I believe in reincarnation. When I was 30 years old, I read about the Dalai Lama’s biography and was surprised to learn that he had gone through fourteen cycles of reincarnations and that he had amassed his wisdom and experience life after life. Reincarnation is a process. When a person dies, the soul can leave his body to enter a new one. This new life can be that of a human being, an animal, a ghost, or a deity. If I lead a miserable life and behave badly in my current life, my next life may well be miserable. If I am not self-absorbed and share my wealth to help others, I may enjoy a pleasant life when I turn to my next life.
The concept of reincarnation influences me to see this life in a different light. If I am going to live many lives, why not try to make meaningful goals every time? I am not afraid to face death and am willing to meet anything with a positive attitude. In this life, I decided to pursue the goal of intellectual perfection, but I also want to help people.
Since I acquired this belief later in life, people sometimes wonder about the motivation behind my goals. Once, a friend asked me “You are not young anymore, why are you still studying?” I said, “Because I can reincarnate unlimited number of times, the idea makes me feel as if I am still young. I can change this life and create my next life.” My friend also asked me “How can you remember your last life?” I said, “Memory of past lives is still in my subconscious, and it will lead me to own a great wisdom to continue helping people.”
Death no longer perplexes me. I had worked in a hospital and I saw that many patients suffer from serious diseases ever day. I was horribly upset over their illnesses and was completely weighed down by the stress of death. Three month later, I quit my job. I was still uncomfortable about it, but eventually I made my peace with the idea of death. The patients put down all their pain before they reincarnate. I know that they are in no pain in their next life, and therefore I am no longer afraid of death.
The subsequent 30 years of my life, I cherish my friends and family more because they had already helped me or my best love in the past. Therefore, I can be with them again in this generation. Besides, when I meet a new friend, I believe that I will meet him or her in the following life. Now, I should return my love to them or help them, and I cannot hide anything from myself.
According to Buddhist ideology, if a person wants to discontinue the cycle of reincarnation, he has to follow moral teachings without greed, hate, and deceit, also get rid of ignorance and desire. First of all, I am trying to correct my behavior on a daily basis and trying to dedicate my love and my ability to construct happiness in the world. In my ultimate destination, I hope to become a compassionate deity to protect all things in the Universe.