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Thank you for sharing this, I watched it today. I think it is really interesting, and they make a lot of good points. I too share their point on looking only at the early texts. (The Pali Canon). A few points that I found interesting, in that I thought it was a bit odd. They made a really good point that the Buddha did not like extremes. Pure Atheism is an extreme. (And I say that as an Agnostic Atheist). The Buddha did talk, in the early texts, about Kamma, Rebirth, and different extra sensory powers you get via meditation. Those were not put in by Tibetans, Zen, etc... He also spoke about "gods"(or devas) that were also stuck in Samsara. (They were from his point of view, begins with a higher sense of consciousness who were once living beings.) The other thing is that in (Nepal)/India Kamma, rebirth, etc, were not the "traditional" point of view. They had a huge mix of different philosophies. For Instance the teachers that were known by the Buddha and society of the time: Pūraṇa Kassapa: Amoralism: denies any reward or punishment for either good or bad deeds. Makkhali Gosāla (Ajivika): Fatalism: we are powerless; suffering is pre-destined. Ajita Kesakambalī: Materialism: with death, all is annihilated. Pakudha Kaccāyana: Sassatavada (Eternalism): Matter, pleasure, pain and the soul are eternal and do not interact. Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta (Jainism): Restraint: be endowed with, cleansed by and suffused with the avoidance of all evil. Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta: Agnosticism: "I don't think so. I don't think in that way or otherwise. I don't think not or not not." Suspension of judgement. Source: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html The Buddha did not teach Eternalism, or Materialism, but something in between. (As both are extremes). Rebirth is different from reincarnation, for instance; Rebirth is akin to a candle lighting another candle; passing the "grasping fire" to another "life". Reincarnation is akin to moving water from one glass to another. Where the glass is the body, and the water is the "soul". The Buddha himself seemed to me, was pretty much an Non-theistic Agnostic when it comes to "god". Now, I do not think what the people in the video are saying is "invalid", I just think it is painted with their own pre-existing worldview(Atheism/Materialism). There is nothing wrong with that, it makes living interesting, and the nice thing with Buddhism is that it can adapt that way. My own "version" of Buddhism is likewise painted with "agnosticism", which is tempered with faith, and wisdom(the Buddhist versions of these words). Who is "right"? I think that is irrelevant. If their ideas works for them, makes them enlightened, happy, free from suffering, etc, it should not matter. Everyone is on their own path; so ultimately, as long as people are striving to better themselves I think "how" is not as important as if it's working for them personally.

I don't know what happens after you die, but there are some interesting ideas, and some interested studies done in relation to NDE's, OBE's, rebirth, etc... Probably the most "sound" study is this one: Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation: Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged http://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Cases-Suggestive-Reincarnation-Enlarged/dp/0813908728 Ultimately it is a matter of faith. Personally I am "agnostic" on these topics... they could be "true" but there is no clear cut evidence that would pass the purely "materialistic" sceptic test.

