Cinderella's Pumpkin Carriage And Samsara

Cinderella is a fairy tale. In that story, a fairy godmother turned a pumpkin into a carriage by magic. Let us think about this for a moment. Can the fairy godmother use a water melon instead of a pumpkin? What if the fairy godmother used a water melon? Will the carriage be green in colour? Can the fairy godmother use a small fruit, like grape? Must she use fruits? Can she use a big stone instead? If we established a course to study how fairy godmothers make carriages out of stuff, will there be any definite conclusion?

Samsara or reincarnation is an unprovable process. Like the carriage making process in fairy tale Cinderella, we cannot come to any definite conclusion with reincarnation. For example, can we reincarnate as plants? We can come up with all kinds of reasons to argue about it but we can never come to a definite conclusion. It is like asking if the fairy godmother can make carriages out of something else besides pumpkin. Can anyone prove that she can or cannot?

The Dalai Lama reincarnated fourteen times as Dalai Lama. Is that possible? What kind of karmic law allow this kind of reincarnation? Can the 14th Dalai Lama provide a definite proof that he is the 14th reincarnation? Can he provide a definite and objective proof for his 15th reincarnation so that China cannot install their own Dalai Lama? Can he reincarnate as a woman so that the 15th Dalai Lama will be the first female Dalai Lama? Can one choose where, how and when one can be reincarnated? How come the Dalai Lama can? Does the Dalai Lama know that he can and know that he has the power to do so? Can he prove it? Or is this another Cinderella's Pumpkin Carriage proof?

The Bible said that all humans are descended from Adam and Eve. Evolution has a last universal common ancestor (LUCA) from which all living things today evolved from. So how does reincarnation account for the increasing human population? Also from one soul? Can one soul be reincarnated as two or more souls? Or is there a constant number of souls going through the reincarnation process? So how did the initial number of souls get started? Buddhists do not believe in souls. So are they right?

Major Indian religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism took reincarnation for granted. They do not attempt to prove it. They just give solutions on how to escape reincarnation. But when a religion based their solution on an unprovable process, I think the foundation is shaky and anything built on top of it can collapse any time.

What is unprovable is not necessarily untrue. Every religion require some amount of faith. But I prefer a religion that based their faith on something provable instead of something unprovable.

... speaking the truth in love ... (Ephesians 4:15 NIV)

Karma Samsara Moksha Nirvana

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. (Psalm 103:8-10 ESV)

The Bible says we do not always get what we deserve. If the Bible is true, then karma is false.

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27-28 ESV)

The Bible says we live and die once. If the Bible is true, then samsara is false. If there is no samsara, there is no moksha or nirvana.

Sowing And Reaping - Bible vs Karma

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7 KJV)

Karma states that everything that happens to a person is caused by something the person has done in the past and everything a person does will come back to the person in future.

But reality tell us a different story. We know that karma is not true. A simple proof is the birth of a baby. Every baby born is the effect caused by a man and woman having sex and not the baby's own action. Yet babies are born differently into different circumstances. We also see the wicked flourishing and not reaping what they sow.

I have seen a wicked, violent person well-rooted, like a flourishing native tree. (Psalm 37:35 CSB)
Look at them - the wicked! They are always at ease, and they increase their wealth. (Psalm 73:12 CSB)

How does karma and the Bible resolve this inconsistency with reality?

The inventors of karma came up with a unprovable process, called samsara, or reincarnation. With samsara, whatever cause not seen is the present life is actually in a past life and whatever effect will be in a future life.

The Bible also has an unproveable process call last judgement. All the wicked will be judge at the last judgement and no sin shall go unpunished.

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36 KJV)

What is unprovable is not necessarily untrue. As in all religions, faith is required. But the Bible has a process to prove that the Bible is the Word of God and that the Word of God is true. In doing so, the Bible can be trusted in all that is affirmed, whether provable or not. For example, prophecies are not provable until it is fulfilled. Likewise when the last judgement come, we will all know it is true.

A Panoramic View of the Bible And What We Can Learn From It - 8

The whole Bible can be summarized with four words - creation, fall, redemption, restoration.
The Bible described creation in two chapters (Genesis 1:1 - 2:25).
The Bible described the fall in one chapter (Genesis 3:1 - 3:24).
The Bible described the restoration in one and a half chapters (Revelation 21:1-22:5).
The bulk of the Bible is about redemption.

What does the bulk of the Bible tell us about the current world view?

1. Evil will only last a limited time;
2. Evolution is not possible due to lack of time;
3. Epicurus is wrong;
4. Karma is false.

Buddhists Are Brave People

Buddhism is the solution Buddha taught to liberate humans from samsara (reincarnation), the endless cycle of rebirth and dukkha (suffering). If samsara is not true, then the endless cycle of rebirth and suffering does not exist and Buddhism become a solution for a non-existence problem.

Samsara is not provable. The problem with samsara is twofold:

1. Presently there is no way to verify it in an objective manner;
2. There is no mechanism to explain how reincarnation might occur.

