Can a Buddha reverse causality?

realization SG

A while back, I was asked and stupefied by this question.

Friend: If a person committing suicide were to jump down from a high place, can Buddha reverse this process?

Me: He won't do that because that's interfering with the person's karma.

Friend: No, I mean does the Buddha have the ability to reverse the fall?

Answers?

An Eternal Now SG

If a person has fallen from a high place, chances are he is instantaneously reborn in the lower realms, and once he is reborn in lower realms then it is very difficult to get out.

You can revive someone by supernatural powers, only if that person's consciousness has not reborn.

realization SG

If a person has fallen from a high place, chances are he is instantaneously reborn in the lower realms, and once he is reborn in lower realms then it is very difficult to get out.

You can revive someone by supernatural powers, only if that person's consciousness has not reborn.

My friend wasn't asking about reviving that person, but more like can this even be reversed. Say like how when pressing the reverse button on a DVD player, you see the images on the screen go backwards.

An Eternal Now SG

Oh, that is not possible.

sinweiy SG

maybe the spiritual power can do that or use something to cushion the fall, but if it's a fixed karma(ding ye), use the power already also no use, as karma is more powerful than spiritual powers.

remind me of a story :

Mogallana followed the Buddha together with Sariputra. Mogallana gained Enlightenment within 7 days and attained supernatural powers. Why did Mogallana have such great supernatural powers? This is because in a previous live, Mogallana gave a treat to a Pacceka Buddha. The Pika Buddha was not very eloquent in explaining the Dharma through words, hence he illustrated using supernatural powers. Mogallana was impressed and vowed that he too would achieve in supernatural powers to propagate the Dharma.

Supernatural powers were quite common among Buddha's disciples. However the display of it was always discouraged by the Buddha, all except for Mogallana, he was even praised for using supernatural powers in propagating the Dharma. There were many interesting stories, including one giving rise to the Buddhist festival of Ullambana. However I shall mention one that is less heard of.

There was once where Kapilavastu was to be attacked by King Virudhara from the Kingdom of Kosala King. Buddha tried to prevent the war by sitting at the pathway leading to Kapilavastu on 3 separate occasions. King Virudhara always retreated whenever he saw Buddha. However King Virudhara's revenge and hatred could not be subdued. Buddha knew that there was no way to prevent the Karma further, thus he left them alone.

Mogallana had been successful in all his supernatural powered deeds. Hence he thought that more could be done in this case. Buddha explained to him that this was due to the past bad Karma of the people in Kapilavastu. The people remained arrogant, non-rependent, deceitful, and did not amend their ways, hence there was no way of substituting the fruits of Karma. Mogallana was unconvinced. The army surrounded Kapilavastu such that no one could escape. Mogallana used his supernatural powers to fly into the city, found 500 great men, transform them into his alms bowl, and flew out of the city to a safe spot. However when he opened the bowl to recover the men, he found a bow of blood water instead! Mogallana realized that supernatural powers cannot overcome Karma. (For more details, check out here for more details: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Courtyard/1652/Massacre.html.)

This was a lesson for Mogallana. Finally one day Mogallana was ambushed by some Jain followers. They pushed rocks from a hill onto Mogallana. Mogallana knew this was his Karma and he did not use supernatural powers to overcome it. He died under the rocks. This was before Buddha's final Nirvana.

http://honsing.com/Disciples.htm

Fcukpap SG

if causality cannot be reversed, then there is no effect towards enlightenment

realization SG

if causality cannot be reversed, then there is no effect towards enlightenment

hehe, no lah... this one you misunderstand.

while causality cannot be reversed, the present and the future may be "remedied" by practising the Dharma.

Fcukpap SG

exactly what i mean....

causality is reversed through the effects of enlightenment...because people believe in the remedy, thats why people want to work towards enlightenment to reverse their past negative deeds....

hehe.....looks like u r a keen buddhist....hmmm....good!

Rooney9 SG

A while back, I was asked and stupefied by this question.

