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When you reincarnate, it's your karma that determines the form you take. If you have bad karma, you can come back as a tapeworm or worse (some Buddhists believe
by michaelochurch 11y ago
When you reincarnate, it's your karma that determines the form you take. If you have bad karma, you can come back as a tapeworm or worse (some Buddhists believe in hell realms-- which are not eternal, but still quite awful-- and some don't).
Buddhism doesn't categorically outlaw suicide but it's against violent or angry suicide and it definitely proscribes suicide as a way out. The bad karma you were trying to escape, plus possibly more, will be waiting for you on the other side. The self-immolating monk, Thích Quảng Đức, might turn out OK if he had compassionate intentions; but in general, suicide is still very bad.
- Dewie3 11y agoWhat on Earth is your point? You agree with my point that punishment is not eternal in Buddhism, and then go on to write about how karma works. Is your assumption that I don't know any of this, and that I need to know in this context? The people that I mostly have in mind are people that bet on Pascal's Wager. People that are not necessarily Buddhists, or even religious to begin with. From their standpoint, it might not be that crucial to bet on Buddhism, since it they're wrong they won't have to pay for it for ever and ever. (Gotta say that I was surprised to see M. O'Church talking about Buddism, btw.)
- michaelochurch 11y agoI was trying to de-trivialize "bad karma". It's true that Buddhism doesn't have an eternal hell. It's not accurate to say that there aren't severe, terrifying consequences of living a bad life that are considered possible in the afterlife. At any rate, I don't think humans are capable of comprehending eternity, so I'm not sure how meaningful Pascal's Wager really is. While there's objectively a huge difference between 10^14 years of torment and an eternity of it, I can't say that I can begin to fathom either one.