FP I have practiced Buddhism on and off for years surely a good path you have to live in the moment whatever age you are. What is your take on reincarnation? That is one I always struggled with.
well reincarnation i can understand, in the sense you are being reborn to right wrongs, learn from mistakes and further yourself/soul/karma.
but its the whole karma thing ( no soul) that confuses me in relation to reincarnation.
being raised a catholic I've always thought that my soul is the real me, my thoughts, my deeds, good or bad etc. So I've always thought that karma was just an eastern term for soul - although Buddhists don't believe it is.
Buddha talks about past lives, etc i.e. with proper meditation you can see your past lives. This is because there is a link between these lives ( your karma)
However Buddhism is very clear that it is not your soul that's reincarnated but your karma, once you die you die, your personality dies, your thoughts, experiences etc are gone for all eternity. All that remains is your karma - your good/bad balance. That just doesn't sit right with me.
how can you improve your karma and reach enlightenment if you cannot remember any of the lessons you have learned in previous lives ? whats the point of being reincarnated if at the end of the day every life you live is basically a game of chance. hoping that in one of your lives you learn quickly enough to reach enlightenment in 1 lifetime. or just enough to be reincarnated on a higher plane, which makes it harder to reach enlightenment as the higher you go the more like heaven it is, the happier you are and the less likely you are to search for answers.
i wonder if Buddha taught about karma being different to soul because he wanted to get rid of the whole 'i' or 'self' concept, as we are all linked together, and the whole self/ego idea is false and leads ultimately to suffering.
but again the deeper you think about it, the deeper it gets.
