I don’t get on e-sangha much but according to multiple threads on the Treeleaf Zendo forum there was much ado about rebirth…
First thing I thought up was: If there is no such thing as birth or death, how can there be re-birth?
For my two bits, I believe that we are born and die each moment. so yes we have a constant cycle of rebirth. But your ego might not recognize it. Even before the “you” that your ego recognizes was ever around the stuff that makes you up was here. And long after anything that could be recognized as you is around (you decompose) the stuff that made you up will still be here and get incorporated into something else.
So yes we are constantly reborn, the you that existed before you read this little tidbit is already dead. Now in this moment you are reborn, woops, your dead again…oh look at that your reborn, ad nausea. But at the same time you were always here, and always will be. Take that Dogma!
What really matters though is Karma, that is your lasting impression on the world. But I have not gotten enough sleep to go into that right now.
May you be well and happy,
Jordan
3 comments:
hi jordan ~ I once wrote something similar to jundo's blog:
"there is a real part of us that is eternal and another part that dies from second to second. I think to hold one view without the other would be misunderstand our situation."
He told me to be careful with abstract ideas and words like eternal. That was probably good advice because a lot of my ideas are half-baked. I think he might have thought I was talking about eternal life in the religious sense but I was thinking about the carbon cycle here on earth and the light cycle across the universe. Like you said, we are constantly being reborn (in the carbon cycle) and we have always been here and always will be here (in the light cycle). Those are just the fundamentals of life, not really necessary to know but somehow comforting.. I am looking forward to more of what you have to say about karma.
Hello Jordan,
Nice take. who is it that gets reborn(rebirth). I would like to say that it is not whom but what is carried on. Is it not our causes,effects, actions hence Karma that carries on.
Cheers
Sorry all for the delayed response. Traveling has been keeping me busy.
Jeff, I am looking forward to posting sompthing about karma too!
Yamakoa, who? that is a good answer!
Yes, my idea is that karma caries on too.
Take care,
Jordan
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