How could our effort be continued in our future lives

 

Question :(Unedited)

If a being in this existence spends their whole life trying to reach enlightenment but die before it is attained then would their lifetimes work be for nothing as they will not remember all they have learned in their new life?

My comment:

Hi C,

Within us there is this store-house of consciousness which stores all the data that we had accumulated since time immemorial. These data comprise the sum of all our past kamma, both good and bad. It is said that we are what we were, and we will be what we are. It is this store-house of consciousness that direct the life force. We may not remember our past lives and past experiences, but our store-house has all the data waiting to actualize when appropriate conditions surface. What a person achieves now is not the complete effort of this life alone, but the contributions of past lives as well. Likewise the achievements of his next life will be dependent on this present life.

Where do we go after this life?

 

Question : (Unedited)

Thank you for your reply to an earlier question.  I am confused as to what happens after death to someone who is advanced spiritually.  Am I correct in that Nirvana is freedom from the cycle of rebirth? If so, what does being in a state of Nirvana involve? Is this the same as being reborn in a higher realm?

Also, I understand it is the belief that the Dalai Lama and other spiritual teachers choose to be reborn as a human over and over to help lead others toward enlightenment. Would this not be a mission of a bodhisattva? If one chose not to be reborn, would this not be considered self-serving? If one is not reborn, can a Buddha continue to "guide" humans via prayers, etc?

Sorry for so many questions, but I am quite confused on this issue - Thanks!

 

My comment:

Hi S,

A spiritually advanced person will most probably be reborn in a higher realm.  Higher realm is still within the conditioned state of existence, which means after a period of time the being will die and be reborn; the cycle still goes on.  Nibbana (Nirvana) is very different.  It actually means "no more craving".  It is an enlightened state, where the person has completely irredicated greed, hatred and delusion.  There is no more rebirth into the cycle of births and deaths.  Nibbana is not a place.  It is a state where it is not bound by conditions.  It is actually not within human ability to fully understand what Nibbana is.  For a more elaborate explaination please click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana

I do not know about the thinking of Dalai Lama or other spritual leaders.  The "Bodhisatta" concept is a Mahayana idea.  I practise the Theravada tradition.  The Buddha did not guide humans through prayers.  He guides us through his teachings.  That is why we do not need the Buddha in person to show us the way. That's why, although the Buddha is not around, his teachings (The Dhamma) are our guiding light.  

Life after death (Part 2 of 2)

Question : (Unedited)

Hmm, I knew that Buddhists believe in reincarnation, but did not know that they believe in something like heaven and hell and that we die there and again are reborn in another realm of existence.
As for heaven and hell.
I'm a Catholic so I should believe in heaven and hell, and also in purgatory.
According to my faith we have time here on earth to change ourselves for better to get to this better place after death. 

And it's not like this that only those who lead a pious life from birth to death will go to heaven. It's not the start which is important, but the finish. There are many saints in my religion, and many of them were not good people at the beginning of their lives, but they changed, they rehabilitated themselves. Of course we're never sure where they went after death. It might have been heaven or purgatory, but, we're quite certain it's not hell where they went to. I think a good example could be Mother Teresa who worked with the poor almost throughout her life. So many people believe that after death she went straight to heaven cause she lead a pious life, helped many people, lived in poverty, did not seek comfort, devoted her whole life to God she believed in. As I said there is also purgatory. And those who did not manage to redeem all their sins here on earth after death they go to purgatory where they suffer cause they cannot watch God like the souls in heaven. That's why we here on earth, pray for them, cause it is the only way we can help them. However, if someone gets to purgatory it is sure that he/she will one day go to heaven. It is said that at the end of time, when the judgement day comes purgatory will stop exist. There will be only heaven and hell, and all those who were in purgatory will go to heaven.
As for hell it is a place of eternal sufferring and condemnation. It's a place for those who throughout  their lives did almost nothing else but evil. As I said it's not the point how you start but how you finish.
Where do you think Hitler, Stalin, Hussain, and other cruel dictators might have gone when they died? You wrote: are we so evil that we have to be condemned to eternal hell. I think some people are, because they don't want to change when they have time for it. They are selfish, greedy, and won't hesitate to even kill someone to achieve their aims. Where do you think they should go after death? They should be rewarded or punished? There are no pure people, everyone has good and bad sides, everyone once did good and evil, but some people want to change and some don't, or maybe rather- they don't care.
You wrote:  All of us have both good and bad qualities. I agree. It's hard to say for anyone of us if someone deserves to go to heaven or hell. Why? Because we do not know the whole life of the given person. But we believe that God knows everything, and that's why HE's the only one who can pass an objective judgement upon you, and no one else.
Of course there are many things I'm not sure of. For example, what about those who are good, honest, just people, but they do not believe in God. What about them? Frankly speaking I don't know, I would have to ask a priest for instance.
Take care.

My comment:

Hi L,

Thank you for your learned and impartial comments.  It is such a pleasure to communicate with you especially so, now that knowing you are a Catholic.  It is quite unusual for a Christian to be so interested in Buddhism for such a long period.  You are a good Catholic and my respect for you.  It is beneficial to know of others' beliefs although we may not agree with them.  Only with respect and understanding for others can we live in peace and happiness.  

