Reincarnation

SOUL-DRIFTER

Life Long Researcher
Say reincarnation is a fact then who or what decides what parents you are going to reincarnate with ? Is reincarnation a natural process or is it automated by a second party ? Does someone or something actually pull the strings in all this ?
You do.
Each of us reviews our lives and decides what we learned well and what we would like to learn next and or need to learn next. We then review available choices for our next life. Almost all choices are ours alone. We do have guides that can help us with a decision.
One could return and continue almost immediately again while others may choose to return a thousand years or so later.
As I understand it and...IMHO
 

August

Metanoia
You do.
Each of us reviews our lives and decides what we learned well and what we would like to learn next and or need to learn next. We then review available choices for our next life. Almost all choices are ours alone. We do have guides that can help us with a decision.
One could return and continue almost immediately again while others may choose to return a thousand years or so later.
As I understand it and...IMHO

Well I haven't learnt to much in this one .Yes I read a story once of two people who met up after being out of existence for 3,000 years. They had lived their last incarnation in Egypt so they said and 'recognised' each other instantly in this life on meeting each other.
 
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Merle

Honorable
You do.
Each of us reviews our lives and decides what we learned well and what we would like to learn next and or need to learn next. We then review available choices for our next life. Almost all choices are ours alone. We do have guides that can help us with a decision.
One could return and continue almost immediately again while others may choose to return a thousand years or so later.
Considering Reincarantion is not just Religiously-Spiritually based, but also Cultural... wouldn't the question be who is to judge which particular Reincarnation belief is right or wrong? Or do people just pick and chose those religious beliefs which suit them best?

For example, in some traditional African beliefs, the souls or spirits of recently dead people linger near the grave for a time, seeking other bodies, reptile, mammal, bird, or human to inhabit.

Many African traditions link reincarnation to the worship of ancestors, who may be reborn as their own descendants or as animals associated with their clans or groups. The Zulu people of southern Africa believe that a person's soul is reborn many times in the bodies of different animals, ranging in size from tiny insects to large elephants, before being born as a human again.

Read more: Reincarnation - Myth Encyclopedia - mythology, Greek, god, legend, names, ancient, animal, norse, Japanese, world
 

SOUL-DRIFTER

Life Long Researcher
Considering Reincarantion is not just Religiously-Spiritually based, but also Cultural... wouldn't the question be who is to judge which particular Reincarnation belief is right or wrong? Or do people just pick and chose those religious beliefs which suit them best?

For example, in some traditional African beliefs, the souls or spirits of recently dead people linger near the grave for a time, seeking other bodies, reptile, mammal, bird, or human to inhabit.

Many African traditions link reincarnation to the worship of ancestors, who may be reborn as their own descendants or as animals associated with their clans or groups. The Zulu people of southern Africa believe that a person's soul is reborn many times in the bodies of different animals, ranging in size from tiny insects to large elephants, before being born as a human again.

Read more: Reincarnation - Myth Encyclopedia - mythology, Greek, god, legend, names, ancient, animal, norse, Japanese, world

Yes I am aware of that. From what I have learned, they are sadly mistaken.
A soul can only return to a body of relative equality. So a person can not return as an animal, an since we supposedly choose when, how and where we will incarnate again, why would anyone choose to live their life as an animal even if they could?
One has the entire multiverse to choose from.....
I think many of these religious beliefs are grown from past superstitions and fears as well.

IMHO
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Why would any soul who experienced life as a human want to live a mouse's life?...or a cow's life, surely you are taking the risk of being eaten?...In other words, of what practical use would it be to reincarnated as an animal or insect?...
 

August

Metanoia
Why would any soul who experienced life as a human want to live a mouse's life?...or a cow's life, surely you are taking the risk of being eaten?...In other words, of what practical use would it be to reincarnated as an animal or insect?...

I thought I read somewhere that once your a human you stay a human you can't downgrade to a mouse.
 

Merle

Honorable
Why would any soul who experienced life as a human want to live a mouse's life?...or a cow's life, surely you are taking the risk of being eaten?...In other words, of what practical use would it be to reincarnated as an animal or insect?...
No idea..... Maybe it's something to do that Western societies are overall, subjected more to the Judeo-Christian Religions type of beliefs which have the Eternal Soul survives and lives eternally in some sort of a Heaven (or Hell) after Death but not Reincarnation?

I think you'd need to study one of the Religions which believe that humans can reincarnate as animals to understand what purpose that would have... Millions of Hindus believe so and it goes back to philosophies of ancient Greek, the Buddhist religions, Jainism, Taoism, African religions and others...

Before you can move on and become complete, maybe you need to experience what it's like to be a cockroach and have someone either spray you with posion or step on you and squash you to know what that feels like... a spiritual revenge of sorts maybe... Crunch...
 

Merle

Honorable
I thought I read somewhere that once your a human you stay a human you can't downgrade to a mouse.
That's the whole point... it's mainly the materialistic type Westernised world we live in today which views animals as lower downgraded forms of life... Keeping in mind that humans are classified as animals too, no different than insects are viewed biologically as animals....