Having been seriously depressed for a bunch of years, I can relate to that side of things. I remember the day I decided to not take a painful path to enlightnement (or whatever it is), and decided instead to work everyday to unearth ick bits, rethink them into harmony, and let them go. Here's what worked for me to get to key thoughts that released attachments rather quickly. I used some ancient, mostly not-used advice. I began to look at the meanings of words that troubled me. For me, those included, especially, 'worth', 'me', and 'Baltimore', and also, especially, 'sexuality', 'important', and 'necessary'. I would write down the words and their societal meanings and write out flaws in those meanings. I looked from as many angles as possible, until the word--at least on that day--had much less pain associated with it for me. I removed or syphoned-out the pain within meanings of words like 'should'. Or whatever got in the way of freedom-in-joy, serenity, joy, energy, excitement, whatever. I also gave myself permission to do it, well, cheerfully! Even and especially when, I sure didn't feel cheerful. If it helped, I completely skipped thinking about myself and thought about the words that harmed me (interfered with emotions I loved, blocked motivation, whatever). Hope that helps. To be more clear, say I decided that 'worth' hurt me, and it did, hugely. I'd look at worth--even in a dictionary--to see its assumptions, and see the logic of the idea of worth, maybe consider its history, such as when ancient or more recent kings belittled others as a way to puff themselves up and to control populations. I did a whole load of writing about the screwy bits in meanings of words. I'd ask questions. Is 'worth' worth it? No, the meaning of worth was definitely not worth it. Once I 'got' this, I was off to the races improving (for myself on my terms) the meaning of worth. By looking at the keywords of my pain in this, that, and the other way, I saw pain-words (like 'young') increasingly as impractical, and of course, as mind-bits and not-me. Word-viruses. I don't need their infections. I've had a good deal of trouble with 'young' (Not that I'm past it now!!!!!) But here's what I do: I disprove the meaning in no uncertain terms. Repeatedly and reminding myself that 'young' is not 'me', so I can have fun disproving the very concept. Young, how? Do I believe in potential reincarnation? Ok, then maybe young is relative, and maybe I'm fairly old (or not) I don't know. Suddenly, I don't know if I've ever been young in this life. Do I think of myself as young, but almost not young? What about compared to the age of a rock--or, well what about the mountains? Then I might try to think through some way of imagining the age of something ten thousand years old, then older, and so forth, realizing that the youngest mountains are really old compared to me. If that line of disproof didn't work, I'd use another. For instance, this: When I was a kid I feared older kids sometimes. Or adults. Am I now living in some remnant of that fear? Fear of older people traslated into fear of oldness? I'd do this sort of playful analysis with seriousness of intent, with feeling, connected to feeling, and not all-in-my-head. I prioritized love, including love of how-I-want-to-feel. On a relevant note, I am stunned by your insight. Thanks again so much.

@Galyna Sorry, if my explanation wasn't clear and of course you really don't need to believe me or trust me here. I just want you to think about it in curiosity like what the hell does that mean. (That doesn't even mean you have to) In most of us mind Past exists. But if we look at it, it doesn't. Past is equal to as Death or none existence. Like it pops up and disappears. That's the past I meant. Your thoughts, they are never the same. Every time you think about the past, that's a new thought. Your thinking is different from actual experience and those thoughts are different from each other. Can you find the past? NO! By looking into past, all you will have is thought. Not the actual one. I used to mention about noticing thoughts and actions. Because........ I want you to see your thoughts disappearing. Your feelings, senses, they all disappear. You will see NOTHING left. Cause and effect I meant here is not related to consciousness or survival instinct or maybe but you don't need to think about them. It is very simple. Ex: to have a sense of hearing, sound frequency must hit your ear drums. The sound frequency must hit strong enough to hear and your eardrums must be working properly. The cause of sound is because two objects hit each other. The sound pops up as an effect. The cause of hearing sense is because eardrums and sound frequency waves hit each other. The hearing sense comes up as an effect. That was all I meant. So when you hear a sound, that sense disappears right away. All you will left with is thought of that sense. We call that "PAST." It already past means, it is gone. You will fully understand it in actual experience. So to understand, you must notice as feelings and senses comes up naturally and notice when it disappear with 'Do nothing' technique. Leo called it do nothing because he didn't want you to put the word "I" creating those thoughts or feelings. This understanding reincarnation thing is totally relating to Enlightenment. Before you are enlightened, everything you are seeing is reality. See it as they come up naturally and disappear naturally. Please don't over think about higher-self or lower-self or consciousness or unconsciousness or ego or etc.... You taking my words or believing it or trusting me, nothing matter. You will think just the way you will.

@Khin Dear Khin, First of all, I have already read similar ideas to yours in another sources of information. Do I have to agree with it? Not necessarily. After pondering and reading about cause&effect theme, I came to a conclusion that it is an element of human psyche. It is a survival mechanism of our consciousness. Would we survive in chaos? No. We have to live in illusion of predetermined order, so deception with, so called, past/present/future could exist in the first place. Past exists because everything that happened are disappearing away. Time never stop, means things never stop changing. (Changing = Reincarnation) = (Death & birth). Karma = Action = Reaction. Past exists only in your current thoughts, as well as future does. Not need to believe here, try to find past on your own? What is it? A place? An object? A point of reference? Thank you.

