my response to a question about reincarnation: We chant for those who have died on the first day then every seventh day and finally the 49th day. In the west, the word reincarnation has taken on all kinds of other meanings. Many folks want to use one aspect of Buddhism... but separated from the body of the teaching it can be twisted into whatever the ego needs or desires. Therefore we often hear about new age fantasies, I remember being a courtesan in the emperors court. Really? Now we are playing in our own delusional projections. Why dont you remember being a toilet attendant in a shitty motel? Because its just as likely that happened as well. This is why I often avoid that word. It is loaded with nonsense which is why I prefer the term rebirth. But ultimately all words fail when conveying something so ineffable. According to Yasutani Roshi, the Buddha did not acknowledge the existence of a soul. If that is so, what is it that reincarnates? It gets more and more slippery... but also more open and expansive if we can come at it with a questioning mind. Nyogen Roshi often uses the analogy of a wave on the ocean. This is closer to my experiences. When the wave subsides it simply returns to the ocean and the energy becomes another wave. The analogy is also similar to quantum physics - when matter in particle form collapses into the quantum wave. What happens? It appears in different places simultaneously. Some scientists have concluded that it may appear anywhere in the universe. How is that possible? Addendum: Do we imagine we are going anywhere when we die? If so, where would that be? Is there another reality we can escape to? Good luck with that one. As the great zen teachers have said over and over, there is only this moment - right here, right now. Everything else is delusion. From the song, my paradise, written for a thousand other names: things are not what they seem nor are they otherwise between the first breath and the last this is my hell and my paradise.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 22:13:50 +0000
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