The Moment ( Kubler Ross 25 )

Reincarnation is the belief that when someone or thing dies that their spiritual being travels into a new-born body and continues living another life. Reincarnation is not limited to humans but also insects, animals, and in some cases even plants. With lengthy claims for centuries and even two mass religions/ways of life being dedicated to believing in reincarnation, many have the same question: Is reincarnation even real? If it is real, how does it work and where’s the science behind the belief? Where did reincarnation even come from?

Hinduism is faced with a revolving wheel of life, death and rebirth called Samsara better known as reincarnation. They believe this life cycle is a direct relation to a person’s karma of deeds done. Karma “determines the kind of body, whether human, animal, or insect, into which he or she will be reincarnated in the next

Buddhist believes that all people are reborn over and over again until they reach spiritual enlightenment and then Nirvana. In Buddhism good deeds are rewarded by receiving a better rebirth. Karma dictates a person’s rebirth including their financial state, appearance, class, health, species, and intelligence. Buddhist ultimate goal is to strive for Nirvana. Nirvana is the state that exists beyond the cycle of reincarnation, freedom from Karmic suffering, and provides a state of heavenly paradise.

252). When it comes to actual belief in reincarnation, some studies seem to suggest the concept has become increasingly popular in western cultures. From 1982 to the early 1990s, the amount of people in the United States who reported believing in reincarnation increased from 23% to 26% (Stevenson, 2000, p. 30). However, other research on the subject shows that it is often not a religious or even spiritual belief. For some, reincarnation was simply an idea they found attractive, something they would like to believe in but were not sure if they actually did. A few others had some sort of experience, such as precognition or deja vu, that they did not know how to interpret but felt it left them more open to the possibility of reincarnation (Walter & Waterhouse, 1999). This seems to suggest that the idea of reincarnation may be interesting to western people, but due to the dominating presence of Abrahamic religions it is not taken as seriously as it is for those who practice religions with rebirth

Buddhism is seen as a way of life rather than a form of religion that needs to be closely followed and constantly practiced. The idea of “enlightenment” carries through one’s entire lifetime in an attempt to reach nirvana, which is an end to all suffering. A person’s lifetime is spent being faithful and relying on karma to eventually achieve nirvana and enlightenment, in which people embark on the path of awakening. The awakening is a very crucial aspect of the Buddhist religion, as it was Buddha’s own personal awakening and understanding of how the world works, in which he passed it on to be believed and understood by others. It’s closely related to other religions in the way that rebirth and reincarnation are the beliefs surrounding the idea of the afterlife, however Buddhism in particular is an anatta tradition, or ‘not-self,’ which often sets it apart from other religions.This complex ideal entails that one’s external self, consciousness, feelings

Buddhism began in the fourth and fifth centuries before Christ by Siddhartha Gautama. The teachings of Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama, are the major beliefs of Buddhism. Buddhism is a belief and religion based on an assortment of customs, principles, and practices. The name Buddha means the awakened one. Buddha’s teachings were of the termination of suffering, attaining nirvana, and absconding from the cycle of suffering and rebirth. Buddhism has spread all across Asia and throughout the world, now with between two hundred thirty million and five hundred million followers. Buddhism is largely based around the belief of Karma. Karma is the “action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation” (Dictionary.com) or “the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person’s deeds in the previous incarnation.” (Dictionary.com) In simpler words, how you live your life now determines how you will come back when your current soul expires. Buddhists live their lives in hopes of achieving to be placed in the highest state known as Heaven. The after-life stems from Karma and leads into Rebirth. Rebirth is a course of action where humans proceed within multiple lifetimes in one or more of the six states of after-life. Each lifetime begins with birth and ends with death. Buddhists believe that we should not fear death because

In Conclusion, I personally found the topic of reincarnation not true. I personally believed once one is dead, there is no possibility of life after. Once I heard Arna and Brian Weiss's stories of reincarnation, it had brought my phobias and anxiety’s to light as well as old repeating dreams. This did send chills down my back because the two do connect perfectly. This presentation as well as the guest speakers, have had an impact on not disproving so quick without investigating

