if there is no free will what is the "I" that reincarnates?

[anderson]

Context:  Free Will vs Determinism - Does Free Will Exist?

My quick and short take/interpretation about the video above to get to the question:

We are the output of 37 trillions of cells that together make extremely complex decisions.

Ok, so Leo (as in the videos): what is the "I", the "self", in this system(brain+body) that reincarnates?

PS: I'm considering that usually the teachings in Leo's videos go along with Buddhism, Karma, enlightenment, and other subjects like this. I imagine I can make the assumption that reincarnation is part of the equation, even that I never saw a video from Leo specifically about the subject.

Thank you for reading, appreciate any good ideas, links or comments to help me with this inquiring.

 

 

 

Edited July 12, 2021 by anderson

[Tim R]

41 minutes ago, anderson said:

what is the "I", the "self", in this system(brain+body) that reincarnates?

@anderson Who said that there is any "I" or "self" that reincarnates?

41 minutes ago, anderson said:

We are the output of 37 trillions of cells that together make extremely complex decisions.

Oh? What if we're much more than that?

[anderson]

Hey Tim, thanks for your reply.

Your question made me look to a few definitions and reflect upon them.

Quote

 

Hindu traditions consider soul to be the unchanging eternal essence of a living being, and what journeys across reincarnations until it attains self-knowledge.

Buddhism, in contrast, asserts a rebirth theory without a Self, and considers realization of non-Self or Emptiness as Nirvana. 

 

In the video, Leo talk about the realization that everything is the soul, even a tree is the soul. I think this means the realization of no Self. But I can't understand how this is a contrast with the reincarnation aspect. If we need to learn more and more throughout lives, something needs to keep holding this accumulated knowledge. And it's not the 37 million cells or much more than that in my understanding.

[Chrisd]

Alright a helpful link for you, this was posted on this forum a short while ago. 

"doctrinally and logically so, what IS anatta (the five psycho-physical aggregates of the mere empirical, corporeal self) are indeed 'myself', in so meaning the mortal (mata) self composed of the bodily humors which is fated to death. That mere self is never implied nor meant when Buddhism speaks of immortality and the path leading to same (amatagamimagga) [SN 5.9], of which "the body cannot pass that gate to fare beyond,..only the Soul (The Self)" -"

 

 

[Endangered-EGO]

The thing that reincarnates is consciousness, what you basically are.

 

It's obvious and there's no mystery to it.

 

To discover what is consciousness (me/I) is the hard part of the equation.

[Gianna]

It's not really reincarnation. How can you reincarnate if you are not alive nor dead? It is really just a change in perspective and limitations. 

Edited July 13, 2021 by Gianna

[anderson]

@Chrisd Thanks for the link. You got to the point that disturbs my mind on this question.  "only the Soul (The Self)" Sometimes I read that there is no self. Sometimes I read that there is memory in the body (Runanubandha). If our body is a composition of so many cells, and the cells die, ok ... But all the "learning" must keep going in a "personal" level. For me this would be the self somehow.

 

@Endangered-EGO 

Quote

To discover what is consciousness (me/I) is the hard part of the equation.

That the really hard question, I agree. After so many videos from Leo and other experiences and sources, I understand that consciousness is the "material" of everything and that everything is happening inside of consciousness. I think I get this point. But the division that makes us different beings is still hard for me, specially when we say that we are all the same God imagining this.

@Gianna 

Quote

It's not really reincarnation. How can you reincarnate if you are not alive nor dead? 

Does it mean that there is no reincarnation at all?

[RMQualtrough]

You are nothing, there is nothing to reincarnate. This isn't just magical mystery spooky-sounding stuff to seem woke. "I" is literally nothing.

If this is discomforting put it in a way a human can understand: Have you EVER experienced non-existence or unconsciousness? If not, why assume that it's even a possibility that there is such a thing? Don't make assumptions. You always existed and always will, always were conscious and always will be.

