Bound with golden chains...
As a spin from Bainwen's writing about reincarnation, I figured I'd toss in mine.
Years ago, if you asked me if I believed, I'd say no. Birth, death, afterlife, that was enough. Yet, now... I've swung the other way.
Why? Flashes and bits, more than anything else.
Minutes where I truly feel as if I've been wherever I am before, even if I never have been. Brief glimpses of how things used to be- a Miakonda without paths or cabins, UT with only UHall, rising out of the farm fields, echoes of previous glories at schools who haven't been successful in my lifetime.
So I would say I've been here before. What was I in those past lives? I don't know.
But, there are those who say that my spirit is in danger with this life. In Buddhist tradition, those who dedicate their lives to service- doctors, priests, and the like- have their spirits bound to the Earth by golden chains. Why? Their purpose is to help others acheive the divine, so they cannot advance themselves.
All right.
Bring it on. I may be chained, but I've never felt so free.
Years ago, if you asked me if I believed, I'd say no. Birth, death, afterlife, that was enough. Yet, now... I've swung the other way.
Why? Flashes and bits, more than anything else.
Minutes where I truly feel as if I've been wherever I am before, even if I never have been. Brief glimpses of how things used to be- a Miakonda without paths or cabins, UT with only UHall, rising out of the farm fields, echoes of previous glories at schools who haven't been successful in my lifetime.
So I would say I've been here before. What was I in those past lives? I don't know.
But, there are those who say that my spirit is in danger with this life. In Buddhist tradition, those who dedicate their lives to service- doctors, priests, and the like- have their spirits bound to the Earth by golden chains. Why? Their purpose is to help others acheive the divine, so they cannot advance themselves.
All right.
Bring it on. I may be chained, but I've never felt so free.
posted by Tirithien at 1:14 PM
4 Comments:
Interesting....now you've got me thinking! Hmmmm.......
Think away. :-) I like provoking thoughts.
I almost wonder if our interpretation of the "golden chains" may be a faulty one. Buddhism puts a huge emphasis on service to others. Kwan Yin, who could have attained Nirvana but did not so that she could remain and help other souls find Enlightenment, is known as the Buddha of Compassion, and she is one of Buddhism's most revered figures. There may be something that we're missing simply because we aren't part of that culture and don't *quite* understand.
That is possible, of course. I claim no special knowledge of Buddhism, just what I read in a few world religion courses through the years. Mistranslation? Maybe. Misremembering? Possible.
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