Reincarnation

[DoctorStrange]

Hi folks,

Buddhists do believe in reincarnation right ?
I read somewhere a buddhist before becoming a monk is required to remember his past lives with clarity.

Any truth to any of this ?

Hi LifeandOneness,

Buddhists do believe in reincarnation right ?

Yes, they do.

I read somewhere a buddhist before becoming a monk is required to remember his past lives with clarity.

No, it is not necessary. Because a buddhist can remember his past lives with clarity is closer to be Buddha.

Any truth to any of this ?

I am not clearly with your question :)

[Albalida]

Originally Posted by LifeandOneness

Hi folks,

Buddhists do believe in reincarnation right ?
I read somewhere a buddhist before becoming a monk is required to remember his past lives with clarity.

Any truth to any of this ?

It depends on the lineage. Some people practice Buddhism with more focus on the spiritual practice of being in the moment, rather than concerning themselves with the soul's previous incarnations.

Some monks would do just fine with learning the canon, taking religious responsibilities over the community, and nothing really paranormal.

It's like saying that you'd have to have performed an exorcisms of a demonic possession before becoming a priest or a nun. Not necessarily!

To be considered a tulku does depend on past lives.

Sometimes people make a distinction between reincarnation and rebirth due to the Buddhist anatta doctrine, but I'm not aware of such a linguistic distinction existing in the original languages. Remembering past lives is considered a very high attainment (which Gautama Buddha only attained on the night of his enlightenment). It's certainly not necessary for ordination in any tradition, but all traditions accept past and future lives (the only Buddhists who don't are modern Western skeptics who nonetheless think Buddhism is valuable as a form of psychotherapy).

Personally, I think reincarnation is a necessary belief in order to motivate practice. If the death of this body is the end of consciousness, I can't really see the point in practicing Buddhism. You might as well just enjoy worldly pleasures now and try to help people. For me it is a much more powerful motivator to practice if I know that the positive force - the habits of concentration and love that I am building up within my mind through practice - are going to last forever and always be available to benefit others. If you don't believe that, why go on long retreats when you may die soon afterwards? The only reason to is if you believe that the positivity you've generated through meditation is going to carry on to future lives and be of value there.