@Galyna Please read, reread and think carefully. If you want to understand reincarnation, you must know the law of nature which is CAUSE & EFFECT. For example, The smell of a roasted chicken or whatever you like comes into you nose. Suddenly, the smelling sense pops up. You didn't aware of when it comes up. Because of that, it naturally produce (React) generation thought, such as "what is that smell?" and "yummy" and "I want it" or etc... Say all of those thoughts came up. Are they the same? Do you think the first sense of "smelling" and the thought "What is that smell?" are the same? And are they the same with the thought "I want it"? With awareness, you will be able to see that they are not. As soon as first thought is gone, the second thought comes up. And as soon as the second gone, the third comes up. No two thoughts come up at the same time within your awareness. That's how they are happening. That's reincarnation. You are reincarnating every minute and second. Not only when you body's buried under ground. The first thought is always supporting the second thought. Ex: a cell produced daughter cell. First cell is not second cell and second is not first. But they are similar. However, the very first cell and the one-hundredth cell may not be as similar as the first and second. It might be changed depending on external surroundings. It goes the same with your thoughts. The first thought is very similar to the second thought but they are not the same. Actually, whatever that is happening in the nature is happening to you. Both physically and mentally. It just that people don't aware of it. Another thing is most people think they are something special. So they think they have a little different functions. Many think their body and mind is just so unique and there must be someone unique and special who created it. Well, it is just funny after all. Remember? we are part of nature. What is time anyway? If you don't exist, will you die? Or have a past life? If there is no present, will there be the past or future? Present exists because things keep existing. Past exists because everything that happened are disappearing away. Time never stop, means things never stop changing. (Changing = Reincarnation) = (Death & birth). Karma = Action = Reaction.

@Galyna on your second point .. if you look at what I said .. "my point of view on the whole reincarnation thing is that there are only two states of being. One were we are now (in form) and the other is where we came from and where we are going (as pure awareness). But we are always part of what IS and therefore always One. Its just that in Form we "seem to be" separate." ...as you can see I agree with you: "But we are always part of what IS and therefore always One"

This is all way past time and space. If reincarnation 'does' exist, time and space would be a huge part of what is returned to. Look at the picture that Leo presented yesterday. The see'er should be on the outside, looking in, at time and space.

@werlight Thank you for your feedback, however, movement can not exist separately from time: in order for movement to happen, it has to have point a and point b, space per se. Albert Einstein called it space-time, they go in bundle and are not separable. My point of view on the whole reincarnation thing is that there are only two states of being. - Well, Unity by default, is a set of everything. When we are pure awareness we can either stay in pure awareness or take form again.- Again, you are assuming that there is time and choice for someone to make. We decide. What do you mean "we"?

@Galyna I agree with you. Time does not exist. It is only an ilusion created by movement. But movement does exist and movement is what creates change (like growing old and stuff). My point of view on the whole reincarnation thing is that there are only two states of being. One were we are now (in form) and the other is where we came from and where we are going (as pure awareness). But we are always part of what IS and therefore always One. Its just that in Form we "seem to be" separate. When we are pure awareness we can either stay in pure awarness or take form again. It really up to us. We decide. As I mentioned before, we dont come here out of need or to learn something. We are complete and we are One. We dont need anything. The only reason we come back is to give ourselves the gift of realization of ( remembering ) who we ARE. The only thing that goes and the only thing that returns is who we are in essence. Pure awareness. Nothing else.

Guys, I have a question for you.... How is it possible for reincarnation to happen if time is only illusion. For reincarnation to happen it should be past and future. There is no past, present and future, time is illusion, look at it from this perspective now. what do you see? @AngeArthur @Khin @cetus56 @werlight

I'm not sure what to believe about reincarnation. Who really knows. One the one hand, maybe consciousness returns to it's original source and just recycles back as pure consciousness into some other life form. There is a lot out there to this universe for consciousness to occupy. Or maybe consciousness is just a product of existence and when the body dies, consciousness is finished also and it all ends there. But on the other hand, maybe there is an essence or spirit self or soul, or divine self that returns to the manifest realm to do more work. Some believe that enlightened teachers are very old souls that have reincarnated many times before. When we pass on could that divine self enter into a higher realm, and from there decide to either move into infinite bliss and vanish, or return to existence to do more work? Why do I have a feeling if that is the case, my divinity would choose to return to this raw existence instead of moving into the infinite bliss of nothingness? I'm experiencing something very deeply at this very moment, something that I know extends much farther than this existence, divinity. Tears are suddenly pouring from my eyes for all of humanity. I love you all

