth, karma, darma, awareness and enlightment. Is there an end to cycles of reincarnation...does / can a person become so enlightened that they don't return to reincarnate on earth ? If so, does that person simply ' burst ' / expand into a greatness of Pure Light ? Being One with All Energy ? I'm aware that we (in this state of form and being ) can't actually know . . . just wondering your thoughts.

Answer 1

A wonderfully written question, good insight and interesting conclusions. If I may add my Buddhist perspective, I may be able to provide some further explanation for this sometimes confusing and often misunderstood concept so central to traditional Buddhist thought.

I am not intending to offend any who don't believe this explanation, the converse is true, please don't believe it but open your minds to another mind and the possibliities that present themselves.

Firstly let me clear some common misconceptions regarding Buddhists in general.

1. Buddhists don't rigidly 'believe' in any concept quoted, even this one. The Lord Buddha taught that a person should not accept a teaching unless one's own experience verifies it or it is praised by the wise. By the 'wise' He further clarifies those whom he taught the Dharma (Teaching) himself.

2.Buddhists do not believe in a God or Deity, even the Lord Buddha is not worshipped as a God, instead He is highly venerated as a noble and wise teacher. That said, Buddhism teaches that there exist other more advanced forms of existence including Gods and superhumans who have evolved to exist on other planes and other realms, however these forms are not considered responsible for our creation or that of the Universe.Nor are they prayed to.

3.Buddhists do not pray to the Buddha to 'get something' from Him, instead they meditate on and develop an outwards flow of love to all sentient beings while in a posture resembling prayer to the outsider.

4.Buddhism's teaching is not a cosmological answer for how the world works in the physical sense, rather it is a set of guidelines and methods for achieving an ultimate goal, that is the cessation of suffering for all beings, including but not limited to an escape from the endless cycle of death and rebirth.

5.Buddhists are reborn to Life, we can never be 'reborn' as an inanimate object. Life for Buddhists includes all sentient beings, this includes but is not limited to animals, humans, and higher realm beings such as Gods or Buddhas and lower realm beings such as ghosts of various forms and temperament. However it does NOT include insects.This is the reason why all Buddhists do not kill any sentient being. Why do Buddhists eat meat..? Buddhists will refuse to engage in employment which requires the killing of beings, even fish and birds are considered sentient. It is called Right Employment. However if meat is served to a Buddhist they will invariably partake of it. Given the choice, Monks and higher beings will Not eat it and prefer a pure vegetarian diet, however that said most Buddhists have no choice as their circumstances meaning they can't afford to be so strict in their diet nor can they perform their duties without sufficient calories, vegetarianism is fine but its an expensive diet.

Now for a beginner's guide to the concept of 'soul' and rebirth as a consequence of Karma....This is to explain why there is a correlation between rebirth and evolving of a Life.

To Buddhists, a Life (as opposed to a person) consists of 5 aggregates or parts. I'll name them later if your interested. On each rebirth, these aggregate parts are reformed in different measure determined by the good or bad Karma earned in all previous Lives. As can be seen already there is a clear distinction made between a Life and a person. Consider rebirth...a person is never reborn....a Life made up of the 5 aggregates however is. Consequently the term 'previous Lives'...rather than previous persons....do you follow...?

Soul. To Buddhists there is no such thing as a soul..!! Our essence as beings consists of a combination of the 5 aggregate parts. When we die, our aggregates are dissolved and their essence or true nature only remains as US if you will. This essence reacts to and changes with the experiences of the 5 aggregates (what we do in our Life), in this way we as beings evolve. All our actions have consequences in Karma which we as beings cannot escape, which is why Right Action is so central to Buddhist Teaching. There is no such thing as private action, all actions have a Karmic consequence which is why it is so important to perform Correct Action.

Beings To Buddhists there are many beings as mentioned in #5 above.

We can be reborn to any level of existence. Higher, Lower or animal or human depending on our Karma and how far we have evolved. On some higher planes, we can choose whether or not to return here to this plane. The Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama are 2 cases in point. Tha Dalai Lama has returned 14 times and His Life is over 700 years old, and the Panchen Lama 11. These 2 Lives are at the Level of Tulku which means venerated Teacher, and can choose or not to return to this realm. It is said that Steven Segal is a rebirth of a venerable 17th century Tibettan teacher but is yet to be officially given title and the necessary training.

