Question asked by Eli Levine
Dear Pastors,
I was wondering how one can get in touch with their past lives definitively. I think that learning more about where I've come from, what my mistakes were, where I can improve, and what I have done well would do wonders for figuring out what I could ultimately do in this lifetime in order to help others.
Also, what is the effective difference between an arhat and a bodhisattva? Hoping you can help.
Thank you!
Dear Eli Levine,
One can remember one’s past lives through intense meditation. Thus, some advanced meditators have this ability as part of their achievements.
However, practitioners should not be attached to such achievements as they can be more of a hindrance than a support in one’s practice. We should follow the Buddha’s example and practise to overcome our delusions, purify our mind, and achieve bodhicitta and wisdom. The ability to recall one’s past lives will be achieved when one becomes enlightened.
An arhat, “worthy one”, is one who is free from delusions, has attained nirvana and thus, is free from cyclic existence. A bodhisattva “enlightenment being”, is one who, out of compassion, takes a vow to delay his/her own personal enlightenment in order to work for the liberation of all sentient beings. The difference between an arhat and a bodhisattva is that an arhat has achieved personal liberation from samsara and will not be reborn. The goal of a bodhisattva, however, is to liberate all sentient beings from samsara and therefore, he/she continues to work for the welfare of others with this goal in mind.