Two Questions

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Red Belly
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Two Questions

Post by Red Belly »

I have two, hopefully simple, questions for the community here. Whilst neither is very important (both might fall under the heading of "questions the Buddha refused to answer"), they are questions I could definitely imagine friends asking me and so I'd like to have an informed answer. The first regards time, the second the future Buddha, Metteyya.

1.) As regards time: Within a given aeon, is time strictly linear? For example, is it possible to be reborn "backwards" in time; if I live a somewhat unfortunate existence in this current life, would it be possible that I might be reborn as, say, an alleycat in ancient Babylon? I'm assuming the answer is "No," but would appreciate clarification.

2.) And for Metteyya: Will the future Buddha Metteyya necessarily be born on this planet? Could he technically arise on some other planet in this world system, or even another world system? From what I can tell, most old sources seem to assume he will live on this planet Earth (even being born on the subcontinent India), but are there further thoughts on this? Of the two questions this is the one I'd most like guidance on!

Many thanks for any help!
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DNS
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Re: Two Questions

Post by DNS »

1. If true, it sounds like something too important for the Buddha to omit from the teachings. It seems the Buddha would have mentioned it. It sounds impossible, but not sure. Once something is done, when it's completed, it's over, anicca.

See also the grandfather paradox.

2. Yes, in the Tipitaka, it appears to assume Metteyya will be born on planet earth.
Red Belly
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Re: Two Questions

Post by Red Belly »

Thank you for your input, DNS! Both answers were what I expected, but now I can answer with a little more confidence if the question ever comes up. And of course they help me too, in that they help me in my understanding of the Dhamma.

Thanks again.
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cappuccino
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Re: Two Questions

Post by cappuccino »

Red Belly wrote: Thu Nov 03, 2022 2:30 pm
1 … remote viewers say people are reborn in the past


2 … this planet in the distant future
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Sam Vara
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Re: Two Questions

Post by Sam Vara »

Red Belly wrote: Thu Nov 03, 2022 2:30 pm
1.) As regards time: Within a given aeon, is time strictly linear? For example, is it possible to be reborn "backwards" in time; if I live a somewhat unfortunate existence in this current life, would it be possible that I might be reborn as, say, an alleycat in ancient Babylon? I'm assuming the answer is "No," but would appreciate clarification.
I think that's a really interesting question, and in fact I've asked it twice myself over the years, and never received a single answer!

In the suttas, the Buddha speaks of "past lives" as always being in some kind of absolute past which had gone and is irrecoverable; I can't recall him ever saying that someone's future rebirth would be in the historic past. It would, as DNS points out, involve the "grandfather paradox". But if a being was reborn having kammic tendencies which were unknown to that person, there would appear to be no reason to assume that they couldn't have come from a "later" historical period. The only reason would be that time is an absolute, a universal one-way trip that cannot possibly be reversed. That's an odd thing in any context, and Buddhist cosmology appears to be no exception.
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Post by sunnat »

This moment is different to this moment ad infinitum. That moment had an earth that was way over somewhere else and that moment when I wrote that moment too, ad infinitum. Constant never ending change. Being reborn in a past moment necessitates unbelievable bendings of time and space and nullifying everything about light speed and such things. Momentum is preserved only when instantly being reborn in the next moment.
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Post by sunnat »

The passage of Time is an illusion born of ignorance. You can partially remember pasts and partially imagine futures but only be in now.
pegembara
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Re: Two Questions

Post by pegembara »

Red Belly wrote: Thu Nov 03, 2022 2:30 pm I have two, hopefully simple, questions for the community here. Whilst neither is very important (both might fall under the heading of "questions the Buddha refused to answer"), they are questions I could definitely imagine friends asking me and so I'd like to have an informed answer. The first regards time, the second the future Buddha, Metteyya.

1.) As regards time: Within a given aeon, is time strictly linear? For example, is it possible to be reborn "backwards" in time; if I live a somewhat unfortunate existence in this current life, would it be possible that I might be reborn as, say, an alleycat in ancient Babylon? I'm assuming the answer is "No," but would appreciate clarification.

2.) And for Metteyya: Will the future Buddha Metteyya necessarily be born on this planet? Could he technically arise on some other planet in this world system, or even another world system? From what I can tell, most old sources seem to assume he will live on this planet Earth (even being born on the subcontinent India), but are there further thoughts on this? Of the two questions this is the one I'd most like guidance on!

Many thanks for any help!
1. People do live in the "past"—for example, those with post-traumatic stress. There is simply no reason that this cannot extend to the previous existence, a back-to-the-future situation. What is the past but just memory happening here?

2. Dunno- merely speculative
And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, & from idle chatter: This is called right speech.
Red Belly
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Re: Two Questions

Post by Red Belly »

Must say I feel a little better that I'm not the only one scratching his head regarding these questions. I really appreciate all the input added above! Now, away with speculation and back to practice...
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