Sri lankan here. Have been a buddhist from birth. I must say this has been the most unique and refreshing way of looking at rebirth I have ever heard. It forgets about the details of rebirth and just focuses on what it means for us and what we can do about it as human beings. Wisdom in every word. Wow.
Thanks for this. I had a very tough day and got some unwelcome news, but so much of this talk resonated with me and I feel a lot better now. Thanks Ajahn Brahm and thanks you guys for posting.
Your sharings are the archor in the crazy world. There are too much distractions and commitments. I valued your simply explanation on deep concepts. Your simple way of life. Thanks with great appreciation.
I like the reminder on the main priority in life. Money and fame are important but not essential. Families and personal spiritual growth are of greater importance. Thanks for the gentle reminder. Thanks
One of the key tenets of Buddhism is "no self" - your personal self won't exist after you die in the Buddhism cosmology - what survives is consciousness, and the container for your consciousness (or what form you take in rebirth) is determined by karma. The "personal self" is like a candle that burns away over time, and "reincarnation" is like the flame that moves to a new wick when the old candle burns out.
Anyone who wishes to be convinced that reincarnation CAN and DOES occur should look at the life's work of Dr. Ian Stevenson. He's an MD from University of Virginia who studies and documented proven cases of reincarnation. Thanks.
Stevenson's work is so speculative and unscientific that the scientific community doesn't even take the time to critique it. Everyone just ignores it. I even say this as a believer in rebirth.
I had a flashback to a prior lifetime as a young child, assumed I would grow into that body as I aged and I was horrified that by the time I was age seven it didn't happen. Also, it's not the shangrila to remember past incarnations as the way it's just superficially understood - there's still craving and clinging from those and no way to return! THAT is when you get to meditate on clinging!!!! Because for me, every lifetime was about finding the residue I had been holding onto left over from the prior one - and you need that perspective to REALLY appreciate the slogan, "no womb birth." do NOT seek reincarnation!!! Face death with eyes wide open and go for the END... as final as possible. Hold NOTHING at the end of life!!!! you NEVER return to ANY past. Live each breath learning that each one is a lifetime.... and practice that until the bitter end!!! You will NEVER get back to the first one or the second one or any others... accept loss as a HUGE blessing... it's helping hone the fine art of truly letting go. Never opt to hold on!!! Cultivate the habit of release... and look deeply to release as much as possible. Let no belief in reincarnation comfort you!!! Let the thought of reincarnaation stimulate meditation as if your hair and nerve ends are on fire- because they are, only it's way embedded and hidden. Desire has to find the grave - or else it's relentless neverending cycles on a planet that wars, hates, and envies - even if one is a monk, nonetheless even they have to live in a world that is engulfed in desire. It seems that passion and aversion are the fundamental building blocks of existence and if you want to suffer, return. If you don't want any news of suffering, then, never mind reincarnation belief or experience. trust the wisdom that awareness accomplishes release and devote every moment to the task so the rebirth illness is cured!! That's just this human's perspective. Heaven forbid one clings to any aspect of existence now and in a hundred years has to return to an Earth looking more like Mars than earth - and then you'd be clinging to a relative desert... whatever returns seems to be an existence junkie. hahaha so... my two cents from the perspective of several lifetimes in awareness - whether having been lived by this being or simply in Jungian terms, simply recalled from some collective unconscious. Trust me, look to end the cycle. It's like feeling as old as dinosaurs... and you would wish to share 'the good old days' and there's no one to share them with!!! Like being 2000 years old and all friends have died. And won't be seen again. I was happier before having become aware of them. It works against Buddhadhamma because it gives the false impression that existence is permanent or enduring.
In buddhism, it is understood that kamma and rebirth are highly impersonal acts of nature. You can think of them as laws of the universe that govern consciousness and sentience. Just like gravity it acts upon you, whether you believe in it or not.
3 yrs. ago I went house hunting with a good friend. Went in to the last house & all my joints started to throb & my chest started to feel pressure. I asked the agent if there were home history reports available & both she & good friend thought I was being troublesome. Then we went out back & the agent & myself turned left & my buddy went right. After a few seconds, he said, "dear lord, someone died here." I thought he was joking...then he showed me a plaque with the name, date of the deceased.
Wonderful explanation of the mango tree. It really shows how karma carries on from one life to the next. Is it possible to to indicate where the tree sholud be planted? I was brought up as Catholic and only came to Buddhism in my sixties (I'm 86 now) and would like to be reborn in a Buddhist country like Tailand or Shri Lanka to be sure I was brought up in this faith. What do you think?
The interesting thing about the words "ego", "self" & "transcendental" is that these special words can always be mixed and matched in any way to come up with sentences that sound extremely profound. That is, until someone digs deeper into the sentence and starts asking questions.
Out of 14 siblings, I'm the only one that has this pulling inclination towards the Buddha's teachings. Why? Is it due to Karma and rebirth? I've often wondered about that. I do have a younger sister who I share some of the teachings with sometimes but it's sporadic and it's only when she's having difficulties with her husband and children. She would often come to me with "my husband did this, blah, blah, blah, or my kids did this." And what I usually end up telling her are all the stories and similes I've heard from A.Brahm (such as The Two Bad Bricks, The Emperor, the Farmer, The mosquitoes, The Mango Tree etc.) I enjoy retelling these stories.
