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Could A Buddhist believe that rebirth is a metaphor....
As in you go through many stages of live, and are better after overcoming each?
Instead of the actual rebirth of a soul?
Does Buddhism allow for each individual to incorporate their unique beliefs into Buddhism along with the original beliefs?
Instead of the actual rebirth of a soul?
Does Buddhism allow for each individual to incorporate their unique beliefs into Buddhism along with the original beliefs?
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Comments
But you are free to believe as you wish.
I actually sort of like your idea because it implies taking a path toward perfection.
To be clear: Buddhism is not a belief system. It is an "I just know"-system. So what you cannot belief, you cannot belief. Simple as that. The Buddha never made a point about that, trying to convince people was not what he did. The Buddha did teach rebirth (not a soul, but he said the 'clinging to life' transfers) is true, but it is not so wise to belief this on blind faith. Just keep reasonable doubt on the matter if you can. In fact have reasonable doubt on everything anybody says until you -and only you- personally know what is true and what is false.
With metta,
Sabre
But it is not essential to belief anyway. Maybe it will come, maybe not. I know you are new to this, so just leave it be for a few years or until you feel ready. Or leave it forever if you want.
I usually post this video to those who are new to the concept, feel free to watch if you want.
But dont force yourself to accept something you cant.
Just say, 'ok, buddha said this, its weird I dont
really buy it. lets see what else buddha said'.
We never know the whole truth because our knowledge
is limited. Our knowledge is constantly growing, evolving.
Even scientists will tell you what we know today
makes people in the 1900 look like idiots.
Similarly, in 2100, we will all look like idiots to them.
So someone mentioned the Catholic Church, and you can rest assured that you will not be excommunicated from buddhism for not following every major demise. Buddha himself said "Do not believe anything I say unless it suits you" or something to that effect, basically meaning question everything, find your own path, and you will find your own truth. The beautiful thing about Buddhism is that Buddha said that he was just like everyone else and that he should not be worshiped, he was just a person who stumbled across the true nature of things.
But I would have to say the that the belief on rebirth or not is in all honesty not even necessary to believe in one way or another... if you think about it in terms of Christianity, there is the belief you should be good, not sin, and have faith in god in order to go to heaven. However Buddhism as a whole looks down upon action to benefit yourself. In other words, right intention. Thus, when it really comes down to it, don't do good in this life (assuming we have more than one) because you want to be reincarnated into a higher realm, but rather do good because it is what you should be doing. (i worded that offhandedly, not necessarily should do, but rather would do if you let go of grasping, and delusion). Just a personal thought on the matter, no matter what you believe will happen after this life, if you're only concerned with the next life, you will never truly be free from samsara (the cycle of suffering).
Ash
With metta,
Sabre
Remember when you first learned to ride a bike? You were uncertain, but you saw the other kids do it, so there was some hope and belief that you could do it too. After the required number of falls and scraped elbows, you were finally able to do it. And in that doing, what usefulness would anyone find in hope and belief that they could ride a bike? Hell, you just get out there and do it, right?
OK, in the beginning there are belief and hope and concepts. You read about "rebirth" and try to get your head around it. You use the only tools on hand at the moment -- emotion and intellect. But emotion and intellect are limited, like the concepts they collect. And Buddhism is not about creating false limitations, false separations. It is about your true and limitless self ... a way of being that is peaceful and cannot be touched by words (any more than actually riding a bike can be touched by words).
If you would like to play a little with "rebirth," maybe it would be fun to consider this. Can you grasp the past? I don't think so. Can you know or grasp the future? I don't imagine you can do that either. So perhaps we can agree that the past and future are not something we can grasp or hold or remake or do anything about. So much for the past and the future. And now we come to the present, the thing everyone may be convinced they know something about since we all exist in something called the present. But think it through: By the time we have finished speaking the word "present," the present has become past and has become ungraspable. Past, present and future are, in reality, out of our reach ... and yet we all reach and reach and explain and find concepts and think and emote and on and on and on ... as if we could actually contain or explain it all.
And it is in this game or realm that rebirth may take on some meaning. From moment to moment, there is something that happens -- something we might call "I." Today I am not the same as I was yesterday. Yesterday, I was sad. Today I am happy. Or maybe it all happened just seconds ago -- I was sad and now I am happy. Something happens from moment to moment. What is it? Since past, present and future are out of our control, what could that "something" possibly be? Maybe we say things like "It's just change," but that's just talk. What is it really that happens? Since it's happening to all of us all the time, we ought to be able to come to some conclusion and yet any conclusion we reach just slips into the ungraspable past.
What is going on here? What is really going on? Moment after moment, day after day, week after week, year after year -- what is it?
This is where the practice of Buddhism comes in handy. That practice takes us by the hand. Yes, there are bumps and bruises along the way. Yes there are longings to get everything tied up in a neat little "concept" box. Bit by bit, rebirth by rebirth, our practice helps us to let go of wisdom and just be what others call "wise."
Sorry for all the talk.
A Buddhist can certainly believe that rebirth is a metaphor....
Rebirth means to inherit to results/fruits of one's actions
So as your life grows & develops, increasing in spiritual & personal maturity, this growth is the results of your actions, efforts, learnings, practises, etc
Regards
DD
When it comes to incorporating your beliefs into the beliefs of Buddhism its a little bit of a delicate situation. The Buddha left us teachings that are effectively an infallible path for the attainment of happiness. If you want to change those teachings, then in the long run you might be depriving yourself of happiness. But on the other hand, there are some exceptions. I suppose it depends on what your beliefs are.