@AngeArthur You do not go anywhere. You will let everything go... As long as you are holding on, you will move on. When you let go, you have nothing to hold on and you will finally stop move on. Reincarnation is not what everyone thinks. It's very simple so everyone overlooked it. It is happening every minute and every second.

That's interesting! The reason I asked about the void was, Once when I was meditating I experienced pure being. There was just a silent essence of myself. Just floating in infinite silence. Very peacefully. Blissfully. I had a whisper of a thought to totally let go and merge into that blissful silence. Than I disappeared into nothingness. I became non-existent. I only realized that after I returned to that state of pure being and silent bliss. After that experience happened I thought to myself, becoming the void is nothing to be afraid of because you don't exist when it happens. When I referred to other perceptions, I was eluding to perceiving higher realms. I wonder if those higher realms surround us always and we are actually occupying then now. And during sleep we sometimes directly access them. Also when we pass on we go back into the higher realm. From there we chose (as pure being) to come back again to the manifest realm (reincarnation) to work on ourselves and to help others in their journey. It's all or none, so to speak. Have we all decided to be here by choice? Do we all know in our hearts what we truly are, even though we may not be obvious from this point of view (the manifest realm). But everyone here is trying to remember what we truly are. Something bigger is driving all of us on this search. Who knows? Whatever it is it's way beyond the thinking mind.

Social Fear, just walking up and talk to strangers, mainly because no body ever talk to each other and most people seam so hostile toward strangers, more than that I want to be able to just chat girls up Just be sure not to pretend to overcome stuff using excuses That said I believe in reincarnation as well even if I consciously loose all my memories. Can't wait until I reach the sequel So how are you at just acting like a clown in public all alone or going up to some stranger and talk about the most personal stuff, or telling everyone close to you knowing how they might judge you, there's something to face

Reincarnation. I kinda think of life as a video game. When you die you know you're going to re spawn. Something to note is when you re spawn instantly and there is no consequences like on an online first person shooter think of how it doesn't really mean anything. Yet when you play an adventure game and you're on you're last life and die after investing a lot of time and effort you're emotions go haywire! The difference is the attachments, let go of attachments in life and you will find peace.

I have a question. Why people are trying to "realize how"/"find a way" to become enlightened or sometimes they even "come up" with their own "to do list" which they believe is going to get them to enlightenment, when there is already a model given by Buddha, which is 100% working? Don't take me wrong, I'm not trying to push Buddhism on anybody. We don't have to believe all the mystical stuff like reincarnation and stories about hell/heaven, but we could use the steps Buddhism gives. For example, many people after watching Leo's or someone else's videos start meditating and stuff. What Buddha said was that deep meditation is pointless unless you developed goodwill towards others and have right behaviours (body, speech, mind), which actually makes sense if you take a good look at it. So why so many modern guru omit such important points? Are they important? Is there a shortcut to enlightenment which I'm not aware of?

