Reincarnation

[DoctorStrange]

Which "type" of buddhism accepts reincarnation ? I've heard for a monk as part of their initiation, they need to remember their past lives.

I would've thought reincarnation is accepted across the board, but apparently it's not.

thanks

[psychoslice]

I think Buddaism like Christianit with all of its break always, is becoming or has already become, nothing but an ideology, a belief system, a crutch, no matter what we believe in, to realize our true Self we have to kick away the crutch, be it Buddaism, Christianity, or whatever belief system, and the belief of reincarntion must go also, for it only keeps you chained to the mind body.

[knightofalbion]

Originally Posted by Oneness

Which "type" of buddhism accepts reincarnation ? I've heard for a monk as part of their initiation, they need to remember their past lives.

I would've thought reincarnation is accepted across the board, but apparently it's not.

thanks

As I understand it, Indian Buddhism and its off-shoot of SE Asian Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism all accept the notion of reincarnation.
(Speaking from memory, the last survey here in the UK found that around 25%of British people accepted the notion.)

First of all many people mistake Reincarnation and re-birth, two different concepts. Buddhism accepts the latter. Secondly you don't have to believe in anything to to follow any type of Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism has all kinds of colourful explanations as to what happens when you die and then are returned, it's all conjecture. Theravada Buddhism talks of re-birth a lot but is less clear on the after death process. Zen hardly ever speaks of re-birth because it is not relevant to what's happening NOW.

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by Greg

First of all many people mistake Reincarnation and re-birth, two different concepts. Buddhism accepts the latter. Secondly you don't have to believe in anything to to follow any type of Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism has all kinds of colourful explanations as to what happens when you die and then are returned, it's all conjecture. Theravada Buddhism talks of re-birth a lot but is less clear on the after death process. Zen hardly ever speaks of re-birth because it is not relevant to what's happening NOW.

Just curious as to what the difference is between the two. I never heard them opposed to each other.

[Xan]

...it's all conjecture.

or it's people's experience in dimensions beyond this one.


Xan

[CSEe]

In my current understanding Buddhism is about NOW , NOW is "reincarnation" from before and NOW is also "in reincarnation" of the future .......reincarnation to me is not closing one chapter and opening another new chapter ....reincarnation is same as living in daily life , leaving last moment embrassing new moment ....all being is in own purification process releasing its polluted energy towards emptiness ....so death , survival , birth is all names given by human . Human creates own confusion / suffering by own knowledge .......human suffering by own knowledge which they choose to accept .

Thks
CSEe

Originally Posted by psychoslice

I think Buddaism like Christianit with all of its break always, is becoming or has already become, nothing but an ideology, a belief system, a crutch, no matter what we believe in, to realize our true Self we have to kick away the crutch, be it Buddaism, Christianity, or whatever belief system, and the belief of reincarntion must go also, for it only keeps you chained to the mind body.

Yes Buddhism like other religions can put you into a mental box . I did vajrayana for a number of years and now just really do zen meditation.

[psychoslice]

Originally Posted by NIRVANA

Yes Buddhism like other religions can put you into a mental box . I did vajrayana for a number of years and now just really do zen meditation.

Yes for some reason I like Zen also.

Originally Posted by WhiteShaman

Just curious as to what the difference is between the two. I never heard them opposed to each other.

(From wiki.answers.com)

The difference between the reincarnation of Hinduism and rebirth in Buddhism is that the former involves a soul transmigrating from one life to another; the latter does not. Buddhism teaches that there is no soul to be reborn.

Hinduism teaches that you have an internal soul that continues in a process of reincarnation while inheriting the karma of your past life. Whereas Buddha describes reincarnation as transmigration. Based on his no soul doctrine,the Buddha compared it to lighting successive candles using the flame of the preceding candle. Although each flame is causally connected to the one that came before it, it is not the same flame.

Buddha taught that we are a fine mesh of our physical form and are mental consciousness. This fine fabric, which we call self, is always changing and learning. So technically we are reborn every moment. When we die, our physical form dies. All that we claim we are dies along with it. But the energies associated with our consciousness keep flowing along with our karma. Just as the energies of our body are refused back into the earth, so is the fate of our conscious energies. Those energies are then propelled out the same direction we were headed when we were alive. Thus being used again by another life.