Nexion said:

This seems to go against the idea of reincarnation. 'If there is no fruit and the ripening of deeds ill/well done'. To me that basically translates that there are no 'eternal' consequences for your actions. But, correct me if I'm wrong, doesn't reincarnation deal with trying to reach an ultimate state of bliss through multiple lives? And with each life well-lived you move 'up the ranks' and with ill-lived lives you are 'demoted'.

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Nexion said:

So let me ask you this, do you agree with this?

Do you believe that everything is how it should be, and nothing more? You are 'perfect' and any imperfections you may have are only imperfections in your perception of yourself?

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myriadeyes said:

Nexion said:

So let me ask you this, do you agree with this?

Do you believe that everything is how it should be, and nothing more? You are 'perfect' and any imperfections you may have are only imperfections in your perception of yourself?

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No. You've contradicted yourself in the question here. If there are imperfections in your perception of yourself, which would lead you to believe you are an imperfect being, then you are already thus rendered imperfect by your flawed perception.

Whether or not you are perfect no longer matters, because you don't even have a perfect perception to establish a conclusion.

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Nexion said:

Do you believe there is a purpose to this experience?

And don't say it is what it is, or at least don't use those words.

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myriadeyes said:

Yep I did 

I guess I just find it hard to believe that we create our own meaning. That's never really resonated well with me.

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Icelander said:

"But if there is no other world and there is no fruit and ripening of actions well done or ill done, then here and now in this life I shall be free from hostility, affliction, and anxiety, and I shall live happily. This is the second comfort acquired." -The Buddha
What is this saying?
How does this relate to the Buddhist faith?
How does this relate to the concept of reincarnation and karma?

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jonathanseagull said:

If you aren't a Buddhist literalist (much like Christian literalists), you don't believe the cosmology to be real, but you understand it as an allegory for the mental life of a human. 

The fruit (actions which contain karmic seeds, or samskaras), and the ripening of actions (the actions you do because of these subconscious impressions, which is to say seeds or samskaras) no longer exist when you learn to stop reacting.  When you are withdrawn from your senses and no longer have to react to every sensory input, then your mind no longer gets hung up on past events, and is free to act without reference to emotions and habitual patterns established by these seeds.  When you aren't reacting, then you choose your actions and emotions.  Of course you don't choose anxieties and anger, thus you have found the second comfort.

It relates to Buddhism because it is a psychology which helps one recognize suffering, the cause of it, and the cure of it.

It relates directly to karma, because that entire paragraph is describing what karma is and what it does.  Again, if not taken in some literal fashion, it talks about reincarnation in reference to moment-to-moment mind states (interestingly, if the Tibetan Book of the Dead is read like this, it makes much more sense).  Consciousness is not continuous, but appears so.  It is a rapid succession of mental formations.  You can obtain the ability to notice "breaks" in consciousness, albeit a seemingly contradictory assertion, but this relates to the idea of establishing yourself as the witness or observer of consciousness. 

So you get punched in the face.  That creates a mental impression.  Days go by, and you see the person who punched you in the face.  That karmic seed ripens and fruits as you get angry and descend into a hell realm.  You then act on your emotion and punch the person in the face, which reinforces and creates new seeds for you and that person, and the chain of karma continues.

Reincarnation refers to the redirection of mind-states from moment to moment, in each discontinuous mind-moment.  The karma of the previous mind moment affects the possible realm of rebirth in the next mind moment. 

The Buddhist cosmology is a map of the mind.  That is how I see it, anyways.

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