Friend: If a person committing suicide were to jump down from a high place, can Buddha reverse this process?

Me: He won't do that because that's interfering with the person's karma.

Friend: No, I mean does the Buddha have the ability to reverse the fall?

Answers?

when you are hungry, can your friend or parents or friends alleviate your hunger by eating on your behalf?

if you are convicted of a crime, you can ask your friend or relatives to spend their time behind bars on your behalf?

Fcukpap SG

in buddhist's terminologies, causality does not include erasing the history....but the possibilities of reversing its effects...

in other words...questions have to be rightly asked towards its practical effects on its causes

Fcukpap SG

thats why Buddha would not conceive anything that is not practically possible...e.g. asking how the universe was born or what is outside the universe's questions....

Rooney9 SG

there are short and long term kamma. not all the fruits of the kamma will ripen immediately, some will take effect immediately, some short term and some long term. its not easy to understand how kamma works.

sinweiy SG

maybe the spiritual power can do that or use something to cushion the fall, but if it's a fixed karma(ding ye), use the power already also no use, as karma is more powerful than spiritual powers.

remind me of a story :

then again, the karma is there is someone trying to kill the person. but sucide is no one trying to kill the person. it's a stupid and ignorance decision. hence i think Buddha or his disciples with power is able to help by cushioning the fall. it's like seeing a person hanging him/herself, any person with a good heart will help cut down the rope asap. after that then try to talk sense to them.

realization SG

maybe the spiritual power can do that or use something to cushion the fall, but if it's a fixed karma(ding ye), use the power already also no use, as karma is more powerful than spiritual powers.

remind me of a story :

http://honsing.com/Disciples.htm

This Mogallana story says a lot.

Amitayus48 SG

The effect of reversing that fall has already taken place, but the determination of the pursuit was so forceful that the inherent vow could not be enforced mercifully.

sinweiy SG

on the verge of happening, something can still be done, but if the effect already happened, then cannot reverse already.

Though Buddha is the highest enlightened beings with unconceiveable spiritual power, he is unable to do the following:
1. to eliminate or change the karmic retribution
2. to cross over those who reject Buddhism
3. to cross over the entire sentient beings in the Dharma Realms

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~alankhoo/DharmaRealm.htm#Buddha

Wiser SG

why need to reverse ?

so that the person will not die from falling ?

then just ensure the person fell but alive with no injury . This with supernatural power, it is possible.

but the person who helped to save have to take over the karma and suffer.

sinweiy SG

but the person who helped to save have to take over the karma and suffer.

huh?...as in?
if i see a person hanging himself, i go and help by cutting off the rope. then i have to take over his karma?

Wiser SG

there are certainly merits in stopping others from committing sucide. No doubt about that.

i mean karma in this sense, like if this person was being "possessed"/"disturbed" by a revenging spirit to kill himself ( maybe some one from past life for eg), then the spirit will be angry n may switch attention to you. (since revenge being stopped). In such an extreme case, a medium and communication line need to be set up to ask what can pacify this revenging spirit. May be a proper praying event to dedicate to it, or doing charities in its name to help it to be released from the angry ghost realm.

this also remind me of a touching buddhist story. A good daughter-in-law was looked down by the mother-in-law cos she was from a poor family. The mother-in-law wanted to get in a rich daughter-in-law, so she found all ways and means to ill treat and tortured this poor one. Finally the good daughter-in-law hanged herself in the wood shed.

The evil mother-in-law got her wish and brought in the rich daughter-in-law. However she was tortured and ill-treated by this new dil till she could not take it anymore and walked to the wood shed, intending to hang herself. When she opened the door, she saw the poor daughter-in-law showing a terrible hanging state to her, she fainted and dreamt of the poor dil telling her not to commit suicide cos she would have to relive the painful moment over and over again everyday.

She wanted to warn the mother-in-law not to follow in her footsteps, so she showed the ugliest side of herself hanging from the door.

When the mother-in-law woke up, she cried in shame and regret. Later she engaged a buddhist monk to help this good dil to be reborn in a good next life.