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20110825

Stereotypes in Buddhism: Karma, Reincarnation and Meditation

"Stereotyping" in Buddhism happens when one considers all the types of creatures to be reborn as, yet feels that being born human is the ideal rebirth.

Of course, that's for Buddhists who believe in reincarnation, mainly Tibetan Buddhists.

The stereotype in this case is the Western interpretation of reincarnation.

From the Christian view, reincarnation is explained as "the work of the devil". The reincarnated persona is considered to be a "daemon" out to fool people.

That's stereotyping in its dark form.

From the Eastern view, the reincarnated persona is "real", and it's best accept the person who claims to be a reincarnation of a deceased person.

For some, reincarnation may be considered as the result of a wish to live on beyond one's lifespan.

In traditional Buddhism it is the fruit of one's actions which get passed on to later generations.

Thus reincarnation is in conflict with the concept of "no-self" i.e. that the self is impermanent and does not exist after death.

One stereotype that comes to mind at this point regards meditation, which is stereotyped as "sitting while thinking about nothing, & doing nothing".

Sometimes meditation is even discounted as a "non-productive way of spending one's quiet time".

Overall, meditation promotes clarity of thought which leads to deeper insights about life.

It can be done anywhere, and be useful to anyone, precisely because it promotes calm and peace, the essence of serenity.

After long and careful thought it may be possible to see that reincarnation is not about a permanent soul existing after death, but about the effects of a person's spiritual actions after her death.

These effects are known as karma.

And it is up to each of us to act in such a manner as to overcome our anxieties about karma and reincarnation through meditation.

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