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No it does not, it is your interpretation of it. There is no Customer Service up there, checking your balance sheet and handing out rewards and punishment. All that we experience we bring it on ourselves. Our mind creates our own world, our own hell and heaven. We all have individual minds, and, get this, minds really have no existence, and yet it has a powerful effect on our life, how we act, how we think, what we make of our life.
All there is is Consciousness/awareness. It is when we know and experience as truth that The Awareness/Consciousness within and without is who we are, not this body/mind that that is caught in cycle of samsara, we attain liberation, right here, right now. It is an evolution and it is an attitude.
Karma and reincarnation is whole another concept but it is not what you think it is, at least not that anything I recognize. Again rewards and punishments are what you give to yourself. Nobody does that to you.
We enjoy fruits of good action right now. Kindness and compassion makes you feel good, it is reward in itself. And it draws people to you because you are likable and in return thay want to be good to you. See how that works?
If all you see are faults and enmity, well that is how your life will be as well.
Simplicity in life sets you free. Goodness is its own reward.
*I am using you in a general terms, not you personally
verbiage used in bold above is the language of duality and judgment.
I said it takes millions of reincarnations to become a saint. I was referring to that. My friend tried to flirt with me (he was a little drunk) at his own wedding, OK? It's a friend of my husband actually. He's not an advanced being for Christ's sake. You got to be kidding me...
I don’t know your friend, so maybe his life is easy and happy, but “simple and uncomplicated” would not seem to apply to someone who does things like flirt with a friend at their own wedding.
I don’t know your friend, so maybe his life is easy and happy, but “simple and uncomplicated” would not seem to apply to someone who does things like flirt with a friend at their own wedding.
i would say that the "feed and breed" mindset is simple and uncomplicated.
there are plenty of people who are satisfied happy and content with just that. work during the week and party on the weekend and get high when they can. (not saying that about anyone in particular) simple in that it is a clear set of goals, and uncomplicated in that it is not bothered by, well, anything that falls outside that scope.
i would say that the "feed and breed" mindset is simple and uncomplicated.
there are plenty of people who are satisfied happy and content with just that. work during the week and party on the weekend and get high when they can. (not saying that about anyone in particular) simple in that it is a clear set of goals, and uncomplicated in that it is not bothered by, well, anything that falls outside that scope.
I was only saying that someone whose character can be defined by flirting with a friend at their own wedding probably leads a life of drama and destruction, even if they are indifferent to (or perhaps even enjoy) the chaos they create.
No it does not, it is your interpretation of it. There is no Customer Service up there, checking your balance sheet and handing out rewards and punishment. All that we experience we bring it on ourselves. Our mind creates our own world, our own hell and heaven. We all have individual minds, and, get this, minds really have no existence, and yet it has a powerful effect on our life, how we act, how we think, what we make of our life.
All there is is Consciousness/awareness. It is when we know and experience as truth that The Awareness/Consciousness within and without is who we are, not this body/mind that that is caught in cycle of samsara, we attain liberation, right here, right now. It is an evolution and it is an attitude. Karma and reincarnation is whole another concept but it is not what you think it is, at least not that anything I recognize. Again rewards and punishments are what you give to yourself. Nobody does that to you.
We enjoy fruits of good action right now. Kindness and compassion makes you feel good, it is reward in itself. And it draws people to you because you are likable and in return thay want to be good to you. See how that works?
If all you see are faults and enmity, well that is how your life will be as well.
Simplicity in life sets you free. Goodness is its own reward.
*I am using you in a general terms, not you personally
bold above,
in your view what is it? "karma and reincarnation"; and what does it mean to exit the cycle of repeated incarnation (leave the cycle of samsara as some call it)
generic language please to describe how you view the process of reincarnation, not specific to any language or religion or book.
feel free to start another thread or post in any of the existing threads on reincarnation.
so as not to go too far afield in this thread topic.
or in this thread, and relate it to the thread topic of "forgiveness." either way works.
Last edited by Tzaphkiel; 05-06-2024 at 05:21 PM..
