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When someone asks if I've been born again, the answer is simple - yes (again, and again, and again).
Seriously though, this is a nice topic to discuss. I found it very interesing to read (in a few places) that Christianity once subscribed to reincarnation but that the Church removed from their dogma. Is this true?
For me, my belief in reincarnation reminds me that this current life is but a few steps on the marathon journey of my soul. Until I overcome my lingering ego issues, latent selfishness, and learn to truly live for others - the journey continues.
I do not believe in reincarnation. I learn through trial & error, so believing in reincarnation would mean that trials & errors have lost all their meaning. Why learn anything if you’ll just be reincarnated. Reincarnation then becomes close to immortality.
If I truly believed in reincarnation I probably would become an egoistic hedonist. Why be good if nobody truly dies?
I'm a self appointed HinJew
I believe that you are what you're born into yet I also belive you can study and live the philosophies of other religions hence "HinJew"
I have studied Hinduism and Buddhism for a long time. I was brought up Jewish by a strict Jewish father that kind of turned me off to religion in my early years.
I came to understand later in life that not everything you're taught is fact...for you. I found ....well..a favorite Zen saying of mine is, "the secret to Zen in two words is, not always so".
The ego I found is most definetly the root to unhappiness ...at least it is to me.
Going on the assumption that ego is merely a facade then truth can not be found in what we hope to be but rather what we are.
Desire is also what we use in order to forfill what we hope to be.
For myself I try and not look towards reward but find reward to be what is.
What we're born with. Satisfaction is in what you are not what you hope to be. Even using the word reward is difficult to me because that is something that feeds the ego rather than the soul or spirit.
Finding understanding even in suffering is what makes a person grow and glow.
As a young child having been told by parents and teachers alike that I should take "pride" in what I do was probably the first thing that made me go....hmmmmmmmmm...might have been the first thing that led me to look into a more eastern philosophy.
I'm "proud" to be an American.
"Proud" to be this that and another thing...Proud????
What do YOU think?
Be well
Namaste'
avi yama dass aka andy
"Proud" to be this that and another thing...Proud????
What do YOU think?
I think pride always comes before the fall.
But as a sculptor I am indeed 'proud' of my latest sculpture, because I perceive no flaws in it. It is only when I start on my next project that I can see the 'flaws' of my last work.
I am always proud of my latest sculpture because it is the best work I could have delivered at that moment in time. So I am indeed content and if I wasn't I'd have kept working until the sculpture is properly finished.
I am never proud of people that I admire, but I am honoured to have known them.
I do not believe in reincarnation. I learn through trial & error, so believing in reincarnation would mean that trials & errors have lost all their meaning. Why learn anything if you’ll just be reincarnated. Reincarnation then becomes close to immortality.
If I truly believed in reincarnation I probably would become an egoistic hedonist. Why be good if nobody truly dies?
You don't have to believe in it but let's make sure we are talking about the same thing. Trial and error don't lose their meaning - it just means your soul must learn and grow in each mortal lifetime.
Why learn anything if you'll just be reincarnated? Well, there is so much the soul needs to learn that very few can achieve it in one lifetime. At the end of lifetime can anyone say they know it all? We never stop learning.
Why do you think a belief in reincarnation means you would become an egotistic hedonist?
Why do you think a belief in reincarnation means you would become an egotistic hedonist?
Because nothing is permanent. Death doesn't mean death. Which means that there is no need for me to want to be good, because good and evil have become irrelevant.
Suffering has become a temporarily inconvenience. Killing someone doesn’t mean ending the victim’s existence, just his current life.
I Personally do not believe that a good act will balance an evil act. So if I have killed someone I could never erase that sin.
Because I believe that sins cannot be counterbalanced I’ve learned to think before I act because I wish to avoid as many mistakes as possible. I know that avoiding every mistake is impossible so when I have made a mistake I do not keep beating myself up over it. I try to learn from my mistakes to avoid them in the future.
Quote:
- it just means your soul must learn and grow in each mortal lifetime.
That is just it I do not believe in more than 1 life, so why bother to try to learn everything? You need to believe in reincarnation because you want to learn everything. I just want to learn that which I find necessary to be me. I have no need ( or is it desire?) to know everything.
You need to believe in reincarnation because you want to learn everything. I just want to learn that which I find necessary to be me. I have no need ( or is it desire?) to know everything.
I've been respectful of your views and kindly ask that you do the same. I think you are making a real stretch to tell me why I believe what I believe. Perhaps you should try to explain your own beliefs without trying to use someone else's as a strawman to tear down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tricky D
Because nothing is permanent. Death doesn't mean death. Which means that there is no need for me to want to be good, because good and evil have become irrelevant. Suffering has become a temporarily inconvenience. Killing someone doesn’t mean ending the victim’s existence, just his current life.
I think I can see your logic but I don't agree with your conclusions. Frankly, I've never looked at reincarnation in isolation from the laws of karma because both are woven into my belief system. Still, looking at it your way (in isolation), I don't think good and evil would become irrelavent because the free will to choose between good and evil would remain in effect. It requires a lot of extrapolation to assume everyone would just choose evil.
Looking at reincarnation in concert with the laws of karma (which you find in the dharmic religions), the consequences for our actions carry on well into future lives until they are reconciled.
I've been respectful of your views and kindly ask that you do the same. I think you are making a real stretch to tell me why I believe what I believe. Perhaps you should try to explain your own beliefs without trying to use someone else's as a strawman to tear down.
The fact that I disagree with you does not mean that I do not respect your belief.
I just question if reincarnation is necessary when you don't have this need to become a god, or want to know everything, or some other grand feat. All I am saying is that I only want to be me, nothing more and nothing less.
What I am curious to know is how does reincarnaiton account for population growth? I am not trying to be flipant. I have tremendous respect for Buddhism, but are souls allegedly splitting to create more people or have souls been lying dormant?
Originally Posted by Xpat
The fact that I disagree with you does not mean that I do not respect your belief.
I just question if reincarnation is necessary when you don't have this need to become a god, or want to know everything, or some other grand feat. All I am saying is that I only want to be me, nothing more and nothing less.
I think you understand English well enough to know that it was not your disagreement that I found disrespectful, but the way you chose to characterize my motivation for my beliefs. Reincarnation is not some quest for greatness, but a journey which can only be approached with humility. You are free to believe in it or not. Our tradition frowns on proselytizing (as do I personally).
I think it is great that you want to be you. It sure beats the heck out of trying to be someone else!
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Why learn anything if you’ll just be reincarnated. Reincarnation then becomes close to immortality.
Why be good if nobody truly dies?
My latest sculpture is always my pride & joy
I think pride always comes before the fall.
or is it desire?) to know everything.
