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**KignPeeseeamn** · 12-23-2010, 03:07 AM

Post-mortem rebirth, and especially its link to karma, reminds me of the Christian obsession with "living a good life" to ensure entry into heaven ( analogous to nirvana in some sense?).

True, and the difference is given because through living a good life, if there is not heaven, there is, for sure (sure for those convinced about rebirth) a better becoming and in a sophisticated degree a evolution toward better conditions of life and mind so to practice Dhamma.

Rebirth is the most beautiful elegant and congruent metaphysical speculation I have ever met, but it is, for the purpose of the Dhamma teachings a double blade weapon. Soto Zen is very cautious handling this weapon. It can bring you into the defilement given by a solid self. I think that rebirth doctrine is beyond the "be good" shortness of any practice. It gives a sense of evolution but not well understood it can be a painfull pitfall anytime it moves away from the here and now and gets into useless speculations about future and past lives that are meaningless for the practice of Buddhadhamma.

12-23-2010, 03:07 AM	#3
KignPeeseeamn Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 460 Senior Member	Post-mortem rebirth, and especially its link to karma, reminds me of the Christian obsession with "living a good life" to ensure entry into heaven ( analogous to nirvana in some sense?). True, and the difference is given because through living a good life, if there is not heaven, there is, for sure (sure for those convinced about rebirth) a better becoming and in a sophisticated degree a evolution toward better conditions of life and mind so to practice Dhamma. Rebirth is the most beautiful elegant and congruent metaphysical speculation I have ever met, but it is, for the purpose of the Dhamma teachings a double blade weapon. Soto Zen is very cautious handling this weapon. It can bring you into the defilement given by a solid self. I think that rebirth doctrine is beyond the "be good" shortness of any practice. It gives a sense of evolution but not well understood it can be a painfull pitfall anytime it moves away from the here and now and gets into useless speculations about future and past lives that are meaningless for the practice of Buddhadhamma.
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