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A comment on Ask HN: Is pre-birth the same state as post-life?.

Re:Ask HN: Is pre-birth the same state as post-life? by thesuperbigfrog on Friday March 04, 2022 @07:04AM (#30553542)
Different traditions have interesting viewpoints.

Several traditions have differing concepts about reincarnation or transmigration: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation

The basic concept is that the soul or spirit (what makes you who you are minus your physical body) is eternal (has always existed and will exist forever) and that you will continue to live various lives or forms of existence.

Some other traditions believe that God created souls / spirits before the earth / universe existed and that physical existence on earth is a step in God's plan for those souls / spirits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-existence

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: Is pre-birth the same state as post-life? by d82nsjk9 on Friday March 04, 2022 @08:50AM (#30554676)
> The basic concept is that the soul or spirit (what makes you who you are minus your physical body) is eternal (has always existed and will exist forever) and that you will continue to live various lives or forms of existence.

If they have always existed, wouldn't that imply that there is an upper limit to the number of souls and therefore the number of physical life forms?

From this one could further deduce, for example, if human population goes up then other animal population must go down?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: Is pre-birth the same state as post-life? by yur3i__ on Friday March 04, 2022 @10:04AM (#30555789)
Another way I have thought about this, coming from a religion that believes in "Oneness" and in Reincarnation (Sikhism), does reincarnation have to necessarily happen linearly in time? If not then there is no reason that there would have to be an upper limit on the number of beings as you could have multiple of the same soul existing at different points in time, satisfying both oneness and reincarnation.

(Not that this is something I necessarily believe, it is just something I thought about).

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: Is pre-birth the same state as post-life? by staticman2 on Friday March 04, 2022 @10:11AM (#30555886)
There's no population upper limit if the soul can travel throughout the timeline. I.e. when it's done being me it can then become a cave man next or vice versa.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: Is pre-birth the same state as post-life? by jrc2022 on Friday March 04, 2022 @09:48AM (#30555546)
only if earth is the only place with physical life forms
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