Lord Byron Your reasons for arriving at Dharma's door,is in fact kind of Karma.Karma is not the action according to Mahayana,which I am a student.However there are other instances of Karma.Anyway,the fact you come to Buddhism as I stated is Karma,But this Karma is that of Karmic Imprint and Karmic Tendencies.If we think of the Imprints as ''Memory''. And Tendencies as Urge,orr impulse/Compulsion.These compulsive intentions derive from the karmic imprints.You remember something frtom yesterday having had a good sleep,that gives rise to recalling the next day,kind of this way karma works.The preceding moment of mind,or the preceding moment of existance takes the form of the proceding moment.What you do once there is high chances you will repeat it....just as you repeated the instance of telling your Sistser the stories.So it is having a positive effect upon you that we know as ''Blessings from the teacher''...This I translate as ''Inspiration''.Being Inspired.You see a quality you wish to behold...But you have that quality it is inherent in everyone,the quality is what we wish to see in a person whom may be able to help sort our ife out,if its projected from our mind then it is within us to be projected in the first place. Now the wanting to help and tell stories,what you may need to do is to define which it is. Do you do so in order to re-define a Me....I am good I do this for this person,therefore I am virtuous''. That is a self centered attitude in which grasps at a sense of me I am important that in turn seperates one from others and we become distant,disconnected,un caring.So the motivation and intention is directed with training towards ''A Selfless Attitude''. Try to endevour to do things without a thought of wanting something,we hve to be careful the me does not creep in,it is ''Subtle''.However meditation is essential,otherwise it is limited and what you attain will inevitabally be ''Temporary Cessation''. It will just at some point re-surface.Back to sqaure one on the monopoly board. However unlike a board game we can not possibly in rare cases it has been done but rare to complete the path in one life due to many years of rebirthing and re-laying more spent imprints with a new which can be latent for many lives before reactivation,this is just one essential law of karma,the gap and distance between action and true result. But has a lot to do with the ''Self Grasping at this me I am important'',which is gross to subtle.Which is why meditation is vita to draw ones emotions to the surface,to observe and investigate ones mind set.Visualisation to intergrate the inspiration back into us.When you are self grasping,ones energy is ''inwards'',when you are thinking and nehaving selflessly that energy is pushed ''Outwards''. To others,and the aim is to do so without any kind of sense of regret,no discriminating I can't do it for him or her,my mum is not my mum I don't get on with her or my Dad,no sense of Burden ''Oh I just can't do it,when can I just take time out for me''.Guilt you should frown upon,that is the self I think it usual points towards a self grasping ''Oh poop I got caught I have to be better next time''.Its not a balanced and even surface,thus with uneven surface ''Nothing can be laid on top that makes mind smooth and calm,and conducive to Enlightenment.Now for yourself,as I see it is something you wish to understand otherwise one would never of made such a statement,your mind is naturally inclined to such philosphy and science of mind.You should not try to hard,don't impose on to others whom don't ask,just as your good Sister as come to you,you will improve and you will at some stage notice your audiance,your followers...those whom come to you for advice.And we all need advice,so be prepared,and prepare yourself with ''Dharma''.Imprint it to your continuity of mind.I hope this is more of benefot to you for this life and is the cause for you to attain a Precious Human Rebirth many many times to serve others. Tashi Delek. _/I\_
+Lord Byron It's not due to anything else other than pure curiosity and a desire to learn about your own self. Karma, or whatever has nothing to do with anything here, I assure you. Why? Cause there is no karma.
Thank you what healing. You flow with feelings it , funny love connection you are flowing through the grace watching you feel it Bless you . I found you. What you give .... Inspirational angel bless you ❤️💫💫💫
If a person has devoted a lot of time & energy in thoughts, speech or actions based on anger, jealousy, hatred, gross physical desires etc. then his/her mind tends to remain in such heavy, entrapping states. It takes a lot of effort to lift the mind from such tendencies & move towards light. The 'script' is really written by a person himself by his own thoughts, actions & desires in his past. That script is called karma. No external force writes a script & forces a person to follow it.
There seems to be a lot of discussion on here about whether or not the Buddha taught rebirth. My approach is not to even worry about it. If I recall my past lives, fine, if not, fine. I'm trying to not "cling to views" and so I have opted not to form one regarding literal rebirth. The experience of recalling past lives is ultimately personal and is not a basis for encouraging belief in others. Read the Kalama Sutta and you can get a good idea of what the Buddha taught regarding this.
If you study the dependent origination, the Buddha was not talking about physical rebirth. It is psychological and understanding the 12 links that is the origin of unsatisfactory in the mind. Nothing is permanent in this world. Does Ajhan Brahm believe in a permanent soul?
Like said earlier you have good points and in that I also understand what you are saying. As for the flame on a candle, The fire is constantly turning to heat. When you snuff it out, the energy turns into heat and in turn heats up the snuff itself. In science it is also proven that just as energy, molecules never cease to be, unless purposely destroyed(thus the Atom bomb). So just as what I was saying in energy, it is said that even the molecules we breath in today, DaVinci inhaled as well.
Hi Ven Ajahn Brahm,i tried to kow about my past life,i had a very not so clear picture but all i could see is " I can see a child holding a women's hand probably my mother in past life in very big lawn, in a very calm environment somewhere in far west(i'm in Pune(in INDIA now). This is the first thing i saw when i asked " What is my earliest memory" can you suggest me know get a more clear image Thanks in advance
I have so much respect to Ajahn Brahm because he focuses on the heart of buddhism and it's practical. I believe that if it's real buddhism, there is always a reasonable answer that explains things and can be proved . However, with this subject, what is the proof to the reincarnation ? I want to believe but I just dont know how.. can someone explain ?
Buddhism has a lot of interpretations on rebirth and reincarnation….sometimes the theories confuse people and do not do much good due do disagreements and various different teachings… 🙏🙏🙏
You make good points. However, what kind of evidence would you look for? Your memories, skills, personality may die with your body, yet raw consciousness may still survive and there'd be little evidence to show it. Keep in mind, just because there's no evidence doesn't mean a thing isn't. There's also little raw experimental evidence for string theory, yet many physicists "believe" in string theory because it explains incongruities and gaps in our current understanding of the universe.
Hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare
I agree that while my explanation for the differences between people is adequate, it isn't necessarily correct. But until some further evidence is forthcoming, it is perfectly adequate. If any evidence ever becomes available for literal rebirth, then we would need to take that into account.