Just because samsara is not provable does not mean it is not true. But it is unwise to make it the problem to be solved. In fact, samsara is actually a process to make karma true.

Karma is the Indian cause and effect. Karma states that everything that happens to a person is caused by something the person has done in the past.

Cause and effect is true. A simple example of cause and effect is birth. Every human born is the effect caused by a man and woman having sex. However, since birth is caused by the parents' action and not the baby's own action, karma is false.

To make karma true, samsara, an unprovable process, was added. Now the baby's birth is caused not only by the parent's action, but also the baby's action in the past life. Now why a baby is born rich or poor can be explained. And now when we see good people not getting their good rewards or bad people not getting their just desserts even by the time they die, we know that they will get it in their future reincarnation! So karma and samsara together provides a complete system to explain our imperfect and suffering world. We are trapped in this endless cycle of rebirth because of our karmic debt. And Buddha came up with the solution to escape from the cycle.

The goal of Buddhism is nirvana. When one escapes from samsara, one will enter into the state of nirvana. The commonly agreed definition of nirvana is cessation of dukkha (suffering) and liberation from samsara (reincarnation). But what will happen if suffering cease? There are two possibilities, eternal life with pure happiness or cessation from existence. But Buddha did not give an answer to that question. Since the word nirvana literally means "quenching" or "blowing out" in the way that the flame of a candle is blown out, is nirvana the cessation of existence? We really do not know. And if it is eternal life with pure happiness, where would you be since there is no more samsara (rebirth)?

We have to remember that Buddha is from below, unlike Jesus, who is from above (John 8:23, John 3:13). Buddha did not attain nirvana and come back after death to tell what nirvana really is. Jesus died and was resurrected. He himself is the proof that we will be resurrected like Him (Romans 6:5, 1 Corinthians 15:14-20).

All I can say is Buddhists are brave people. They have faith to practice the solution of a problem caused by an unproven process, to attain a final state which is not clearly defined. I am not brave like them. I prefer to have my faith based on provable events.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV)

Karma Is False

And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. (John 9:2-3 ESV)

Karma is the Indian cause and effect. Karma states that everything that happened to oneself is caused by one's earlier action, or one's action now decides one's fate in the future.

We know that karma is not true. A simple proof is the birth of a baby. Every baby born is the effect caused by a man and woman having sex and not the baby's own action. So to make karma true, an unprovable process call samsara (reincarnation) was added. So karma and samsara now make a complete system. This system is a fundamental concept in all Indian religions, like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

The Bible agree with the observable fact that karma is false. The Bible also use the birth of twins as a proof.

And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad - in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls - she was told, "The older will serve the younger." (Romans 9:10-12 ESV)

Reincarnation Not Provable

The problem with reincarnation is twofold:

1. we have, as of yet, no way to verify it prospectively in an objective manner
2. we have no mechanism to explain how reincarnation might occur.

For Buddhism to be true, Buddhist karma needs to be true.
For Buddhist karma to be true, reincarnation must be true.
Since reincarnation is not provable, Buddhist karma cannot be proven, therefore, Buddhism is a big scam waiting to be exposed.

China is already exposing Buddhism as a scam. China requires all high-ranking Lamas to have a permit to reincarnate under 國家宗教事務局令第5號 - 藏傳佛教活佛轉世管理辦法. What kind of rubbish is this? Can China legislate karma?

Because of China, Dalai Lama said he may not reincarnate and declared reincarnation as "not important". What kind of rubbish is this? Can Dalai Lama control karma? Is this Dalai Lama really the 14th reincarnation in the first place? Can he prove it?

Karma - Buddhism Versus Reality

The follow quote taken from "Basic Buddhism: The Theory of Karma" explains the Buddhist Karma:

QUOTE
Karma is the law of moral causation. The theory of Karma is a fundamental doctrine in Buddhism. This belief was prevalent in India before the advent of the Buddha. Nevertheless, it was the Buddha who explained and formulated this doctrine in the complete form in which we have it today.

1. What is the cause of the inequality that exists among mankind?
2. Why should one person be brought up in the lap of luxury, endowed with fine mental, moral and physical qualities, and another in absolute poverty, steeped in misery?
3. Why should one person be a mental prodigy, and another an idiot?
4. Why should one person be born with saintly characteristics and another with criminal tendencies?
5. Why should some be linguistic, artistic, mathematically inclined, or musical from the very cradle?
6. Why should others be congenitally blind, deaf, or deformed?
7. Why should some be blessed, and others cursed from their births?

Either this inequality of mankind has a cause, or it is purely accidental. No sensible person would think of attributing this unevenness, this inequality, and this diversity to blind chance or pure accident.

In this world nothing happens to a person that he does not for some reason or other deserve. Usually, men of ordinary intellect cannot comprehend the actual reason or reasons. The definite invisible cause or causes of the visible effect is not necessarily confined to the present life, they may be traced to a proximate or remote past birth.

