What's a reincarnation ?

[china]

What's a reincarnation-the truth , not what you like to believe, not what someone has told you, or what your teacher has said. When you say, "I shall be reborn," you must know what the 'I' is. ... Is the 'I' a spiritual entity, is the 'I' something continuous, is the 'I' something independent of memory, experience, knowledge? Either the 'I' is a spiritual entity, or it is merely a thought process. Either it is something out of time which we call spiritual, not measurable in terms of time, or it is within the field of time, the field of memory, thought. It cannot be something else. Is the 'I' is in essence something spiritual ? Now by "spiritual" I mean, something not capable of being conditioned, something that is not the projection of the human mind, something that is not within the field of thought, something that does not die. When we talk of a spiritual entity, we mean by that something which is not within the field of the mind, obviously. Now, is the 'I' such a spiritual entity? If it is a spiritual entity, it must be beyond all time; therefore it cannot be reborn or continued. ...That which has continuity can never renew itself. As long as thought continues through memory, through desire, through experience, it can never renew itself; therefore, that which is continued cannot know the real.

 

[Vanni Fucci]

There is no evidence that reincarnation is real.

This is the only chance you have to make a difference, so you'd best live your life accordingly...

Once your heart stops beating and your brain has died, there is no more 'I'...

 

[scratch]

the Hindu or Buddhist doctrine that a person may be reborn
successively into one of five classes of living beings
(god or human or animal or hungry ghost or denizen of
hell) depending on the person's own actions

 

[Cliffy]

That which has continuity can never renew itself. As long as thought continues through memory, through desire, through experience, it can never renew itself; therefore, that which is continued cannot know the real.

china,

For someone looking for an explanation, you sure put a lot of restrictions on the answers. The question requires, first, the definition of consciousness. Is the "I" conscious? Does it retain consciousness after the death of the body? Is the body ego a little "i" and the big "I" a spirit or a soul? Do people have souls or do souls have people?

You can't just open a can of worms of this magnitude and then put restrictions on it. This is an open ended topic that will never be satisfactorily answered because every single person has a different experience of life and death.


In 1980 I was struck by a logging truck while on a snowmobile. I experienced leaving my body and observed the accident scene from a distance of up to 10 feet at times. Later I flat lined and was in a very peaceful place where I distinctly remember being given a choice whether I wanted to continue on this path or return to my physical life.


What part of me stood outside my body and what part of me temporarily left this plain of existence? Astral body, soul, spirit? I don't know how to explain that to someone who doesn't believe in the possibility of spirit or a soul. I just know what I experienced.

Was it just some hallucination cause by my brain trauma. Possibly, but so many others have experienced something similar. Does the brain function for a period of time after the heart has stopped? Maybe. Can I only say that the soul or the "I" exist? It does for me but I do not expect anybody who has not experienced what I went through to believe me, so how can I expect anybody to believe in the soul or spirit or that consciousness survives death?

Like I said, this is a huge can of worms. And the answers will be as varied as those who chose to throw in their two cents worth.

 

[eh1eh]

Reincarnation was thought up by someone disillusioned with their life. Same reason heaven was imagined. Rather a convenient catering to human's fear of anything they can't understand.

 

[scratch]

This I agree with.

 

[china]

Hi Cliffy ;
Thanks for a nice post though I don't think that I have "opened up a can of worms".
I"ll be happy to explain what I mean by some of the terms ; there is nothing in my thread that can't be "thought out " by yourself .

For someone looking for an explanation, you sure put a lot of restrictions on the answers. The question requires, first, the definition of consciousness.

By consciousness I mean...one’s awareness or perception of something.

Is the "I" conscious? Does it retain consciousness after the death of the body? Is the body ego a little "i" and the big "I" a spirit or a soul? Do people have souls or do souls have people?
You can't just open a can of worms of this magnitude and then put restrictions on it. This is an open ended topic that will never be satisfactorily answered because every single person has a different experience of life and death.

