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Past lives and reincarnation
mmo
Veteran
Hi all, this is my first post and forgive me if I am sounding too novice in Buddhism.
Is it possible to remember past lives through meditation?
Thanks
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Comments
For some this happens. I can barely remember where I left my cushion in this life, let alone what happened before I was a baby.
Did you have any particular reason for asking? Oh and hi, welcome
:wave:
Hi to you too ..
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Hi, I am 28 years old, born as buddhist, as my parents are. When i was young, I took buddhism for granted. Now, I have been seeking refuge in it after some disappointing things in life.
Sorry to sound a bit negative.
I been meditating like an hour every morning. and learning it as well, to calm myself and my mind as well. At the same time, I very much want to experience the results of meditation. I want to know why I am disappointed by the people I trust. I want to know what karma I had in the past, which made me experience this. I just want to avoid all these in the future.
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There are no 'results of meditation' as such. Meditation IS the result.
All meditation is different, all experiences are different, all periods in which you meditate , are different. The secret is not to have a goal, but to see each 'sitting' as something which has resulted in.... what?
Observe, let whatever arises, arise, and just note the experience, but do not hold onto it...
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Because you grasp and desire a particular outcome, and when you do not get what you expect, you place blame on them...
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There is no way of knowing this, for anyone.
The Buddha explained that trying to work out the complexities of Kamma is impossible.
Your past Kamma (with regard to previous existence) is irrelevant; what about all the things you have done, up to now - in THIS existence??
Focus on that - it's more than enough!
In that case, think skillfully, speak skillfully, act skillfully.
You will then be fine.
^ She is right.
As you are disappointed because of expectation on people who do not live up to what you wish, you will likewise be disappointed in both yourself and your meditation practice if you expect certain outcomes. Practicing will change you only when you let go of the ideas in which you think it will change you. When you focus on expecting something in particular, you will lose sight of all that you have gained.
What happened in past lives, as far as how they affect you right now, doesn't really matter. How you act, react, speak, and so on in this life, in this moment, is all that matters.
I have read that there are people who can remember past lives. But it is not because they have tried hard to remember, or worked at it. They are highly realized masters.
Yes but not in the way you seem to seek.
It is not an extension of what may be considered 'you' now.
Best not to seek anything from it but to take things as they arise and within context.
Now, I have been seeking refuge in it after some disappointing things in life.
I been meditating like an hour every morning. and learning it as well, to calm myself and my mind as well.
At the same time, I very much want to experience the results of meditation. I want to know why I am disappointed by the people I trust. I want to know what karma I had in the past, which made me experience this. I just want to avoid all these in the future.
With a very broad brush, having sidestepped disappointment, you are in a new arena where you feel you are putting in effort and as it feels say righteous (or the opposite of what caused disappointment), you perhaps consider it is fair to see the fruits of your labour - the not-disappointments so to speak.
But there is no saying that you won't be disappointed again despite the change in arena.
If you've taken up meditation in order to deal with disappointment then it is likely that the issue of disappointment shall feature in your meditation - or rather the theme you think you escape is the only theme in meditation.
I hazard that you are already experiencing the results of meditation.
First all of thanks for all of you for responding me.
My mind wonder a lot to those disappointing experiences I had. Both @federica and @karasti are right in saying that I have desires which lead to disappointment. I recognise that and try to see things in neutral way about what had happened. That is one of the reason I took up meditation.
But I want to be on the right track on doing the meditation practice. I started reading about Jhana and Abhidhamma on Access to insight website. Also meditate at the same time. Am I doing it right?
If you seek freedom from suffering than this is the right path. Acting skillfully will not help you, because this implies that you are only 'acting'. What you are trying to do should not be to put on a good front but rather to find something better. Try to remember that Yoga and meditation does not simply revolve around just sitting around breathing. You will learn alot along the way and it will better help you connect with people and help you deal with suffering.
If there were no "results" of meditation then I wouldn't bother.
hey @SpinyNorman, yes, of course.... But I think the OP has a specific objective, and is striving towards a specific goal and intention, and trying to achieve that through Meditation. What I meant was, that it's not quite geared up that way.....
Sometimes, it's by trying too hard, that we achieve too little...
Meditation to its fullest extent is living in the now; experiencing your breath, heart beat and the world swirling instant change around you without attempting to alter what is happening in your experience.
As for recalling past lives, its not very useful to linger on those things you may have done to receive the life you live now. Best thing to do is to be aware that this experience is centered on how you see it, no one else can change that.
