Kathy
I suppose I am a lapsed Catholic in that I attend Church occasionally - perhaps 4 times a year - but live a moral life.
However Buddhism and Hinduism are the only religions where we may have some proof or evidence; other religions rely entirely on faith and good works. Certainly I consider the possibility of reincarnation as envisaged in Buddhism and Hinduism.
I have considered 2 separate aspects in connection with Transgender and Reincarnation.
1. I may have been born trans as a punishment for sins committed in a previous life (either my last one or two or three or four before) and you seem to accept the possibility of this but we cannot verify one way or the other.
2. I may have been born a transgirl as I was a girl in my last life and have carried forward to this life my identity and particular feminine traits.
As a Buddhist, may I respectfully ask if there could be any foundation in my hypotheses please? Thanking you.
Hugs
Pamela xx
Hi, Pamela.
In the Buddhist view of rebirth, identities do not carry forward. It is a key point in Buddhist philosophy that identities have no fundamental existence. So any feminine traits you may have had in a previous life are simply gone when that life ends. Only the consequences of actions carry forward.
Rebirth in one form or another is neither reward nor punishment. And of course, whether a circumstance is good or bad depends on arbitrary labelling in this life: whether you are happy or unhappy with it.
It is conceivable that something you did in a previous life caused you to be born transgender. Not as reward or punishment, but simply as cause and effect, just as light from a light bulb isn't a "reward" for flipping the switch. There is no possibility of getting evidence one way or the other, so the question is unanswerable.
As a medical scientist, and a rational, logical thinking person, I have difficulties accepting this reborn belief.
Who or what decides that I am reborn as what?
If this entity decides that I should be reborn with problems as a penalty for some previous life, is this not a very cruel deity?
Penalizing me for somthing I had no influence on, and I cannot go back to correct it?
I sure would not want to be part of such a belief system that purposely sets me up for pain and failure the day I was born.
I would prefer a system that praises me for a good life I lived, and brings me to some kind of heaven after I died, like it is the case with the biblical religions.
Hugs
Linde
In Buddhism, there is no deity, no reward, no punishment. The whole point of the teachings on karma is that there is no one "else" to blame or credit. There is just what you do, and the consequences of those actions.
Your last sentence is true in Buddhism. If you live your life well, and especially if you help others, the consequences will indeed be good, even into future lives. Of course, the converse applies equally. If you live your life dealing out cruelty and anger towards others, the consequences will be bad.
You can't have it both ways. If you want the good consequences as in your last paragraph, you can't reject the bad consequences as in your first paragraph, or blame them on some external deity.
Consequences are what they are, not inherently good or bad. You like them or you dislike them. It behooves you to arrange for consequences that you will like, by choosing carefully what you do.
Regards,
Kathy
