(by 27 people)
Taking responsibility for this life and the next
Karma and reincarnation are linked. Karma is the idea that what we do and have done influences our circumstances, talents and options. Reincarnation means that what we do and think will not just influence our present life, but also our future existences.
Why do people believe in karma?
But if it isn't, karma is the only explanation that makes sense. If the cause of most of our misery is karma, wealth and poverty, sickness and health, wisdom and stupidity are all ultimately the responsibility of each person themselves. What's more, if we help others, that will come back to us. Helping others becomes the ultimate blessing: not only are we helping someone else become a better person, the person helping will get their reward... I'm not talking money here, I'm talking happiness, wisdom, chances to grow, meeting the right people ... Good karma is ultimately not about being wealthy and getting the chance to dress up in the fanciest cloths. From a spiritual perspective good karma means the chance to grow in wisdom and get more and more chances to help and bless humanity.
Where 'the secret' is supposedly that we each need to just visualize happiness in order to get it - the doctrine of karma means that happiness can only come to all of us, when we all make the effort to try and make others happy.
Reincarnation video's
Star Trek III - The Search for Spock (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $9.49 (as of 08/28/2008)
Our past and future lives
The misconception, from a philosophical point of view, is this: it IS NOT the personality that reincarnates. Our personality is formed by our circumstances, our body, our eating habits, the country we grew up in etc. Those are karmically caused, but change in each incarnation.
What we take along into our next incarnation is what we've learned on a spiritual level and our habits (bad and good).
Our past lives impact us in many ways. First of all our circumstances, talents and inclinations are to a large extent caused by our karmic inheritance. It's our starting point. What we do with that, what we choose to change or keep, is up to us.
Looking again at our future lives: if we are misusing our responsibilities as a human being, and instead live like pigs, chances are we will reincarnate as pigs. But most people do use their capacities as a human being. Many people just do the best they see how. In those circumstances, the human element, the conscious responsible element, is strong enough to stay alive into a next incarnation. This means a human birth.
So, can we choose our next life?
Choosing your next life depends on how much (negative) karma you have waiting to work out. Lots of karma that needs to be worked out means that you don't really have much choice on how your next life is going to look. If you have reached a point in your spiritual evolution where there isn't too much bad karma to work out any more, and you have consciously chosen to only work for good - a point will come where you can start to actually choose what to do with your life.
That said: I do believe that even with a lot of bad karma, you can still choose the lessons to learn from that karma.
Books on reincarnation
Your Immortal Reality: How to Break the Cycle of Birth and Death by Gary Renard
In this fascinating book, Gary Renard and his Asce more...0 points
Right action
avoid wrong, act right
Right action means both not doing wrong and actively doing right. Avoiding harming other people and the world we live in can be difficult. Sometimes it's not even possible. The important thing is to just try.
Actively doing right is more difficult. It can mean doing volunteer work, or talking to that guy that's ignored by everybody. If you see some wrong - don't just complain, see about doing something about it. It's better for this world, and good karma for you.
Books on Karma
Astrology, Karma & Transformation: The Inner Dimensions of the Birth Chart
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 08/28/2008)
Karma 101: What Goes Around Comes Around...and What You Can Do About It
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $11.01 (as of 08/28/2008)
The Lost Teachings of Jesus: Missing Texts Karma and Reincarnation (Missing Texts Karma and Reincarnation Book 1)
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 08/28/2008)
Good Karma: How to Find It and Keep It
Avg. Customer Rating:
Amazon Price: $11.01 (as of 08/28/2008)
Karma: The Ancient Science of Cause and Effect
Avg. Customer Rating:
Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 08/28/2008)
Right thought
Trying to stay fair.
Karmically it's more important what we think of others. Are you fair to them? Do you keep in mind that their lives are hard too? What are the challenges of the people you disagree with? What do they have to deal with? Always try to balance your negative thoughts about people with a fair perspective on how it must be from their perspective. This will help keep the relationship healthy and avoid trouble. After all: what we think will influence what we say and do.
Karma: the ethical law of cause and effect
We may see that this is so in every-day life. Law on the physical plane takes no account of intention. If you seize a red-hot bar it will burn you, whether you seized it in order to kill somebody, or in order to save a child from injury. On the physical plane the result will be precisely the same, but on the plane of intention it is very different. In the one case there could be nothing but shame and remorse, and the evil result of an outpouring of hatred and malice; in the other there would be the happy consciousness of a brave deed done, and the good which flows from a strong thought of heroic self-sacrifice.
C.W. Leadbeater: Karma, the law of cause and effect
Creating the right habits
skandhas - the result of right thought, words and actions
So each time you break a negative habit, the negative karmic cycle is broken. Each time we act on love, the negative conditionings that keep us from changing our habits is softened.
Bid on Karma and Reincarnation stuff!
