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Do you believe in reincarnation?

Starlight

Spiritual but not religious, new age and omnist
I believe strongly in reincarnation because of God's love for us. God give his children many chances to learn and grow . Our soul learn lessons on this earth. I believe we get reincarnated many times for our soul to grow

Do you believe in reincarnation?Why? Why not?
 
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sayak83

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
I believe strongly in reincarnation because of God's love for us. Our soul learn lessons on this earth. I believe we get reincarnated many times for our soul to grow

Do you believe in reincarnation?Why? Why not?
I personally do. Personal experiences only. I won't claim that there is adequate amount of scientific evidence for reincarnation.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I believe strongly in reincarnation because of God's love for us. Our soul learn lessons on this earth. I believe we get reincarnated many times for our soul to grow

Do you believe in reincarnation?Why? Why not?
Nope. Reincarnation is on the right track, but rebirth seems more probable givin the nature of atoms and how they bond.

The soul nonsense is pure garbage, but there is something about animated matter that's worth studying.
 

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
No, not at all.

Personally, I consider the idea more than a bit self-contradictory. What we are is to a large extent a direct result of our circunstances and life experiences, up to and very much including our social environments and physical health.

What would reincarnation be? Some sort of second (and by some takes also third, etc) bodily life after we have died once (or more), if I understand that idea.

But that amounts to deciding that in some sense a newborn can or should be perceived as a direct continuation of someone else who had died previously. Most often that takes the form of expecting that newborn to eventually develop memories - particularly emotional memories, I would think - of one or more of "its" previous lives.

I just don't know why that would be meaningful even if we knew that to happen as a matter of course.

Some ideas of reincarnation seem to expect some form of conscious "curating", so to speak. That makes sense; how else can you connect two people that have never lived at the same time, have never communicated with each other, and by some tales may not even share a language or culture?

Also, what does it mean to be "the same" person? We change significantly along our natural lifespans as it is. Far as we can see, newborns do not arise with many traits that are typical of elder people. They do not respond cognitively and emotionally in ways that suggest being a continuation of previous adults. They do not (for instance) seem to have inherent tendencies to develop specific accents, let alone to remember languages of their presumed previous lives. Nor do they come with specific political affections and (fortunately) generally come with no mental or physical infirmities that are often found in old age.

I can see the emotional appeal of belief that specific people might deserve and somehow receive a second chance at life. But that idea just doesn't seem to have factual support, and it is not clear to me why it might be even desirable in reality.
 

sayak83

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
No, not at all.

Personally, I consider the idea more than a bit self-contradictory. What we are is to a large extent a direct result of our circunstances and life experiences, up to and very much including our social environments and physical health.

What would reincarnation be? Some sort of second (and by some takes also third, etc) bodily life after we have died once (or more), if I understand that idea.

But that amounts to deciding that in some sense a newborn can or should be perceived as a direct continuation of someone else who had died previously. Most often that takes the form of expecting that newborn to eventually develop memories - particularly emotional memories, I would think - of one or more of "its" previous lives.

I just don't know why that would be meaningful even if we knew that to happen as a matter of course.

Some ideas of reincarnation seem to expect some form of conscious "curating", so to speak. That makes sense; how else can you connect two people that have never lived at the same time, have never communicated with each other, and by some tales may not even share a language or culture?

Also, what does it mean to be "the same" person? We change significantly along our natural lifespans as it is. Far as we can see, newborns do not arise with many traits that are typical of elder people. They do not respond cognitively and emotionally in ways that suggest being a continuation of previous adults. They do not (for instance) seem to have inherent tendencies to develop specific accents, let alone to remember languages of their presumed previous lives. Nor do they come with specific political affections and (fortunately) generally come with no mental or physical infirmities that are often found in old age.

I can see the emotional appeal of belief that specific people might deserve and somehow receive a second chance at life. But that idea just doesn't seem to have factual support, and it is not clear to me why it might be even desirable in reality.
While scientific evidence is currently inadequate, what has happened so far is intriguing. I think PPL should fund it more and develop protocols to gain greater confidence.
Evaluating the Evidence for Reincarnation
@Twilight Hue
I am agnostic regarding the rebirth/reincarnation debate. Most mechanisms in classical religions is speculative. If the phenomenon can be verified, first, then we can think of mechanism.
 

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
I believe strongly in reincarnation because of God's love for us. Our soul learn lessons on this earth. I believe we get reincarnated many times for our soul to grow

Do you believe in reincarnation?Why? Why not?

I suppose that, after I die, the molecules which comprise my body now will eventually change and turn into something else.

I don't really believe in a soul, although even if I did, it seems clear that no one ever actually has any conscious memories of any past lives, so if there were any lessons to be learned, they would be forgotten by the next life. For all intents and purposes, *I* (and all I know, all my memories) would cease to exist, even if my soul (assuming I have one) ends up in another body.
 

SalixIncendium

अहं ब्रह्मास्मि
Staff member
Premium Member
While scientific evidence is currently inadequate, what has happened so far is intriguing. I think PPL should fund it more and develop protocols to gain greater confidence.
Evaluating the Evidence for Reincarnation
What are your thoughts on the three bodies doctrine? I think it's agreed that the gross body falls away at death and the causal body is carried to the next life, but about the subtle body? I know the teachings tend toward both the subtle and causal bodies carrying between lifetimes, but I question whether or not all of the qualities generally assigned to the subtle body are carried forward because some of these qualities are inherent to the brain, which is part of the gross body.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
Do you believe in reincarnation?