Well, the idea is much older than that, actually. Even some pagan traditions predating Jesus (by a LONG shot) have the idea. In fact, didn't it come into Judaism via the Persian religion? I believe the ancient Egyptians had some form of it as well... Not sure about the Hindu concept. They might have it on their own, or it might have come from the Persians as well. Either way, I've found that Hell is more of a state of mind than anything else, if you think about it deeply. :-)
Some branches of Buddhism, such as Zen, are flexible, while others are not. E-sangha, the biggest online Buddhist discussion forum, bans anyone who publicly disagrees with the dogma of literal rebirth.
(Cont.) But none the less, as Confabulator99 said, reincarnation is not the main focal point in Buddhism. Least not for me anyways. Therefore I do not dwell on what has yet to be, more on what is now. I see Buddhism as a way of life for me, to not cause suffering to other or myself as much as possible and lead a good Karmic life. If that in turns gives me some kind of "afterlife" so be it. If not, well I can say I lead a good life with the time I did have. ;) But, great comments!
I am enjoying watching these videos of Ajahn Brahm, who I didn't know before yesterday. He is insightful and caring and humourous. However I thought this video might say more about the detail of how rebirth is meant to happen. Does the ghost, that he refers to, feel drawn towards some woman who has just conceived and become united with the fetus? And what if no ghost is hovering around when a woman gets pregnant? Can a baby be born minus any karma/soul from a previous life?
Yes indeed, that's what I was saying. That's what I meant when I said that while a candle is alight it can light many other candles, but once it is extinguished, it can no longer do so. That's why I say that those who think that rebirth happens after physical death have got it entirely wrong.
That's a bit of a distortion of the theology of hell, unless you're some conservative Catholic or stupid evangelical or something. And Buddhists have a hell too- in fact there are several. Only you don't stay there forever. Which, btw, is a concept I find quite refreshing, and more believable than the dogmatic version of the Judeo/Christian/Islamic idea.
What's the prizes and can you sure me my reincarnation ! Marks and all this things can you explain it to me please and telle what temple in Nashua it's available
I'm guessing he means doubled profits and trebled their PRODUCTIVITY, not their "turnover." Unless in Britain and/or Australia turnover means something different than the US, trebling your turnover would mostly be considered a very BAD thing.
Ah, the middle finger, good choice. It is the magical finger that always shows one's own ego instead of the moon, just in case anyone failed to read it in the words.
@amila2006 Correct me if i am wrong but I thought Buddhism was not a religion & i don't mean it in a bad way. The Buddha never talked about God? Buddhism is about personal growth & how to become a better person. The Buddha borrowed many of his ideas from Hinduism. We believe God is a moral Guide not a refuge, a backdoor that is going to take care of us like pets. Our goal is Moksha - to become part of God or to become part of something greater than us - Gandhiji showed us the way.
Bible said human is born once a d die once after that comes resurrections of the death and to present ourself on the judgement day where all humans have to stand before their Creator God to give an account of what they have accomplished on earth. The good to eternal life and the evil to the eternal death.
I still can't accept this. Ajahn Brahm is a superbly wise teacher but reincarnation still cannot be proven or demonstrated other than by anecdotal evidence and suggestion.
I am only at about 8min on the video, but so far I can tell you are wanting a scientific answer of physical matter and how it goes from one "being" to another. Best way that I can explain how I see it is, our brain works from electric pulses. Therefore we have an form "energy" keeping us going. Now, my thoughts are that when this body dies it can no longer hold in that energy. We know scientifically that energy has to go somewhere. make sense? Hope so.
I see what you're saying. But just because an explanation is adequate, however, doesn't mean it's the right one. Thomas Kuhn showed us how the explanation of an earth-centered Copernican universe was fully adequate based on available data at the time, thus Galileo's alternative theory of a sun-centered universe to explain the same limited data was deemed so offensive to the church. As for the argument of a selfish motive behind the theory of reincarnation, that's just an ad hominem argument.
Apparently he says it quite often. I wish I had a transcript, or that I had it on video. However, he says that he is told that when he was a child he could remember his past lives, even though he can't remember remembering.
Punar janmam sathyam tanne Re birth is true.This topic I am published in Calicut Time daily in 6 days series and read many people and give good comment.Please hear and comment only after heard this compleately.you can traslat it first.
Why do you presume that all the humans we're seeing now were from our planet in their past lives? They could easily be from another planet or another realm. After all, it is stated in Buddhism that the universe itself is infinite.
I remember Ajahn Brahm said reincarnation's based on how much sum good & bad karma one's in this life & what he wanna be reborn to or not reborned, but what in case of animals w/ no consciousness how it can reborn to a least ~intelligent as human species, it couldn't do good as it's no will allow it transcend to a higher species?
I'll add one other thing: does Buddhism collapse without reincarnation, like perhaps Christianity does without heaven? No, reincarnation isn't nearly so important. The Buddha himself told his followers that he didn't know what happened in the afterlife, but that it wasn't important. It's the parable of the poisoned arrow - google it, not enough space here...
When a candle is alight, it has an "energy", does it not? Now when we extinguish the candle (snuff it out), where does it go? It doesn't magically leap to another candle, does it? I think Ajahn Brahm is entirely missing the point about rebirth. A teacher is reborn in his student. Rebirth happens during life, not after death. While a candle is alight it is able to light other candles, but not after it is extinguished.
I agree with you - there is no scientific proof that reincarnation is happening other than anecdotal proof. However, did prehistoric man need to know how lightning was created to know that lightning exists? We can observe that reincarnation exists (see "Life Before Life" by Tucker and "Old Souls" by Shroder for research on the issue) before we understand how and why it is happening. Before those books, I was 80% against reincarnation as a possibility; after those books, I am 80% convinced.
4 Planets? are you sure? can you quote the Sutra? Because I can remember him saying something along the line of "The Universe is Infinite" etc. Speculation is pretty useless really. People will just keep arguing over these things they have no direct experience of.
