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Oh, really? That's what the Lamrim teaches. You know, I've been suspecting that some of that stuff was Hindu beliefs, leaking into Buddhism. But aren't there some suttras that give the Buddha's teachings on karma, where he goes into detail about this sort of thing? I seem to recall that coming up on other threads. (I don't mean to re-open a certain can of worms.)
Then it's been confused. The Buddha didn't teach it that way. Funny coincidence it's Tibetan that has gone to "reincarnation"... I think it's been slowly distorted/confused over time and the Buddha's teachings are pretty screwed up, in certain ways. The Buddha meant to show us that we're all part, but not permanent. We arise and pass, coming from life and causing new life, but we have to detach from sense pleasures, existence and non-existence and simply see things the way they are.
That's true MG, things aren't born or die (hence the real reason there's no permanent self to speak of), everything simply transforms from one thing to another in a constant flow of impermanency, with different aspects called aggregates that work together as they are conditioned. This is the unborn/deathless reality seen by the enlightened mind. Anyway yeah I'm done, this is getting off-topic. If anyone wants to continue asking me anything, please do it in a PM.
Well for one, it would surely give you faith in the concept of rebirth, which a lot of people on the forum do not have.
I believe in rebirth, but that has nothing to do with past life regression. Apples vs. oranges. I still don't see there's much to be gained other than the ego entertainment value. The Buddha said every living thing has been our mother, and we have been the mother of every living thing in some infinite number of past lives. But what is 'regressing' (which nobody can really define very well anyway) supposed to get me in this life? I still have to practice the Dharma in the same way (no shortcuts), and I still need to treat others the same way, right? I'm not opposed to it, I'm just saying that I don't put much (any) stock in it as any kind of deep spiritual practice on the path to enlightenment, that's all.
after each phala (fruit), in the samañaphala sutra, there's this phrase: "This, too, great king, is a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and more sublime."
it is useful. don't make mistakes that have being made for eons, understand why you are currently suffering, remember what has led to being closer to bodhi... this should be obvious, I don't know why some dismiss it so quickly.
People probably dismiss it so quickly because they have no personal experience with it.
But then again, we can avoid mistakes that have been being made for eons by simply studying human history.
We understand why we are currently suffering by integrating the 4NT. The examples of past masters, also now accessible to us through the study of human history, show us what leads to bodhi.
We have all we need by way of the study of Dharma together with human history now. Who needs past-life regression to study Dharma. IMO, it's just another thing to get attached to.
Comments
"This, too, great king, is a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and more sublime."
it is useful. don't make mistakes that have being made for eons, understand why you are currently suffering, remember what has led to being closer to bodhi... this should be obvious, I don't know why some dismiss it so quickly.
But then again, we can avoid mistakes that have been being made for eons by simply studying human history.
We understand why we are currently suffering by integrating the 4NT. The examples of past masters, also now accessible to us through the study of human history, show us what leads to bodhi.
We have all we need by way of the study of Dharma together with human history now. Who needs past-life regression to study Dharma. IMO, it's just another thing to get attached to.
and personal common mistakes are not the same as all the mistakes that humanity has ever done.