@Key Elements LOL! Yeah, Thingen is a new year festival. In Thai and Burma, the whole country celebrate for 7-10 days. The purpose is (at least used to be) to wash all our sins, whatever we did wrong to our elders by washing their feet, hair, give our respects, and ask their forgiveness. Then elders will give you money, food and stuff like that. It's kind of like Chinese new year but celebrate differently. From what I know Karma does play role in enlightenment. For enlightened people there is no Karma anymore. But because you are not enlightened yet, karma is still there for you. Karma means actions. Where do actions come from? From your mind. For example, a person had done many awful things and decided to do enlightenment work. So he starts to meditate, research and knows what he did wrong. When he does enlightenment work, he must admit right when it's right and wrong when it's wrong because you are searching for truth. Now he knows he was wrong. The regret will hold that person from enlightenment. If it was small mistake he can forget it by thinking, 'well, only present moment exists.' But if it was huge mistake, you will have to apologize or let it out to someone and admit he was wrong. Then accept the consequence right then and there. @werlight was right too. Only actions you remember will effect you though! When someone says "the emotions just stays there," most people might think emotions are put in some container or pile up in somewhere in the brain. Actually our mind or thought doesn't work that way. In Buddhists, all emotions, thoughts, senses, feeling and everything that has to do with mind are called "Nan" (I'll just say thoughts). Thoughts are dying (disappear) every minute and second. But every after one thought is dead another thought appears right away depending on the previous. Those two thoughts are identical but first is not second and second is not first thought. For example, I am not my mother, my father or my great grandparents but I contain their DNA and stuff so I'm very similar to them but not exactly like them. Thoughts works but they appear only one at a time in awareness. They don't appear at the same time. The second thought is very similar to first one and therefore the illusion of permanence (ego) exists. So all the knowledge and thoughts you had when you were young are not there anymore. Only new thought which is generated from old thoughts exists now. Some thoughts or feelings (Nans) are stronger depending on how strong a thought (in experience) was. So the old unforgettable memories are strong generation thoughts which produced from old strong thoughts. Thoughts change depending on experiences. It's not like real actual experience stays in brain. If you know how these thoughts or senses works, you will know what reincarnation is. Reincarnation is not a soul get out of the body and possess another one. When it comes to enlightenment, Buddha said there are two types of people. One is who able to understand enlightenment and another is not doesn't matter how hard someone explain, he will never understand enlightenment. I tried as much as I could please ask me if you didn't understand what I wrote.

I consider myself as 100% Theravada Buddhist. But... I do not have faith in Buddhism because my first teacher who is a Buddhist monk in Burma said that I don't have to believe in Buddha. He also said as soon as I find his teachings wrong, I can leave the temple right away. He said that when I entered the temple to become a pre-monk (monks under 20 are consider pre-monks in Theravada).The other helpful thing about Theravada Buddhism is they maintained all of Buddha's teaching scriptures (originals). So when I started meditating, I can always go back and check my errors in scriptures. They all were written in Pali language. They explain how one's mind works when it goes towards enlightenment (Basically with curiosity). Explained all the distractions one would face in enlightenment path. Explained fake enlightenment experiences (There are 10 in basic). Explained many ways to enlightenment for many people. Doing enlightenment work is called Vipassana (it means looking carefully) and to gain power (stillness) of mind is called Samata in Theravada. Enlightenment work can be done in any position, anywhere, anytime but not Samata. Another thing is all that reincarnation, heaven, and hell are presented differently in Buddha's teachings (at least what I read were). Being just a Buddhist pre-monk, there were many rules but all those rules were explained why one should follow them. So being a Buddhist is like walking a guided path. It's like I was already told that there is a diamond at the end of the road but I will see a silver ring after ten steps, will see gold after twenty steps, cross muddy river in thirty steps etc.... I find Buddha's teachings very true after walking into his path or my teacher's path. LOL! I am a Buddhist. I love Buddha for teaching this most valuable path but I'm not religious person. I don't consider Buddhism as religion. I don't know if Leo had ever researched real Buddha's scriptures but doesn't matter. Leo might not claim himself as a Buddhist but it's funny that he is very much like my first teacher who is a Buddhist monk. He doesn't talk much but it was very straight forward when he talks. Leo should meet with him though. They will become very good friends.

@Sarah_Flagg Thats nice I was wondering how reincarnation corresponded with mediums.

