chosing the next rebirth

Vincenzi

in another thread it was mentioned that bodhisattvas can chose their next rebirths.
is there any sutra that mentions this?

if someone wants to try it the requirements for chosing rebirths are: bodhisattva vow, samma-samadhi, sama-diṭṭhi, and the paramitas virja and ksanti.

Dakini

if someone wants to try it the requirements for chosing rebirths are: bodhisattva vow, samma-samadhi, sama-diṭṭhi, and the paramitas virja and ksanti.

Sorry, Vincenzi, could you summarize these terms, or provide links where we can read about them?
(Good topic.)

Vincenzi

@Dakini

sure.
bodhisattva vow is the intention of having more rebirths to help others along the path.

samma-samadhi is correct or complete meditation (mostly jhanas, and being able to access skills through meditation)
sama-diṭṭhi is correct/complete view (important so that everything about "the travel" is "grounded in fact")

paramita of virja is (spiritual) power; important because the process of chosing a rebirth and being a bardo is tiring
paramita of ksanti is patience; important because being a bardo can be tiring (specially since one is chosing rebirths by not accepting other possible rebirths)

Dakini

Vincenzi, what kind of Buddhist are you? Speaking of the bardo, you sound like a Vajrayana Buddhist, but most of the rest of the time, you sound Theravadan. You don't really have to make a choice, but yours sounds like an eclectic mix. Interesting point that being in the bardo can be tiring. It makes sense, I suppose.

Vincenzi

...and nominaly I'm Zen. I take from all schools what seems closer to the truth. From Zen the general attitude (views on monastic life, possibility of satori, concept of bodhisattva and even aesthetics like enso!) from Theravada the importance of the Pali Tripitaka, and some Vajrayana concepts like tummo and bardo.

the point of bardo being tiring comes from experience, if you don't deny it as "mental fabrications".
note: what's tiring is being a conscious bardo (important for choosing the next life).

federica

Life IS a bardo....

Whoknows

Good point, life can be tiring as well (and is one of the bardos), even if it is not x7 (sorry can't remember my reference it may be Soygal Rinpoche the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying but I'm not sure). Anyway the afflictive emotions are meant to be seven times more powerful in the in-between Bardo (can't remember what this Bardo's called) compared to the "real" world. Interesting that someone's been able to generate a number, this master must have quite a lot of control to do this, I wonder if they decimal points whether this master would have ended up with 7.142 instead

Vincenzi

@Whoknows

the point is that it is tiring... and if someone is planning to chose the next rebirth in this way, how tiring it is has to be taken into account.

really, it may be better to focus on the points I made earlier than practicing dream yoga and mind-made body (astral travel) for choosing the next rebirth.

person

I think we all should try to get to the point where we can choose our next birth. Then we can worry about whether to do so or not.

Vincenzi

@person

I was just putting "out there", if someone wants to try it.