Whether you are of South East Asian beliefs, of western religions like Christianity or Atheist, we all believe in different outcomes after death. The Hindu belief of after afterlife and rebirth can be seen as the foundation for the Buddhists beliefs of the wheel of life and the pure land although many believe that it is the ying to Buddhist yang. In order to understand these process we need to appreciate the Buddhist nirvana and the Hindu moksha. Nirvana is a state of enlightenment in which there is no suffering, desire, nor sense of self.

Reincarnation Vs. Resurrection Hinduism teaches that any attempt to find permanent happiness in this world is maya (an illusion). Hindus believe that a person’s atman (Spirit) is permanent and cannot change while the physical body is not permanent and can change. The atman is reborn many times this is samsara (Reincarnation). Hindus believe in life after death because there are teachings of life after death in the Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita which are Hindu scriptures.

to another body and is reborn. The soul does not reincarnate immediately, it can take

Buddhism believes in escaping the cycle of rebirths not through coming to an ultimate soul (it doesn't believe in this), but through Nirvana the ultimate relinquishing of attachment to materialism by transcending response to earthy feeling. In this way, one ends suffering by escaping the cycle of rebirths. and reincarnations. Karma from past life can affect the happenings in a present one according to both Hinduism and Buddhism, but Buddhism believes that one can escape this karma and cycle of rebirths by practicing the 8-fold path which culminates in Nirvana. With this Nirvana too, one gains a spirit of meditation or blissful mindfulness which is the epitome of the Hindu Moksha. (The Buddha Garden.)

Buddhism’s liberation from samsara is known as "nirvana" which literally means "blowing out" or "extinction," like quenching a flame. In Buddhist teaching, humans are bound to samsara through the flames of anger, ignorance and desire. So when one attains nirvana, one quenches anger (which focuses on the past), ignorance (which focuses on the present) and desire (which focuses on the future). In Buddhism, humans escape life and death by quenching all the anger, ignorance and desire while the physical body may still be alive. This is why Buddhists speak of rebirth rather than reincarnation. Nirvana is

In the western world, a dominant belief is that after life, a person’s soul is sent to a place of eternal bliss, heaven, or a place of eternal damnation, hell. To Buddhists, this concept is not the norm. Buddhists believe that a person is reincarnated into another life form, either human or animal. What life form a person is reincarnated as is determined by the person’s karma. The concept of karma not only affects reincarnation, but also what path a person’s life takes. While much of the concept of karma is believable and comprehensible by a person of any denomination, some aspects are dependant upon a belief in reincarnation and that a person will eventually be punished for his sins or rewarded

This happens with one simple solution. Planning. Before physical birth the soul choses what type of experiences it wishes to have (such as being charitable to those in his community) and chooses a body in which to live out that life. Sometimes, the soul may choose a body that will not be born or whose live will end rather shortly (a mother losing her baby). In these cases, the soul has decided to help another soul experience and learn from loss of a loved one. Between lives, the soul does not immediately become reborn. There is a time spent reflecting on the experiences learned.

It is believed that resurrection does not happen all at one time. Instead, it happens many more times as part of a process for mending the world. This is not necessarily the belief of all people in the religion. Like other ideas, there are even differences in beliefs of reincarnation itself. Some say that it would likely happen to anyone on a routine basis and all that you would need to do is live a good life. In other cases, it seems like the beginning of a modern ghost story. It’s believed that reincarnation would only take place if the soul had some sort of unfinished business to attend to. I am not sure what sort of unfinished business that these souls would have. My only idea, would be some sort of closure needed from a living loved one. Another reason that I do not believe in reincarnation is that animals would act very different if they were being possessed by the souls of those that have already passed away. Plants would not be likely recipients of reincarnated souls in my opinion, especially if they are only being reincarnated for unfinished