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Rebirth Question

YogaMamaYogaMama
edited May 2006 in Buddhism Basics
The other day, I was reading a little bit about rebirth, and came across this:

"The Buddha taught that we are born and reborn many times and that there are six realms of existence into which we can be reborn. These are the hell worlds, the realm of 'hungry ghosts', the animal realm, the human realm, the realm of jealous gods and the heavenly worlds. None of these worlds are satisfactory, though some are worse than others."

Can someone explain the "realm of hungry ghosts" to me? I have not heard of this before. And once you are born as a human, will you always be born human until you reach Nirvana, or is there a chance to go back to being born as some sort of animal, for example? Does it all depend on your karma?

Comments

  • FrizzerFrizzer
    edited April 2006
    From what I've read the hungry ghosts are what you are reborn as if you lived a life of greed. They have large distended stomachs and tiny throats so that no matter how much they eat or drink, they always feel hungry.
    If this wasn't bad enough, whatever they drink burns like fire and what ever they eat tastes of bile.....mmmmm, tasty !
    Twice a year our temple has Segaki, or "Feeding Of The Hungry Ghosts" festival where people bring offerings of food and drink for them.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited April 2006
    Yogamama...have a look at this link...it explains things very well, and it's a discussion Brigid and i have had, which enabled us to understand the whole thing in greater depth... the first opening paragraph are very important.... Enjoy.

    http://www.buddhistdoor.com/bdoor/0006e/sources/realms.htm
  • buddhafootbuddhafoot Veteran
    edited April 2006
    Frizzer wrote:
    From what I've read the hungry ghosts are what you are reborn as if you lived a life of greed. They have large distended stomachs and tiny throats so that no matter how much they eat or drink, they always feel hungry.

    Sounds like Yodamama...
    If this wasn't bad enough, whatever they drink burns like fire and what ever they eat tastes of bile.....mmmmm, tasty !

    Yoda's husband has said the same thing about her cooking.



    -bf
  • YogaMamaYogaMama
    edited April 2006
    Would you like to see some pictures of my large distended belly?

    And is that why my husband always says "No thanks, I'm not hungry" when I cook for him??

    Federica...thanks for that link...I will read it this afternoon and let you know what I think.
  • buddhafootbuddhafoot Veteran
    edited April 2006
    YogaMama wrote:
    Would you like to see some pictures of my large distended belly?


    Yes!


    Sounds hot!

    -bf
  • YogaMamaYogaMama
    edited April 2006
    Thanks for that link, Federica. I really like this quote from it:

    "When the mind does not rise in reaction to circumstances
    The tree of enlightenment will steadily grow."

    Beautiful! :)
  • YogaMamaYogaMama
    edited April 2006
    Oh, and I meant to add...

    so tell me if I have this right. If you are born as a human, and you follow the Buddhist path and do your best to attain enlightment, then your chances of being reborn as a human again (until you reach enlightenment) are pretty good? As long as you follow the path, then there is a good chance of not going "backwards"?
  • YogaMamaYogaMama
    edited April 2006
    And, BF, this is for you: (my editing skills need A LOT of work)
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator
    edited April 2006
    Yoda,

    The Thirty-one Planes of Existence

    Jason
  • SimonthepilgrimSimonthepilgrim Veteran
    edited May 2006
    YogaMama wrote:
    Oh, and I meant to add...

    so tell me if I have this right. If you are born as a human, and you follow the Buddhist path and do your best to attain enlightment, then your chances of being reborn as a human again (until you reach enlightenment) are pretty good? As long as you follow the path, then there is a good chance of not going "backwards"?

    ° The attainment of stream-entry (sotapatti) guarantees that all future rebirths will be in the human or higher realms.
    (Quoted from site to which Elohim links above)
  • YogaMamaYogaMama
    edited May 2006
    Thank you for that, Simon. That answers my questions! And thank you for that link, Elohim. Very helpful.

    Kim
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