Reincarknickers

So, today I want to talk a little bit about reincarnation. Many people (if they subscribe at all) believe in the Buddhist ideal regarding the topic. However, there are/have been many different types of reincarnation in various belief systems all over the world!

Let's start from the word itself. "Reincarnation" is from the Latin, as most such things are, but it literally means "to enter the flesh again." However, the word in English has been used to describe different events. So I will explore some, but all of those.

1. Reincarnation is the process whereby a person who has died returns to life in a different body; normally with no memory of the previous life.

2. Reincarnation is the process by which a person who has died returns in a different body but has the memories of the past life. Often, this is thought to be available only by spiritual mastery in the previous life as is practiced by Tibetan monks, etc...

3. In the case of the Ancient Egyptians, reincarnation was thought to be available only to those who had read and understood the text of "Going Forth By Day" (aka The Egyptian Book of the Dead. This involves both a mastery of the spells in the text and a return to the physical body it has left behind. (this is not the same as the Western ideal of the "undead")

4. As to the addendum of #3. The state of being "undead" in which a person dies but either loses their "soul" and remains in the dead body, or leaves the body only to return in a "half-life" wherein the undead are required energy or blood from living bodies to retain their life. In Asian cultures, there is a 3rd type of "undeadness" in which a person dies and returns, but in someone else's dying body.

5. In many Shamanic practices, the person remains "alive" but goes through a "spiritual" or "psychic" death. This is reported by many cultures and involves a 'death of personality'. The shamans in question lose the "people they used to be" and become a new person (often with characteristics vastly different that those of the previous personality) This too is a type of "reincarnation." Many of these shamans report "going to the realm of the dead" and returning.

Of the above mentioned types, there are varying schools of thought regarding the mechanics and reality of "death." For example:

1. In the first example, there are those that believe that each successive incarnation adds to the "weight" of the current life. This "weighted person" is meant for great things or terrible things..depending upon their "karma." There are those who believe that the opposite is true; ie, that the only thing that remains of the previous life is an "essence of being" and no personality characteristics follow suit.

2. In the 2nd example, the Tibetans believe in the "weighted" theory but only for those who have taken a vow to return, over and over until all beings are liberated. (This points back the Ancient Egyptians in which plans for ones afterlife and reincarnation can be made during the current life.

Some people believe that reincarnation is random, others that it adheres to a strict code (as in the cases of 'familial reincarnation' wherein one is born over and over into the same family) or a 'natural law' of sorts wherein the deeds and intentions of the current life determine whom or what one becomes in ones next life, retroactively as well.

In the situations of "or what" you have a body of belief wherein, depending on the deeds and intentions of this life, one can become an animal, a tree...etc...Generally, with these schools, being born as anything except human is not well thought of, even less so, to be reincarnated into a "hell realm" or even "heaven realm." It is considered folly to be incarnated as a "god" as all things are impermanent and there's a sort of nasty surprise at the end of those incarnations.

Normally, reincarnation is associated with one's religious beliefs but many will tell you that your reincarnation has nothing whatsoever to do with faith.

Obviously there is so much more to say on this topic, but we're a blog, not an encyclopedia.

How do I rate reincarnation?

Well, personally, I'm a fan. One, endless afterlife where nothing ever changes seems super boring so reincarnation is kind of a loophole for that. Especially if you can buy your tickets beforehand like the Ancient Egyptians. However, some incarnations are unpleasant, painful or just a place you'd rather avoid. Therefore I'm going to give a rating of "those boxer briefs you wore in college for several days at a time and were so comfortable your partner had to force you to throw them out because they were ragged and full of holes.

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