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**D6Ri5u13** · 11-10-2011, 11:53 PM

Hello everyone,

One of the things that i ve learned since i joined this forum is how to differenciate between rebirth (Buddhism) and reincarnation (Hinduism), However, the stories i ve read and the movies i ve watched in relation to the rebirth of some Lamas in Tibet made me confused.

As you know, the Dalai Lama is believed by his devotees to be the rebirth of of a long line of tulkus who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion. When the old Lama or a senior monk passes away, the search for his rebirth starts (i dont quite understand the process) but once a candidate is found, the testing process starts by asking the candidate to choose one item out of few similar items (such as glasses, bowls ...etc). If the cadidate picks the correct item then that confirms that he/she is the rebirth of the previous lama!

According to Buddhism, everything is impermenant, and there is no real self that is unconidtioned by cause and effect hence the idea of the self is a delusion. In addition, there are other factors which affect the fruition of Karma (which means affecting our personalities, perceptions and preferences) such as birth place, the suitablitiy of our bodies, the time we are born into, and the attribute of our actions. Those factors differs significantly when rebirth occurs as the newly reborn will have different genes, different environment, different time which (scientifically speaking) must result in a totally different personality and preferences than the ones we had in our previouse lives.

My question is: if everything is impermenant, and with the absence of a real self that is unconditioned by cause and effect (a soul), and when we take the above factors that affects the fruition of karma into consideration, why would the newly born Lama chooses the same items as in his previous lives?

My second question is: what led the Buddha to deny the existance of a a permenant soul? and what Buddhists say about the stories we hear about people experiencing their souls departing from there bodies?

Thank you in advance.

Regards,
Bundokji

11-10-2011, 11:53 PM	#1
D6Ri5u13 Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 561 Senior Member	The rebirth of Lamas Hello everyone, One of the things that i ve learned since i joined this forum is how to differenciate between rebirth (Buddhism) and reincarnation (Hinduism), However, the stories i ve read and the movies i ve watched in relation to the rebirth of some Lamas in Tibet made me confused. As you know, the Dalai Lama is believed by his devotees to be the rebirth of of a long line of tulkus who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion. When the old Lama or a senior monk passes away, the search for his rebirth starts (i dont quite understand the process) but once a candidate is found, the testing process starts by asking the candidate to choose one item out of few similar items (such as glasses, bowls ...etc). If the cadidate picks the correct item then that confirms that he/she is the rebirth of the previous lama! According to Buddhism, everything is impermenant, and there is no real self that is unconidtioned by cause and effect hence the idea of the self is a delusion. In addition, there are other factors which affect the fruition of Karma (which means affecting our personalities, perceptions and preferences) such as birth place, the suitablitiy of our bodies, the time we are born into, and the attribute of our actions. Those factors differs significantly when rebirth occurs as the newly reborn will have different genes, different environment, different time which (scientifically speaking) must result in a totally different personality and preferences than the ones we had in our previouse lives. My question is: if everything is impermenant, and with the absence of a real self that is unconditioned by cause and effect (a soul), and when we take the above factors that affects the fruition of karma into consideration, why would the newly born Lama chooses the same items as in his previous lives? My second question is: what led the Buddha to deny the existance of a a permenant soul? and what Buddhists say about the stories we hear about people experiencing their souls departing from there bodies? Thank you in advance. Regards, Bundokji
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