What are Taoist Thoughts/Feelings on Reincarnation?

[DalTheJigsaw123]

What are Taoist Thoughts/Feelings on Reincarnation?

[sabretooth]

I don't know what taoist thought's are but I have memories of key event's that have shaped me for this life.

I was taught that any skill or ability you learn in a previous life you take with you into your next life.

Which would explain why some people are naturally good at some thing's.

I also know that whatever you die from in a previous life you will have no fear of in the next,in fact you will have a fascination with it.

In one life I burned to death,but I have no fear of fire infact when I was a kid I was obsessed with fire and was playing with it all the time.

In my last life I fell off a motor bike,hit my head and died,but right from an early age I could'nt wait to get on bike.

 

 

sabretooth.

[DalTheJigsaw123]

I don't know what taoist thought's are but I have memories of key event's that have shaped me for this life.

I was taught that any skill or ability you learn in a previous life you take with you into your next life.

Which would explain why some people are naturally good at some thing's.

I also know that whatever you die from in a previous life you will have no fear of in the next,in fact you will have a fascination with it.

In one life I burned to death,but I have no fear of fire infact when I was a kid I was obsessed with fire and was playing with it all the time.

In my last life I fell off a motor bike,hit my head and died,but right from an early age I could'nt wait to get on bike.

 

 

sabretooth.

 

Very interesting. I have had a dozen of flashbacks myself. Not sure.. Trying to see what others think about this topic.

I think this is where Buddhism and Taoism, get in trouble with one another.

[Stigweard]

What are Taoist Thoughts/Feelings on Reincarnation?

Compost...

 

[soaring crane]

Stig is right, lol. There is no tradition of reincarnation in pre-Buddhist China, to the best of my knowledge.

[Stigweard]

Stig is right, lol. There is no tradition of reincarnation in pre-Buddhist China, to the best of my knowledge.

Actually there's a lot to be learned from that image

[Marblehead]

Stig has already commented better than I ever could.

 

Peace & Love!

[DalTheJigsaw123]

That was great! Thanks both.

[soaring crane]

I think this is where Buddhism and Taoism, get in trouble with one another.

 

Yes, Leon, this and the other thing you posted, too, lol.

 

There are other explanations for the reincarnation experience. Start with DNA....

 

 

[Stigweard]

Stig has already commented better than I ever could.

 

Peace & Love!

I love it how you post something even when you have nothing to say

[Sloppy Zhang]

From "The Great Stillness" by B.K. Frantzis:

 

In their philosophy, the Taoists prefer to focus on life here and now. Neither in the I Ching, the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tse, nor in Chuang Tsu's works is there a strong focus on reincarnation. The Taoist view is that the energy of life is at death mulched in the energy of the Tao and spun out again as another new living manifestation. Chuang Tsu, for example, says: "How marvelous the Creator (the Tao) is! What is he going to make of you next? Where is he going to send you? Will he make you into a rat's liver? Will he make you into a bug's arm?" (Chuang Tsu, Basic Writings, trans. Burton Watson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1964), p 81)

 

Many Taoists believe that the vast majority of human beings do not have the capacity to reincarnate intact. They believe that when a soul dies, its consciousness breaks up and later combines with parts of other fragmented souls, thereby reincarnating as a mosaic soul. This idea is also represented in other traditions, especially shamanic ones, where it is held that a human's body can be composed from different past lives of various entities. Thus, some Taoists believe that the human desire to become integrated is based on a literal need.

 

The primary spiritual purpose of the preparatory and intermediate chi practices of Taoist meditation for achieving spiritual maturity involves gathering all the energies of an individual into one integrated, whole energy or consciousness. This unified energy/consciousness creates a "ling", the Chinese word for "soul". A unified ling can reincarnate intact; a fragmented or nonintegrated human consciousness cannot.

 

Since many Taoists believe that most people will not come back as a unified being, they consider talking about reincarnation to be a waste of time. They do, though, discuss karma, which they often characterize as the Law of Return. In this concept, the energy you put out eventually comes back to you in some form, though it is not certain when or how that will happen. Responsibility for the deeds you do and the psychic energy you put out is critical to the Taoist philosophy of how life and justice works.

 

The life-affirming Taoists seek a primal route to experiencing nature of the nontemporal "soul" by training the body to be fully conscious and aware. By placing attention on the living human body and on Consciousness (which they deem to be immortal) (my note-this isn't your "mental consciousness", but the part of "universal consciousness" that you are connected to at all times, and which you cultivate an awareness of during meditation), Taoists hold that focusing on this present life is as equally important as giving credence to the concept of an afterlife.

 

For those that didn't understand the picture

[erdweir]

[quote name=soaring crane' date='29 January 2010 - 11:43 AM'

='1264794209' post='174614]

There is no tradition of reincarnation in pre-Buddhist China, to the best of my knowledge.

 

There is this book called "Ancestors and Anxiety, Daoism and the Birth of Rebirth in China", which i have not read, but i noticed that it was about the introduction on reincarnation beliefs into china by Buddhists in the 3rd to 6th centuries.

 

here is the link to Amazon's page:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ancestors-Anxiety-Daoism-Rebirth-Lilienthal/dp/0520259882/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264835257&sr=8-1

 

Anybody read it?

