Building Wealth: Buddhism and Reincarnation
Planning for a successful life isonly worldly without the important spiritual component for success
. Unfortunately, many people are raised with a more money and possession orientation than spirituality at its core, even though they might have a natural spirituality that could be developed. This absence of the spiritual in life plans actually creates a dry hunger that further drives a materialist view because there are few viable alternatives. The excessively sweet or illogical presentations of many religious and spiritual traditions might also be to blame and drive the intelligent person away.
Buddhism also has much to offer for those with a devotional nature, but does not insist that people conform to a particular model in order to benefit. In general, however, the logical and skillful changes modeled in Buddhism are useful and attractive to the thinking person. We can thank the early Buddhist Indian sages, such as Nagarjuna, Chandrakirti, and others for the detailed analyzes of reality and logical philosophy. We can also thank the Indian Hindu philosophers that predate the Buddhist system because it was in response to the Hindu philosophies, that they were developed. The great Hindu sages became the great Buddhist sages by being defeated with their own logic! The great debates of early Buddhism were also great social sporting events drawing great crowds, royalty, and followers of the debaters, like Olympic events with heroes of logic. Ashvagosha is one example. After his public defeat by a Buddhist logician, he was so distraught that they locked him in the Buddhist library, from where he emerged as a Buddhist scholar!
In the spirit of that great tradition, we return to the actual discussion of planning for the future based on a Western materialistic worldview, but only briefly, because this debate will go on for some time. Let us now switch to another way of looking at planning for the future because life is short no matter how long it lasts, from both the Buddhist and reasoning non- Buddhist viewpoint. If we were honest with ourselves, we would see that neither we nor anyone else is fully prepared tfor higher evolutionary development. There could be so much more accomplished in the remainder of this life. Although the retirement ideal of many is to get a motor home and go to Mexico, or Texas, travel, pursue other interests, or be with close family and friends, it is uncertain they will be able to do that, because life is as unpredictable as trying to plan for a financial future in a bad economy.
There are reasonable preparations and planning needed for the future, although you probably do not know what they are at this point. In accordance with evolutionary maturity, we will each have to enter into a new way of being after death, without the physical form that comprises so large a part of our identity. At that point, it will not matter whether you were vice president of an important company, owned a Ferrari or a fancy vacation home. All of these will become as nothing in comparison to the need to having prepared and transformed the deep mind. That requires happening during life.
Nearing the time of death, you will not exactly know what it is you are supposed to be mentally preparing for, other than goodbyes and unfinished business. If passing is sudden, of course, there will not even be time for ordinary preparation; only the distillation of the preparations and valuable changes you have already accomplished will be with you. With blinders on to inner life and still not knowing what to expect, you will definitely enter a different way of being. Whether you believe in reincarnation or not, does not matter, this is the stopping point or event of a human life. Oriental people pretty much already believe in transmigration after death. However, in the West, many people would say, "Well, this part of the discussion has nothing to do with me because I do not believe in reincarnation."
However, it really does not matter whether you believe in reincarnation or not. If you believe in past and future lives, then you have an obligation to increase the basis value during this lifetime that increases the future life potential. In that way, you can either rejoice in, or be anxious about the karmic life potential you were given as the result of some previous life. During this life, some might be thankful for experiencing such a wonderful opportunity. Others might be nervous because they fear they may have become even more distorted during their organic manufacturing process of living.
But now you are already well along in life, working with what you have brought into this existence, isn't that so? Some people start out extremely well, with tremendous possibilities, but do very little in this life, even though it might appear as though they were successful. It was as if everything fell into their lap without needing to try very hard. They always got good grades at school; their job just landed into their lap and with so many opportunities, they became members and pillars of the community. In spite of everything, that person could be the laziest person on earth from the viewpoint of their potential!
Another person who struggled hard to gain education and to get a job. To do as well as they did required a tremendous amount of personal effort. What if they were someone who really could say, "I did the best I could," near the time of their passing? They might not have received the accolades or tremendous success of this other person, yet they increased the value of their very being tremendously by their efforts! It is difficult to judge these long-term gains.
However, if you do not believe in reincarnation and only this life, it is even more important to be prepared for another way of being that will be very unlike human life. Because you do not believe in past or future lives, therefore, it will not be a human life, and you only have this one chance to make a good show. You should be very careful how you conduct yourself in all areas of life if you do not believe in reincarnation. Most people believe that by entering into the unknown way of being after passing, there will be some other kind of evolutionary process, like a conveyor belt going from birth to death.
If you feel this is too esoteric, I briefly refer to another system of information. In accordance with current scientific knowledge, no energy is lost, only transmuted. It is also increasingly acknowledged that it is possible for mind to function even when the body is disconnected, such as out of body or near death experiences. This exploration into consciousness could even include studies of awareness of events happening at another location. Research into consciousness itself is a new frontier for science, still in its infancy, but it is highly developed in Tibetan Buddhism.
Returning to our discussion regarding reincarnation, it is not very skillful to think that we can spontaneously become this new thing after death, without effort. This is clear when we examine our life, the planning we do to make things come out well. When we do not plan, at best nothing special happens, or things turn out not so well. These days some schools think that it doesn't matter whether a student does well or not; everyone is passed to the next grade. Then it means a poor student will have double pressure in the next grade; to be what they are not, work with knowledge they do not have, in order to accomplish new learning based upon a nonexistent foundation.
Therefore, it makes logical sense to include spiritual planning as part of career and lifetime plans so that after "retirement: from this life you are taken care of. Begin by making time every day for quality meditation of your choice.
http://www.satisfiedbuddhist.blogspot.com/http://www.white-conch.org/Welcome.html
http://www.hermitagebuddhistpublishing.com/
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/domo-geshe-rinpoche-teachings/id387058479Building Wealth: Buddhism and Reincarnation
By: Domo Geshe Rinpoche
Ways On Having a Selection Of Fitting Eyewear for Myopes Australian Election Results In A Tight Balance Take Advantage of Free Social Media Tools Right Selection Of The Paining Easel Is Indeed A Tricky Decision Gender Selection - The Ultimate Guide A World without Social Media How To Increase Traffic With Social Media Websites The Way Social Media Functions & Its Importance! Selection Of Web Design Company Makes The Difference car beauty faith exposed faith return calls Selection Of A Pool Cleaner The Missing Link to the Foundation of Faith Today Bangalore Service Apartments Enable One To Complete A Selection Within The Apartment