If you are still eager to see who/what you were in a past life, for simple curiosity, in my experience it is best to not try to expect anything. Let it come to you in due time, with no expectations. Who knows you might get to peak at more than one of your past lives
I was very surprised at mine being a whale P:
And before that a shark, so don't expect anything right away or desired results, believe me the experience is more fulfilling this way. I was hoping to talk to a human past life of mine, but I got the chance to witness a gentle giant fly by me.
Good luck to you dear, hope this was some what helpfull
Hi @Padmini42
Thanks so much for kind response. Meditation is not easy task for me, but I admit I am enjoying even if I am still a beginner in this. Before I used to struggle with the past events of my life coming back to mind. And I become overwhelmed by these. It really is a terrible suffering. I seem to be able stay in the present moment more. I don't want any more life after current one. Really want to escape the samsara. Also, It is just I just want to know if I have owed something to that person in the past.
May I ask how long you had been practising meditation. Is an hour of my daily meditation a good start. I do have my mind wondering everywhere still.
it will be ok after a while right?
Am I doing it right?
Given that you were raised by buddhist parents, can you seek guidance from them or from your local buddhist community?
Where do you feel you're going wrong?
Hi @mmo. Ajahn Brahm (Therevadan monk living here in Australia) explains how this can be done in meditation. I can't vouch for it personally.
*Actual instructions are from about 4 minutes onwards.
Good luck!
Your comments reek of a tangible desperation that makes you lose sight of what the real aim of your practice should be: continuous self-development to help you improve the quality of your life. The idea would be that all the theory and cushion practice translates into a happier life. Being acquainted with the Abidhamma or the Jhanas won't make any difference right here, right now. You are dancing faster than the music. You won't escape samsara by mere wishful thinking. You are in a prison of your own making and paradoxically, only you have the key. Stick to basics: meditate how you can apply the teaching of the Four Noble Truths to gain in insight about your own life, about yourself and your relationships. You expect too much out of people, out of your practice, out of yourself. The solution to your problems begins by focusing in the here and now. Projecting yourself into a faraway past won't bring you the liberation you seek. Don't use Buddhism as an escape from your life. Use it to plunge deeper and enjoy your life. Meditating five minutes or one hour is useless unless you reconcile theory with practice. My motto is: don't think big goals, go a step at a time, and enjoy the landscape as you walk. Life is precious. Don't squander it.
Good posting, @dharmamom....
Grazie mille, mia cara @federica... I meant every word, really. I wish we could all appreciate how Buddhism can be instrumental in helping us improve our life.
there are people who claims they can .
i think ajahn brahm has talked about this,
one of those people was Buddha....
Depends who you ask. I read something recently that said a lot of the earlier texts aren't actually as early (i.e. spoken by the Buddha) as we thought, such as the Jataka tales which are all concerning the Buddha's past lives. Take nothing for granted, and especially don't believe something just because someone tells you it's true.
I would!
To the OP: IT's said that as he attained enlightenment the Buddha saw all of his past lives. This occured while he was meditating. So yes, meditation will lead to the revelation of past lives, but you'll be on the verge of Buddhahood when it happens, so keep meditating and don't hold your breath ;-).
I'd add, to not disbelieve something becuase someone tells you it's false.
Superbly put.
_/_
See, I think part of the problem is right there.
No one is born a Buddhist.
Lifetime after lifetime everyone has to make that commitment to the Triple Gem for themselves.
Sometimes being born into a Buddhist culture is a psychological barrier to seeing its merits.
To quote Ajahn Chah " it was necessary for the Dhamma to go to the west in order for Asians to appreciate it again "..
Forget past kamma..instead concentrate on the kamma you are making right now.
Keep up your meditation..preferably with instruction..and leave the fruits of it to come in their own time.
@dharmamom said: The solution to your problems begins by focusing in the here and now. Projecting yourself into a faraway past won't bring you the liberation you seek. Don't use Buddhism as an escape from your life. Use it to plunge deeper and enjoy your life. Meditating five minutes or one hour is useless unless you reconcile theory with practice. My motto is: don't think big goals, go a step at a time, and enjoy the landscape as you walk. Life is precious. Don't squander it.
Thanks for all the advice you have given me. It means a lot. I admit that I wasn't a ardent practitioner of Buddha teaching before, even though I was born in the community with Buddhist. I am in the process of making up for it. I do listen to Ajahn Brahm talks on youtube. Every single one of them.