According to Buddhism, this inequality is due not only to heredity, environment, "nature and nurture", but also to Karma. In other words, it is the result of our own past actions and our own present doings. We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and misery. We create our own Heaven. We create our own Hell. We are the architects of our own fate.
UNQUOTE

To summarise, Buddhism believed that every action you do will generate a reaction back to yourself. It is a one-to-one karma.

But in reality, karma is not necessarily one-to-one. In fact, most of the time, it is not. It has a multiplier effect. An ancestor's migration has an impact on his descendants. A ruler has an impact on a country. A religion's founder has an impact over millions or billions of people over a long period of time. The reaction to an action spreads by the natural laws of propagation. It can be for good or for bad. There is even a mathematical theory call Chaos Theory to explain how a very small change can have big consequences. All these are observable and true in the real world.

Buddha attributed the obviously observable lack of one-to-one karma in the real world to an unproven process call reincarnation. If you cannot trace the reaction to an action in your present life, then it must be caused by an action in your past life. If your action has not generated an appropriate reaction in your present life, you will get the reaction in your next life.

The Bible tells us that unfairness and inequality were caused by Adam when he disobeyed God in the garden of Eden. He ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thinking that it would make him like God. Through his disobedience, sin entered the world and spread via the natural laws of propagation. Being the first ancestor, his action caused a reaction that impact all his descendants. This reaction is still multiplying.

Buddhism Is False By Raymond

Found this article, "Why I Believe Buddhism and their Beliefs are False", which I quote below:

