tehblaed

Being that I'm an atheist, I would like to hear your views on reincarnation (particularly from those of you that are Wiccan). My girlfriend is Wiccan (partially, I think. She doesn't practice but she believes, quote from her) and I would like to understand what is going through her thought processes. The only reason she has been able to give me is because "it just makes sense".

Makes sense? Since when does dying as a human being, only to have your personality respawn as a tomato plant make sense? (That was probably off-color, but I'm in a cynical mood, so eat me. Hah get it? Eat me! I'm a tomato plant remember? Oh man )

She often tells me that I am "wise beyond my years" (18 of them) and that there is no reason I should be so intelligent/wise/open-minded, whatever. So, just because I am gifted in a way that 90% of the American population is not, means I did not actually earn any of my knowledge? That I just took the spiritual cop-out and borrowed some dead guy's soul? I like the idea that I am this way because I chose to not fit in, to not be like everyone, I earned this damnit.

Maybe I'm trying to be too critical, but I don't remember the last time someone was kind and understanding of an atheist.

bermuDa

the hindu views on reincarnation involve karma and a caste system. how you act in this life will affect the form you take in the next life (ie, whether you go up or down in the caste system, or are reincarnated in a non-human form). Cows are thought to be spirits in between reincarnations.

I'm not too sure what i feel about reincarnation, since I haven't cemented my own thoughts on the atman (individual spirit)

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bernadette

i like the idea behind this karma thing.

it makes make me happy to think that good people will be rewarded & that bad people will get their just desserts, too.

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anti fishstick

well in buddhism, the goal is to reach attainment or nirvana and become 'enlightened' which basically means free from this suffering, this birth-death cycle.

and with karma, how you act in this life, affects your next life. heh. 'my lifestyle determines my deathstyle'. i think of it as a ladder.. people being higher or lower in the ladder depending on how much further they are to enlightenment. so in short, all people are not created equally :-x at least in this theory. *shrugs*

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Mojo_PeiPei

Basically the more free you become of this world i.e. material possesions you are closer to enlightenment. You must also realize that life is suffering.

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bermuDa

since buddhism advocates the ability to obtain enlightenment in this lifetime no matter who you are and rejects the caste system, it's seen as heresy by the hindu religion.

the thought that one cannot improve their lot in life is a bogus social pressure that only works when the people believe in it. I would think that the untouchables would be closer to enlightenment than ksatriyas or brahmins, considering the way they live.

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The_Dude

i can shed some light on this.

the brand of hinduism taught to me really didnt involve the cast system at all. my understanding was that the better things you do, the better the next life would be.

my mom usually says this to me when she's pissed "what the hell did i do in my last life to deserve this (whatever "this" is).

of course she didnt mean it literally, but it was a well used expression.

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Easytiger

I'm a Wiccan, and I don't really go for the reincarnation thing. I don't think it fits in with the rest of the Wiccan philosophy, but that's a matter of what I feel and not the general consensus of the Wiccan community.
The Wiccan beliefs on Karma and reincarnation could easily have been co-opted from Hindu beliefs. They are almost identical, the main differences being in terminology and in how the processes are overseen- and that's a bone of contention between many Wiccans as well.