Not in the way you mean.

The first law of thermodynamics tell us that in a closed system mass/energy cannot be created or destroyed. Meaning in this case that the atoms that build your body are reused, (the universe is the ultimate in recycling). Worm food, fertiliser for the soil, plants, trees etc... eventually some of those atoms will find their way into other life forms including human beings. That way we are all made of dead people.

So our consciousness ends with out death and our atoms are reused,
 

sayak83

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
What are your thoughts on the three bodies doctrine? I think it's agreed that the gross body falls away at death and the causal body is carried to the next life, but about the subtle body? I know the teachings tend toward both the subtle and causal bodies carrying between lifetimes, but I question whether or not all of the qualities generally assigned to the subtle body are carried forward because some of these qualities are inherent to the brain, which is part of the gross body.
The problem is how can any information move from one body to another without it being part of a material flux or a wave. It quite clear that none of the standard material of a body is ever coherently going to another body so that information can flow through it. In Hinduism the subtle body is also considered made of finer aspects of matter. This cannot be right. Yet the experiences are valid I think. So I think we need some "thing" else.
 

Secret Chief

nirvana is samsara
I believe strongly in reincarnation because of God's love for us. Our soul learn lessons on this earth. I believe we get reincarnated many times for our soul to grow

Do you believe in reincarnation?Why? Why not?
No. I do not accept that there is something called a soul.
 

mangalavara

सो ऽहम्
Premium Member
Also, what does it mean to be "the same" person?

I believe in reincarnation, and I can say that I am not the same person who I was in any of my previous incarnations. When I think of a person, I think of what is called ahaṁkāra in Sanskrit. It is the concept of the self in the ordinary sense of the word. Ahaṁkāra is our sense of self, having a name, identifying with other entities, having desires and aspirations, liking certain things, etc. This ahaṁkāra is not that which reincarnates. It perishes with the body because it and the body are both part of prakṛti, which is physical existence.

They do not (for instance) seem to have inherent tendencies to develop specific accents, let alone to remember languages of their presumed previous lives.

This makes sense because memories are part of the mind. In Sanskrit, mind is called manas. Like the ahaṁkāra, mind is part of prakṛti, physical existence. For that reason, mind perishes with the body.

What reincarnates is the ātman, which can be translated as ‘soul.’ This soul is not ahaṁkāra, mind, intellect, or anything that is physical. Different schools of Indian philosophy have their own views on what exactly ātman is. Many agree that it is sat and chit, which respectively mean ‘being/existence’ and ‘consciousness/awareness.’
 

Secret Chief

nirvana is samsara
Not in the way you mean.

The first law of thermodynamics tell us that in a closed system mass/energy cannot be created or destroyed. Meaning in this case that the atoms that build your body are reused, (the universe is the ultimate in recycling). Worm food, fertiliser for the soil, plants, trees etc... eventually some of those atoms will find their way into other life forms including human beings. That way we are all made of dead people.

So our consciousness ends with out death and our atoms are reused,
Fingers crossed to be a snow leopard. :cool:
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
Fingers crossed to be a snow leopard. :cool:

For you... Im pretty sure, of all the atoms in your body at least one will hit the spot sometime in the future.
IMG_7010.jpeg
 

Sgt. Pepper

All you need is love.
Do you believe in reincarnation?

Yes, I believe it's possible.

Why? Why not?

I believe reincarnation is possible because I find the multiple stories of other people's personal accounts with it quite compelling.

I recently posted the following in another thread.

As I've previously stated, reincarnation intrigues me, as do the stories I've read about it. I've researched reincarnation stories online and found several of these stories to be quite compelling, such as the case of Ryan Hammons. In addition to his story, there are many other cases of children remembering specific details about individuals they'd never met or a dead language they could speak, and the child's parents having no idea where their child learned it. I've also read professional studies that were conducted on young children who recalled memories from a past life, such as "Life Before Life: Children's Memories of Previous Lives" by Jim B. Tucker, M.D., and I found this book and his others "Before: Children's Memories of Previous Lives" and "Return to Life: Extraordinary Cases of Children Who Remember Past Lives to be compelling evidence. Of course, I can't say with absolute certainty that reincarnation occurs because I don't have any memories of a previous life, but I've read many personal accounts, read several books, and watched documentaries that, in my opinion, provided compelling evidence that reincarnation is possible. I like to think that it is. Lastly, for reference, I'm including some articles I've read.

Dr. Ian Stevenson’s Reincarnation Research

9 Amazing Reincarnation Stories From Children

Tales Told by Children Remembering Their Past Lives

Psychology Today: When Children Remember Past Lives

Reincarnation Stories: Children Who Remember Their Past Lives

Chilling Reincarnation Stories: Meet 6 People Who Lived Before

'Return To Life': How some children have memories of reincarnation

University of Virginia: Children Who Report Memories of Previous Lives

5 Mysterious Cases of Children Who Claimed to Remember Their Past Lives

Little boy’s eerie reincarnation story freaks out mom in viral TikTok: ‘This is scary’
 

bobhikes

Nondetermined
Premium Member
I believe strongly in reincarnation because of God's love for us. God give his children many chances to learn and grow . Our soul learn lessons on this earth. I believe we get reincarnated many times for our soul to grow

Do you believe in reincarnation?Why? Why not?
No, but if I am wrong it would be the best explanation of life after death. Why simply first, you need to produce something that was able to survive death, second, a transportation method of getting it to another life form and a reason for why it is necessary.
 
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