can one be reborn into 2 or more bodies?

last SG · 2006-01-27T18:48:41+00:00

If its Bodhisattvas then definitely possible. For example we know Guan Yin have uncountable manifestations There is also a poem by Maitreya Bodhisattva inc...

marcteng SG

I dunno about this and unsure of this.

Bodhisattva sure can lar. Buddha did split into 2 when he went to heaven to teach dhamma to his mother and many of his disciples didnt know abt it.

gamesharkuser SG

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu =)

An Eternal Now SG

http://www.kheper.net/topics/Buddhism/Mahayana.htm

The Bodhisattva and Reincarnation
Evgueni Tortchinov

Within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition we must differentiate two types of the reincarnations:

1. the usual one (the interpretation of which has the doctrine of Karma as its foundation) the interpretation of which does not differ much from that of the Theravadins
2. the doctrine of Sprul-sku (read: tool-koo, Sanscrit: nirmanakaya -- magically produced body, or magically transformed body)), i.e. the ability of the bodhisattvas and other saints (arya pudgala) to create by the force of mind special "artificial" bodies to reveal theirselves to the samsaric world by their wiil for the benefit of the living beings.

Thus, Dalai-lama is a sprul-sku of bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Panchen-lama the sprul-sku of Buddha Amitabha, Bogdo-gegen of Mongolia the spruls-sku of the saint Taranatha, etc. And only such special incarnations can be realised on the levels of mind, speach and body.

Moreover, each bodhisattva by his/her supernatural powers can produce unlimited number of such "magical bodies" and therefore, to be incarnated in several persons (we had seen such a collision in the Bertolucci's "Little Buddha"). In common speach such incarnations are called "incarnated lamas", or even "living buddhas". But ordinary beings move in the wheel of the cyclic existence by the force of their karma keeping the unity of their "santana" -- individual continuality of their psyco-phisical experience.

An Eternal Now SG

But ordinary people is different. Ordinary, unenlightened being, will be reborned according to their individual karma.

But ordinary beings move in the wheel of the cyclic existence by the force of their karma keeping the unity of their "santana" -- individual continuality of their psyco-phisical experience.

shade343 SG

Im not sure if this is from buddhism.

Well, normally the best way to tell whether a person is your soulmate is to look for an unexplained close affinity between you and the person. Both will have this feeling. The situation you described above is also possible.

UltimaOnline SG

I posted here on the Afterlife Knowledge Forum a couple weeks ago :
http://www.afterlife-knowledge.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=afterlife_knowledge;action=display;num=1138917286

In cases of *identical* twins, because the physical body & brain is genetically identical (after fertilization by a single sperm with a single ovum, the resultant zygote for various biochemical reasons split into two, both of which develop into viable foetuses), and thus being vibrationally similar for the occupying soul, it is a possible option (one that is sometimes, not always, exercised), for the same human soul to occupy both bodies at once.

Thus, in such a case, the two individuals would have the same soul or higher self. Some souls might choose this (prerequiste being, of course, there are suitable upcoming identical twin biological bodies, whose upcoming life/lives present an appropriate karmic option for the soul in question, in terms of karmic connection with family members, compatibility with the soul's existential program or planned objectives for the lifetime), because to the soul, it means greater opportunity to accomplish learning and work within the same amount of time, akin to multi-tasking.

Extremely rarely (though theoretically possible, but not practically advisable), does a single human soul incarnate simultaneously into two or more physical bodies, because of the increased difficulty or challenging nature, for the higher self or soul to simultaneously operate or function as two individuals at once (note that we're referring to the level of the individual soul, not the oversoul or disk/disc level). But in the case of genetically identical twins, this becomes less strenous for the soul to do so, and thus, it becomes more feasible of an option.

Obvious advantages to simultaneously incarnating as identical twins, would be gaining more experience, furthering more relationships, getting more karmic work done, within the same lifetime span.

Note that this is only an option, which is in practice, rarely exercised. Certainly not all genetically identical twins have the same soul or higher self. But in cases in which genetically identical twins might have curious synchronicities, for instance both experience events with great personal or emotional significance at around the same time, or discarnate/depart from the physical at round the same time, and other such coincidences that goes beyond normal telepathy or psychic attunement.

In such cases which might seem otherwise enigmatic to the observer, understanding the possibility or mechanism of identical twins having the same soul or higher self, will allow for greater intuitive understanding on the curious synchronicities.

sinweiy SG

this is what i read from late Venerable Master Hsuan Hua as his disciple Dharmamitra state below:

What he did state, apparently based on what he had actually observed in meditation, was that the lowest levels of animal ghosts (as I recall, I believe he was referring to low-level animal ghosts who were in the process of falling yet farther down into the abyss of bad karma) might manifest as swarms of insects, which would help discharge the karmic retribution accumulated by the very low level animal. Presumably, after a time then there would be rebirth again as one of these very low level animals and then gradual ascent back up towards the human realm, a process which could even take kalpas.

Another instance: He spoke of instances of a single being taking rebirth as a small group of animals, this involving apparently a paying off of some of the heaviest karma, apparently followed by a re-integration either into a higher animal or a preta or eventually, a person.

The above cases are indeed controversial. But Master Hua's meditative experiences were not what you or I encounter on the meditation cushion. He would not have spoken of these sorts of cases if he had not personally observed them to be the case.

You may have encountered yet other sorts of reports in his writings that I wasn't around at the time to hear. Can't imagine though that he would ever state this to be the case of one human being reborn as multiple humans.

Dharmamitra

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