| | Author: SongMt
Thanks everyone for this thread. I find discussion on karma, and rebirth an enjoyable and thought provoking topic.
As this forum stresses practice, i thought i would share one of our insight meditations here. It deals with rebirth indirectly. and has in the past led practitioners to knowing and having insight into their lives without respect to the perception of time.
Keep in mind though, this is more for insight, it may have an effect on insight into rebirth, but the main point is expanding awareness and perception. My teacher taught that if it doesnt lead to much, not to worry or attach to an outcome, and if something does arise, just like any other sensation, to let it be, rise, then fall..........
standard meditation of stabilizing the mind, then examine/analyze an object, we generally choose something close to its state found in nature, piece of wood or something.
As you delve into deeper insight into the object, see it with utter clarity until it is the only perceivable object in the mind.
the next step is the focal point of this. The stick, for example, regresses to its previous state, branch of a tree. see the tree in the stick until you perceive the tree, then the sapling, then the seed.
More than just an excercise in imagination, you want to be able to truly perceive the inherent interconnectedness of the object with its past.
The goal is always insight and enlightenment, and not to take the pursuit of past life remembrance too seriously, but it may be helpful in some cases.
On a personal note, i do attribute this to attaining a semblance of insight into rebirth, it was actually a turning point for me in whether or not i could be accepting of that teaching. So in the end, it helped me in insight with a direct confrontation with something i had trouble wrapping my mind around.
Let me know what you think, this has been a great discussion, Tony. |