if you live your human life as a terrible person, then that would be a great shame because you were endowed a chance to more directly change your soul’s karma but you absconded it.
therefore, such souls are given a new chance on the wheel. it’s hard to fuck up being a fly and inconsequential if you die, for example. it’s not exactly a big cosmic timeout to think about what you’ve done, and more is the universe throwing you a bone, saying “hey, you fucked up, i get it. try something more your size for a change.”
anyway i’m not a buddhist but afaik this is generally correct for most of the major branches of it.
I thought reincarnating to a “lesser” life form is punishment.
it’s not a punishment.
if you live your human life as a terrible person, then that would be a great shame because you were endowed a chance to more directly change your soul’s karma but you absconded it.
therefore, such souls are given a new chance on the wheel. it’s hard to fuck up being a fly and inconsequential if you die, for example. it’s not exactly a big cosmic timeout to think about what you’ve done, and more is the universe throwing you a bone, saying “hey, you fucked up, i get it. try something more your size for a change.”
anyway i’m not a buddhist but afaik this is generally correct for most of the major branches of it.