QUOTE
This is an interesting article on Buddhism written from a specific perspective. I do not know who wrote it. However I thought it would make people think about concepts that they have heard of but not what they really mean. Most people really do not know what Buddhism really believes.
1.What is Buddhism?
2.Who is Buddha?
3.What is karma and reincarnation?
4.Theory explains phenomena.
5.Reincarnation is a theory
6.Reincarnation contradicts the phenomenon of mediums invoking the spirit of the dead.
7.Spirit possession theory explains all these phenomena.
8.Demon possession.
9.Deception.
10.Works versus Grace
11. Conclusion.
1. What is Buddhism.
Buddhism is a widespread Asian religion or philosophy founded by Siddartha Gautama (Buddha;c.563-c.460 BC) in north east India in the 5^th century BC, which teaches that elimination of the self and earthly desires is the route to enlightenment.
There are two main schools of thought in Buddhism, the Theravada and the Mahayana, Theravada Buddhists believe they must personally eradicate their mental defilements and develop all the great virtues in order to gain their final salvation by following the method and example prescribed by the Buddha. They respect Bodhisattvas but do not regard them as saviours.
In the Mahayana school of thought, the Bodhisattvas play an important role by showing others the path to attain Nibbana. A Bodhisattva is a  person who is able to be released from Samsara and reaching Nibbana but delays doing so through compassion for suffering beings.
The practice of Buddhism has been modified by local customs, producing distinct varieties of worship. They include the Indian, Tibetan, Ceylonese (Sri Lankan), Burmese, Thai, Cambodian, Chinese and  Japanese varieties. It is claimed that the Siddhartha Gautama’s way of life and doctrine were substantially different from the Hindu (Vedic and Brahmanism) believing people in India. Yet he embraced the Hindu beliefs of Karma and rebirth explaining it as a natural law of cause and effect. Hence Buddhism is often considered as an off-shoot of Hinduism because it shares with Hinduism its core beliefs of Karma and reincarnation. It also shares many common terms, some of which are:  Dharma, Samsara, Mantra, Samadhi and Aum.
What distinguishes it from Hinduism is that it does not invoke the existence of gods.
Although claiming to be non-theistic, yet the practice of Buddhism involves worship of the statue or image of Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhists claim is that these images are not idols but are symbolic representations of his great qualities
One of his original concepts is that of dependent origination. It claims that that life or the world is built on a set of relations, in which the arising and cessation of factors depend on some other factors which condition them so that all phenomena in this universe are relative, conditioned states and do not arise independently of supportive conditions. Hence Buddhism does not support the concept of a creator or first cause. Since everything is conditioned, relative, and interdependent, there is nothing in this world which could be regarded as a permanent entity, variously regarded as an ego or an eternal soul.
This provided the basis for another original concept called the Anatta doctrine, interpreted as the absence of a distinct soul, self and ego for each person. Yet he believed the sum total of the Karma in the form of a consciousness for each person is distinct and continues after bodily death by reincarnating in another body. He introduced the idea of the Four Noble Truths, Suffering, the Arising of Suffering, the ceasing of Suffering, and the approach to the ceasing of Suffering.
Another original concept introduced  is The Eightfold path of a righteous life consisting of  Right Speech, Sila Right Action Morality, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Samadhi Right Mindfulness Mental culture, Right Concentration, Right Understanding, Panna Right Thoughts Wisdom. The adherence to this path would bring a Buddhist devotee closer to the salvation called Nibbana.
In Buddhism, there is no such thing as sin as explained by other religions. Sin is merely unskilful or unwholesome action resulting in further suffering in the present life or future lives. His rejection of the caste system appealed especially to the untouchables.
2. Who is Buddha.
A Buddhist apologist, K.Sri Dhammananda describes Buddha as follows:
Gautama Buddha, the founder of what came to be known as Buddhism, lived in Northern India in the 6^th century B.C. His personal name was Siddhartha, and family name Gotama. The name ‘Buddha’ was given to Him after He attained Enlightenment and realized the Truth. It means the ‘Awakened’ or the ‘Enlightened One’. He generally called Himself the Tathagata, while His followers called Him Bhagava, the Blessed One. Others spoke of Him as Gotama or Sakyamuni.
He was born a prince who seemed to have everything. He had a luxurious upbringing and His family was of pure descent on both sides. He was the heir to the throne, extremely handsome, inspiring trust, stately and gifted with great beauty of complexion and fine presence. At sixteen He married His cousin named Yasodhara who bore Him a son whom they called Rahula. His wife was majestic, cheerful day and night, and full of dignity and grace.
Despite all this, He felt trapped amidst the luxury like a bird in a golden cage. During a visit to the city one day, He saw what is known as the ‘Four Sights’, that is, an old man, a sick man, a dead man, and a holy recluse. When He saw the sights, one after another, the realization came to Him that, ‘it is subject to age and death’. He asked, ‘Where is the realm of life in which there is neither age nor death?’ The sight of the recluse, who was calm for having given up the craving for material life, gave him the clue that the first step in His search for Truth was Renunciation.
Determined to find the way out of these universal sufferings, He decided to leave home to find the cure not for Himself only, but for all mankind. One night in His twenty-ninth year, He bade His sleeping wife and son a silent farewell, saddled His great white horse, and rode off toward the forest.
His renunciation is unprecedented in history. He left at the height of youth, from pleasures to difficulties, from certainty of material security to uncertainty, from a position of wealth and power to that of a wandering ascetic who took shelter in the cave and forest, with His ragged robe as the only protection against the blazing sun, rain and winter winds. He renounced His position, wealth, promise of prestige and power, and a life filled with love and hope in exchange for the search for Truth which no one had found.
For six long years, He laboured to find the Truth. He studied under the foremost masters of the day and learned all these religious teachers could teach Him. When He could not find what He was looking for, He joined a band of ascetics and tortured His body to break its power and crush its interference, since it was believed that Truth could be found this way. A man of enormous energy and will power, He outdid other ascetics in every austerity they proposed. While fasting, He ate so little that when He took hold of the skin of His stomach, He touched His spine. He pushed Himself to the extent that no man had done and yet lived. He, too, would have certainly died had He not realized the futility of self-mortification, and decided to practise moderation instead.
On the full moon night of the month of Vesakha, He sat under the Bodhi tree at Gaya, wrapped in deep meditation. It was then that His mind burst the bubble of the universe and realized the true nature of all life and all things. At the age of 35 years, He was transformed from an earnest truth seeker into the Buddha, the Enlightened One.
For nearly half a century, the Buddha walked on the dusty paths of India Teaching the Dhamma so that those who heard and practised could be ennobled and free. He founded an order of monks and nuns, challenged the caste system, raised the status of women, taught religious freedom and free inquiry, opened the gates of deliverance to all, in every condition of life, high or low, saint or sinner, and ennobled the lives of criminals like Angulimala and courtesans like Ambapali.
