posted on December 22, 2005 02:45:32 PM new
The true purpose of reincarnation is to give people with nothing to live for somethng to live for, and to keep them in line for the ruling class...just like every other man-made religion.
posted on December 22, 2005 03:15:10 PM new
"The true purpose of reincarnation is to give people with nothing to live for somethng to live for, and to keep them in line for the ruling class...just like every other man-made religion."
posted on December 22, 2005 03:48:14 PM new
Actually, nefballwillie is more right than he may know. Supposedly one of the best ways to move "up a level" in Hindu reincarnation (Hinduism obviously isn't Buddhism, but they share a lot of the same concepts and values) is to do your job and duty well and not complain. This is the main idea that has led to the millennia-old caste system in India. You've probably heard of the "Untouchables" (nothing to do with Elliott Ness) of India? These are people who have been evil humans in a past life, but not quite bad enough to become animals.
People don't enslave people; bad karma does.
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on December 22, 2005 05:14:07 PM newreplaymedia...People don't enslave people; bad karma does.
Sooooooo....Black people were all evil in there past lives, and thats why they were brought back black? Interesting theory. So if they are good as black people, what do they come back as now?
posted on December 22, 2005 05:21:36 PM new
Still doesn't make sense...if you can't remember your past life it may as well not exist (which is closer to the truth.)
posted on December 22, 2005 05:27:56 PM new
I was talking about Hindu beliefs. There are no black Hindus, at least not in the sense that you mean. However, the Untouchables I referenced are treated very much like the blacks of the US South in the slavery years. Maybe not quite that bad, but there are similarities.
They live a life of near-slavery and very few rights simply because they were born into these castes, which indicates they have "bad karma." In order to have gotten this bad karma, they must have done something in a previous life, and so they deserve poor life they have now.
And just to point out a fact, Hinduism is the world's 3rd largest religion, followed by Buddhism at #4. There are a LOT of people who believe this, which explains why the system is so hard to change.
None of this is my opinion or religious or political belief, this is the reality of life in India. Do a Google for "untouchables, caste and India" You'll see why India is not considered a role model for human rights.
In fact, this is an excellent example of how religion can be used to keep the masses under control. They have used this system for thousands of years.
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on December 22, 2005 05:36:05 PM new
"Still doesn't make sense...if you can't remember your past life it may as well not exist (which is closer to the truth.) What good is it? "
Again, I don't believe it either.
But...
Just because you cannot remember that past life doesn't mean you didn't have one.
The science concerning how genetics work does't really affect you or me in a practical or personal manner either (we're already here and our genetic make-up isn't going to change), but that doesn't mean that there is no value in trying to understand them. Knowledge of genetics can and does affect future generations. Similarly, knowledge of how karma affects reincarnation also can be important for future generations.
That may not be the best comparison, but it's the best I can think of while typing.
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on December 22, 2005 05:48:21 PM new
I had an audience with him too, well actually we shared a cab in NYC.
I don’t have good memories of that meeting.
He got out first at the NBC studios, said something about being late for the Maury Show and a paternity bla, bla, bla, I couldn’t understand what he said, so I nodded my head and got stuck with the cab fare and the tip.
BTW I’m the head of my own religious Cult and no one is saying nice things about me. What gives? You heap a ton-o "nice guys" on the Dalai Lama. I’ve never felt so alone in all my life.
Amen,
Reverend Colin http://www.reverendcolin.com
posted on December 22, 2005 05:59:01 PM new
Whoa! Wait Replay, genetics is REAL and reincarnation is just a belief....sorry, I just can't see any value in it....I'm not denying that it may happen but ...so what?
If it is of no benefit to future lives why would it exist at all.???
If you could watch a movie of your past life and say, "wow, I think I'll do that again, or, oh no I didn't REALLY do that and I sure won't do it again in this life".....but we can't.
posted on December 22, 2005 06:28:28 PM new
""Once you learn compassion and how it feels to be on the opposite side, and you embrace it then you progress. If you slip up and don't learn a life lesson you go backwards and start again.
You don't remember past lives, because you carry the lesson that you learned with you, you don't need to remember the circumstances.""
OK, I can understand that but WHO made the "rules" and why do we have to do it?
posted on December 22, 2005 06:45:29 PM new
I wish I had seen this show, it sounds like Maggie has a pretty good handle on this stuff
Mingo Said: "OK, I can understand that but WHO made the "rules" and why do we have to do it? "
That's just the way it is. Nobody made up the rules.
There are multiple branches of Buddhism. Strictly basic Buddhism says there is no god, things just are the way they are and you have to learn to "work the system" by learning what Buddha taught.
Other branches of Buddhism have assimilated some of the Hindu beliefs of neighboring countries and have hundreds of gods, just like the Hindus.
I don't remember which way the Dalai Lama goes on the god issue, but I bet Maggie will tell us!
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on December 23, 2005 06:05:00 AM new
Colin would probably be much more popular if he shaved his head, gave up all worldly posessions, wore only orange robes, and talked with a funny accent.
Assuming he doesn't do that already.
(An interview with Barbara Walters wouldn't hurt either).
Did the show explain HOW they pick the new Dalai Lama when the old one dies? It's really interesting.
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on December 23, 2005 06:20:24 AM new
Interesting question.
There may not be another Dalai Lama
by Vir Sanghvi, Hindustan Times, June 20, 2005
New Delhi, India -- Will there ever be another Dalai Lama? Traditionally, the spiritual leadership of the Tibetan people passes from one Dalai Lama to his reincarnation. But the current Dalai Lama has raised questions about whether the institution should continue. He may, he says, be the last Dalai Lama.
In 2001, the Dalai Lama declared that if the Tibetan people had an elected political leadership, then the institution of the Dalai Lama would no longer be relevant. He would be happy, he said, to live in semi-retirement, and let the institution die with him.
Now, that position has been refined slightly. "If I was to die in the next few months or before we were able to return to Tibet," the Dalai Lama told the Hindustan Times, "there will be a new Dalai Lama."
"But," he added, "if we cease to be a refugee community and can live in democratic Tibet, then I don't think there should be a successor to me after I die."
In the event of the Dalai Lama passing on before Beijing yields on Tibetan autonomy, the new Dalai Lama will be chosen by searching for the reincarnation of the current incumbent.
But the Dalai Lama admits to having doubts about the traditional approach to searching for a reincarnation of a dead Lama. He concedes that some 'reincarnations' have "not been true," and says that even in his own case, he is not the reincarnation of the last Dalai Lama.
He thinks that he is a reincarnation of some spiritual leader, perhaps the fifth Dalai Lama, because when he was younger, he had vivid dreams about his past life. "Moreover," he says, "even though I was a very lazy boy, I always knew as much as my tutors on such subjects as Buddhist philosophy. That can only be explained if I had a past life memory."
He concedes also that his predecessor as Dalai Lama had left detailed instructions about where to find his reincarnation, a search that led to the discovery of the current Dalai Lama. But, he argues, this doesn't mean that he is a reincarnation of the last Dalai Lama.
"Perhaps my predecessor hired me to do the job," he laughs. In his view, Dalai Lamas are not always reincarnated in sequence so it is not necessary that the next Dalai Lama will be his own reincarnation.
But does he know where the next Dalai Lama will be born, just as his predecessor knew about him?
So, it looks like a combination of serendipity, fantasy and the prevailing political atmosphere determines the selection of a new leader...just as in any religion.
?