Vajradhara
One of Many
Namaste Nick,
thank you for the post.
this is a nuanced distinction, to be sure. frankly, there is little wonder to me why beings can be confused on this point since to really have a firm understanding requires some knowledge of the Buddhadharmas philosophical underpininings.
let's parse the words for a moment. re-incarnation and re-birth seem like sort of the same thing, however, there is a salient difference here and, perhaps, we'll be able to bring it out through conversation.
the first thing to consider is that, within the Buddhadharma, there is no teaching that there is anything which is incarnated, i.e. created. moreover, of the phenomena which do arise, none of them have any permenant essence, no self-existent nature which can be found.
when we view external phenomena, this teaching is called Impermenance (i'm going to try to skip many of the Pali and Sanskrit names, we can do that later, if necessary). when we view this teaching in with regards to sentient beings, we call it No Self or Selflessness.
it is not that one chooses ones next life, per se. however, that is a bit of a side point at this junction. it is not ones previous lives that are unalterable, if one could not change ones karma then Awakening would not be possible. ones previous existence conditions the arising of the current existence. the current existence conditions the arising of the next existence. in each existence, a sentient being generates karma. the fruit of karma can be positive or negative and it is this fruit which, ultimately, conditions the arisings.
in Buddhism, the consciouness is understood to be a many layered sort of thing, ultimately having 10 progressively subtle layers. the aspect of human consciousness which views the aggregates as "I" and "me" is the ego and its fundamental clinging to a sense of existence.
the ego lays at the 6th level of the consciousness, as such, when a being is able to access the 7th level, the entire idea of self is uprooted and we expose the Alaya Consciousness, the Ground. at this point, there is nothing which could be considered to be a self remaining, there is the Alaya Consciousness where the fruit of karma ripens and the more subtle stages of the 9th and 10th, where one is called an Effect Stage Buddha, the technical Vajrayana literature, at any rate.
so, to sum up, what experiences rebirth and the workings of karma is the conditioned aspects of consciousness, the I Consciousness (7th) as conditioned by the fruit of the Alaya Consciousness.
it is not Karma, per se, that is responsible, it is the fruit of Karma which is the action item here.
the fruit of karma mainfests in the Alaya Consciousness, which is just slightly above what is conventionally labled as "I" by the mind.
that is correct. not only that, there isn't a real self which is existing now. this is a product of ego clinging and, though quite real to us, is not ultimately existing.
metta,
~v
thank you for the post.
Nick said:
this is a nuanced distinction, to be sure. frankly, there is little wonder to me why beings can be confused on this point since to really have a firm understanding requires some knowledge of the Buddhadharmas philosophical underpininings.
let's parse the words for a moment. re-incarnation and re-birth seem like sort of the same thing, however, there is a salient difference here and, perhaps, we'll be able to bring it out through conversation.
the first thing to consider is that, within the Buddhadharma, there is no teaching that there is anything which is incarnated, i.e. created. moreover, of the phenomena which do arise, none of them have any permenant essence, no self-existent nature which can be found.
when we view external phenomena, this teaching is called Impermenance (i'm going to try to skip many of the Pali and Sanskrit names, we can do that later, if necessary). when we view this teaching in with regards to sentient beings, we call it No Self or Selflessness.
it is not that one chooses ones next life, per se. however, that is a bit of a side point at this junction. it is not ones previous lives that are unalterable, if one could not change ones karma then Awakening would not be possible. ones previous existence conditions the arising of the current existence. the current existence conditions the arising of the next existence. in each existence, a sentient being generates karma. the fruit of karma can be positive or negative and it is this fruit which, ultimately, conditions the arisings.
in Buddhism, the consciouness is understood to be a many layered sort of thing, ultimately having 10 progressively subtle layers. the aspect of human consciousness which views the aggregates as "I" and "me" is the ego and its fundamental clinging to a sense of existence.
the ego lays at the 6th level of the consciousness, as such, when a being is able to access the 7th level, the entire idea of self is uprooted and we expose the Alaya Consciousness, the Ground. at this point, there is nothing which could be considered to be a self remaining, there is the Alaya Consciousness where the fruit of karma ripens and the more subtle stages of the 9th and 10th, where one is called an Effect Stage Buddha, the technical Vajrayana literature, at any rate.
so, to sum up, what experiences rebirth and the workings of karma is the conditioned aspects of consciousness, the I Consciousness (7th) as conditioned by the fruit of the Alaya Consciousness.
it is not Karma, per se, that is responsible, it is the fruit of Karma which is the action item here.
the fruit of karma mainfests in the Alaya Consciousness, which is just slightly above what is conventionally labled as "I" by the mind.
that is correct. not only that, there isn't a real self which is existing now. this is a product of ego clinging and, though quite real to us, is not ultimately existing.
metta,
~v
{I guess I'll just have to be patient, and wait, and see or not see...}