@Sarah_Flagg Wow Sarah, a medium huh? I'd really like to know more about that. I've been pretty far out there but still, as far as I can understand, connection with the dead would be more in the sense of a thought form or as the Tibetan Buddhists call it "Tulpa". Is that not just a residual thought? A sort of intuitive thinking based on available information? Sorry, I digress, I'd like to know more about this & any potential validation of mediums. Back on the topic of reincarnation. In theory - whilst our physical bodies can be destroyed, science says that energy is "immortal". If we are fundamentally energy, then yes, we continue to exist somewhere in some form. If all is one & we are none, then existence is an ever changing deathless sculpture of interweaving order from chaos (perhaps like an ocean of fractals - ok less theory - more directness). Having seen my "residual self image" almost as realistically as I can look down upon my body & see it now in a lucid dream then maintained the same "frame of perception" but in another body & supposedly other dimension (so I waas told) in that astral experience, I like to think that yes, perhaps that residual self image can travel on past the body. I know it can in the "realm of dreams". You hear of great Buddhist masters & Yogi's deciding when to go & leaving their bodies "just like that" supposedly having died of cardiac arrest. The stories of people's outer body experiences all link up very nicely to perhaps add some weight to the notion that some perception of "spirit", energy or consciousness - whatever - can travel beyond. In a universe full of polarity, I like to think that in life there is death so in death one might reasonably theorise there could be life! But, from the direct experience of no self - It seems that metaphor for the unborn - or deathless - that we die alive when the ego is trancended & are reborn when we return to it through attachment. That these could be past lives. From a perspective of oneness, it seems apparent that there is life in death either way because we are every part of this experience. One person is part of all life. When that person dies, all life - that both sort of "is & is not" that person still continues... although that raises the question of the validity of objectivity from our subjective experience.

I am a medium and connect people to their passed loved ones on a daily basis, so I believe in some sort of reincarnation, but don't really believe in the teachings of Buddhist view on the timing. If I remember right they believe that you come back after 7 days on the other side. I've connected to spirit who has been on the other side for decades.

@Gnosis Didn't the Buddha talk about his past lives? He was said to be able to use magic but despised it.(Probably from all that meditating). Of course Reincarnation isn't the main point about Buddhism but I just don't know how to make sense of it. For distinguishing purposes I mean't Reincarnation as in literal lives. Rebirth is the law I think you're talking about when you are never the exact same person a second ago.

In my view, the Buddhist and/or Hindu belief of Rebirth and/or Reincarnation is more of a perspective than a religious belief. As a matter of fact, it does not change anything in actuality. The teaching of reincarnation can be interpreted in a whole range of ways, and you'll see that none of these affect the practice in a direct way, though all of these are debate-bly valid and in-valid. Let me elaborate by giving a few different perspectives on the teaching of past-lives, as the teaching does not have to be interpreted in a literal sense (though it can be). Past-lives can be interpreted as just another cyclical metaphor (that you see in so many different cultures around the world). For instance, you in each moment or perhaps you in each day. As you "die" when you go to sleep and are "born" again when you awake. Or you may interpret past-lives in a literal sense, in that the experience that you identify yourself with (some call it the I AM experience) is "dying" and being "reborn" again as your body dies (the common literal interpretation of past-lives). Or you may interpret past-lives in another literal way with a little more flavor, for instance some would say that other people, animals and things are equally your past-lives, and that is no more and no less valid that any of the previous interpretations. Or even to take that interpretation further added with a little modern physics (the many worlds interpretation of Quantum Physics), we can interpret past-lives as perhaps "you" in other parallel universes, or even every particle in existence across all parallel universes. So there you go, that's a bunch of different ways to interpret the teaching of past-lives. But in fact, none of these are actually relevant to you and your path. To say "you only live once" would be just another perspective of viewing the same "phenomenon" (for lack of a better word), that is the I AM experience. Because "you" as who you believe you are and this particular experience, is only occurring now. And in that sense, "you" only live once. Which is why, regardless of your belief or disbelief in the teaching of past-lives, the matter of the fact remains unchanged. In my opinion, the teaching of past-lives is more of a motivation to pursue Enlightenment than an excuse to excuse it. I hope this helped.

I just wanted to know who knows about Tom Campbell's Theory of Everything. For those who know about it what are you thoughts on his theory? I'm curious to know what Leo thinks about it. Tom Campbell is a nuclear physicist that teamed up with Bob Monroe, the author of "Journeys out of the Body" to study consciousness. Through out-of-body experiences performed over many years, he came up with his own theory of consciousness. Put it really simply, he argues that we are living in a virtual reality created by consciousness to allow itself to grow. He pretends that his theory explains everything from reincarnation to quantum physics. If you are interested in learning more about it, this two-hour long video from one of his workshop will give you a good overview of Tom Campbell's theory.