If we presume there is rebirth, then should the memories of previous births be carried forward or removed.?

Question

Those who believe in rebirth say that we are punished or rewarded for the works done in our previous lives....then should there not be memory of previous lives be alive in our mind? When a culprit is punished, or somebody is rewarded, he is explained as to why he is being treated this way.

So when somebody is punished in this life for his previous life acts, should'nt be he aware of his crimes?????

Answer 1

Buddhists do not believe in reincarnation since that presupposes the existence of a "soul" (ataman) or some other form of an "eternal self." The Buddha taught there is no "self" that is eternal (anatman). This is a fundamental difference between Hinduism, the primary religion of India, and Buddhism. Buddhists, however, believe in rebirth. The difference between the two may seem confusing since rebirth at first glance appears to imply the existence a soul but the difference is profound.



Buddhists use fire as an example to illustrate the concept of rebirth. If you transfer the flame from a lighted candle to an unlit candle, the new flame is contingent on the old flame for its existence but they are not the same flame. There is continuity between the two but they are distinct. Reincarnation would mean that the old flame is exactly the same as the new flame. Rebirth recognizes there is a contiguous relationship of one life to the other but each is otherwise distinct.



Birth and rebirth are viewed as a continuum just as our day-to-day present life is a continuum. Remembering previous births is not always possible although there have been some studies in this area. However, for most of us we are unable to recall them although this does not mean there is no rebirth. I'm sure that you cannot recall what you ate for dinner on a specific day a year ago and that does not mean that you did not eat. In a similar manner we view that just because you cannot remember previous lives does not mean that rebirth does not occur.



There is no "punishment" in Buddhism but rather the result of karma, or action, both from this life and previous lives. We view positive and negative actions to be seeds which ripen. Perform positive well-intentioned acts and one obtains positive merit which may ripen in either this life or a future rebirth. Similarly, negative acts produce negative merit.



A person's rebirth according to Tibetan Buddhism is based on one's accrued merit. A human rebirth is the most auspicious since it gives one the opportunity to gain enlightenment and to end the cycle of rebirth.



I realize these are difficult concepts and beliefs for most Westerners to understand. I hope you have attained by reading this a small insight into the Buddhist belief.



May all be at peace.



John

Answer 2

The theory that we are punished in this birth for our sins in the previous birth/s, is wholly untenable and invalid.

"A", an accused is caught, examined and punished for the offence committed by him. How could one be caught, crossed and penalized for offences of early births.It is impossible and illogical.

A man has a corporeal body and an invisible soul .He is a living person as long as the soul is in the body.Once the soul departs, the person becomes a dead body.Once he is buried or cremated, his story is over.The corporeal body is

burnt and reduced to ashes or allowed to decay and decompose. Where exactly the soul goes, no one knows ! If

it assumes a new body then he is a very different person.He cannot be punished for his past sins.

Answer 3

Yes Sir, definitely it is possible to recollect the memory of previous births, but not though any scientific method yet. इहु मनु सकती इहु मनु सीउ ॥ This mind is power. This mind is God. इहु मनु पंच तत को जीउ ॥ This mind is the life of the five elements of the body. इहु मनु ले जउ उनमनि रहै ॥ Restraining his mind when man remains in the state of beatitude, तउ तीनि लोक की बातै कहै ॥३३॥ then can he tell the secrets of the three worlds. {{{Bhagat Kabeer Ji Raag Gauree 342}}} Kabir ji, Himself has described His previous births as : असथावर जंगम कीट पतंगा ॥ Immobile and mobile creatures, insects and moths, अनिक जनम कीए बहु रंगा ॥१॥ all those I have passed through many forms of various births. ऐसे घर हम बहुतु बसाए ॥ I had occupied many such homes, जब हम राम गरभ होइ आए ॥१॥ रहाउ ॥ like I was cast into my mother's womb. Pause. जोगी जती तपी ब्रहमचारी ॥ I become a Yogi, a continent, a penitent and an ascetic. कबहू राजा छत्रपति कबहू भेखारी ॥२॥ Sometimes I became a King, the Lord of throne and sometimes a beggar. साकत मरहि संत सभि जीवहि ॥ The mammon worshipper shall die, but the saints shall all live, राम रसाइनु रसना पीवहि ॥३॥ and quaff the Lord's elixir with their tongues. कहु कबीर प्रभ किरपा कीजै ॥ Says Kabir, my Master, have mercy on me. हारि परे अब पूरा दीजै ॥४॥१३॥ I have grown weary. Grant me perfection, now. {{{Bhagat Kabeer Ji Raag Gauree 326}}} Dear asker, one can know every thing, provided he or she could concentrate mind on One, seeking instruction from a competent true Guru. The ointment of spiritual wisdom is the destroyer of fear; through love, the Pure One is seen. The mysteries of the seen and the unseen are all known, if the mind is kept centered and balanced. If one finds such a True Guru, the Lord is met with intuitive ease. ||3|| {{{Guru Nanak Dev Ji Siree Raag 57}}}

Answer 4

Birth is of our body, which is mortal. The phenomenon of rebirth is rather not of body but of soul.

