forgive me if this question has been asked before in a thread.
but i have to know............
what if i'm reborn as a Muslim or Christian, etc etc in my next
life ? wouldn't i be ''going backwards'' by following these false
religions ?
or would a Buddhist always be reborn as a Buddhist ? so far,
most of the reincarnation stories i've read seems to have people
reborn in the same countries, race and sex too...................is
that true ?
many thanks.
This is a valid concern.
However, if you are to study Buddhism and understand Buddhism
thoroughly and practice it in your life, then the seeds of Buddhism
will be deeply imprinted in your consciousness.
In your next life, you will not be satisfied with Christianity,
Islam, Hinduism, etc. Even if you are born in a non-Buddhist
family, you will eventually grow out of it due to dissatisfaction.
When your karmic seeds ripen and you meet the dharma again,
something immediately resonates with your consciousness. That is
because of the seeds you have planted in your past life. It just
makes sense to you and you will be naturally drawn to it.
However, I think it is still best not to count on future life.
Aim to attain enlightenment in this very life. We can never truly
be sure of what is to come in the next life. Will we even be reborn
as a human, let alone a Buddhist? It is actually a rare opportunity
to be even reborn as a human, the chances of which the Buddha
compared to a tortoise hitting a particular spot on the water
surface once every 100 years, or the amount of sand in one's
fingers compared to the rest of the beach.