He was towering in wisdom and intellect. Every problem was analyzed in component parts and then reassembled in logical order with the meaning made clear. None could defeat Him in dialogue. An unequalled teacher, He still is the foremost analyst of the mind and phenomena even up to the present day. For the first time in history, He gave men the power to think for themselves, raised the worth of mankind, and showed that man can reach to the highest knowledge and supreme Enlightenment by his own efforts.
Despite His peerless wisdom and royal lineage, He was never removed from the simple villager. Surface distinctions of class and caste meant little to Him. No one was too little or low for Him to help. Often when an outcast, or poor and dejected came to Him, his self-respect was restored and he turned from the ignoble life to that of a noble being.
The Buddha was full of compassion(karuna)and wisdom(panna), knowing how and what to teach everyone for his own benefit according to his level and capabilities. He was known to have walked long distances to help one single person.
He was affectionate and devoted to His disciples, always inquiring after their well-being and progress. When staying at the monastery, He paid daily visits to the sick wards. His compassion for the sick can be seen from His advice, ‘He who attends the sick, attends on me.’ The Buddha kept order and discipline based on mutual respect. King Pasenadi could not understand how the Buddha maintained such order and discipline in the community of monks, when he as a king with the power to punish, could not maintain it as well in his court.
The Buddha did not claim to have ‘created’ worldly conditions, universal phenomena, or the Universal Law which we call the ‘Dhamma’. Although described as lokavidu or ‘knower of the worlds’, He was not regarded as the sole custodian of the Universal Laws. He freely acknowledge that the Dhamma, together with the working of the cosmos, is timeless, it has no creator and is independent in the absolute sense. Every conditioned thing that exists in the cosmos is subject to the operation of Dhamma. What the Buddha did (like all the other Buddhas before Him) was to rediscover this infallible Truth and make it known to mankind. In discovering the Truth, He also found the means whereby one could ultimately free oneself from being subjected to the endless cycle of conditioning, with its attendant evils of unsatisfactoriness.
After forty-five years of ministry, the Buddha passed away at the age of eighty at kusinara, leaving behind thousands of followers, monks and nuns, and a vast treasure store of Dhamma Teaching. The impact of His great love and dedication is still felt today.
3. What is Karma and Reincarnation.
Karma is the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as affecting their future fates. (i.e. the effects of a person’s actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation)
The origin of this word is from the Sanskritkarman which means ‘action, effect, fate’.
Reincarnation is the rebirth of a soul in a new body.
Incarnation is a spirit embodied in a living human from. To incarnate is to be invested in a bodily form. The origin of this word is from the Latin in- carn- which means ‘into’ ‘flesh’.
Reincarnation is a necessary adjunct to Karma. This is because incomplete punishment for a person’s evil deeds in this life will be completed in future lives.
How else would punishment for the evil deeds of Pol Pot and Idi Amin be justly meted out as these two persons died peacefully in ripe old age. It is believed that reincarnation takes place at conception or when the baby is in the womb or at birth.
4. Theory explains phenomena.
A phenomenon is a fact that is observed to exist or happen. A theory is a system of ideas intended to explain phenomena. Consistency is a harmonious agreement amongst things or parts without contradictions.
If a phenomenon contradicts a theory, then the theory is inconsistent and is probably false. If this phenomenon is consistent with another theory, then the second theory should replace the first theory.
5. Reincarnation is a theory to explain the phenomena of persons being able to recall events experienced by individuals who have died.
The strongest evidence supporting the theory of reincarnation is from the work of Ian Stevenson who documented numerous cases of children ‘recalling’ historical events and relatives of deceased individuals. Some of these amazing claims have been corroborated.
(Ref: Old Souls, the scientific evidence for past lives by Tom Shroder, published by Simon & Schuster, Rockefeller Center, 1230, Ave of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. ISBN 0-684-85192-X ©1999.)
6. Reincarnation contradicts the phenomenon of mediums invoking the spirit of the dead.
Reincarnation cannot explain how temple mediums are able to invoke the spirits of the departed.
If the spirit of the departed has already reincarnated into another body, how can it also appear in the temple medium?
7. Spirit possession theory explains all these phenomena.
To possess is to have complete power over.
The origin of this word is from the Latin possidere which means ‘occupy, hold’.
Spirit possession is the state of being under complete control of a spirit. Spirit possession is real ( Mark 1:23-25, 5:1-20, 7:24-30, 9:17-27).
Spirit possession can explain how temple mediums are able to invoke the spirits of the departed. It can also explain how some persons are able to accurately recall events experienced by individuals who have long since died.
A definite case of spirit possession is described by Roy Stemman about a Thai Buddhist monk who was born one day before his previous body died.
This case cannot be explained by reincarnation because it would mean that the baby was born without a spirit and remained without a spirit for one day.
The logical explanation is that the baby was already born with an original spirit. One day after birth, his body became inhabited or possessed by another spirit.
(Reincarnation, Amazing True Cases From Around The World by Roy Stemman (Editor of Reincarnation International), published by Judy Piatkus Ltd. Windmill Street, London W1P 1HF. ISBN 0-7499-1708-3 hbk, ISBN 0-7499-1787-3 pbk ©1997 (Ref: in page 38))
I believe the spirit that possesses the body of a person suppresses the expression of the original spirit of that person. I believe all possessing spirits are evil, otherwise they would not possess. I believe the Holy Spirit does not possess. On the contrary, the Holy Spirit renders a person free to choose.
8. Demon possession.
A demon is an evil spirit or devil. A person is demon possessed if he is completely controlled by an evil spirit. I believe demons are fallen angels, Satan being chief among them. A medium is a person who claims to be able to communicate between the dead and the living.
Temple mediums appear to be able to summon the spirit of the departed. They go into a trance, as if possessed, before they appear to talk like the deceased person. I believe that the demonic spirit which has possessed the departed individual was invited by the medium to speak through the medium.
I believe yoga meditation, which involves a process of emptying oneself of logic and reason, is a ploy by Satan to deceive the devotee into preparing himself as fertile ground for demon possession.
Demon possession is evil because it enslaves and suppresses the free will of the individual.
When the Hindu or Buddhist parents bring their children to their temples, they are actually offering their children as human sacrifice to demons for  possession.
I believe when an unsaved person’s body dies, his original spirit is released into the spirit realm to dwell there until the final judgment  because it is unable to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Through Hinduism and Buddhism, Satan and his fellow demonic spirits have deceived many generations of people in large parts of the world into unwittingly allowing their bodies and souls to be possessed.  This permits the demonic spirits to ‘reincarnate’ in them serially.