Regards, justinchoo :-)

 

Life after death (Part 1 of 2)

 

Question: (Unedited)

Hello justinchoo!
Can we say that Buddhism is an atheistic religion?
Why do Buddhists do not believe in afterlife? I think it would be hard for me not to believe in afterlife. I think it would be very unjust if there were no life after death.
Just imagine two people getting born at the same time. One is born into a very rich family and leads a happy life, is healthy and so on. The other one is born sick, paralysed, poor and has to live like this to the end of his days. They both die at the same time. If there is no afterlife then it would be very unjust, their lives would be unjust, and I believe that justice exists if not here than somewhere else.
What's Buddhist view on after life?
Thank You

 

My comment:

Hi L,

Welcome back if you are the same Luke.  However,if you are the same Luke, I would be surprised if you still ask such questions.

If "atheistic" means the rejection of the belief in an all-powerful God, then Buddhism is an atheistic religion.

I think you are referring to the Christian concept of "afterlife" where one goes to eternal heaven or eternal hell.  Buddhism does not subscribe to such "eternal" places as they view even heavens and hells as not eternal.  Anyone reborn in heaven or hell will eventually die and reborn again in another realm of existence.  Buddhists believe in life after death.  The concept of rebirth explains clearly that this is not our first liives nor our last.  We have been through the cycles of births and deaths since time immemorial.  Two people born with different conditions clearly confirm the concepts of kamma and rebirth.  Because one had enough accumulation of good actions (kamma) in his previous life, one is born healthy and happy.  Whereas the other had committed bad actions during his past life, he is born crippled to suffer.  The law of cause and effect is amoral and works like clockwork.  Just like gravity, there is no escape from its pull.  I agree with you that it is very unjust if there is no life after death.  It would also be unjust if there is only one afterlife and only two places to go, heaven or hell.  How could our lives be so clearcut that we either have to go to hell or heaven?  Are we so pure that we will go to heaven to enjoy ourselves forever?  Or are we so evil that we have to be condemned to eternal hell?  All of us have both good and bad qualities.  As such if there is only one heaven and one hell, there will be great problem in selection.

Do we really have a Soul?

 Question : (Unedited)

 Although I consider myself a spiritual person, like a human being I question many times about rebirth and death?  If in fact "nothing dies but all suffers transformations"  if only the physical body dies and the spirit lives in another plane of existence, why can't we be sure of it?  Why do we want to believe that there is life after death, and this is nothing else but a way to transform our fear of death to create an hope of a new existence?  I want badly to believe we have another life, but then why after all these years we still don't have a scientifical proof of it and it continues to pertain to a mystery world... like a fairy tale to calm down our fear of death itself?  I have tried to answer to myself to this and other similar questions, have practiced a positive attitude and yet a doubt still clouds my mind.

 My comment:

Hi M,

Thank you for asking me.

I shall not try to debate on whether there is life after death, although the Buddha had revealed the cycle of birth and death.  Actually the purpose of the Buddha's teachings is not to convince us of anything, but to point out certain facts of our existence which we can experience here and now.  I assume that you are familiar with the Buddha's teachings.  The Four Noble Truths touch on the realilities of life, and the Noble Eightfold Path leads us to live a harmless and noble lifestyle, here and now.  That's all to it.  As for concepts like kamma, rebirth, and other esoteric subjects, the Buddha had explained in detail.  I am sure you know the Buddha's explanation and I shall not repeat here.  It is up to you whether to accept them or not.  If you find that they are not convincing enough, then you need not have to accept them. Due to our limited human capability to grasp and comprehend fully these subjects, we question them.  These concepts are beyond the human intelligence to analyze and prove beyond any doubt by using any scientific instruments or complicated mathematical computations.  It takes a higher intelligence to fully comprehend; and it is the pure mind power that we need.  This can only be achieved through proper Buddhist meditation and it is no easy task.

As the Buddha advised, it is better to concentrate on this life than to speculate the "unknown".  It is more important to lead a wholesome and noble life here and now, by reducing our greed, hatred and delusion.  Then we can experience in this very life, inner peace and happiness.

Smile from justinchoo :-)

Can we be sure what our next life will be?

Question : (Unedited)

Hi, I just had a question that was recently posed to me and I couldn't really answer due to the fact that I am new to Buddhism and I live in an area with no teachers to pose such questions too. Anywho - here goes:
So when I die I'll be reborn  - but are there any 'guarantees' in my next life I will even be a Buddhist? Could I be reborn and be a Christian, etc.? Is that determined by your Karma? Or is it just a 'roll of the dice?'

My comment:

 

Hi R,

Thank you for asking me.

As you know, the law of kamma can be described very simply as cause and effect.  However, it is impossible to quantify all our kamma.  How then can we know what effects will come our way in this life and beyond?  Based on this premise, it is not possible to predict accurately what our next life will be.  On a wider spectrum, it is safe to assume that if one were to associate very strongly with a certain lifestyle, then the next life should be closely associated with that lifestyle.  

This will be my personal interpretation.  You may get different answers from others. It is up to you to analyze them and pick your choice.  One thing for sure, it will not be "a roll of the dice".