Thailand's King Rama IX is the world's richest monarch with a fortune of approximately $35 billion dollars. He is also probably the most popular monarch on earth (among his subjects).
Most Thais are Buddhists, and they believe that your station in life is based on how you were in a previous life. Those who live a wicked life might come back as a beggar, or even an animal of some sort. Those who are good will come back in a better position. If that is to be believed, King Rama IX led exemplary previous lives.
In addition to reincarnation, Buddhist do believe in a heaven and hell. The concepts are somewhat different than in Christianity. Of course heaven is bliss and hell great suffering, but in Buddhism, one does not end up in one or the other. They recognize that we are both good and bad. Each person would spend some time in heaven for the good they did, and time in hell for their sins. So even someone who lived a very good life would spend some time in hell, albeit they would have earned a much shorter stay than someone like me. After you do your time in heaven and hell, you return again to the earth, at least until you reach enlightenment.
I like the accountability for your sins, even if you ultimately are a good person. Additionally, I like the recognition that even people who are by and large bad usually do something good.
No comments:
Post a Comment