Do we reincarnate in our descendants?

[The Ripper]

I'm pretty sure this is an ancient Finnish folk belief as well, especially (deceased) grandparents were often seen to reincarnate in grandchildren.

[Money Shot]

I believe.


Wheel keeps turning and you got to get it right.

[The Alchemist]

It would be really beautiful.....but i'm not able to believe in it.

[Balmung]

....But what if your family line dies out? dun dun dun!

[Nihtgenga]

In a way yes. Our dna does go down to our descendants.

Not only DNA but also culture and the values we pass on to them.

To me that is what reincarnation is. It is us passing on ourselves to those who come after us.

[arcticwolf]

Science aside. Actually there is a difference between reincarnation and rebirth. Reincarnation is a concept native to Hinduism and it assumes a soul hopping from one body to another, the soul being eternal. Rebirth is a Buddhist concept. Buddhism assumes all is impermanent, therefore no soul. Rebirth in another form is effects taking place because of underlying causes. To answer the question, in Hinduism that's a possibility. In Buddhism maybe, because what becomes is not exactly what was and not exactly entirely different. Draw your own conclusions. And if that's not complicated enough just let me know, I can do better.

[sean]

The idea that people can only reincarnate their souls on their descendants is wrong. That was a theory of Heinrich Himmler's, and he wanted to try to find some ancestral link between himself and Heinrich the Fowler.

I read in a cryonics book that people modified themselves in the beginning because as long as your body doesn't rot you can keep "living" in your astral-etheric body, and many people froze themselves for that purpose.

The idea is that you can move freely (like in a dream) just like any other dead person, but you have a place where you can go back and replenish your “life force” and not dissolve back into the mind of “God”.

There are also other ways. Asian ancestor altars where they give offerings to them is one, but you are limited by the lifespan of your descendants and them actually putting out offerings for you.

As your spirit racks up lifetimes of experience you evolve into a higher being. The common thought is that eventually you progress beyond the human form. But no one knows if you become a pure spirit being or if you incarnate in a different reality to learn new lessons.

Some Hindu and Tibetan monk orders burned the bodies quickly after death and they were instructed to reincarnate right away. Then their disciples would look for their reincarnation (sometimes overseas) and take them back to the monastery so that they could continue their work of detachment and eventually escape reincarnation. But they just choose kids whose neural network and upbringing will be similar to their's.