Wheel of Dharma Becoming a Launching Point

MNoBody said:

how can people be grateful for having their access to their memories of it ....blocked...memories sealed away....
what lessons from the former lives lived do you recall in the frame of this one?
Where is the progress of the soul evident if the access to the knowing acquired then is not retained in the now...
one then has a condition which some have called damnesia...that damnable amnesia veil
and the other option may not at all be cessation, just because you didn't get another mortal body, who do you think drives those monkey suits around?

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You either are reborn, or as you came hence into the wheel, you will be free of it.

Secret Chief said:

I think a boddhisattva is a term used in Buddhism, but then reincarnation is not a Buddhist understanding, given it denies the existence of a persisting soul - are you meaning other Indian-derived religious traditions?

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Bodhisathva is a Sathva or animal/being that is in the path to become Buddha. Buddha means "Buddhiyen Aga Thanpath" which means "settled in the edge/top of enlightenment".

The soul you are talking about is misunderstood. The Buddhist concept is "Anatma" which means there is nothing substantial to hold onto. One is comprised of two elements. Nama and Roopa. Nama means "Name" which means its non-material. You can only name it. Then comes Roopa which means "Image". This is what you can see. The material part. So some of the Buddhist philosophers and scholars assert that it is the non-material part or element that is reborn. This element is not the soul, it is just not explicable. Do you understand the VIgnana factor in Buddhism? Its the consciousness, not necessarily the soul. So the consciousness is what goes through the samsara or cycle of rebirth in six different realms. Its kind of complex and mind boggling I must say.

But you nailed the paradox in the doctrine. They are still debating on this. But since the foundation of Buddhism is Anatma, my explanation above (not coming from me but Buddhist scholarship) is the only one that seems sound to me.

Cheers.

I consider bodhisattvas to be symbolic of particular things, such as compassion. Vignana seems to be associated more with early Buddhist thought? To be clear, I think I would describe myself somewhere around soto zen / secular.

A nice musical track to go with the theme