Buddhism and Kind Rebirths – Compassionate Awakening

Part II

Buddhism. Buddhism holds a special place for me. It was with the teachings of this philosophy (rather than being identified as a religion) that brought me new perspectives and insights into everything in our reality. Despite the fact that it’s not commonly referred to as a religion, it focuses on important religious elements that are generally associated it with them. For example, many Buddhists do not focus on a central belief in a personal God who controls the universe from above; there is a strong focus on personal inquiry (experience life and assess teachings for oneself); concerted attention on practice rather than on a set of beliefs, and many other differing interpretations that can be seen as very literal versus very metaphorical.

My life gravitated toward it after learning social construction way back in my undergraduate years. Simply, many of the ideas, beliefs, notions, and concepts we accept have been handed down in order to regulate many societal concerns. This is not to say necessarily that they are malicious in manner, but nevertheless, they exist. That being said, a Buddhist perspective looks at things just a bit differently.

The Buddhist philosophy instructs that life is temporary and transient. Moreover, it is an ever-changing, and ever-developing set of events that are not separate, but in interconnected. So, let’s take a quick step back. The Buddha taught the lesson that all suffering in life is a result of our worldly attachment to human confines (for instance, desires, identities, memories, etc.). Plainly put, our desire to “chase” these things create the suffering in our lives. Quick note – the type of suffering I am talking about can range from the very subtle like the inability to let go of a past relationship, or to the grand, like having so great a desire to become rich that you are willing to rob, steal, or kill. So, to remedy this, our goal is to extinguish these flames of desire to understand the true reality of existence. This understanding then leads to minds that are clear and free of distraction, delusion, and cravings. To get there, we practice our training on mindfulness to see through the delusion of worldly misunderstandings. That’s sort of a quick, high-level approach to the belief. I pray that I have done it justice.

As the Buddha taught that suffering arises from this and these types of attachments, again, through mindfulness, we can learn to separate ourselves from our preconditioned beliefs in order to assess these attachments without any judgment. As we begin to understand mindfulness in this view, we begin to see that the world and the things in it are of a transient phenomenon, so too are the things that make up our wants and desires. Thus, they begin to lose the appeal to which we have placed on them. Accordingly, as our perspective transforms to create a new emergence of thoughts on reality and existence, a rebirth ensues.

Kind rebirths assimilate similar values. Kindness transforms into a vehicle of liberation. Compassion transforms our desires for selfish pleasure to one that encompasses the hope of harmony and union within the human community and things that are beyond a living form. Consequently, we intuitively create a graduated appreciation and reverence for all life-forms and objects, animate and inanimate alike. When we begin to treat other things with reverence and respect, because we are all connected, the care we have for our loved ones and ourselves extend outward. The more this type of enlightened rebirth occurs, the world begins to look differently and each moment we reawaken to our place in our shared humanity.

Kind rebirths share countless profound philosophical and metaphysical truths with the Buddhist way of life. Existing and rebirthing in the world of the living does not mean to run from the troubles and concerns of life. It teaches you to retrain your thoughts on connection and mindfulness in order to embrace it with new focus. So, consider letting your rebirths show you the optimistic promise of a better existence with each rising moment.

Stay mindful…

Rebirth