The body is made of cells. The D.N.A. and R.N.A. are the conductors of human characteristics, science says. But it is still not known by the science, how SOUL acts, transfers and enters in the new body.

The memories of previous births are always with the soul. I believe that it is good if we forget past birth data, just not to mix up present data. But in exceptional cases person may remember it for some times. But in general it is not carried forward.

That is good for us.

Answer 5

Nice question. Its one of o those I have been asked and have asked myself.



Tell me is memory a curse or blessing?



It depends on what we train ourselves to remember and replay. U c a incident might have occured only once in our life but we happen to uncontrollably recall it and suffer or enjoy it again and again. Hence thats enough to torture us.



God was graceful enough to give us fresh recorders that is a new body with new brain, though we do carry our full memories in deep sub-conscious levels. That can practically awakened by methods of yoga. Only very few in this world know that.



Well pal we are reaping what we have done and doing and going to do(And fact is we dont know how we are invovled in various things), thats the reason why we are all in different and have such variations. With all that if we deeply analyse then we will discover deep down we are all the same.



But we are not that deep enough to know that.

Answer 6

Birth starts from formation of one cell called egg and later becomes embrio. That one cell formation is from a totally new raw material and the growth depends on the environment of mother's body and health. What this cell has to do with some one who died long back and cremated to ashes.



We are making fun of God by assuming he will punish an innocent who do not have any idea what he was before.

Answer 7

In software technology this is known as data abstraction or information abstraction. The user is just shown the details of what he is required to know and not confused with the internal details.



Well, I am just talking to you in terms of high-level details.



To answer you directly. Firstly you say, you presume. Secondly you say, others believe. How can there be an answer for a little john on the streets' assumptions/presumptions and little beliefs?



Science has answers for most thrilling and rational questions put in a most logical form possible by the human mind. So we call the scientific laws as truths. But do we call the beliefs as truth themselves? No the reason is you and I just believe, we do not question the most rationalistic or logical way to get at the truth of the matter or subject.



Supposedly, let us go by your presumption and others' belief. And every one getting to know of their rewards and punishments. Which means everyone gets to know of who on this planet that is living that they have harmed in a previous life. And me the little John trodding the streets of Bangalore, India knows that another little Peter on a streets of New York, has harmed me. How can I sue him for that which happened in my past life? For that all that little Johns in Bangalore and little Peters in New York should know that there was a past life for them too. And therefore, I am logical and rightly justifying my act of suing and getting him punished. In the absence of such an evidence, that is, only few believe there is a past life and not every one. And only few assume there is a past life and not every one actually knowing it makes it a ridiculous and laughable affair of those few lunatics.



See, what is the status of these believers now. So truth must be known and known by all to be valid at all times. Truth should not be assumed or presumed or simply believed without an experience of all or just only experienced and claimed by a very few. Even only a Jesus claiming that there is a GOD would not satisfy me, only a Muhammed claiming to an Allah would not give me enough proof of a past birth and future punishments.



Far better are high courts, supreme and superior courts for however, much delayed they spell their judgements they do punish a criminal in his own life time.



Do not you know that, "A justice delayed is a justice denied?"



So let you not be unjust to criminals. Be and Do justice to one and all and now and now itself. Hail! justice.

Answer 8

Sure there is such thing a rebirth. You were born once from your mother's womb. Now you can experience rebirth by being born into the Spirit of God which is in Christ Jesus. There is no punishment in rebirth, and there is no past lives.

Answer 9

I believe in rebirth and I had dreams and memories of a past life when I was a child,It would take too long to explain it all to you ,but I think most of our hang ups and differences are caused by our past lives in our self conciseness.

Answer 10

Sorry!! don't remember a thing about a previous life and neither do anyone else as far as I can remember. The only rebirth we are going to have is through Jesus spiritually,

when he washes our sins through his blood..to make us a new creature in christ. Sorry!! I do not believe in a past life.

AND RECARNATION. Some believe they were a butterfly.

Answer 11

Thank you. For once a very intelligent question. Now this is where de` ja vu comes in. De ja vu is basically when you have a sudden and very brief flashback of your previous life. Thats why when some says this I've seen this before but I have never actually been here, or sometimes they stray of into the mind and isolate themselves from reality.

Answer 12

It is just as well that men do not remember. It is a great blessing. Just imagine the amount of enemies one makes in one life time and is not able to forget and forgive. If you were to (or all of us)remember the hurt of all previous life times we would be walking lunatics.