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Salvation: out of the cycle of rebirth
Nirvana, Moksha, Enlightenment
In all philosophies that accept reincarnation, there is also a vision of getting out of the cycle of rebirth. Each philosophical school has their own ideas on how to attain enlightenment: called Moksha in Hinduism and Nirvana in Buddhism.
Some of the ways people feel enlightenment can be reached are below. Please add your own favorite, or ones I forgot about below.
There are all kinds of discussions on which is important, so vote for the one that you feel is most likely to ultimately lead to Nirvana!
#1
Jnana
Contemplation on truth2 points
Reincarnation and Karma are facts! - What do YOU think?
Is reincarnation a fact?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byYes, I believe in reincarnation.
JoeR says:
I absolutely do! A few experiences from past lives will probably bleed through to this life. If you're lucky, you'll become aware of them.
Posted June 13, 2008
Reiki-Relax says:
We hold onto karma through our many visits to this world until we learn to let it go, then we return no more.
Posted April 13, 2008
KimGiancaterino says:
I like to believe that Karma exists, that people reap what they sow, even if it's in another life.
Posted April 01, 2008
Robert says:
it most defiently is
Posted March 20, 2008
No, I don't believe in reincarnation
RinchenChodron says:
I'm on the fence. I do know that I was led to Buddhism by something not explained - I was raised Christian - but indeed here I am Buddhist. Perhaps I did have a former life?
Posted August 23, 2008
Tiddledeewinks says:
I'm not sure I believe in reincarnation as such, but I believe in karma (we reap what we sow), and that there is an after life. Check out my Do Animals Go To Heaven lens.
Posted April 25, 2008
Show the world you believe in Karma and Reincarnation!
a Dr. Button button
'I didn't believe in reincarnation in my last life either' button
2.25" Button
Price: 3.43
Links on karma and reincarnation
- Karma and rebirth in Buddhism
- Karma is a central doctrine in Buddhism. The articles on this page explain how it works in relation to reincarnation - and why Buddhists often say they don't believe in a soul (atman). The weird thing is: they believe that karma itself reincarnates...
- Karma & reincarnation in theosophy
- Theosophists have thought about karma and reincarnation for over a century. Their explanations DO include a soul. The articles here include information on why we don't remember our past lives and whether poverty is bad karma (hint: no).
- Near Death Experience and Karma
- A variety of articles about karma and reincarnation and how those subjects relate to Near Death Experiences.
- Karma & Reincarnation in Hinduism
- Articles about karma and reincarnation in Hinduism. Included are articles on ritual, karma yoga and Jainism.
- LIFE AFTER LIFE - or The Theory of Reincarnation FAQ
- FAQ on reincarnation, rebirth, past and future lives and karma.
Tell me what you think about this...
|
Positive-quotes
In Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, the universal law of cause and effect, as applied to the deeds of people. A (deliberate) good or bad deed leads a person's destiny in the appropriate direction. The ripening of the deed may take more than one lifetime, tying the agent to the cycle of rebirth, or samsara; only deeds free from desire and delusion have no consequences for karma... Posted July 19, 2008 |
I love this lens..Good work
Karma is the universal law
My site spiritual quotes
Posted July 19, 2008
|
Silver_Lotus
I like this lens! And I believe in karma completely. Tibet, Nepal & South Asia Posted May 11, 2008 |
More Spiritual Lenses
More religion and spirituality-
There IS an afterlife
-
I think there IS an afterlife This lens records various religious beliefs - and gives you the option of really deciding which is best. From Ancient Egypt and Plato, to Christianity and Buddhism... most religions I know of have an afterlife of sorts -...
-
Spiritual Lenses - Katinka Hesselink Net: religion and spirituality
-
A lensography of my best spirituality lenses as well as a summary of my website. I feature information from various religious traditions like Buddhism, Sufism, Fourth Way and Theosophy. I also pay attention to various spiritual teachers, whether the...
-
Aum, the sacred Indian mantra ; Om, Ohm - meditating unity
-
Who doesn't know the Indian mantra 'aum' - and use it when they want to make fun of new age spirituality? Aum is actually a sacred mantra for all Indian religions that I know of (Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism etc.). It is a symbol for the most sacred,...
-
We DO have a soul
-
There is no way to describe what I experience without a soul that transcends the personality. There is something in us which is more than my habits, limitations and combined past. According to Christianity and Islam we each have an immortal soul, tha...
-
The Ultimate Questions - religion and spirituality
-
These are the ultimate philosophy questions we all ask ourselves about religion and spirituality. Vote, get inspired and share. Part lensography, part hey monkeybrain lens - I hope you all enjoy.
Thanks for all your support!
A big thank you to all of you who've supported my online work by:
- linking to any of my web projects
- voting on my lenses
- buying stuff from my lenses
- asking questions
- giving constructive feedback
- ... donating money :)
- and being generally supportive :) ;)
