Before I discovered Hinduism, I thought that it was the Buddha who introduced the ideas of karma and reincarnation. However, he actually took them from Hinduism. The Buddha himself contributed his own insights – that the root of suffering lies in desires, and by escaping from desires, one becomes happy. But here’s my question: is that even possible through an act of will? I mean, if you try to force yourself to “stop wanting,” aren’t you just suppressing that energy and ending up wanting it even more?
So the ideas of reincarnation and karma are eternal… they have existed and will continue to exist for as long as humanity itself exists, while the ancient teachings are merely the written records that have survived to our time.
And Buddhists and Hindus do think about monotheism. And monotheists think about reincarnation and karma.
What I mean is that we need to separate the eternal Dhamma (reincarnation and karma), which is universal, and the ideas introduced by the Buddha, which are essentially his personal vision.
He said the first question is not useful for practice, and the second one is beyond human understanding of beginning and end – like a singularity outside time.
Because of this, it doesn’t really work to say that nirvana is the beginning of samsara. It’s unclear how a perfectly enlightened being, who has reached nirvana, could suddenly produce initial karma that starts samsara (the wheel of rebirth).
Also, the word “eternal” feels strange. “Forever” doesn’t really exist – never forever, keep the beat.
After studying religions of the world, Buddhism seems much more advanced than the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). The only thing I can’t understand is the Dalai Lama’s rebirths. For some unclear reason, it’s only men (never women), and they are born in one specific region, not all over the Earth… seems like nonsense.
Also, it’s unclear why the Buddha did not accept the immortality of the soul (with built-in memory for working off karma in the next life), but instead said the soul is like a flame passed from one candle to another. I don’t really get that – how does the memory from previous life preserve to the next one?
Before I couldn’t come to a single conclusion about what I believe in—a Creator God (Hinduism, Abrahamic religions) or the Law of Karma (Buddhism), which all gods obey. But today I thought, who created the Law of Karma? So, this question is dualistic, and I will no longer think about it. Because it’s either “both at the same time” or “first one, after another.”
Do you want to change your life through action and cite those who have succeeded? I will disappoint you: those who, in your opinion, have managed to change their lives through action, simply had their karmic potential activated. Without understanding this, people attribute success to their own actions. But karma is a very unreliable thing: its favorable aspects are quickly exhausted, and then people are amazed: “How can this be! Before, everything worked out for me, but now everything is falling apart.” And that’s exactly right. Therefore, the only means of changing your life are mindfulness, peace and clarity of mind; and a balance of energies. Whether you like it or not, that’s the way it is.
