RE: How to See Past Lives

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Turlough Doyle, modified 1 Year ago at 4/14/22 10:09 AM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/14/22 10:09 AM

How to See Past Lives

Posts: 10 Join Date: 10/19/20 Recent Posts
There are all kinds of threads throughout the internet asking people to recount the past life memories they've had, but I can't find any concrete instructions on how to actually access your past life memories. 

Can someone point me in the right direction on this one?
George S, modified 1 Year ago at 4/14/22 12:48 PM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/14/22 12:40 PM

RE: How to See Past Lives

Posts: 2722 Join Date: 2/26/19 Recent Posts
Any experience of an entity, being, person or creature in the mind is a "past life". There is no "you" connecting these experiences together, no "me" these memories belong to, they just arise and pass on the spot in accordance with dependent origination. Before you can say 'that was me in a past life' ... find the "me" in this life!

That having been said, one simple technique to experience "past lives" is to practice (re-)creating successively "earlier" memories in the fabricated chain of images, sounds & feelings one erroneusly calls "my life experienced through time".
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Sigma Tropic, modified 1 Year ago at 4/14/22 1:17 PM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/14/22 1:15 PM

RE: How to See Past Lives

Posts: 368 Join Date: 6/27/17 Recent Posts
Turlough Doyle
There are all kinds of threads throughout the internet asking people to recount the past life memories they've had, but I can't find any concrete instructions on how to actually access your past life memories. 

Can someone point me in the right direction on this one?
The old texts I believe have instructions, but I'm not 100% sure. 
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Sigma Tropic, modified 1 Year ago at 4/14/22 1:23 PM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/14/22 1:23 PM

RE: How to See Past Lives

Posts: 368 Join Date: 6/27/17 Recent Posts
From page 404:

​​​​​​​21. In this connection it is the disciples’ recollection of past lives that is intended. Hence it was said above: “‘He recollects’: he recollects it following it out by the succession of aggregates, or by death and rebirth-linking” (§14). 22. So a bhikkhu who is a beginner and wants to recollect in this way should go into solitary retreat on return from his alms round after his meal. Then he should attain the four jhánas in succession and emerge from the fourth jhána as basis for direct-knowledge. He should then advert to his most recent act of sitting down [for this purpose], next, to the preparation of the seat, to the entry into the lodging, to the putting away of the bowl and [outer] robe, to the time of eating, to the time of returning from the village, to the time of wandering for alms in the village, to the time of entering the village, to the time of setting out from the monastery, to the time of paying homage at the shrine terrace and the Enlightenment-tree terrace, to the time of washing the bowl, to the time of picking up the bowl, to the things done from the time of picking up the bowl back to the mouth washing, to the things done in the early morning, to the things done in the middle watch, in the first watch. In this way he should advert to all the things done during the whole night and day in reverse order. 23. While this much, however, is evident even to his normal consciousness, it is especially evident to his preliminary-work consciousness. But if anything there is not evident, he should again attain the basic jhána, emerge and advert. By so doing it becomes as evident as when a lamp is lit. And so, in reverse order too, he should advert to the things done on the second day back, and on the third, fourth and fifth day, and in the ten days, and in the fortnight, and as far back as a year. 24. When by these means he adverts to ten years, twenty years, and so on as far back as his own rebirth-linking in this existence, [413] he should advert to the mentality-materiality occurring at the moment of death in the preceding existence; for a wise bhikkhu is able at the first attempt to remove10 the rebirth-linking and make the mentality-materiality at the death moment his object.

