Is rebirth like changing someone's name?

[SarathW]

Is rebirth like changing someone's name?
I just wonder whether rebirth is similar to changing someone's name.
For instance, I can change my name to Simon and can say in my previous life I was known as SarathW.

[budo]

Are you running out of questions Sarath?

I would say rebirth is more like cloning, and right before the new clone is created, the older clone dies.

[whynotme]

Rebirth is like dreams, one day you are this person, another day you are another person in another world.

For the person in the dream, there is nothing common between two dreams. But still the same person

[DNS]

Are you running out of questions Sarath?

I like analogies, some good ones by budo and whynotme.

Rebirth is like a television.
The remote control is kamma.
The remote controls which channel is on.
One moment you're Miami Vice . . . another time you're the weatherman on Groundhog Day . . . another time you're the tiger in Life of Pi . . .
The image on the screen is your conventional existence.

[dylanj]

yes & also their form

[dylanj]

Are you running out of questions Sarath?

I like analogies, some good ones by budo and whynotme.

Rebirth is like a television.
The remote control is kamma.
The remote controls which channel is on.
One moment you're Miami Vice . . . another time you're the weatherman on Groundhog Day . . . another time you're the tiger in Life of Pi . . .
The image on the screen is your conventional existence.

turn it off!

[SarathW]

Are you running out of questions Sarath?

I would say rebirth is more like cloning, and right before the new clone is created, the older clone dies.

"In that case, Angulimala, go to that woman and on arrival say to her, 'Sister, since I was born I do not recall intentionally killing a living being. Through this truth may there be wellbeing for you, wellbeing for your fetus.'"

"But, lord, wouldn't that be a lie for me? For I have intentionally killed many living beings."

"Then in that case, Angulimala, go to that woman and on arrival say to her, 'Sister, since I was born in the noble birth, I do not recall intentionally killing a living being. Through this truth may there be wellbeing for you, wellbeing for your fetus.'"[2]

Responding, "As you say, lord," to the Blessed One, Angulimala went to that woman and on arrival said to her, "Sister, since I was born in the noble birth, I do not recall intentionally killing a living being. Through this may there be wellbeing for you, wellbeing for your fetus." And there was wellbeing for the woman, wellbeing for her fetus.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html

Above is sound like a born again Christina.
Perhaps I would say, rebirth is like changing someone's religion.

[DNS]

Are you running out of questions Sarath?

I like analogies, some good ones by budo and whynotme.

Rebirth is like a television.
The remote control is kamma.
The remote controls which channel is on.
One moment you're Miami Vice . . . another time you're the weatherman on Groundhog Day . . . another time you're the tiger in Life of Pi . . .
The image on the screen is your conventional existence.

turn it off!

Nibbana

[SarathW]

Nibbana

What about the person who got the controller in his hand?

[DNS]

Nibbana

What about the person who got the controller in his hand?

Perhaps the 5 aggregates? Edit, the aggregates are the image on the screen. It's an analogy, not a literal representation.

[DooDoot]

yatohaṃ, bhagini, ariyāya jātiyā jāto, nābhijānāmi sañcicca pāṇaṃ jīvitā voropetā, tena saccena sotthi te hotu, sotthi gabbhassā”ti.

Responding, "As you say, lord," to the Blessed One, Angulimala went to that woman and on arrival said to her, "Sister, since I was born in the noble birth, I do not recall intentionally killing a living being. Through this may there be wellbeing for you, wellbeing for your fetus." And there was wellbeing for the woman, wellbeing for her fetus.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html

Above is sound like a born again Christian.
Perhaps I would say, rebirth is like changing someone's religion.

Probably not because the word "rebirth" (upapanno, upapajjati, upapatti, etc) is not found in the sutta above.

[pegembara]

Rebirth is like celebrating one's birthday every year.

You are reminded every year that 'you' have been born on such a date/time. In a way you reinforced that 'you' or 'Sarath" or whatever name exist and is another year older.

It's the renewal of the illusion that 'Sarath' truly exist whereas in reality the baby 'Sarath' is no more. Since 'Sarath' is everchanging, there is no re-birth. Only birth/death, birth/death, birth/death.

Firewood becomes ash. Ash cannot turn back into firewood again. However, we should not view ash as after and firewood as before. We should know that firewood dwells in the dharma position of firewood and it has its own before and after. Although there is before and after, past and future are cut off. Ash stays at the position of ash and it has its own before and after. As firewood never becomes firewood again after it is burned and becomes ash, after person dies, there is no return to living. However, in buddha dharma, it is a never-changing tradition not to say that life becomes death. Therefore we call it no-arising. It is the laid-down way of buddha's turning the dharma wheel not to say that death becomes life. Therefore, we call it no-perishing. Life is a position at one time; death is also a position at one time. For instance, this is like winter and spring. We don't think that winter becomes spring, and we don't say that spring becomes summer.

Dogen

[Spiny Norman]

For instance, I can change my name to Simon and can say in my previous life I was known as SarathW.

As it happens I did change my first name for about a year ( it's a long story! ). I wouldn't describe it as "rebirth", but it did feel like a slightly different identity for that period of time.

[Spiny Norman]

Rebirth is like celebrating one's birthday every year.

Maybe in Zen, but we're on a Theravada forum.

[Spiny Norman]

For the person in the dream, there is nothing common between two dreams. But still the same person

"Same person" makes this sound more like the Hindu model, where a soul is repeatedly reincarnated?