[flowboy]

49 minutes ago, anderson said:

Does it mean that there is no reincarnation at all?

Given that there's a pattern of children remembering their past lives, and talking about them as soon as they learn to talk (I just checked some documentaries), also past life regressions seem to work well, so that points to reincarnation being real. At least at the level where you and I are real.

Also, they remember how they died. Which is remarkable, because most 5 year olds don't even know about death

Edited July 14, 2021 by flowboy

[Nahm]

@anderson

Any thoughts on this? 

Happy to make a short follow up for anything missed. 

?? 

[Endangered-EGO]

@anderson Watch bernardo kastrups videos on theories of everything with Curt jaimungal on yt. He explains idealism best. Rest is experiential.

[Gianna]

On 7/14/2021 at 2:31 AM, anderson said:

Does it mean that there is no reincarnation at all?

It means that reincarnation is not what you think it is. 

[Inliytened1]

On 7/12/2021 at 3:07 AM, anderson said:

Context:  Free Will vs Determinism - Does Free Will Exist?

My quick and short take/interpretation about the video above to get to the question:

We are the output of 37 trillions of cells that together make extremely complex decisions.

Ok, so Leo (as in the videos): what is the "I", the "self", in this system(brain+body) that reincarnates?

PS: I'm considering that usually the teachings in Leo's videos go along with Buddhism, Karma, enlightenment, and other subjects like this. I imagine I can make the assumption that reincarnation is part of the equation, even that I never saw a video from Leo specifically about the subject.

Thank you for reading, appreciate any good ideas, links or comments to help me with this inquiring.

In a dream at night you are dreaming you are a particular character which seemingly is making decisions until you awaken and realize that it was the Dreamer itself that was constructing everything and then dreaming it was a particular being making decisions within that dream.

[anderson]

13 minutes ago, Inliytened1 said:

In a dream at night you are dreaming you are a particular character which seemingly is making decisions until you awaken and realize that it was the Dreamer itself that was constructing everything and then dreaming it was a particular being making decisions within that dream.

@Inliytened1 Thanks for your input! I have been reading/practicing lucid dreaming on and off for about 10 years. 2 books were important to me on the subject (Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming Laberge PHD, Stephen and Dreams of Awakening: Lucid Dreaming And Mindfulness Of Dream And Sleep Morley, Charlie, imusti). During all this time, I could have 2 solid lucid dreams. 2 real realizations that I was dreaming during the dream. So I truly and honest get your point that this life might be all an illusion somehow, but I could never really experience it so far. 

Besides that, to keep connected to the question of this blog post: My 37 trillion cells are always evolving somehow, every day, generating learnings and memories. Something that I don't see happening from dream to dream, where each dream has a different context and are not related to each other. 

There is a video from Vedanta that I really like that explains the concept of Turiya. That is the "self" that is on the dream and/or here in the "awaken life". It's exactly what I've been trying to "experience", the self or the I that is in the dream, or that reincarnates. Or what is the self that gives us a sense of divided/personal into this whole big union.

 

[Zeroguy]

Dream after dream from the very same spot?

Sounds familiar?

No?

[Zeroguy]

"I" is the very mechanism which provided you video game and illusion of the world that I would live in.Pretending that you are not completelly alone.Other people and stuff while you imagining them entire time.Great acting skills.

[Zeroguy]

Right now you are imagining enlightenment and stuff .All part of the game.

[sara373]

@Tim R hi

do we reincarnate? 

and hopefully to a better family and life if we lived in positive and high vibration in this current incarnation. Is this how it works?

[Zeroguy]

Want applause or what,oh c'mon you deserve it.

Well played! GG

 

[Zeroguy]

It's called awakening with a good reason but it is life threatening ,is it?

 

5 minutes ago, sara373 said:

@Tim R hi

do we reincarnate? 

and hopefully to a better family and life if we lived in positive and high vibration in this current incarnation. Is this how it works?

Incarnation?