I hope that might have cleared a little up for you.
-Tikal206
Great question, great discussion.
These habitual energies continue to be predominant, until through right effort and direct insight the wrong views that support them are eliminated. The cycle is reversed, leading to liberation from habit-oriented thought that is born of ignorance. It's all conditioning, which is something we must try and understand, and this is exactly why the Noble Eightfold Path is a skillful means to awakening.
At least this is one foundational understanding we must come to in order to really progress. It's difficult to be sure what happens at death, but we must at least then continue to investigate and ask the question "what am I?", and also "what is reborn?". Can we ever find a first cause the gave rise to an individual self/soul in the first place, prior to this life, or are we assuming one has always existed and somehow ceases upon enlightenment? Many questions.
Rebirth has two attributes namely its resembling state which can also be compared with our states of mind and the actual physcial being of taking rebirth.
He doesn't deny that rebirth as seen in scripture and in Buddhist societies is very much literal. He just disagrees with it. He also disagrees with the metaphor view:
"While Tibetan Buddhists tend dogmatically to assert it, practitioners of Zen and vipassana tend either to overlook it or explain it away as a metaphor. Both these attitudes can equally serve to sidestep the awesome encounter with the "Great Matter of Birth and Death." Failure to summon forth the courage to risk a nondogmatic and non-evasive stance on this central issue is also liable to blur one's ethical vision."
I don't think you can be buddhist by ignoring the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. I don't think that is Buddhism. However, I believe you can be Buddhist by making rebirth a metaphor.
However, I believe that literal rebirth will cultivate more compassion within you. Examine rebirth, contemplate it, try applying it to your thoughts. See what difference it makes within you. You can always change your mind. But I guess it could be said that it would be pointless to try believing in something without believing it in your heart.
Furthermore, I believe that literal rebirth is important because we can use it to become more compassionate to others, animals, and also toward nature in general.
Perhaps both exist. The day-to-day rebirth as described by the metaphor as well as literal rebirth after death.
We simply do not know what the original beliefs were, nor does it matter at all.
Avoid the mire!:)
You didn't give your reason for why you believe this, but whatever your reason, you should know that the argument works the other way too. I can say that belief in only one life cultivates compassion because it makes us appreciate this life and the lives of others all the more.
You're right. Something somewhere swayed me to believing in rebirth before. I'll have to find it... Typically things need to be pretty compelling for me.
Yes, the clouds are impermanent and we make those clouds.
However, the fact we able to watch those clouds and see deeply into ourselves is down to our mind /product of the evolution/. We pay a great price for this privilege: fear of death.
If our ancestors did not fear this and fight unethically for survivor – we would not be here.
Whatever , I will post below is just a sign of confusion and not at all against Buddhism.
It seems that Buddhism as many other religions put emphasis on moral conduct. You can disagree with many Buddhist’s ideas but compassion, tolerance is at the core of it. Most of other religions share those ideas.
At the same time another common idea is suffering.
They blame other influences for this suffering like sins of Adam and Eve.
However, disillusions, sins are a common factor in all the religions.
If for one moment we take in to account the theory of evolution or origins of life – we have to state that ethical behavior was a downfall.
Here we are, a product of a ‘selfish DNA’ producing morality.
Is this good or bad from the universe or future consciousness point of view?
Pls note, I am not talking here about subjective feeling of happiness or fulfillment.
You beat me to the response.
Spiny
Spiny
Until this happens, we're always jumping from happy to suffering, pleasure to pain. The realization of Nirvana is beyond this cyclic/"samsaric" existence where we're always trying to be happy but never finding any stable ground upon which to say "this is it, this is all I'll ever need".
The seeds of karma is the self that is reborn, and recognizing that you realize that this whole self thing isn't self either! It's the kind of laugh a practitioner has in their mind when they break through the question of "what am I?".
It is easier for me to think of myself as that ongoing process of 90% microbes (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129862107) air,water, etc becoming new conglomerations of things such as suns, dust,earthworms,apple trees, depending on their attractions.
Obviously that makes me something of a pantheist as I believe everything is alive to a certain degree, not just a collection of inanimate objects acted upon by humans.
That is how I think of reincarnation
Spiny
Remember the candle flame. It continues to burn so long as the conditions are present, even though at any one moment you can say the entirety of the flame is different than it was a moment ago. It's the same with our mind and all the vastness it contains; as long as the conditions are present to support it, it will continue to burn... but it will change dependent upon conditions as well, so it can discern the true nature of reality and become free of ignorance.
Here's some anecdotes from people who have had NDE's (Near Death Experiences):
Also, if you are interested in the subject of rebirth/reincarnation, I recommend that you check out the research of "Professor Ian Stevenson". He has written several books on the subject of rebirth where he investigates the alleged memories of people who claim to have lived before.
This circumstantial evidence does not prove rebirth (which I believe is unfalsifiable), but it does support the theory.
Short of having a spontaneous memory or a NDE yourself, there might be little that will convince you 100% of the validity of rebirth, so it is totally understandable if you don't accept it - but - I would also recommend to be careful not to reject it out of hand.
Metta,
Guy
Spiny