As a generalisation, Western people do not hold the belief that ALL life is equally sacred, has a spirit (soul)....

Many people believe that all forms of life other than themselves (humans), be it plants or animal life are on Earth just for the comfort and use for Mankind and anything lesser than humans is not as valuable... Maybe a natural instinct each species has to 'save' their own?
 

Dundee

Fading day by day.
This thread prompted me to do a little more reading because of the differences between reincarnation and rebirth.
And I was surprised to read something. I am by no means a Buddhist, I wish I was, I aspire to the values but am way too flawed to call myself that. But I have done a lot of reading, and then I found this today.....

A gross misunderstanding of about Buddhism exists today, especially in the notion of reincarnation. The common misunderstanding is that a person has led countless previous lives, usually as an animal, but somehow in this life he is born as a human being and in the next life he will be reborn as an animal, depending on the kind of life he has lived.


This misunderstanding arises because people usually do not know-how to read the sutras or sacred writings. It is said that the Buddha left 84,000 teachings; the symbolic figure represents the diverse backgrounds characteristics, tastes, etc. of the people. The Buddha taught according to the mental and spiritual capacity of each individual. For the simple village folks living during the time of the Buddha, the doctrine of reincarnation was a powerful moral lesson. Fear of birth into the animal world must have frightened many people from acting like animals in this life. If we take this teaching literally today we are confused because we cannot understand it rationally.


Herein lies our problem. A parable, when taken literally, does not make sense to the modern mind. Therefore we must learn to differentiate the parables and myths from actuality. However, if we learn to go beyond or transcend the parables and myths, we will be able to understand the truth.


People will say "If such is the case why not speak directly so that we will be able to come to an immediate grasp of the truth?" This statement is understandable, but truth is often inexpressible. [Ed comment: we as human beings are limited in understanding "Buddha Knowledge". We cannot speak TRUTH, only words ABOUT Truth] Thus, writers and teachers have often resorted to the language of the imagination to lead the reader from a lower to a higher truth. The doctrine of reincarnation is often understood in this light.
A Basic Buddhism Guide: On Reincarnation


I am a bit of a hands on person, so texts often confuse me. So can someone smarter than me (almost everyone )
tell me that does this mean that the Buddhist idea of being reborn into an animal is just a parable? Something to scare the masses. But not taken literally. I thought I understood this bit, but now I am very confused.
 

Merle

Honorable
I am a bit of a hands on person, so texts often confuse me. So can someone smarter than me (almost everyone )
tell me that does this mean that the Buddhist idea of being reborn into an animal is just a parable? Something to scare the masses. But not taken literally. I thought I understood this bit, but now I am very confused.
No idea really..... However, I think too, any translation from one languge to another 'looses' some of the essence, the thinking patterns of the original language... I know all about that being bilingual and not speaking English until I went to school where I learnt real quick... When I immigrated to Australia as a 2 year old with my family I lived in isolation on a farm and never got the chance to speak English until school...

However, I did find that certain types of expression, 'thought patterns' I call them... (cultural? perceptual?), which were understood in one language, do not necessarily exist in another language so then you have to find the closest 'interpretation' you can but even so, it often enough doesn't sound 'right' but is merely at best, 'vaguely close enough'...

Regardless how fluent the Translator is in both languages, every translation will always be slightly 'tainted' by the personal interpretation of that Translator when language based difficulties of expressions or 'thought patterns' arise.

I remember a time when for example, if you studied Freud at University, (Freud whose work were orginally written in German), it was compulsory to take some other extra subject, I forget what it was called, .....which involved trying to understanding what can be 'lost' or what extra can be 'added' when translating from one language to another, again, no matter how fluent the Translator is in both languages.

From my understanding, there are quite a number of different Buddhist religions and teachings, not just one... depending upon the Culture of whatever country or what particular region of a Country a Buddhist religion is from.

I guess similar to that there are many Chrisitian religions with varying differences including Cultural differences, depending upon Denominations, country of orgin and so on... You find many African socities which take on Chrisitianity have a vastly different undertanding and way of expressing their Chrisitian belief to for example, The Church of England followers in English speaking countries...