I believe the spirit realm is the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ (Psalm 23:4).
I believe the original spirit of an individual is from God and is eternal. When an individual’s body dies, his original spirit leaves the body and enters the spirit realm.
When a person accepts Jesus as Savior, his or her spirit becomes a sibling of Jesus who is the first born of God (Abba). As this spirit is a relative of Abba, it is permitted to enter and ‘dwell in the house of the Lord forever’ (Psalm 23:6).
If a person, during his lifetime, has not accepted Jesus as his Savior, his spirit is not sanctified (separated as holy). Even if he has performed many miracles in the name of God, his spirit would not be permitted to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7: 21-23).
When his body dies, his spirit would remain in the spirit realm until the day of final judgment, when he will be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented forever (Revelation 20:11-15).
9. Deception.
Deception means to deliberately mislead or misrepresent the truth; to swindle, hoax, cheat, dupe, fool, or entrap.
I believe the theory of spirit possession can explain all the phenomena attributed to the theory of reincarnation as well as explain the phenomenon of invoking the spirits of the departed.
Because of this, I consider the theory of reincarnation as redundant, unnecessary and even false.
As the theory of reincarnation is open to question, it then follows that the theory of karma is also open to question.
As the theories of reincarnation and karma form the foundations of Hinduism, Buddhism and New Age, then these systems of belief are also open to question.
Then what is the purpose of the theory of reincarnation?
I believe the purpose is deception.
I believe this concept of Nirvana is a deception hatched by Satan and his fellow demonic spirits.
I believe the demonic spirit seeks to escape from the valley of the shadow of death and the eventual great white throne judgment and inevitable punishment in the lake of fire.
I believe the demonic spirit believes that by doing good works it can seek favour with God in order to enter the kingdom of heaven.
I believe on entry into the kingdom of heaven, these demons, under the leadership of Satan, will, once again, attempt to overthrow God (God).
Since the demonic spirit is unable to do good deeds in the spirit form, it needs to incarnate (to become invested in a bodily form) by possessing the body of some unsuspecting person in order to do good deeds.
Hence it needs to ‘re-incarnate’. ‘Reincarnation’ does not occur with the original spirit of an individual. ‘Reincarnation’ occurs with demonic spirits. They hop from body to body, possessing and suppressing the original spirit within each new body.
Through Hinduism and Buddhism, and their core belief of karma and reincarnation, Satan has deceived many people into accepting and believing that by doing good works, a person would qualify to have his spirit  elevated from one lifetime to the next in order to eventually reach a state of spiritual ‘enlightenment’.
I believe even rational and logical thinking persons can choose to believe in ‘reincarnation’. This is because they have been deceived by demonic spirits. They are rendered blind to reason and logic regarding spiritual matters.
 Deception is the signature of Satan.
I believe God created man to fellowship with. God gave man dominion over the earth.  The first action of Satan to Adam and Eve was deception. Satan possessed the serpent and duped Eve and Adam into eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the one which God specifically forbade them to eat. (Genesis 3:1-7)
By this hoax, Satan cheated  mankind  of his right standing with God and dominion over the earth. Instead, mankind, including myself came under dominion of Satan and was headed for certain death.
In the ‘fallen’ state, I am unable to fellowship with God. However, God still wanted to fellowship with me.
The triune Godhead sent a part of Himself, Jesus to earth as a man to die and bear the total punishment for the disobedience (sin) of all of mankind so that in believing in this sacrifice, my  fallen spiritual self will die and become reborn as a  sibling of Christ Jesus.
As a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), I can directly fellowship with God by casting all my cares to Him, secure in the belief that I have absolute right-standing with Him ( Psalm 55:22, 1 Peter 5:7)
When I believe in Jesus as my savior, I am freed from bondage to Satan. Satan is powerless to prevent me from believing the good news of the divine exchange. What he can do is to attempt  to deceive me with alternative routes to God like Hinduism, Buddhism, New Age and Islam. Satan inspired Hinduism and Buddhism with the core beliefs of Karma and reincarnation. The concept of reincarnation has been debunked by the concept of demonic spirit possession explaining all the ‘evidence’ proffered for reincarnation.
Hence reincarnation is a lie and Hinduism, Buddhism, and New Age beliefs are deceptions. They bear the signature of Satan. With the death burial and resurrection of Jesus, Satan has had been stripped of his power over me and over anyone else who believe in the risen Jesus Christ.
The demonic possessing spirit prevents the person from hearing and understanding the good news of Grace.
In order to set free any person under bondage of demonic spirits, one can drive out demons by calling on the name of Jesus because ‘at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow’ (Philippians 2:10).
Once liberated, that person, if chosen by God,  would be able to see and believe the Gospel (good news) which is ‘God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
10. Works versus grace.
Most religions include in their system of beliefs the belief that doing good deeds and avoiding bad deeds make a person more spiritually ‘pure’ and therefore more acceptable by the creator.
I believe one of the main deceptions of Satan is the belief that ‘do good gets good and do bad gets bad and that if a person’s good deeds outnumber the bad, he gets to enter heaven. This is contrary to my belief that a person can never by his good deeds qualify for entry into heaven. It is only by the grace of Abba that those who have been chosen will be invited into heaven.
Grace Christianity is the only belief system which holds that nothing  man does  will qualify him to be acceptable by God, and that it is only by the grace of God is man accepted by God.  The grace of God is His son, Jesus. Only by accepting Jesus as my personal saviour can I be accepted by God. All other ways, including doing good deeds count for nothing. Jesus’s voluntary death at the cross permitted an exchange to take place, his life for mankind’s death, his perfection for man’s imperfection, his goodness for man’s evil etc.  Also, Jesus came to life again and returned to his father the creator.
Because I choose to accept Jesus as my personal saviour, I become a sibling of Jesus. Now of my bodily death, as a relative of God, my spirit can then enter and ‘dwell in the house of the Lord forever’ (Psalm 23:6). Because I believe in Jesus, my spirit welcomes the Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit dwelling within me, all possessing spirits would be driven out. The Holy Spirit will never leave me nor forsake me forever (Deuteronomy 31:8).
When an individual does not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within, he is open to demonic spirit possession and is especially vulnerable when depressed or despondent.
11. Conclusion.
I believe Grace Christianity is the only way of reaching my creator, God. All other ways, though appealing, are not genuine and may lead to possession by demons.
Because I believe in free choice after making my choice, I choose freedom from demon possession by calling upon the name of Jesus.
UNQUOTE

