J-Raviv
11-12-2009, 05:41 AM
Hey. :) Lately, my class and I have been exploring world religions, and one of them really has me questioning… Today, I asked one of the billions of questions I had on Buddhism and it sparked the biggest of debates, and I’m curious on your views on it.
So, some background. A Buddha – one who has reached Enlightenment and therefore Nirvana. It is said that you are re-incarnated every life until you reach Enlightenment.
Now, what puzzled me was the Dalai Lama. He is said to be the re-incarnation of Buddha, correct? That’s what I thought, and my Buddhist friends confirmed. It is speculated that he is the actual re-incarnation, though there is no definite way to prove it.
So here is the question: How can the Dalai Lama be the re-incarnate of Buddha if Buddha reached Enlightenment and ceased the process of re-incarnation?
For me, it doesn’t make sense, not one bit. If Buddha reached Enlightenment, then the process would end, and his state of mind would be in Nirvana, making him un-able to be re-incarnated, yet apparently, he is. We’re currently on the 14th Dalai Lama.
And, to further my curiosity, if even the Dalai Lama is the re-incarnation of any Buddha, on what grounds can we prove the re-incarnate is a male, or human, for that matter. Now I am no Buddhist, but I do know that they did not believe re-incarnation to be limited to the life of a human being. A person can be re-incarnated to a butterfly, assuming it’s possible. Yet, for each of the Dalai Lama’s re-incarnations, each has been human, and male. I believe females do play a major role in Buddhism, that they can attain high ranks, but why hasn’t any been found as a re-incarnate of Buddha or the Dalai Lama?
Now, again, I’m no Buddhist. My IB Studies made us do a unit on world religions, and while not all the others are clear, I found major flaws in this one. Does anyone have any clarification? Neither any of the presenters, my Buddhist friends, or teachers could find a reasonable explanation.
So, some background. A Buddha – one who has reached Enlightenment and therefore Nirvana. It is said that you are re-incarnated every life until you reach Enlightenment.
Now, what puzzled me was the Dalai Lama. He is said to be the re-incarnation of Buddha, correct? That’s what I thought, and my Buddhist friends confirmed. It is speculated that he is the actual re-incarnation, though there is no definite way to prove it.
So here is the question: How can the Dalai Lama be the re-incarnate of Buddha if Buddha reached Enlightenment and ceased the process of re-incarnation?
For me, it doesn’t make sense, not one bit. If Buddha reached Enlightenment, then the process would end, and his state of mind would be in Nirvana, making him un-able to be re-incarnated, yet apparently, he is. We’re currently on the 14th Dalai Lama.
And, to further my curiosity, if even the Dalai Lama is the re-incarnation of any Buddha, on what grounds can we prove the re-incarnate is a male, or human, for that matter. Now I am no Buddhist, but I do know that they did not believe re-incarnation to be limited to the life of a human being. A person can be re-incarnated to a butterfly, assuming it’s possible. Yet, for each of the Dalai Lama’s re-incarnations, each has been human, and male. I believe females do play a major role in Buddhism, that they can attain high ranks, but why hasn’t any been found as a re-incarnate of Buddha or the Dalai Lama?
Now, again, I’m no Buddhist. My IB Studies made us do a unit on world religions, and while not all the others are clear, I found major flaws in this one. Does anyone have any clarification? Neither any of the presenters, my Buddhist friends, or teachers could find a reasonable explanation.