reincarnation is a bit silly...

I really don't get this reincarnation thing.

Its weird that its a belief in some forms of buddism.

It just seems to me like another way to help people stay attached to there ego.

How can it really be YOU that reincarnates.

Does anyone else feel this is just an idea to make people feel more attached to ego.

There are a great many versions of reincarnation.



In all forms of Buddhism as far as I know.



Not in the Buddhist tradition.



Depends on what you mean by "you". In Buddhism, it is not the ego that is reborn, but one's true self.



In many non-Buddhist explanations of reincarnation, it is most certainly another way for people to affirm their ego attachment.

Here's a place to start:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebirth_(Buddhism)

Hello dwixi,

It is in our innate nature. It is the foundation that all of our religions are based on. Do we understand it? No. Then why is it there? What you might want to consider are the ramifications of what it is to think otherwise? How does a belief in a "terminal existence" affect our perception of life. The bottom like is "what's the use, we are all going to 'end' someday"! To hell with our posterity, let them figure it out? From a religious construct, god's going to destroy it anyway, right; and those who believe in this are actually looking forward to that divine destruction. Of course their pristine nature will be transported off to another Eden they can make a shambles of.

IMO, none of that makes sense. Not any common sense anyway. We can't even figure out where we put the remote control, much less understand our immortality. In my opinion, our continuum is the only thiing that makes sense. Any opposing thought leads to all kinds of problems. It creates a greed for life in that we are compelled to glean as much of it as we can before we are canned forever in that black hole of the grave. We rush to fill our gill to the brim until we can hold no more.

I will be the first to agree the majority of those who call this planet home are not guilty of having "such mores", but unfortunately it is those who are in control of this planet that do, or so they think.

Those mortal gods who have sat on the thrones of this planet would not hear of such rot as they could not imagine an existence of a "lesser self". It is they who espouse a heaven and a hell as some remote structure in that their godliness could never conceive their reign could lead to such a nether extreme as hell on Earth thus eliminating all antagonism to their rule. And it worked to. And it still is. Sad to say.

When in truth, the heaven or hell that will be experienced will be of our making and no one will be dismissed from their immortality and provided an "escape clause" as some seem to think. It's always been that way and considering what heaven could be leads me to believe we are in that hell in which we speak. Now it just depends on how much heat we can stand.

It is convenient to assume an end such as death being finite. Of course!! That allows one to justify their greed for life and the more who think this way, if they are wrong in their assumptions at least they will not make the trip alone. Misery does indeed love company.

All I can say my young friend, is try and attach yourself to these eternal thoughts and you will be amazed the change it will make in your life. and the lives of others you encounter. It absolutely releases you from the strangle hold of fear and truly sets you free. IMMHO.:a-ok:

William

These concepts in Buddhism are complicated when looked at from a purely academic perspective. My advice would be to check out some books on the subject. First and foremost, I recommend Robert Thurman's brilliant introduction to Buddhism Inner Revolution. Anything by Thurman, the Dalai Lama, or Thich Nhat Hahn should be immensely useful in helping you sort out these matters.

I have not given much of a response to your questions for two reasons: one, I am not so adept myself, and, two, given my own shortcomings in understanding, it is time consuming and difficult for me to put together responsible responses. Give me a day or two and I'll see if I can come up with something, assuming one of our other Buddhism enthusiasts has not already covered the concerns.

They are, by the way, great questions. I'm glad to see others with an interest in these subjects.

I really don't get this reincarnation thing. Its weird that its a belief in some forms of buddism. It just seems to me like another way to help people stay attached to there ego.

I have alot of problems with this idea.

With reincarnation we would have to e someone then forget most of the things then manifest as a new born animal. This seem's really pointless to me. How can it really be YOU that reincarnates. Its not like we are born knowing anything. If we were put in a dark room as a baby we would have pretty much no consciousness when we are grown up. It just seem's completely ridiculous to me. Really just... WHY. If you have no consciousness attachment to your past lives how can it possibly be you. YOU are really everything.

Does anyone else feel this is just an idea to make people feel more attached to ego. It would be interesting if someone could explain this better. Maybe Im just missing something? Because from what i gather from the whole concept at the moment.. Its completely ridiculous!

Apparantly reincarnation was part of the Bible up until 334AD constantinople.
Them Romans took it out along with the commandment about not idol worshipping.

Reincarnation has always made sense to me.
More and more so as I get older.

What is so hard to believe about not remembering past lives?
We forget tons of stuff, most of it we cannot be aware of at any one time, it would clutter up our thinking, and focus on 'the now' would be less pristine.

The mind is a multi-dimensional entity. Its infinite.
The body only has 4 dimensions. Finite.

Which is real, and which is the facet?

Accepting that the essence of your being is not your body,
has to be the first step.

As for the Bible,
well, Christ was said to have always existed, 'before Adam, I am'
so his soul is said to have existed before his body,
it then incarnated into physical form,
it then 'gave up the ghost'
and yet returned in a tangible form after this,

I think its only a semantic dogmatist that insists that reincarnation is not in the bible.

Even an atheist should be able to see that christ actually incarnated "in the story" - even if the atheist does not believe the story - its still flipping incarnation of a distinct soul into a corporeal body that is being claimed.

For two thousand years there have been so many countless witness' to Christ,
and these people have thrived thereafter like no other people in this world have.

The empirical capacity for Christians to out-survive almost all other peoples in quality of life, shows that these people are most apt for survival, even in materialist terms,
just look at the incredible architecture - do you consider all those stunning churches to be designed by people that are 'silly'?

I think that to believe that a 4-dimensional entity is more real than a multi-dimensional entity - thats the silliest idea I have ever heard of.

Does anyone else feel this is just an idea to make people feel more attached to ego. It would be interesting if someone could explain this better. Maybe Im just missing something? Because from what i gather from the whole concept at the moment.. Its completely ridiculous!

What Makes more scense to me is that everyone i see and everyone i cant see is actually my consciousness living out a differnt life at the same time. Even people that have lived in the past and future.

Now I'm really confused.

Earlier you said:



Then you say:



Are you for or against the ego?

Rebirth vs. Reincarnation

Although these terms are often used interchangeably, there is a significant conceptual difference between the two. On the whole, Buddhists believe in rebirth while Hindus, Jains, and some Christians believe in reincarnation. Strictly speaking, reincarnation means the assumption of another body by a permanent, eternal self (the Hindu notion of atman or the Christian notion of soul). Most Buddhists do not believe in a permanent self (anatman or anatta, without enduring self) but believe human consciousness (the "I" or self) dissolves at death and that only a subtle mindstream remains. The mindstream carries with it karmic imprints from prior lives (but not memories and emotions associated with prior lives, unless the person is a highly developed spiritual practitioner, in which case reincarnation is possible) and it is this subtle mindstream that conjoins with a new life-form after death. Thus, rebirth does not mean an identifiable human being assuming a new human body. Moreover, in Buddhism, rebirth is not always accomplished in human form. Depending on karmic circumstances, a human being can be reborn as an animal or as a being in any of the upper or lower realms.