If there is no person there to begin with, how does that person get reborn? That's a common question in Buddhism. The answer is not apparent using Western (Aristotelian, or based on the black and white approach to logic first put forth by Aristotle and that now serves as the cornerstone of Western thought) thinking. To us in the West, things must be this or that, yes or no, black or white. But, reality is not this way. There are no fine lines in the universe, as there are in our thinking about it. Reincarnation may be a spectrum of processes, many of which are beyond our limited human understanding. There is certainly abundant scientific evidence that reincarnation CAN and DOES happen in the physical sense. But, maybe it doesn't happen all the time, or in exactly the same way. Things are as they are, and not the way we think. Logic is such a small thing, a recent human development on a small planet tucked into the remote regions of an average galaxy. It would be unreasonable to assume that the entire universe is forced to abide by it. Useful, but not infinite.
Some of us actually remember our past lives and Asians did not invent Buddhism. They didn't get into Buddhism until approx. 400 years ago. It was Eastern Ethiopia/Nepal where it first developed. That was 1000 years before Asians learned about it. Scientists have been baffled by people who have been able to prove they have lived before. They had all the proof.
Ife Gail Young - Buddha Siddharta lived in India, 2500 years ago. The teachings expanded to much of Southern Asia long before your estimate of "400 years" - Tibet, China, Japan, amongst others.
with him & the people who stay, stand & fight & WIN! Then the coward will never live it down! He will be forever known as the coward who ran away - fearing any threat. So, people staying simply will not do - they must die! They must not be allowed to stay - & so the threats of hell against those who disagree with these religions - the threats of cowards A True warrior will not threaten - dragging a coward into battle will only hurt the effort
(cont'd) All the differences between people can be adequately explained by means of genetic differences and different environmental influences. For example, a younger brother has different genes to the older brother, and a different environment also (for example, since the younger brother has an older brother, but the older brother does not). So there's no reason to make-up the idea of literal rebirth unless we are selfishly trying to manufacture a way for our ego to survive death.
I find this "simile" of the mango extremely inappropriate. We *know* what the connection is between the old mango and the new mango. The connection is that they share much of the same DNA, and the DNA is what creates a great deal of what they are. But this says *nothing whatsoever* about what is passed from one life to another so far as literal rebirth is concerned. What, exactly, leaves a dead body and goes into the creation of a new being, and how? Ajahn Brahm doesn't answer the question.
You are putting your finger on the salient point. And it is precisely this why I would argue that "rebirth" as it is taught by buddhism is in fact _not_ reincarnation at all. It is only _structural_ aspects of life, habits, ignorance that reconditions new life and doesn't at all necessarily mean that the _same being_ has anything further to do with is. That is what René Guénon would argue. He claimed that no being every goes through the human experience even twice. It is like our bodies decompose and become part of a new organism, and the same way our unresolved psychic complexes recur, but are perhaps picked up by a new being as part of its "garments" to wear on this earth.
confabulator99, it is *suggested* that a person's consciousness survives death. If this is the case then there should be some evidence for it. But there isn't. You say that reincarnation is like the flame that moves to a new wick when the old candle burns out, but it doesn't. The candle may light other candles while it is alight, but not after it has been extinguished.
If you can recall rebirth only after practising samatha meditation, then how do you explain the fact that the Dalai Lama cannot recally any past lives? Do you think he's never practiced samatha meditation?
First you have to accept who you are. If you believe you are nothing but a pile of chemicals (this body) then the understanding will be difficult. Because Buddhism does not explain the soul (atma) in full, it is difficult to follow logically the process for re birth in Buddhism, However, as I once said to a lecturer when at uni (who thought he was this body, and death was the end) - '"well if you are right, I'll never know! But if I am right - you are in for one hell of a shock!"'
@ramaraksha01 what if reality doesn't conform to your utopian like ideals and there really is a hell? i also dreamt of bagging the most beautiful chick with a perfect body and choose to believe that love is not based on looks, money and power because love is oh so sacred it is only to happen through chance and fate. but alas, reality would like to differ. many times our expectations and ideals warps our perception and give rise to projections that would only deepen our self denial.
Hell is a vile, abusive, disgusting concept. God buys love & loyalty with torture? A Gandhi, Teresa, Mandela would never think of torturing their enemies, whereas a Saddam, Hitler, Stalin would. This is the company that God keeps? Karma & Rebirth is the better, non-violent way. You are not punished, nor are you simply forgiven because you groveled enough. The most important aspect of Karma is that you are held accountable for your actions, you are reborn, given another chance to make amends.
Im so scared of reincarnation , im just terrified of my karma i havnt done anything that bad but i have had verbal fights with my brother. Im so scared
Sri lankan here. Have been a buddhist from birth. I must say this has been the most unique and refreshing way of looking at rebirth I have ever heard. It forgets about the details of rebirth and just focuses on what it means for us and what we can do about it as human beings. Wisdom in every word. Wow.
It's true, hanging around Buddhist temples with monastics slowly over time makes you a more peaceful and happy person.
Thanks for this. I had a very tough day and got some unwelcome news, but so much of this talk resonated with me and I feel a lot better now. Thanks Ajahn Brahm and thanks you guys for posting.
'I had a very tough day and got some unwelcome news' - This too will change, mate! One of AB's favorite sayings :)
John RKillick not if its your child who has passed.x
I love Ajahn Brams way of telling stories to teach. He's a very wise man & I am thankful he shares his wisdom with the world.
Your sharings are the archor in the crazy world. There are too much distractions and commitments. I valued your simply explanation on deep concepts. Your simple way of life. Thanks with great appreciation.
Words cannot describe, you did . Totally on it ❤️❤️❤️💫💫
Wonderful story teller, Ajahn Brahm. I'm so grateful for your teachings.🙏. May you have a wonderful retreat 2022.💜
What a loving teacher, so kind and wise.
I like the reminder on the main priority in life. Money and fame are important but not essential. Families and personal spiritual growth are of greater importance. Thanks for the gentle reminder. Thanks
That little mini-talk about good karma in response to the question at the end was REALLY a marvelous icing on a wonderful cake- thank you so much!!!
Very nicely explained in simple words such a difficult subject like rebirth and incarnation. Vanda me Bhante Ajahn Brahm!
Ajhan Brahm Rocks !!!!!!!