[Marblehead]

I love it how you post something even when you have nothing to say

 

Hehehe. Hey, if I've got nothing to say I need to tell you that else you might be waiting days for a response and never get one.

 

But every once in a while I do say something.

 

Peace & Love!

[soaring crane]

There is this book called "Ancestors and Anxiety, Daoism and the Birth of Rebirth in China", which i have not read, but i noticed that it was about the introduction on reincarnation beliefs into china by Buddhists in the 3rd to 6th centuries.

 

here is the link to Amazon's page:

 

http://www.amazon.co...64835257&sr=8-1

 

Anybody read it?

 

not yet, lol, but thanks for the tip!

 

What I'd really like is a collection or list of books about esoteric/spiritual/energetic practices in pre-Buddhist China. Got any hot leads?

 

 

 

[DalTheJigsaw123]

not yet, lol, but thanks for the tip!

 

What I'd really like is a collection or list of books about esoteric/spiritual/energetic practices in pre-Buddhist China. Got any hot leads?

 

I double that.

Specifically, Ebooks?

Strapped for cash.

We all are...

[Gerard]

Compost...

 

The interesting thing is that all the Taoists I have met in my life agree with rebirth DUE TO THEIR SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES AND DEEP INSIGHT.

 

Little compost I see, maybe a lot in this thread.

[Sloppy Zhang]

The interesting thing is that all the Taoists I have met in my life agree with rebirth DUE TO THEIR SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES AND DEEP INSIGHT.

 

Little compost I see, maybe a lot in this thread.

 

Maybe they have developed the "ling" that B.K. Frantzis mentioned, so in their cases they will come back.

[Stigweard]

The interesting thing is that all the Taoists I have met in my life agree with rebirth DUE TO THEIR SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES AND DEEP INSIGHT.

 

Little compost I see, maybe a lot in this thread.

Hmmm ... time to meditate on compost perhaps

 

Does compost imply "no rebirth"?

[Marblehead]

Hmmm ... time to meditate on compost perhaps

 

Does compost imply "no rebirth"?

 

For me 'compost' implies reuse, not rebirth. Recycling what has lost its original purpose.

 

Life was the original purpose of birth. Death brings an end to the original purpose. Now all that was is reused. It is compost for the use, or not, of future purposes.

 

Peace & Love!

[~jK~]

What are Taoist Thoughts/Feelings on Reincarnation?

 

How can it not be real?

[Guest paul walter]

Hmmm ... time to meditate on compost perhaps

 

Does compost imply "no rebirth"?

 

 

 

Well, most compost heaps left to their own devices will give 'birth' to pumpkin,tomato,chickweed etc plants. Compost is the raw soil in which the seed of the 'past' has taken root, sometimes expressing themselves as stronger, more self-relient and resilient, and immune to disease than the previous generation. While most assiduous gardeners will pick these plants from the heap and plant them to ensure a healthier crop, most simply turn them back into the heap where their potential to bear fruit is lost and remains unexpressed.

From 'Zen and the Art of Compost Maintenance' by Master Dung

[erdweir]

not yet, lol, but thanks for the tip!

 

What I'd really like is a collection or list of books about esoteric/spiritual/energetic practices in pre-Buddhist China. Got any hot leads?

 

supposedly the oldest text in the taoist canon that deals with internal alchemy is the triplex unity, i havent been able to find it though, and it is supposed to be kind of impenetrable. It is held in very high regard by serious cultivators, and predated buddhism in China as well. And of course Chang Tzu ..

 

as far as specific energetic practices, the eight pieces of brocade is supposed to be pretty old, not sure if it predates buddhism or not though. I think there is a scroll with illustrations of what looks to be dao yin that predates the Han dynasty, but i cant remember where i saw reference to it.

 

here is a page on the buddhist torrents website for a book called "Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual, and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China"

I havent had time to read it yet.

 

http://buddhisttorrents.blogspot.com/2009/02/buddhism-and-taoism-face-to-face.html

 

Also here is the page for "ancestors and anxiety" on the same website:

 

http://buddhisttorrents.blogspot.com/2009/04/ancestors-and-anxiety-daoism-and-birth.html

 

other good stuff there too..

Edited February 1, 2010 by erdweir

[DalTheJigsaw123]

supposedly the oldest text in the taoist canon that deals with internal alchemy is the triplex unity, i havent been able to find it though, and it is supposed to be kind of impenetrable. It is held in very high regard by serious cultivators, and predated buddhism in China as well. And of course Chang Tzu ..

 

as far as specific energetic practices, the eight pieces of brocade is supposed to be pretty old, not sure if it predates buddhism or not though. I think there is a scroll with illustrations of what looks to be dao yin that predates the Han dynasty, but i cant remember where i saw reference to it.

 

here is a page on the buddhist torrents website for a book called "Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual, and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China"

I havent had time to read it yet.

 

http://buddhisttorrents.blogspot.com/2009/02/buddhism-and-taoism-face-to-face.html

 

Also here is the page for "ancestors and anxiety" on the same website:

 

http://buddhisttorrents.blogspot.com/2009/04/ancestors-and-anxiety-daoism-and-birth.html

 

other good stuff there too..

 

Thank you!