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{{GZ|First it is said that transmigration and reincarnation, repeated lives on earth, are the same thing. Transmigration of souls is understood as if the souls of human beings migrated into different animals after death. Such nonsense has never been suggested by me in any way. The repeated earth lives mean something quite different. They are that which follows precisely from spiritual-scientific documents, just as the theory of evolution in the physical world follows from physical bases of research.|255b|117}}
{{GZ|First it is said that transmigration and reincarnation, repeated lives on earth, are the same thing. Transmigration of souls is understood as if the souls of human beings migrated into different animals after death. Such nonsense has never been suggested by me in any way. The repeated earth lives mean something quite different. They are that which follows precisely from spiritual-scientific documents, just as the theory of evolution in the physical world follows from physical bases of research.|255b|117}}


The most precious birth is considered to be the birth in the human kingdom, since liberation from the sorrowful cycle of existence of samsara, the cycle of rebirths, is best possible there. Only here is it actually a real incarnation in a physical body. After death, the soul of the human being can indeed temporarily take on an animal-like form when passing through the [[Kamaloka]] or appear in the realm of the hungry spirits or even in hell, as [[Dante]], for example, so drastically describes in his "[[Divine Comedy]]" in the cantos of the [[Inferno]]. But the I never appears in an earthly animal form.  
The most precious birth is considered to be the birth in the human kingdom, since liberation from the sorrowful cycle of existence of samsara, the cycle of rebirths, is best possible there. Only here is it actually a real incarnation in a physical body. After death, the soul of the human being can indeed temporarily take on an animal-like form when passing through the [[Kamaloka]] or appear in the realm of the hungry spirits or even in hell, as [[Dante]], for example, so drastically describes in his "[[Divine Comedy]]" in the cantos of the [[Inferno]]. But the [[I]] never appears in an earthly animal form.
 
{{GZ|In the astral world, the urges and passions take on animal forms. As long as the human being is embodied in the physical body, his astral body takes somewhat the form of this physical body. But when the outer body is gone, then the urges, desires and passions, as they are in their animal [nature], come to the fore in their own form, to break through. Thus man in the astral world is an image of his drives and passions.
 
Because these astral beings can make use of other bodies, it is therefore dangerous to let mediums come into a trance unless a clairvoyant is present who can avert evil.
 
The lion is a plastic expression of certain passions in the physical world, the tiger is an expression of other passions, the cat again of others. It is interesting to see how each animal is the plastic expression of a passion, of a drive.
 
So in the astral, in the kamaloka, man is approximately similar [to animal nature] through his passions. Hence the misunderstanding that has been given to the Egyptian and Indian priests and wisdom teachers concerning the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. You should live in such a way that you are not embodied in the animal, says this teaching. But this teaching never speaks of the physical life, but of the higher life, and what it wanted was nothing else than to induce people on earth to live in such a way that they need not form their animal form after death in the Kamaloka. Those who develop the characteristics of a cat appear as cats in the Kamaloka. That one also appears in the Kamaloka as a human being is the meaning of the precepts of the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. The true teachings the scholars have not understood, they have only an absurd idea of them.|324a|40f}}


== Literature ==
== Literature ==

Revision as of 10:08, 29 December 2021

Six realms of existence are commonly distinguished in Buddhism. In them, the "rebirth" of all animate beings takes place according to their self-inflicted karma.

The transmigration of the soul through the six realms

It should be noted that rebirth in the six realms of existence is not necessarily a matter of incarnations in the flesh. Rather, according to the Buddhist doctrine of transmigration or metempsychosis, the karmic path of the soul is traced through the various realms of the soul world, especially those that are passed through in the life between death and new birth. There are pictorial representations of these realms in all Buddhist traditions. They are most frequently encountered in the wheel of life of Tibetan Buddhism.

According to the Buddhist doctrine of Anatta (Pali; Sanskrit: अनात्मन् Anātman), the non-existence of a permanent and unchanging core of the soul, the I, which is considered illusory, is not taken into account. The "birth" or "rebirth" meant here must therefore not be misunderstood in the sense of the modern occidental doctrine of reincarnation. There is no mention of the I incarnating in a fleshly body. The sensual-physical event has little weight here compared to the purely soul-spiritual consideration.

„First it is said that transmigration and reincarnation, repeated lives on earth, are the same thing. Transmigration of souls is understood as if the souls of human beings migrated into different animals after death. Such nonsense has never been suggested by me in any way. The repeated earth lives mean something quite different. They are that which follows precisely from spiritual-scientific documents, just as the theory of evolution in the physical world follows from physical bases of research.“ (Lit.:GA 255b, p. 117)

The most precious birth is considered to be the birth in the human kingdom, since liberation from the sorrowful cycle of existence of samsara, the cycle of rebirths, is best possible there. Only here is it actually a real incarnation in a physical body. After death, the soul of the human being can indeed temporarily take on an animal-like form when passing through the Kamaloka or appear in the realm of the hungry spirits or even in hell, as Dante, for example, so drastically describes in his "Divine Comedy" in the cantos of the Inferno. But the I never appears in an earthly animal form.

„In the astral world, the urges and passions take on animal forms. As long as the human being is embodied in the physical body, his astral body takes somewhat the form of this physical body. But when the outer body is gone, then the urges, desires and passions, as they are in their animal [nature], come to the fore in their own form, to break through. Thus man in the astral world is an image of his drives and passions.

Because these astral beings can make use of other bodies, it is therefore dangerous to let mediums come into a trance unless a clairvoyant is present who can avert evil.

The lion is a plastic expression of certain passions in the physical world, the tiger is an expression of other passions, the cat again of others. It is interesting to see how each animal is the plastic expression of a passion, of a drive.

So in the astral, in the kamaloka, man is approximately similar [to animal nature] through his passions. Hence the misunderstanding that has been given to the Egyptian and Indian priests and wisdom teachers concerning the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. You should live in such a way that you are not embodied in the animal, says this teaching. But this teaching never speaks of the physical life, but of the higher life, and what it wanted was nothing else than to induce people on earth to live in such a way that they need not form their animal form after death in the Kamaloka. Those who develop the characteristics of a cat appear as cats in the Kamaloka. That one also appears in the Kamaloka as a human being is the meaning of the precepts of the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. The true teachings the scholars have not understood, they have only an absurd idea of them.“ (Lit.:GA 324a, p. 40f)

Literature
References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated.
Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com.
Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books
A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works
Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English.
Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold
steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA)
Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.

References

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