Just imagine the claims to money and property of previous life times! It would be hog haven for lawers.

Answer 13

It's not that easy, as they say. I don't think we get a heads up on our "next" life. I believe that our soul, (mine, yours and theirs) come into this world with a blank slate and the living is our learning, the learning is our knowledge and the wisdom is to apply the two. And had I known that coming into this world, my experience would have not been so tainted. It would have less mistakes, wrong decisions and more personally responsible as a whole.

Answer 14

Here's the deal. If you had clear memories of previous lives, like what you did last week, there would be no doubt that reincarnation existed. There is no rigorously scrutinized evidence to support reincarnation.

Answer 15

I BELIEVE IN REINCARNATION BUT I DON'T LOOK AT IT AS A WAY TO BE PUNISHED OR REWARDED.



I BELIEVE WE ARE HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE UNIVERSE AND TO PERFECT OURSELVES AS INDIVIDUALS. WE ALSO HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO BE HELPFUL TO OTHERS. THIS IS A SCHOOL.



KNOWING ABOUT ALL THE DETAILS OF A FORMER LIFE WOULD BE VERY DISTRACTING AND WOULD SERVE LITTLE PURPOSE. YET, IT IS POSSIBLE TO REMEMBER. STILL, WE NEED TO FOCUS ON THE HERE AND NOW. WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT A FORMER LIFE AND THE CEILING FALLS ON YOUR HEAD, YOU GET TO FEEL IT IN THE HERE AND NOW. SO STAY AWAKE, BE HERE NOW, AND GROW.

Answer 16

Don't presume that there is rebirth and live the present life happily without fear of punishment in the next birth.

Kal kya hoga, kisne dekha, abhi lelo jindigi ka mazaa

Answer 17

that is the best thing that god has gifted to the human beings of forget every thing so fast .If he would not have given this no body could have lived happily as he is living even after seeing the death of his beloved ones which we forget after a certain time and and believe in show must go on kind of a thing.

Answer 18

you believe the word of re-birth? there absolutely is no re-birth. it is a long long argument how i am saying this. one basic point still i prefer to repeat 1000th time now - because we have thinking power, we try to give more meaning to human life. in fact, there is no difference between human life and other living beings. because of our thinking power, we try to give more meaning to our life. once the life term is over, there absolutely endof every thing for that person except for the fact that the basic element human body is made of demerges with atmosphere.

Answer 19

it's a very good question.



we are all taken birth to learn and njoy. learning process will continue upto we have finished of learning. this process may take 'n' number of births until every body realises the purpose of life/birth.



memories will be there in the sub-conciouse stage. this will be out once one who regularly practice meditation.



punishment/good life will all depends on karma of the human being who do.



one who clears his negative karma and deposits positive karma then his eligible to higher levels.

Answer 20

I have asked before if I will realize that I am reborn or has anyone known of someone who was reborn. I was properly chastized for "making fun of others religion".

I honestly want to know but either people don't know or are not supposed to tell

Answer 21

Memories of our previous birth are removed.Human are to evolve in a better way & not retardation.

Answer 22

We can't even remember our own birth in THIS lifetime. i think it's a lot to expect to remember our past lives in detail.



That said, I have had meditation sessions and vivid dreams where memories came to me that were very much like past lives.

Answer 23

I think a common view of reincarnation is that of a vast ocean of 'spirit' or 'soul'. When you are born, a drop is pulled from this ocean; when you die, it returns, annihilating your unique 'essence' in the process. In this way, individuals do not affect their next lives specifically (because "you" won't have one); they only contribute a tiny bit to the net karma of the ocean.



It sounds absurd and I think it is, but it's not the craziest religious belief I've ever heard.

Answer 24

The human spirit is reborn upon excepting Jesus ,not your physical body. Your physical body is destine for the grave.

Answer 25

i don't think that we are punished or rewarded. i believe we are here to learn and grow. we keep coming back until we've learned everything we need to know.



i think that the memory of all our past lives is buried in our subconscious.

Answer 26

I will suggest the following site please read.



Go to www.oshoworld.com then e-bboks then under hindi translations you will see the book called Dimensions beyond the known. People who want answers for the above question can read this book.

Answer 27

Ding Dong! You get one chance. No retakes. No getting better and earning your way.

Doing the same stupid things over and over is insanity.

Meet Jesus and get real about it.

Answer 28

I don`t want to open my 10th standard mathematics now.

No ! Never.

Answer 29

there is no such thing as rebirth as far as i am concerned.u live once so make the best of it!

Answer 30

I am sorry...don't believe in reincarnation.

Answer 31

sorry i dont believe in rebirth.

Answer 32

removed