chownah wrote: I think the answer is No,

Do you know of any relevant passages?

culaavuso wrote: ...

I apologize, I think I'm confusing my words. When I ask if life can merge with life, I mean to ask,

Can the karma produced by the actions of one being merge with the karma produced by the actions of another being?

boris wrote: The concept I am is present all the time, only self-identifications differ, from life to life.

Does the Buddha ever mention life merging together? Or is it always an individual?

I'm not sure what you mean when you ask: "Does this idea really change things?" Can you elaborate? I mean to say, how strict is the idea of reincarnation in Buddhism? Can life emerging from non life can be seen as another form of natural birth in Buddhism? How specific is the transference...

They simply behave according to their nature when brought together and behave according to their nature when taken apart. This... I think is exactly my confusion. So, where is the karma? It is neither the log nor the flame, but that craving is the act of burning. Just as when life is formed, the bo...

You can't serve two masters. Two masters? I don't understand. Science is a type of truth. Occasionally, one of these truths with carry a philosophical meaning. And, well, I've always viewed Buddhism as a perfect work of philosophy. I feel as if the idea that life comes from non life shouldn't affec...

... "And so, Anuradha — when you can't pin down the Tathagata as a truth or reality even in the present life — ... it is only stress that I describe, and the cessation of stress." This passage... I don't know if I understand this. The Buddha taught the path to enlightenment, and nothing m...

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One ... Thank you very much for your detailed reply. I would like to make the argument that everything is life, and the reason for finding a definition of life is to understand what it means to be liberated from life. Does the following make sense? My r...

My other thread didn't really answer whatever it is that I'm trying to ask, but it did help me focus my confusion into a better question. These three questions I think are all asking the same thing: What separates life from non life? Is it possible to be reborn into non life? Does non life carry kar...

It isn't punishment, however. If you touch a hot stove, the burn isn't punishment, it's simply the result... This makes a lot more sense. Inherent evil? Pain sucks, sickness and aging suck, the fact that 'nothing lasts' sucks... there doesn't have to be an inherent evil for all of that to be worth ...

This question assumes something does. But there's no 'better' that isn't tied to some contextual evaluation, thus no objective 'better' obtains among beings in this way. I am very unfamiliar with particular passages, but I do remember rebirth being discussed in depth by the Buddha. Such as being bo...

Now, where's room for rebirth? Where is this hidden self? What is the reasoning for this supernatural permanence that belongs to "me?" Congratulations, you've arrived at one of the most heated topics of religion and philosophy altogether! Wearing a hazmat suit and a gift basket full of go...

The foundation for Buddhism is in the concept of impermanence. We must not cling to the doctrine of the self. Which is difficult at first, because clearly we exist. But it is something that slowly makes sense when we examine what we are. When we break ourselves down into the five aggregates, we can ...