The problem I have is: I find it very difficult to cope with betrayal of the loved one. If it is someone else I can let it go easily. It is just i want to know what have I done to others for me to experience this.
It's not a question of what you have done... it is a combination of factors too complex to define. It is also about what they did, why, what led them to do it.... you are not the only protagonist here....
Unless we know what this 'loved one' did, then it is impossible for us to 'coach' you through it.
But I suspect (and yes, I could be wrong) this is a girlfriend/boyfriend issue....
Sometimes, you never find those answers. Sometimes, they come years later. The nice thing about meditation is that it helps you develop the tools to not let the hows and whys control your life or your thoughts.
I was betrayed by a boyfriend when I was young, and it caused incredible hurt. For a long, long time. Then one day, out of the blue, 20 years later, he found me online and he apologized, and explained the truth behind his actions. Had I had the practice I do now, I would not have carried that weight of "why did he do that to me?" for so long. Meditation is (or can be) the answer. Just not quite in the way you are thinking.
Thank you, @Citta.
@mmo: Looking backwards won't help you either to understand your suffering, nor to make the pain go away faster.
Suffering simply happens. There's no reason for it. There's a day, there's a night. There is joy, there is suffering.
Why you are suffering is not the right question. The right question is "How can I better deal with suffering when it happens, right here, right now?"
What we have all done is allow situations to arise without the capacity to let them go. It is the response that Buddhist practice helps with. This might be of real benefit, rather than some karmic blame game . . .
You need to meet the right cushion?
I like the reincarnation on NB @Padmini42...
Glad I can help
You can start with what you are doing now, or shorten it two about 20 minutes. It doesn't need to be a longstanding process in order to work, its main task is to cultivate self awareness in this empty reality.
I've been practicing for a few years now, and only till recently have I mastered one type of breathing meditation
When I say empty, I mean empty of separateness, for example if you are reading a book on mediation you will find that there is a cloud in that book. If you look further you will not only see the nourishing rains coming from the cloud to feed the tree, but also the man/woman who cute the tree down. You are connected to that tree, that cloud and that lumber jack, as well as his/her family, and the list will go on.
Be aware that all matter in the universe lies within you, its always been there you just need to remember that. Buddha is in everything, and with you. You can't control it, trap or claim it as your own it just is. Let it flow in and out of you, experience your breathing as this is happening.
Just keep practicing, no one ever gets it on the first few tries. hell it took me almost three years to get this far, and I still stumble around. Its just about learning how to stumble less and less
Yes, that too. I'm a true skeptic at heart so it's all good!
Everything should be taken as a working hypothesis until there's sufficient justification to believe it (or not believe it). I'm Descartes at heart, without the unquestioned assumptions about a supreme being. Always more to question...
I think utilizing skepticism correctly is an important, and oft underused, skill for determining truth from falsehood. Too many beliefs floating around that aren't based on solid foundations.
You cannot guide in this way @Padmini42; it lacks 'lustre'
These two issues are quite removed from each other.
Try to work your way to the core of the issue and see what can be done there.
You are experiencing pain and this may be closer to the core of the issue.
Trying to find out what you have done to deserve this pain is akin to trying to find a focus for blame. It seems almost as though you have concluded already that blame rests with you and are now trying to understand why this is so.
Perhaps consider how and why it is that you have so readily reached this conclusion and how it will assist a resolution to strike out only from this point.
'How can I face this experience' may more readily assist than 'I want to know what have I done to others for me to experience this.'
like I said I still stumble, I can't produce a gem every time but I try my best.
No you are not. There are normal people who remembered their past lives and are not any closer to liberation.
http://plr-therapy.blogspot.com/p/clients-experiences.html
http://www.spiritual-regression-therapy-association.com/index.htm
Without the 4NT and N8FP there is no attaining nibbana.
I tried going to my earliest memory during meditation to see if I could go and experience a past life, just to investigate this for myself. I could say with certainty that the earliest memory I could recall as truly mine was of an early childhood experience, I remembered it vividly (as an 7 or 8 year old running along a path and seeing a small bird on the ground and picking it up thinking it had been injured, however, after a few minutes it just flew off and startled me - blew my mind that did, but no other memories of another life represented to me that I could say were memories remembered with the same vividness. Perhaps I was doing it all wrong?
perhaps there is only one life? ... :eek: ... \ lol / ...
Although that person was not me as I am now, and all his thoughts were his own, I wasn't recalling them, and for intents and purposes his mind appeared empty to me. He was however part of this life's experience, so in that view I am the reincarnation of that little boy.
Hmmm