The 14th Dalai Lama Concedes He May Be The Last

Vesak Day is here and let us talk about Buddhism and who can be more Buddhist than the 14th Dalai Lama? The following quote was taken from "Dalai Lama concedes he may be the last - BBC News (17 December 2014)".

QUOTE
In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC's Newsnight programme, during a visit to Rome for the 14th World Summit of Nobel Laureates, the 79-year-old spiritual leader conceded that he may not have a successor.

Whether another Dalai Lama came after him would depend on the circumstances after his death and was "up to the Tibetan people", he said.

He pointed out that the role no longer included political responsibilities; in 2011 the Dalai Lama handed these to an elected leader of the Tibetan government in exile, Lobsang Sangay.

The move was seen by many as a way the Dalai Lama could ensure the Tibetan community would have an elected leader in place outside the control of China.

China has said repeatedly that it will choose the next Dalai Lama.

"The Dalai Lama institution will cease one day. These man-made institutions will cease," the Dalai Lama told the BBC.

"There is no guarantee that some stupid Dalai Lama won't come next, who will disgrace himself or herself. That would be very sad. So, much better that a centuries-old tradition should cease at the time of a quite popular Dalai Lama."
UNQUOTE

Is the 14th Dalai Lama a real incarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama? Is reincarnation true? Can the man who claimed to be an reincarnation of another prove to us that he is a reincarnation while is he still alive?

Can the Dalai Lama stop himself from reincarnating? Does he has the power? Does he have complete control over his own reincarnation? Why is his reincarnation "up to the Tibetan people"? How does the living influence the dead and reincarnation? Can he explain? According to the Kalama Sutta, we should question everything, so I am not being disrespectful.

Monarchies and presidencies are man-made institution because the selection and succession is clearly natural. The Dalai Lama's succession is by reincarnation, which is supernatural. Is Dalai Lama a man-made institution? If the Dalai Lama is a man-made institution, does he mean that the reincarnation thingy is just a hoax to trick the Tibetan people into believing that he is more than human?

"Ma paramparaya" - Buddha in The Kalama Sutta
Translated from Pali:
Do not accept anything just because it is ancient and has been handed down from past generations.

The 14th Dalai Lama And Reincarnation

The Dalai Lama visited Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh on 7th April this year. He gave Buddhist teachings to 50,000 in Tawang on 8th April. After lunch he met with members of the press and was asked directly where the 15th Dalai Lama will be born. This quote from "The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama | The 14th Dalai Lama" is his answer.

QUOTE
Interest in his successor led to His Holiness being asked directly where the 15th Dalai Lama will be born. He replied, "Nobody knows. I pray I'll continue to be able to be of service to sentient beings, but I sometimes doubt if I'm even the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama." When another journalist mentioned that the Chinese government has asserted it is their right to make a decision about his successor, His Holiness called it nonsense. He conceded that in the past the Chinese Emperor had taken an interest in the recognition of the Dalai Lama, but that was when the Emperors considered themselves spiritual disciples.
UNQUOTE

Reincarnation cannot be proven. But the least the Dalai Lama could do is to give some objective proof how he knew that he is the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, which he is supposed to be. Instead, he said, "I sometimes doubt if I'm even the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama."

