Question asked by Nat
Dear Pastors
According to the Dharma we have had countless past lives, each one leading to the next. These past lives explain a lot of the disparities we see in the world today and different karmas. But there must have been a first life way back in the continuum of lives. How did that first life start? If there was nothing before it, how can something start from nothing?
Thank you
Nat
We have been trained to think in this way that there is a beginning and end to everything to make sense of our world, our identity, our existence and purpose of everything. Whatever we believe more than likely stems from either faith or logic. Many of us are influenced in our thinking by society and religion based on a creator figure head. Different people are inclined to different faith but we believe all faiths are beneficial as long as we become good people.
Much knowledge, practice and meditation is required to have the omniscient mind of a Buddha, to realize emptiness, to be free of all delusions,.. totally perceiving reality, a mind that is free of any mental “obstacles”.
For now, I would like to present to you something to consider :
Where is the beginning and end of the river? Does it start at the mountain top and ends at the bank of the river? Precipitation is a crucial process for the river to have water which we can see. However, we cannot see when the water changes form when it evaporates but is necessary for the river to be formed.
When we expand our view, then the source of the water in the river does not begin at the mountain top nor end at the river bank. WHere is the beginning and end in this process?
Buddhism presents many concepts in a cycle and not linear.