One of the key tenets of Buddhism is "no self" - your personal self won't exist after you die in the Buddhism cosmology - what survives is consciousness, and the container for your consciousness (or what form you take in rebirth) is determined by karma. The "personal self" is like a candle that burns away over time, and "reincarnation" is like the flame that moves to a new wick when the old candle burns out.
Brilliant story of the four wives.
Anyone who wishes to be convinced that reincarnation CAN and DOES occur should look at the life's work of Dr. Ian Stevenson. He's an MD from University of Virginia who studies and documented proven cases of reincarnation. Thanks.
+thebudkellyfiles Except that all that work can be proven wrong even by scientists.
Stevenson's work is so speculative and unscientific that the scientific community doesn't even take the time to critique it. Everyone just ignores it. I even say this as a believer in rebirth.
I had a flashback to a prior lifetime as a young child, assumed I would grow into that body as I aged and I was horrified that by the time I was age seven it didn't happen. Also, it's not the shangrila to remember past incarnations as the way it's just superficially understood - there's still craving and clinging from those and no way to return! THAT is when you get to meditate on clinging!!!! Because for me, every lifetime was about finding the residue I had been holding onto left over from the prior one - and you need that perspective to REALLY appreciate the slogan, "no womb birth." do NOT seek reincarnation!!! Face death with eyes wide open and go for the END... as final as possible. Hold NOTHING at the end of life!!!! you NEVER return to ANY past. Live each breath learning that each one is a lifetime.... and practice that until the bitter end!!! You will NEVER get back to the first one or the second one or any others... accept loss as a HUGE blessing... it's helping hone the fine art of truly letting go. Never opt to hold on!!! Cultivate the habit of release... and look deeply to release as much as possible. Let no belief in reincarnation comfort you!!! Let the thought of reincarnaation stimulate meditation as if your hair and nerve ends are on fire- because they are, only it's way embedded and hidden. Desire has to find the grave - or else it's relentless neverending cycles on a planet that wars, hates, and envies - even if one is a monk, nonetheless even they have to live in a world that is engulfed in desire. It seems that passion and aversion are the fundamental building blocks of existence and if you want to suffer, return. If you don't want any news of suffering, then, never mind reincarnation belief or experience. trust the wisdom that awareness accomplishes release and devote every moment to the task so the rebirth illness is cured!! That's just this human's perspective. Heaven forbid one clings to any aspect of existence now and in a hundred years has to return to an Earth looking more like Mars than earth - and then you'd be clinging to a relative desert... whatever returns seems to be an existence junkie. hahaha so... my two cents from the perspective of several lifetimes in awareness - whether having been lived by this being or simply in Jungian terms, simply recalled from some collective unconscious. Trust me, look to end the cycle. It's like feeling as old as dinosaurs... and you would wish to share 'the good old days' and there's no one to share them with!!! Like being 2000 years old and all friends have died. And won't be seen again. I was happier before having become aware of them. It works against Buddhadhamma because it gives the false impression that existence is permanent or enduring.
thank you for the meaningful sharing
In buddhism, it is understood that kamma and rebirth are highly impersonal acts of nature. You can think of them as laws of the universe that govern consciousness and sentience. Just like gravity it acts upon you, whether you believe in it or not.
3 yrs. ago I went house hunting with a good friend. Went in to the last house & all my joints started to throb & my chest started to feel pressure. I asked the agent if there were home history reports available & both she & good friend thought I was being troublesome. Then we went out back & the agent & myself turned left & my buddy went right. After a few seconds, he said, "dear lord, someone died here." I thought he was joking...then he showed me a plaque with the name, date of the deceased.
Wonderful explanation of the mango tree. It really shows how karma carries on from one life to the next. Is it possible to to indicate where the tree sholud be planted? I was brought up as Catholic and only came to Buddhism in my sixties (I'm 86 now) and would like to be reborn in a Buddhist country like Tailand or Shri Lanka to be sure I was brought up in this faith. What do you think?
A great sermon! THANKS! May you have a long life with good health and happiness with the Blessings of the Noble Triple-Gem!
The interesting thing about the words "ego", "self" & "transcendental" is that these special words can always be mixed and matched in any way to come up with sentences that sound extremely profound. That is, until someone digs deeper into the sentence and starts asking questions.
Out of 14 siblings, I'm the only one that has this pulling inclination towards the Buddha's teachings. Why? Is it due to Karma and rebirth? I've often wondered about that. I do have a younger sister who I share some of the teachings with sometimes but it's sporadic and it's only when she's having difficulties with her husband and children. She would often come to me with "my husband did this, blah, blah, blah, or my kids did this." And what I usually end up telling her are all the stories and similes I've heard from A.Brahm (such as The Two Bad Bricks, The Emperor, the Farmer, The mosquitoes, The Mango Tree etc.) I enjoy retelling these stories.
Lord Byron
Your reasons for arriving at Dharma's door,is in fact kind of Karma.Karma is not the action according to Mahayana,which I am a student.However there are other instances of Karma.Anyway,the fact you come to Buddhism as I stated is Karma,But this Karma is that of Karmic Imprint and Karmic Tendencies.If we think of the Imprints as ''Memory''. And Tendencies as Urge,orr impulse/Compulsion.These compulsive intentions derive from the karmic imprints.You remember something frtom yesterday having had a good sleep,that gives rise to recalling the next day,kind of this way karma works.The preceding moment of mind,or the preceding moment of existance takes the form of the proceding moment.What you do once there is high chances you will repeat it....just as you repeated the instance of telling your Sistser the stories.So it is having a positive effect upon you that we know as ''Blessings from the teacher''...This I translate as ''Inspiration''.Being Inspired.You see a quality you wish to behold...But you have that quality it is inherent in everyone,the quality is what we wish to see in a person whom may be able to help sort our ife out,if its projected from our mind then it is within us to be projected in the first place.
Now the wanting to help and tell stories,what you may need to do is to define which it is.