If 14th Dalai Lama himself, being the living evidence of reincarnation, does not know how to prove that he is the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, then, who can prove?

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (2 Peter 1:16 KJV)

The Six Paths of Reincarnation

Why is Buddha more powerful than the gods? The answer lies in the Buddhist concept of reincarnation, or, to be precise, the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism. Other Buddhist sects may have different ideas, since reincarnation cannot be proven objectively, and it is up to anyone who claim to be somebody to come up with ideas.
According to Pure Land Buddhism, there are six paths of reincarnation. One may be born as a god, a human, an asura, an animal, a hungry ghost, or a hell-dweller. Though the immediate goal of many human Buddhist practitioners is to be born in the realm of the gods, the ultimate goal is to escape the cycle of rebirth altogether, that is, to become a Buddha.
Thus the Jade Emperor, Lao Tzu, the Monkey God may be classified as "gods", but they are still not the ultimate. Likewise, Buddhist would have treated the gods of the other religion in the same way. Thus Jesus and Allah are reborn as gods, but not fully awaken yet.
In the interview with Jacelyn Tay (郑秀珍) as published on pages 24 to 27 of Impact Magazine, Dec 2008/Jan 2009 Edition, the monk who spoke to Jacelyn Tay said that Christianity is actually something lower than Buddhism. Why? This is because based on the six paths of reincarnation, Jesus became a god and is on the way to become a Buddha. He would not object to Jacelyn being a Christian, but he thought that Buddhism, being higher, would be a better way.

Back to the Future, Reincarnation and Sperm

Some movies are exciting to watch. But if you take the plot seriously, you may find that it is not possible to be true. For example, the invisible man, if he exists, would be blind, since he cannot have an opaque cornea which allows sight.

Another exciting movie plot is time travelling. In the movie "Back to the Future", 17 year old Marty McFly, who has a nerdy dad, alcoholic mum, an elder brother and an elder sister, accidentally warps himself from 1985 to 1955, where he meets both of his parents when they are teenagers. Marty unintentionally interrupts his parent's first meeting together. Our hero must now reunite his parents-to-be, lest he cease to exist in the 1980s. Being a good sci-fi movie, everything ended well. After some adventures, he re-unites his parents and return back to 1985. He finds that his dad is now a famous author and his mom was sober. He still has his brother and sister, except they are leading better lives.

Nice story, except it cannot be real, even when time travel is possible. Even though Marty re-unites his parents, there can be no guarantee that his siblings and him will be born. First, he cannot ensure that his father (who is now an author) and mother (who is now sober), will have sex exactly at the same time as they had before the time travelling occurs in order to produce Marty and his siblings. Even if Marty can ensure that they have sex exactly at the same time for that three occasions, he cannot ensure that the same spermatozoon will fertilize his mother's egg. If it is a different spermatozoon, it will be a different person, even with a different sex. Marty may well be born as Martina. Even the egg produced may not be the same.

Reincarnation is like these movies. As long as you treat it like a nice fiction, it is okay. But when you think of how it can be implemented in the real world, you have to grapple with the problem of the 2 cause-and-effects, the normal scientific cause-and-effect and the Karmic cause-and-effect. Of course you can argue that we do not understand everything, which is why we need faith. But faith that is not based on facts is very dangerous. When the foundation cannot be proven true, then anything incredible can be built on it. Thus in Chinese Buddhism, you have 6 realms (六道: 天．人．阿修羅．畜生．餓鬼．地獄) to be reincarnated. Is it true? Nobody knows. I can also come up with my own theory of reincarnation. This is the reason why although the Chinese are very smart people, but Science comes from the West, where the religion stress on Truth.

Reincarnation and sperm

Samāra or rebirth or reincarnation in Buddhism is based on the law of cause and effect (karma). According to Buddhist belief of reincarnation, one is born to the next life in a higher or lower form according to good or bad deeds done in current life.

In those days people do not know of the existence of sperm and egg and the technical details of conception. They assume that it is a very simple matter. Some liquid from the man goes into the woman and out pops the baby.

But now we know. Each ejacuation can produce millions of sperm. Usually only one will succeed in penetrating the egg. When a spermatozoon penetrates a mature egg, conception or fertilization takes place. Different spermatozoon will produce a different baby. So are there millions of soul, one in each sperm, waiting to be reborn? Is the successful spermatozoon successful because of its good karma, or because of the condition in the fallopian tube favours it? The mind boggles at the number of complexities we have to grapple with, both the karmic and scientific logic, in order for the Buddhist reincarnation to be implemented.

What will happen to the souls of those unsuccessful sperm? Or is the soul assigned only when the conception is successful? Or is the soul assigned at the point of birth? What happen if one day science can prove that reincarnation is false? While reincarnation may never be scientifically proven, the chancy way in which a spermatozoon fertilize an egg makes reincarnation unlikely. If the basic foundation of Buddhism is so shaky, I really do not want to build my faith on it. I am so glad that I am not a Buddhist. My faith rests on a sure foundation, which is Christ the Rock.