No difficulties, no tragedies, no illnesses, no money problems, no relationships problems, nothing really significant. How can one advance in these conditions and why bother to improve?
One progresses in character and wisdom in spite of, not because of, adversities. Adversities are distractions. I had work to do today, and my bad back slowed me down and did not improve the quality of my work. Quite the opposite. I managed to achieve my objectives anyway, but this doesn't mean I'm a better person in some strange way, just because I had some aches and pains.
Over the course of my lifetime I've had a lot of physical and personal problems, negative emotions, worries, etc., and I can only imagine what I would have accomplished in my various roles if I had been unhindered by such things.
I think that sometimes people confuse difficulties with self-inflicted consequences of poor decisions, and the lessons learned from those bad consequences as improvement brought on by adversity. How much more progress people would make if they simply listen to their elders, the lessons of history, learn a little patience and self control, etc.
Finally I see these kinds of statements as a failure of imagination. We're so inured to all the trouble in the world that we can't imagine life without them.
I find it helpful to treat these questions like a line graph:
Utter misery <====> Meh <====> Pure joy
There is plenty of contrast between the right end of the line, and the middle -- plenty of lessons to learn and plenty of self improvement without the need to go all the way to the left end. So if the concern is lack of sufficient feedback via consequences of actions, it's misplaced.
the system of reincarnation as a process for growth and development, is not owned by any holy book or any language or any religious path or tradition. it is a process. though different "religions" may have different names or words or ways of describing it.
the process though is that the circumstances of each next incarnation are determined successively based on previous lives and what is needed or lacking for soul to move on and advance in development.
very different from reward and punishment.
But we have to be careful. I have too many Thais say, "Oh, look. That paraplegic (or some other handicap) was caused by kamma". If kamma exists, I would posit that it is emotional/thought related, not physical handicaps or mental retardation (for example).
But we have to be careful. I have too many Thais say, "Oh, look. That paraplegic (or some other handicap) was caused by kamma". If kamma exists, I would posit that it is emotional/thought related, not physical handicaps or mental retardation (for example).
Yes, it isn't unusual to see the concept mis-applied. As well as the "you create your own reality" dogma. It's a great way to make everything a person's own fault, whether or not that is so. It can make adherents extremely smug and callous. I am not claiming they are all like that, or that it's the only possible outcome. Just that it happens.
Yes, it isn't unusual to see the concept mis-applied. As well as the "you create your own reality" dogma. It's a great way to make everything a person's own fault, whether or not that is so. It can make adherents extremely smug and callous. I am not claiming they are all like that, or that it's the only possible outcome. Just that it happens.
So, according to you...who/what does create our reality?
I am a strong believer in that we do create our reality, almost as if we are travelling along inside a bubble of our own making and viewing our reality from the inside of the bubble with other energies interfacing with ours. Richard Bach's book Illusions gave a good analogy which was that our life was like a reel of film in a canister, complete in every way in the present moment, a beginning, a middle and an end, outside of time.
I think we are spirit playing a character in that movie and other spirits are playing other characters, but when the filming is done, we as spirit all go to the pub and have a laugh about the days shoot.
I was asking the original questions using Christianity as a basis because I know that some of them do believe we come into this incarnation as sinners, and it would be important (for me at least) if I was a Christian, that I know what Forgiveness looks like if I held that belief.
There is also a school of thought which says that we should never be 'sorry' or apologise for anything we do since we need to be accountable and responsible for our actions.
But we have to be careful. I have too many Thais say, "Oh, look. That paraplegic (or some other handicap) was caused by kamma". If kamma exists, I would posit that it is emotional/thought related, not physical handicaps or mental retardation (for example).
Thais or anyone who is saying that are projecting their own thoughts, which are faulty. the person seen as disabled has a spirit that is at peace with itself and even joyful. those who attribute karma as cause of what they perceive as suffering are not wrong. but it is the body that bears the consequences, never the spirit within. spirit is who we are, the spirit that is aware and knows it is aware and is always in fullness. i think we may be saying the same thing
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