Do you do so in order to re-define a Me....I am good I do this for this person,therefore I am virtuous''. That is a self centered attitude in which grasps at a sense of me I am important that in turn seperates one from others and we become distant,disconnected,un caring.So the motivation and intention is directed with training towards ''A Selfless Attitude''. Try to endevour to do things without a thought of wanting something,we hve to be careful the me does not creep in,it is ''Subtle''.However meditation is essential,otherwise it is limited and what you attain will inevitabally be ''Temporary Cessation''. It will just at some point re-surface.Back to sqaure one on the monopoly board.
However unlike a board game we can not possibly in rare cases it has been done but rare to complete the path in one life due to many years of rebirthing and re-laying more spent imprints with a new which can be latent for many lives before reactivation,this is just one essential law of karma,the gap and distance between action and true result.
But has a lot to do with the ''Self Grasping at this me I am important'',which is gross to subtle.Which is why meditation is vita to draw ones emotions to the surface,to observe and investigate ones mind set.Visualisation to intergrate the inspiration back into us.When you are self grasping,ones energy is ''inwards'',when you are thinking and nehaving selflessly that energy is pushed ''Outwards''. To others,and the aim is to do so without any kind of sense of regret,no discriminating I can't do it for him or her,my mum is not my mum I don't get on with her or my Dad,no sense of Burden ''Oh I just can't do it,when can I just take time out for me''.Guilt you should frown upon,that is the self I think it usual points towards a self grasping ''Oh poop I got caught I have to be better next time''.Its not a balanced and even surface,thus with uneven surface ''Nothing can be laid on top that makes mind smooth and calm,and conducive to Enlightenment.Now for yourself,as I see it is something you wish to understand otherwise one would never of made such a statement,your mind is naturally inclined to such philosphy and science of mind.You should not try to hard,don't impose on to others whom don't ask,just as your good Sister as come to you,you will improve and you will at some stage notice your audiance,your followers...those whom come to you for advice.And we all need advice,so be prepared,and prepare yourself with ''Dharma''.Imprint it to your continuity of mind.I hope this is more of benefot to you for this life and is the cause for you to attain a Precious Human Rebirth many many times to serve others. Tashi Delek. _/I\_
+Lord Byron It's not due to anything else other than pure curiosity and a desire to learn about your own self. Karma, or whatever has nothing to do with anything here, I assure you. Why? Cause there is no karma.
Thank you what healing. You flow with feelings it , funny love connection you are flowing through the grace watching you feel it
Bless you .
I found you. What you give .... Inspirational angel bless you ❤️💫💫💫
but dear Ajahn, that's OK. I'm always blown away how you come up with these things on the fly!
;-)
If a person has devoted a lot of time & energy in thoughts, speech or actions based on anger, jealousy, hatred, gross physical desires etc. then his/her mind tends to remain in such heavy, entrapping states. It takes a lot of effort to lift the mind from such tendencies & move towards light. The 'script' is really written by a person himself by his own thoughts, actions & desires in his past. That script is called karma. No external force writes a script & forces a person to follow it.
There seems to be a lot of discussion on here about whether or not the Buddha taught rebirth. My approach is not to even worry about it. If I recall my past lives, fine, if not, fine. I'm trying to not "cling to views" and so I have opted not to form one regarding literal rebirth. The experience of recalling past lives is ultimately personal and is not a basis for encouraging belief in others. Read the Kalama Sutta and you can get a good idea of what the Buddha taught regarding this.
If you study the dependent origination, the Buddha was not talking about physical rebirth. It is psychological and understanding the 12 links that is the origin of unsatisfactory in the mind. Nothing is permanent in this world. Does Ajhan Brahm believe in a permanent soul?
Like said earlier you have good points and in that I also understand what you are saying. As for the flame on a candle, The fire is constantly turning to heat. When you snuff it out, the energy turns into heat and in turn heats up the snuff itself. In science it is also proven that just as energy, molecules never cease to be, unless purposely destroyed(thus the Atom bomb). So just as what I was saying in energy, it is said that even the molecules we breath in today, DaVinci inhaled as well.
Thought in its purity is the Self in its impurity it becomes an objective world.
I love you Ajahn Brahm💜
I try to take at least one advice and apply it as the main practice of my day. Thank
Hi Ven Ajahn Brahm,i tried to kow about my past life,i had a very not so clear picture but all i could see is " I can see a child holding a women's hand probably my mother in past life in very big lawn, in a very calm environment somewhere in far west(i'm in Pune(in INDIA now).
This is the first thing i saw when i asked " What is my earliest memory"
can you suggest me know get a more clear image
Thanks in advance
Also, look around in other videos, they talk about it more as well...
I have so much respect to Ajahn Brahm because he focuses on the heart of buddhism and it's practical. I believe that if it's real buddhism, there is always a reasonable answer that explains things and can be proved .
However, with this subject, what is the proof to the reincarnation ? I want to believe but I just dont know how.. can someone explain ?
Hear all the rebirth cases
Thank you for fixing mic ; )
Buddhism has a lot of interpretations on rebirth and reincarnation….sometimes the theories confuse people and do not do much good due do disagreements and various different teachings…
🙏🙏🙏
Determination! Peace!
You make good points. However, what kind of evidence would you look for? Your memories, skills, personality may die with your body, yet raw consciousness may still survive and there'd be little evidence to show it. Keep in mind, just because there's no evidence doesn't mean a thing isn't.
There's also little raw experimental evidence for string theory, yet many physicists "believe" in string theory because it explains incongruities and gaps in our current understanding of the universe.
Hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare Krishna hare
I agree that while my explanation for the differences between people is adequate, it isn't necessarily correct. But until some further evidence is forthcoming, it is perfectly adequate. If any evidence ever becomes available for literal rebirth, then we would need to take that into account.
Love you Ajahn
Well, the idea is much older than that, actually. Even some pagan traditions predating Jesus (by a LONG shot) have the idea.
In fact, didn't it come into Judaism via the Persian religion? I believe the ancient Egyptians had some form of it as well...
Not sure about the Hindu concept. They might have it on their own, or it might have come from the Persians as well.
Either way, I've found that Hell is more of a state of mind than anything else, if you think about it deeply.
