[zahizahi]

I believe people are in search of believing something that's why this kind of unrealistic beliefs like reincarnation occur.

QUOTE:

Some people believe they will find the happiness and peace of mind they are looking for in religions such as Hinduism or Buddhism. Many people have been influenced by these eastern religions because of their aura of mystery and mysticism, and because they make use of techniques such as meditation, and because of the unusual attitudes, dress, manner of speech and religious practices of those who follow them.

However, although religions like Hinduism and Buddhism- among the oldest we know of-give some good ethical advice, not everything they contain is true.

[orbsycli]

Yeah i agree with that.

[Babbler]

It seems reasonable to me. I guess that some people think that their something special about Eastern religions (and Native American religions as well) that sets it apart from Western religion, when in fact, they are the same.

[geko]

Originally Posted by zahizahi

I believe people are in search of believing something that's why this kind of unrealistic beliefs like reincarnation occur.

I would personally say that people want to believe that there's something more than this physical existence (for various reasons), and that's why beliefs like reincarnation occur. Not just because they want to believe in 'something'. It's quite a rational (maybe even natural) want in my opinion as well.

Im not the devil's advocate ( ), but i would also say that the quote you printed would make more sense if it was abreviated by just left stating that

Originally Posted by zahizahi

Some people believe they will find the happiness and peace of mind they are looking for in religions such as Hinduism or Buddhism... because of their aura of mystery and mysticism...

I tend to think as well that this type of feeling is along the same lines as having an awe about the mystery of the universe and such. So i tend to think that they both come from the same human sentiment.

Originally Posted by zahizahi

...although religions like Hinduism and Buddhism- among the oldest we know of-give some good ethical advice, not everything they contain is true.

I could be a right pain in the ass and say that not everything they say would be deemed as false either

[Infiverse8@yahoo.com]

I have read several books by different authors who have detailed several stories each of children with memories and knowledge they had not encountered in this lifetime. A little research suggests that what happens after we die may vary greatly from individual to individual. What I like about Reincarnation is it gives hope of justice, which just can't seem to happen within one lifetime.

[Tormod]

Originally Posted by Babbler

It seems reasonable to me. I guess that some people think that their something special about Eastern religions (and Native American religions as well) that sets it apart from Western religion, when in fact, they are the same.

How are they the same? There is no reincarnation in Western religion (only eternal life in heaven or hell), only one God (Hinduism has many, Bhuddism has none), eastern religions tend to preach non-violence and meditation as opposed to the sin-cleansing and law-making of western religion.

I'd say they are very different and that may very well be why a lot of people seek them out. One can pick up parts of them (like the Zen meditation) without actually becoming a Bhuddist.

[kaelcarp]

The concept of reincarnation is actually much closer to being consistent with science than any Western religious ideas. It's based on the idea of the conservation of matter/energy. People see life as a form of energy, so if it's gone, where did it go? It must get reincarnated as someone else.

I think that this idea of reincarnation comes mostly from a misunderstanding of a deeper idea and tries to include morality, which it shouldn't. When something dies, it literally becomes something else physically. It is eaten by worms and other little critters and becomes part of them. Those critters are eaten by other things, and the cycle continues. So yes, when we die, we can be said to get reincarnated very literally in a physical sense, just not in the sense that the more mystical versions of the idea discuss. We don't retain a sense of identity, at least not as far as I can tell. Our "life force" - the matter we use - is divided among other living things.

I find that Buddhist ideas, of all religions, most closely resemble science. After all, Buddha said: "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."

[orbsycli]

Matter and energy recycled into other things, not reincarnated. I don't know if that's the right way to put it, so don't chew off my face, but when i think of reincarnation i think of people believing that their soul will push on into other living things in next lives, and have been in "past lives" and things like that.

[justforfun]

Originally Posted by orbsycli

Matter and energy recycled into other things, not reincarnated. I don't know if that's the right way to put it, so don't chew off my face, but when i think of reincarnation i think of people believing that their soul will push on into other living things in next lives, and have been in "past lives" and things like that.

The universe comes, exists, goes, comes again, and repeats this cycle.
Man does the same until he breaks the illusion of common experience and penetrates the reality behind it all AND BEHIND HIMSELF. - Paul Brunton, 'Relativity, Philosphy, and Mind'

[kaelcarp]

Originally Posted by orbsycli

Matter and energy recycled into other things, not reincarnated. I don't know if that's the right way to put it, so don't chew off my face, but when i think of reincarnation i think of people believing that their soul will push on into other living things in next lives, and have been in "past lives" and things like that.

It's really just an extension of the idea, though, taken from a time when life itself was viewed as energy and a lot less what understood about the world. Given an incomplete view of the world, it surely seemed logical that if life left a body, that life had to go somewhere. I'm sure that a "scientist" of the time would reach a conclusion like that, and people would come up with theories about where that life would go. Since there would be no way to know, it would be open to conjecture. Given the nature of society to moralize things, people would come up with the idea that where it goes depends on how well life was lived. Hence, the whole system of karma, dharma, and all that in Hinduism.

Buddhism downplays all that and isn't really a theological system so much as a philosophical one - you can be an atheist Buddhist who believes in no afterlife at all, for example. There are always very dogmatic versions of religions, and Buddhism has that, too, but most Buddhists I've known have had very individual views that make sense to them.