25. But the mentality-materiality in the previous existence has ceased without remainder and another has arisen, and consequently that instance is, as it were, shut away in darkness, and it is hard for one of little understanding to see it. Still he should not give up the task, thinking, “I am unable to remove the rebirthlinking and make the mentality-materiality that occurred at the death moment my object.” On the contrary, he should again and again attain that same basic jhána, and each time he emerges he should advert to that instance. 26. Just as when a strong man is felling a big tree for the purpose of making the peak of a gable, but is unable to fell the big tree with an axe blade blunted by lopping the branches and foliage, still he does not give up the task; on the contrary, he goes to a smithy and has his axe sharpened, after which he returns and continues chopping the tree; and when the axe again gets blunt, he does as before and continues chopping it; and as he goes on chopping it in this way, the tree falls at length, because each time there is no need to chop again what has already been chopped and what has not yet been chopped gets chopped; so too, when he emerges from the basic jhána, instead of adverting to what he has already adverted to, he should advert only to the rebirth-linking, and at length he removes the rebirth-linking and makes the mentality-materiality that occurred at the death moment his object. And this meaning should also be illustrated by means of the wood cutter and the hair-cutter as well. 27. Herein, the knowledge that occurs making its object the period from the last sitting down for this purpose back to the rebirth-linking is not called knowledge of recollection of past lives; but it is called preliminary-workconcentration knowledge; and some call it “knowledge of the past” (atìtaísañáóa), but that is inappropriate to the fine-material sphere. However, when this bhikkhu has got back beyond the rebirth-linking, there arises in him mind-door adverting making its object the mentality-materiality that occurred at the death moment. And when that has ceased, then either four or five impulsions impel making that their object too. The first of these, called “preliminary-work,” etc., in the way already described (§5), are of the sense sphere. The last is a fine-material absorption consciousness of the fourth jhána. The knowledge that arises in him then together with that consciousness is what is called, “knowledge of recollection of past lives.” It is with the mindfulness (memory) associated with that knowledge that he “recollects his manifold past lives, that is to say, one birth, two births, …”[414] thus with details and particulars he recollects his manifold past lives (D I 81).
T DC, modified 1 Year ago at 4/14/22 4:39 PM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/14/22 4:37 PM

RE: How to See Past Lives

Posts: 516 Join Date: 9/29/11 Recent Posts
Accessing memories of previous lives is the kind of mystical expereince for which there is no simple how-to manual.  That said, there are numerous guided meditations on the subject on places such as youtube, personally I have had some success with this one:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLzl0hdf8Os  , although your mileage may of course vary.

One simple technique I have found when searching for answers to these sorts of highly nebulous spiritual questions is to: hold the question or direction of intent very strongly in your mind, lie down comfortably to meditate, and do your best to deeply relax, and see what comes to you. 

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Relaxation can involve deep breathing excersices, progresive bodily relaxation, etc.  The goal is to relax your mind and body, and allow space for any potential answers to manifest. 
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Turlough Doyle, modified 1 Year ago at 4/18/22 11:10 PM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/18/22 11:10 PM

RE: How to See Past Lives

Posts: 10 Join Date: 10/19/20 Recent Posts
Thanks guys! This has been a big help!
Oskar M, modified 1 Year ago at 4/19/22 6:42 AM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/19/22 6:42 AM

RE: How to See Past Lives

Posts: 266 Join Date: 3/22/21 Recent Posts
You can check out this by Ajahn Brahm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4BFX_qhhyk

I think I saw Lama Lena  talk about going into retreat like mentioned above here, that people doing this had to practice a lot of boddhicitta first because they didnt know what they would remember. Like if you have come far in your emptiness practice, you know that all other lives is just as empty as this one, but if one has not come to this point it makes some sense to me that it can be traumatic remembering say hell realms, or various deaths and so on. But never done it, so dunno. 
Another interesting point is past life regression for healing traumas, someone recently did that on me and it was massively helpfull. Wierd thing is it was just intuitve sensing into various experiences going "backwards", so I dont remember much and I dont care much either, point was that somehow it helped me get into some of the corners of my mind and help to clean them out emoticon 
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Jim Smith, modified 1 Year ago at 4/19/22 7:55 AM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/19/22 7:55 AM

RE: How to See Past Lives

Posts: 1639 Join Date: 1/17/15 Recent Posts
Turlough Doyle There are all kinds of threads throughout the internet asking people to recount the past life memories they've had, but I can't find any concrete instructions on how to actually access your past life memories.  Can someone point me in the right direction on this one?


I tried self hypnosis and it seemed to work but there was nothing I could really verify. It was emotionally significant and explained things about my current life. 

I used a self hypnosis induction technique to get very deeply relaxed and then I tried to remember my past lives.

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