:-)
brahm my boy !
you killed it.
fuck i love you man
These are my sermons
Some branches of Buddhism, such as Zen, are flexible, while others are not. E-sangha, the biggest online Buddhist discussion forum, bans anyone who publicly disagrees with the dogma of literal rebirth.
(Cont.) But none the less, as Confabulator99 said, reincarnation is not the main focal point in Buddhism. Least not for me anyways. Therefore I do not dwell on what has yet to be, more on what is now. I see Buddhism as a way of life for me, to not cause suffering to other or myself as much as possible and lead a good Karmic life. If that in turns gives me some kind of "afterlife" so be it. If not, well I can say I lead a good life with the time I did have. ;) But, great comments!
so helpful. Thank you!
I am enjoying watching these videos of Ajahn Brahm, who I didn't know before yesterday. He is insightful and caring and humourous. However I thought this video might say more about the detail of how rebirth is meant to happen. Does the ghost, that he refers to, feel drawn towards some woman who has just conceived and become united with the fetus? And what if no ghost is hovering around when a woman gets pregnant? Can a baby be born minus any karma/soul from a previous life?
beautiful
Rebirth is just birth, the same process.
“... scallawag hussy !..” 😂😝🤣 ... only a Brit knows words like these.
Gosh I love you you are sooo funny! Thanks
Yes indeed, that's what I was saying. That's what I meant when I said that while a candle is alight it can light many other candles, but once it is extinguished, it can no longer do so. That's why I say that those who think that rebirth happens after physical death have got it entirely wrong.
That's a bit of a distortion of the theology of hell, unless you're some conservative Catholic or stupid evangelical or something.
And Buddhists have a hell too- in fact there are several. Only you don't stay there forever.
Which, btw, is a concept I find quite refreshing, and more believable than the dogmatic version of the Judeo/Christian/Islamic idea.
Why would anyone take correction from someone so hateful?
I hope after seven years you've found peace
@ramaraksha01 you are aware that both Hindu and Buddhist cosmologies include a realm of hells, yes?
What's the prizes and can you sure me my reincarnation ! Marks and all this things can you explain it to me please and telle what temple in Nashua it's available
I'm guessing he means doubled profits and trebled their PRODUCTIVITY, not their "turnover." Unless in Britain and/or Australia turnover means something different than the US, trebling your turnover would mostly be considered a very BAD thing.
Ah, the middle finger, good choice. It is the magical finger that always shows one's own ego instead of the moon, just in case anyone failed to read it in the words.
@amila2006 Correct me if i am wrong but I thought Buddhism was not a religion & i don't mean it in a bad way. The Buddha never talked about God? Buddhism is about personal growth & how to become a better person.
The Buddha borrowed many of his ideas from Hinduism. We believe God is a moral Guide not a refuge, a backdoor that is going to take care of us like pets. Our goal is Moksha - to become part of God or to become part of something greater than us - Gandhiji showed us the way.
Love you AB!
Where does mind come from? Who creates mind?
The forum is e-sangha (dot com). It is mostly dominated by fundamentalist Tibetan Buddhists.
THANK YOU BROTHER.
Bible said human is born once a d die once after that comes resurrections of the death and to present ourself on the judgement day where all humans have to stand before their Creator God to give an account of what they have accomplished on earth. The good to eternal life and the evil to the eternal death.
I still can't accept this. Ajahn Brahm is a superbly wise teacher but reincarnation still cannot be proven or demonstrated other than by anecdotal evidence and suggestion.
Finding out reincarnation and karma was real was the worst day of my life. Multiplied my suffering 1000x .
I dont care about being happy i just want the pain to stop no more reincarnation no more destruction
rebirth due to cause and effect
I am only at about 8min on the video, but so far I can tell you are wanting a scientific answer of physical matter and how it goes from one "being" to another. Best way that I can explain how I see it is, our brain works from electric pulses. Therefore we have an form "energy" keeping us going. Now, my thoughts are that when this body dies it can no longer hold in that energy. We know scientifically that energy has to go somewhere. make sense? Hope so.
I see what you're saying. But just because an explanation is adequate, however, doesn't mean it's the right one. Thomas Kuhn showed us how the explanation of an earth-centered Copernican universe was fully adequate based on available data at the time, thus Galileo's alternative theory of a sun-centered universe to explain the same limited data was deemed so offensive to the church.
As for the argument of a selfish motive behind the theory of reincarnation, that's just an ad hominem argument.
How many times can people reborn rebirth reencarnate and resurect !?
Apparently he says it quite often. I wish I had a transcript, or that I had it on video. However, he says that he is told that when he was a child he could remember his past lives, even though he can't remember remembering.
Yes I am ❤
Punar janmam sathyam tanne Re birth is true.This topic I am published in Calicut Time daily in 6 days series and read many people and give good comment.Please hear and comment only after heard this compleately.you can traslat it first.
Thanks 🙏🏽
Why do you presume that all the humans we're seeing now were from our planet in their past lives? They could easily be from another planet or another realm. After all, it is stated in Buddhism that the universe itself is infinite.
I remember Ajahn Brahm said reincarnation's based on how much sum good & bad karma one's in this life & what he wanna be reborn to or not reborned, but what in case of animals w/ no consciousness how it can reborn to a least ~intelligent as human species, it couldn't do good as it's no will allow it transcend to a higher species?
Dunno. *shrugs*
What's important to me is what's happening now, rather than worrying too much about a past life / after life.
I'll add one other thing: does Buddhism collapse without reincarnation, like perhaps Christianity does without heaven? No, reincarnation isn't nearly so important. The Buddha himself told his followers that he didn't know what happened in the afterlife, but that it wasn't important. It's the parable of the poisoned arrow - google it, not enough space here...
🙏🙏🙏
Sure, that would mean that each one of us is almost definitely from another planet in our past life. It's complete insanity.
