REBIRTH VS REINCARNATION
-The Buddha's description of the process of "rebirth" is quite similar to reincarnation, except for the addition of two other concepts.
The first is NO-SELF (ANATTA), which states that there is no self-existing soul, self, personality, or ego that connects individual lives together. Beings may have many similarities with their former selves but they are not the same person. This is not hard to imagine at all. Just think of yourself when you were ten years younger. You can't exactly say that you are that same person since many of your views have since changed; even the cells in your body have changed. However, you also cannot exactly say that who you were ten years ago is different from who you are now. So who are you really?
The second is IMPERMANENCE (ANNICA), which states that all conditioned things (including consciousness) are subject to change. Consciousness is seen by Buddhists as a series of conscious moments instead of a steady or uninterrupted flow of awareness. These moments continually arise and pass away in the form of thoughts, memories, feelings, or perceptions. After one conscious moment ceases, the next one arises. For this reason, the consciousness of any sentient being is thought to be the continuity of these conscious moments.
"Rebirth" is generally considered to be a stream of evolving consciousness. Consciousness is the only part which leaves the body at "death" and enters another during conception. It is also the one that collects karma. However, the consciousness in the new person is neither identical to nor entirely different from that in the deceased, but the two form a causal continuum or stream. Thus, even if consciousness can take another form through "rebirth", it is not exactly the same as it was before. It continues to change.
Followers of Theravada Buddhism generally claim that "rebirth" takes place immediately while those who belong to Tibetan Buddhist traditions have a concept of intermediate states called "bardos," which may take up to forty-nine days to pass through. This concept is further expanded into an exclusive guide to the process of "death" and "rebirth", which is contained in a funerary text known as the Bardo Thodol (Tibetan Book of the Dead).
REBIRTH AS A HUMAN
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"So too, bhikkhus, those beings who are reborn among human beings are few. But those beings are more numerous who are reborn elsewhere than among human beings. Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: we will dwell diligently. Thus should you train yourselves."
- Gautama Buddha, Samyutta Nikaya 20.2
According to the Buddha, "rebirth" as a human being is extremely rare and precious and that there are more beings that are reborn in the animal realm, ghost realm, or hell when they pass away (see The Sidpa Bardo). The experience of pleasure and pain in the human realm allows the development of virtue and wisdom to the degree enough to set a being free from "samsara". Therefore, "rebirth" in the human and the deva realms is difficult and should not be wasted.
If you're wondering why, just think of the number of animals and insects that can be found on this planet. No one knows for sure how many species of animals exist on Earth but the estimated number range from 2 to 50 million. The population of the human species alone may be close to 7 billion, but the number of a single insect species, like ants for example, is even far greater than that, so just imagine how many forms of life exist on this planet. Thus, if you waste your life with the pursuit of material pleasures, your chances of landing a human birth again will be far lower than, let's say, winning the lottery.
Nevertheless, it is said that if a being can attain the level of "sotapanna" or "stream-enterer" (one of the four stages of enlightenment), it is guaranteed that all future rebirths will be in the human or higher Realms of Existence. One can attain the level of stream-enterer by removing three fetters (a fetter is a "chain" or "bond" that shackles a sentient being to "Samsara"). These fetters are:
* IDENTITY VIEW - The view that a so-called self or ego exists. It is eradicated when one gains insight into the selfless nature of the Five Aggregates.
* SKEPTICAL DOUBT - Doubt about the Buddha and his teaching. It is eradicated when one personally experiences the true nature of reality through the development of insight, and this insight confirms the accuracy of the Buddha's teaching.
* ATTACHMENT TO RITES AND RITUALS - The view that one becomes pure simply through performing rituals or rigid moralism, such as praying to God for salvation, slaughtering animals for sacrifice, ablutions, etc. It is eradicated when one realizes that rites and rituals are nothing more than obstructive traditions and dead dogmas. Liberation can only be achieved through spiritual practice (such as following the Noble Eightfold Path).
REMEMBERING PAST LIVES
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Many people find the concept of "rebirth" very hard to accept because, apparently, no one can remember who or what they were before they were born. Just thinking about the events that happened in our childhood is difficult enough for most of us, so what makes the recollection of our past lives any easier?
Nevertheless, there are, in fact, cases of people who have re-called some incidents from their past lives. Many such cases were documented by a psychiatrist named Ian Stevenson who investigated reports of young children who claimed to remember a past life.
One of the spiritual attainments that you will gain from practicing meditation is the ability to remember your past lives. This ability is actually one of the spiritual powers that the Buddha used to investigate the nature of reality and formulate the Four Noble Truths. It's the same ability that he said we should use to verify the accuracy of his teachings. Hence, reliance on factual evidence alone is not that beneficial at all regarding this matter. It's either you practice the meditation techniques prescribed by the Buddha and prove it yourself or you can just keep on "biting the dust" without any progress every time you are born as a human, or
Origin: http://witchcraftforall.blogspot.com