What is the "I"big or little if not an image that we build about our self ;an image which is sustained by a thought ;which is a thought .
What is the soul ? ....a man made word which is open to an imagination .

In 1980 I was struck by a logging truck while on a snowmobile. I experienced leaving my body and observed the accident scene from a distance of up to 10 feet at times. Later I flat lined and was in a very peaceful place where I distinctly remember being given a choice whether I wanted to continue on this path or return to my physical life.

I am happy Cliffy that you have decided to return to us .

That which has continuity can never renew itself. As long as thought continues through memory, through desire, through experience, it can never renew itself; therefore, that which is continued cannot know the real.

That which has a continuity is old ;there will never be anything new in it ;look around yourself Cliffy ,things die in order to return as something new .

 

[Spade]

Aren't those who believe in reincarnation just dying to come back!

 

[Spade]

PS
Early Christian thinkers such as Origen accepted and developed theologies around reincarnation. I guess what goes around comes around.

Click here for some Origen-al thought!

 

[china]

Search for Wisdom of the Desert / Desert Fathers /Philokalia

 

[GreenFish66]

Reincarnation....Learning from your elders..passing on that knowledge and gene's to your son or mentor!

Life after death...I use a common person like Einstein ....Einstein contributed a lot of time and energy into a lot of things that influenced how we all think!!...His life lives on in his contributions...

A mind lives on in other minds..One comes to fill the void of another..But never completely!

The body dies...The brain looses it's pulse but the mind lives on forever!!

Body of the earth ..Mind of the universe! ..

 

[Cliffy]

When Jesus encountered the blind man (who had been blind since birth) his followers asked him if the man was blind because he sinned or his parents sinned. If the man was blind from birth, how could he have sinned except in a previous life? Reincarnation was a common belief long before JC was born. It probably came from India through trade.

 

[#juan]

The Hindu or Buddhist doctrine that person may be reborn successively into one of five classes of living beings (god or human or animal or hungry ghost or denizen of hell) depending on the person's own actions

There is a certain justice to this version of reincarnation in that if you live your life as a mean, crooked, son of a bitch, you could come back as a worm or a cockroach...

 

[Nuggler]

Aren't those who believe in reincarnation just dying to come back!

Beat me to it, Spade. Welcome to CC.

:lol:

 

[Nuggler]

There is a certain justice to this version of reincarnation in that if you live your life as a mean, crooked, son of a bitch, you could come back as a worm or a cockroach...

_______________
Which is why I'll come back as a tall, dark, erudite, handsome, rich, playboy.

With no sex organs...........:-(

 

[talloola]

regurgitating canned milk

 

[Ron in Regina]

the Hindu or Buddhist doctrine that a person may be reborn
successively into one of five classes of living beings
(god or human or animal or hungry ghost or denizen of
hell) depending on the person's own actions

Scratch...I like this. The god or hungery ghost or denizen of hell don't work for me,
but I like the rest. It feels right. Being reborn as an animal might not be a punishment
(though it could be), but a break between being a human too many successive times.

Geographically you and I are quite separated, but have you had a similar experience
to this? I'm on the Prairies, and some years (nature's cycles) Gophers are a plague.
You might shoot 200 in a day and then line up with a scope on the next and....and
you just pass that one and pick out another. Just...something. I'm not sure how to
phrase it but that feeling seems to tie back to this discussion for me. Does that make
any sense at all?

 

[Spade]

regurgitating canned milk

Ah, this reminds me of the Stan Rogers' song "Lies."

A stanza:
"Then she shakes off the bitter web she wove,
And turns to set the mirror, gently, face down by the stove.
She gathers up her apron in her hand,
Pours a cup of coffee, drips Carnation from the can,
And thinks ahead to Friday, 'cause Friday will be fine!
She'll look up in that weathered face that loves hers, line for line,
To see that maiden shining in his eyes
And laugh at how her mirror tells her lies."

We miss you Stan! Come back! Who are you now?