❓QUESTION:
In Tibetan Buddhism, it's believed that some highly realized masters can consciously choose their next rebirth. After such a teacher's death, their disciples search for the child in whom the master has reincarnated. While all teachings describe reincarnation as one life succeeding another, you state that all lives occur simultaneously. My mind doesn't quite grasp the phenomenon of reincarnation, so could you guide my thoughts?
❗️LEE'S ANSWER:
For the mind:
Imagine a massive carousel, say, with 100 seats, spinning around a central axis. The axis itself orchestrates the rotation but remains stationary. The seats on the carousel move and clearly follow one after another. After the 50th seat comes the 51st, then the 52nd, and so forth.
Thus, time is movement through cycles (or spirals) of a circle, with all events occurring "Here" (around the axis). Being born in, say, the 19th century signifies a frequency resonance with that era. Subsequently, you might resonate with the 20th and 21st centuries, generating experiences for their inhabitants through your sequential reincarnation.
However, as the Soul—the axis—all your incarnations are observed simultaneously, as if swirling around you. This swirling signifies the process's continuity, not stasis. In other words, events unfold in physical life and possess a dynamic of change.
At this point, the linear carousel example becomes less appropriate because changes are multi-dimensional, not merely creating circular motion. Here, movement can be understood as the "carousel experience" accumulated throughout one's existence. For the Soul, this is the feeling of fulfillment derived from Self-knowledge.
Lamas in Tibet can experience sequential incarnation if it was a decision made at the Soul level. However, not all lamas truly did so; more often, other souls adopted the "frequency settings of a predecessor" to incarnate with them. The reason for this isn't a clever deception but rather that the Soul often finds earthly linearity tedious, whereas many are eager to "take up the baton."