It is therefore quite reasonable to expect that Lives can evolve from the Lower Realms to ours and from here to higher Realms. There are several Realms both higher and Lower. Also it is possible that Lives from higher planes choose to return here. Unfortunately it is also possible to de evolve. Ever heard the term he acts like an animal, well it is possible through Karma to be reborn down a level to animal. When rebirth occurs especially from animal to human, it is possible that some of that previous life has formed via the 5 aggregates and vis versa. Ever had the feeling that you've been somewhere before..met someone before...? Those feelings are part of those aggregates and can follow your next reassembly of aggregates if you follow my reasoning building up the whole you into a new you or new Life.

In order for a Life to escape the eternal cycle of rebirth, it must somehow break the cycle. How then is this done. It is done through a realisation of the impermanence of all Life experience. Once this is realised, the reasons for suffering can be fully appreciated, that is all suffering is caused by all of our selfish desires and cravings.

We examine these desires each in turn, looking at each desire's effect on us, examining the fact that each desire no matter how good the satisfaction is when we fulfill it, the desire returns for more of the fulfillment, proving the impermanence of the effects on us. We then examine ways to end the desire. Once the desire is eliminated from our Lives then we no longer suffer. Once this is achieved we have reached our goal of ending suffering and realised the impermanence of all experience, we have evolved in a true sense and seen for ourselves the true impermanent nature of existence, we then move on to the next plane of existence, or if we are sufficiently along the Path, we can choose to return to free other's of their suffering.

I do hope that this very basic introduction to Buddhist traditional thought proves instructive. I am not a Teacher nor a fully trained adept, and would advise further research or actual training for a better understanding of these rather difficult and sometimes confusing concepts. Meditation techniques provide for a clearer more focused mind to grasp the ideology without negative thoughts clouding your perception.

I only hope that I have provided some positive insight rather than further confused you.

email is welcome for any thoughts or questions. I'll just explain the concepts from my perspective.

Peace to all in the season of joy...from a Buddhist

Answer 2

I've never allowed myself to be bound by the chains of any particular religious definition, or belief system. I just walked the road of my life, heard what I heard, read what I read, saw what I saw, and came to a determination about what I believed or didn't believe. I don't KNOW if there is such a thing as reincarnation. I've read some material that gave some very compelling accounts of things that seem only to be explainable if a person actually had lived before, so I don't rule out the possibility. I do believe there is also compelling evidence that when we leave the world at the end of THIS existence, we don't just "go pop". Man has absolutely no idea to the present time exactly how to define "intelligence" and whether or not "knowing" is something that leaves us in a disembodied form to return to some incomprehensible "Cosmic Force"
I like your concept of "becoming one with all Energy". Perhaps that "Oneness" is the true definition of what we have come to accept under the word "god". I think that is pretty close to what I myself think most possible, and it certainly makes sense to me that when we, as individual entities, have completed our stint of experience in this life, we would return to the "Cosmic Whole" to recharge our batteries, I suppose you could say, and then, re-energized, return in a new form to complete a new mission
If that's what happens, it WOULD be nice, wouldn't it, if we could somehow be allowed to actually know who we were before lol. After all, we are only "us" to the extent that we have memory of who we were yesterday. On the other hand of course, it could be a bummer if we retained a memory that in the last existence we were a serial killer. I wonder how we would deal with that emotionally? It would just be a lot more comforting to know, for certain, that the end of this life didn't mean oblivion for eternity, but just the end of one phase of " being" for a quick pit stop before setting out on a new adventure.

Answer 3

there are different opinions on exactly what it is that happens, depending on which view of reincarnation you take,

in the way I believe in it, you eventually "Ascend" (this was not inspired by stargate... stargate's concept is actually based on a creative variation on some real beliefs) and become kinda angel-ish. but better.

in the way I see it its almost more like... graduating. when you've learned all your lessons, you go beyond need to incarnate in this plane, and move on to other things, or simply "reuunite" with "God" (not your old man in the sky God, but more of a sum of all that is God)

I don't think theres only one "option" when your "finished here" either. I think there are higher planes that people can go to and such, and that those who have finished here, can "reside" in those higher planes.

Answer 4

While still in the body, Once one can completely let go of the sense of self separate from God, then only God remains. This is the: "It is appointed once for man to die." I have heard that Saints of this level, when their work is complete they simply sit as if to meditate and leave their body, merging into the allness from whence they came. This is called taking Mahasamadhi.

Answer 5

well if you live life perfectly and allways follow dharma then you leave the cycle and meld back into the being with all the energy as you say and exist in everything as s/he does

Answer 6

Yes. When you become enlightened you simply cease to "be" and become one with everything. This is Nirvana. Sounds like bliss to me!