When a candle is alight, it has an "energy", does it not? Now when we extinguish the candle (snuff it out), where does it go? It doesn't magically leap to another candle, does it? I think Ajahn Brahm is entirely missing the point about rebirth. A teacher is reborn in his student. Rebirth happens during life, not after death. While a candle is alight it is able to light other candles, but not after it is extinguished.
When did the Dalai Lama say that he cannot recall any of his past lives?
Someones CRAZY!
I agree with you - there is no scientific proof that reincarnation is happening other than anecdotal proof. However, did prehistoric man need to know how lightning was created to know that lightning exists? We can observe that reincarnation exists (see "Life Before Life" by Tucker and "Old Souls" by Shroder for research on the issue) before we understand how and why it is happening. Before those books, I was 80% against reincarnation as a possibility; after those books, I am 80% convinced.
but consciousness is still generating karma which has results, and new bodies are coming into existence all the time
4 Planets? are you sure? can you quote the Sutra?
Because I can remember him saying something along the line of "The Universe is Infinite" etc.
Speculation is pretty useless really. People will just keep arguing over these things they have no direct experience of.
If there is no person there to begin with, how does that person get reborn? That's a common question in Buddhism. The answer is not apparent using Western (Aristotelian, or based on the black and white approach to logic first put forth by Aristotle and that now serves as the cornerstone of Western thought) thinking. To us in the West, things must be this or that, yes or no, black or white. But, reality is not this way. There are no fine lines in the universe, as there are in our thinking about it. Reincarnation may be a spectrum of processes, many of which are beyond our limited human understanding. There is certainly abundant scientific evidence that reincarnation CAN and DOES happen in the physical sense. But, maybe it doesn't happen all the time, or in exactly the same way. Things are as they are, and not the way we think. Logic is such a small thing, a recent human development on a small planet tucked into the remote regions of an average galaxy. It would be unreasonable to assume that the entire universe is forced to abide by it. Useful, but not infinite.
+thebudkellyfiles Buddha didn't teach there is no person there. The Asians invented this bullcrap because they like riddles.
Some of us actually remember our past lives and Asians did not invent Buddhism. They didn't get into Buddhism until approx. 400 years ago. It was Eastern Ethiopia/Nepal where it first developed. That was 1000 years before Asians learned about it. Scientists have been baffled by people who have been able to prove they have lived before. They had all the proof.
Ife Gail Young - Buddha Siddharta lived in India, 2500 years ago. The teachings expanded to much of Southern Asia long before your estimate of "400 years" - Tibet, China, Japan, amongst others.
with him & the people who stay, stand & fight & WIN! Then the coward will never live it down! He will be forever known as the coward who ran away - fearing any threat. So, people staying simply will not do - they must die! They must not be allowed to stay - & so the threats of hell against those who disagree with these religions - the threats of cowards
A True warrior will not threaten - dragging a coward into battle will only hurt the effort
I have a story to share .
+Kho Mam lol
(cont'd) All the differences between people can be adequately explained by means of genetic differences and different environmental influences. For example, a younger brother has different genes to the older brother, and a different environment also (for example, since the younger brother has an older brother, but the older brother does not). So there's no reason to make-up the idea of literal rebirth unless we are selfishly trying to manufacture a way for our ego to survive death.
Thank you Venerable 🌹💎😂
Type "e-sangha watch" into google, for some interesting reading.
I find this "simile" of the mango extremely inappropriate. We *know* what the connection is between the old mango and the new mango. The connection is that they share much of the same DNA, and the DNA is what creates a great deal of what they are. But this says *nothing whatsoever* about what is passed from one life to another so far as literal rebirth is concerned. What, exactly, leaves a dead body and goes into the creation of a new being, and how? Ajahn Brahm doesn't answer the question.
You are putting your finger on the salient point. And it is precisely this why I would argue that "rebirth" as it is taught by buddhism is in fact _not_ reincarnation at all. It is only _structural_ aspects of life, habits, ignorance that reconditions new life and doesn't at all necessarily mean that the _same being_ has anything further to do with is. That is what René Guénon would argue. He claimed that no being every goes through the human experience even twice. It is like our bodies decompose and become part of a new organism, and the same way our unresolved psychic complexes recur, but are perhaps picked up by a new being as part of its "garments" to wear on this earth.
confabulator99, it is *suggested* that a person's consciousness survives death. If this is the case then there should be some evidence for it. But there isn't. You say that reincarnation is like the flame that moves to a new wick when the old candle burns out, but it doesn't. The candle may light other candles while it is alight, but not after it has been extinguished.
If you can recall rebirth only after practising samatha meditation, then how do you explain the fact that the Dalai Lama cannot recally any past lives? Do you think he's never practiced samatha meditation?
First you have to accept who you are. If you believe you are nothing but a pile of chemicals (this body) then the understanding will be difficult.
Because Buddhism does not explain the soul (atma) in full, it is difficult to follow logically the process for re birth in Buddhism,
However, as I once said to a lecturer when at uni (who thought he was this body, and death was the end) - '"well if you are right, I'll never know! But if I am right - you are in for one hell of a shock!"'
sathu
@ramaraksha01 what if reality doesn't conform to your utopian like ideals and there really is a hell? i also dreamt of bagging the most beautiful chick with a perfect body and choose to believe that love is not based on looks, money and power because love is oh so sacred it is only to happen through chance and fate. but alas, reality would like to differ.
many times our expectations and ideals warps our perception and give rise to projections that would only deepen our self denial.
I don't think you're meant to think about it to that extent.
JESUS CHRIST IS GOD
JESUS CHRIST IS GOD
JESUS CHRIST IS GOD!
Hell is a vile, abusive, disgusting concept. God buys love & loyalty with torture? A Gandhi, Teresa, Mandela would never think of torturing their enemies, whereas a Saddam, Hitler, Stalin would. This is the company that God keeps? Karma & Rebirth is the better, non-violent way. You are not punished, nor are you simply forgiven because you groveled enough. The most important aspect of Karma is that you are held accountable for your actions, you are reborn, given another chance to make amends.
Im so scared of reincarnation , im just terrified of my karma i havnt done anything that bad but i have had verbal fights with my brother. Im so scared