I remember reading books about life in various Monasteries from a certain part in Tibet where the Monks went through every bit of clothing before they washed them so as to make sure no insects were trapped lest they accidently squash the life out of a soul who has reincarnated as an insect...
 

cosmic joke

Honorable
morning. thanks for your shares, ideas, opinions, musings.

because of what i've read here, i've come to the decision that, without a doubt, we only live one time. reincarnation is in fact man made. concocted to combat the fear of dying. as history has shown, mankind is gullible mostly lazy and somewhat self aggrandizing in that we easily give ourselves more credit for being able to choose our destinies. truth is we only 'think we can'. in other words, we are mere puppets pulled around by natures strings. no more no less. mechanical beings in thought feeling and body. we have one life to accomplish all that we want to. no second third or fourth chances. past lives, flying around, aliens abducting, bigfoot sightings, past life imaginations, ghostly apparitions, chains rattling. all musings. better a person realize their nothingness, with their paltry totality. only then does the possibility arise to become anything of value in this ordinary life. stop the madness. or carry on with it. is there a choice. life simply unfolds. embrace it.

hmmm. soapbox eh. ;)
 

August

Metanoia
I think its everywhere we just never hear about it . I have known and met a young girl (5) who speaks perfect English but is an Aussie , born here, has never been to the UK ,no one in the family is English. To talk to her is like conversing with a 30 year old. Its quite unsettling.
 

Dundee

Fading day by day.
I think its everywhere we just never hear about it . I have known and met a young girl (5) who speaks perfect English but is an Aussie , born here, has never been to the UK ,no one in the family is English. To talk to her is like conversing with a 30 year old. Its quite unsettling.
Hmm OK, my ex wife on out first date. We hitch hiked to ULURU (Ayers rock back then) Long story short, We were in a tent, I was reading a Star Trek novel, and she (In her sleep) started talking in German. She does not speak German while awake.
Skip forward a bunch of years.
My second eldest son is my ex reincarnated. They are the same everything except gender. Extremely similar in temperament, habits, attitudes.
Zack was 6 years old one day when he was sound asleep, then, started speaking very aggressively in what to me sounded Arabic?? Since then, I have heard Middle eastern, Russian (or similar) German??
My eldest, his big brother once came out and said, "Dad, Zack is singing in in German again" All while asleep.
He is now mid 20's, and has a lovely partner and gorgeous son. His Partner "Amy" says regularly, oh he always talks in different languages in his sleep/

Explain this on Dr Wu? I and 5 other people have heard it first hand. How does a 6 year old Aussie Kid know 4 languages?
 

August

Metanoia
Hmm OK, my ex wife on out first date. We hitch hiked to ULURU (Ayers rock back then) Long story short, We were in a tent, I was reading a Star Trek novel, and she (In her sleep) started talking in German. She does not speak German while awake.
Skip forward a bunch of years.
My second eldest son is my ex reincarnated. They are the same everything except gender. Extremely similar in temperament, habits, attitudes.
Zack was 6 years old one day when he was sound asleep, then, started speaking very aggressively in what to me sounded Arabic?? Since then, I have heard Middle eastern, Russian (or similar) German??
My eldest, his big brother once came out and said, "Dad, Zack is singing in in German again" All while asleep.
He is now mid 20's, and has a lovely partner and gorgeous son. His Partner "Amy" says regularly, oh he always talks in different languages in his sleep/

Explain this on Dr Wu? I and 5 other people have heard it first hand. How does a 6 year old Aussie Kid know 4 languages?

My mother told me when I was young and asleep in bed , she said I would be talking in a language she had never heard before , my mother said it was quiet clear to her , not mumbling at all, she had to get up to me numerous times as she thought I was talking to someone. I don't remember it but she told me years later about it .
 

Dundee

Fading day by day.
My mother told me when I was young and asleep in bed , she said I would be talking in a language she had never heard before , my mother said it was quiet clear to her , not mumbling at all, she had to get up to me numerous times as she thought I was talking to someone. I don't remember it but she told me years later about it .
Wow, I wish something cool would happen like that to me. I have a very poor recording somewhere of my son. It does not do it justice though. At the time. I set up a laptop with a microphone next to his bed, voice activated. I kept it there for ages and barely got anything worth listening too. Soon as I took it away he launched into a full tirade in German again. I will see if I can find the audio, although Wu will dismiss it, and I suppose rightly so. But it does not in any way do justice to his many multi lingual rants we all heard and still hear over the years.
 

August

Metanoia
Wow, I wish something cool would happen like that to me. I have a very poor recording somewhere of my son. It does not do it justice though. At the time. I set up a laptop with a microphone next to his bed, voice activated. I kept it there for ages and barely got anything worth listening too. Soon as I took it away he launched into a full tirade in German again. I will see if I can find the audio, although Wu will dismiss it, and I suppose rightly so. But it does not in any way do justice to his many multi lingual rants we all heard and still hear over the years.

I have heard other little ones with Scottish accents no idea where it comes from but they say its evident until they are about 5 or 6 then it fades. Well Mr Wu would have a very hard time dismissing this little girl I met , her parents were just as baffled as anyone as to why she was like she was. I said to them that their little girl was really odd and they agreed. She was very forward, very precise and bold , look you right in the eye and not blink. As I mentioned unsettling to say the least.
 

Dundee

Fading day by day.
Ok so here are a couple of recordings. Yes they don't sound like much more than gibberish. But compared to what he did some nights there is no comparison. This is all I was ever able to catch. None of the convincing stuff...
OK so allowed extensions include mp3 notwav, the other three are wav files
 

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