[buddha-l] Of twins and worms (was: This pope)

[jkirk]

> Actually, what's always intrigued me is the example of
> the earthworm (or flatworm, or what have you) which,
> when cut in half, manages to continue life as *two*
> worms.  How does someone with an orthodox view of
> rebirth reconcile this with the teachings?  Are we to
> think, for instance, that one mindstream has been
> present since conception, and another entered Worm
> Part II at the very moment the knife cut through the
> creature?  Are two mindstreams supposedly present?  Or
> is there still only the one, with Worm Part I being
> the "real" half of the worm, and the other worm merely
> operating on remote control?  Perhaps only the worm
> knows... and it (they) ain't telling..................
> Julia
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Speaking of worms reminds me of a natural phenomenon I observed a few
spring seasons in upstate NY, after spring had sprung. There was some kind
of
an evergreen shrub next to my house, and each year it got infested with some
kind of worms, plural. When I moved a branch, or waved my hand over these,
every single worm entity moved away from the stimulus as one, as a group,
like a wave passing over water. These worms did not behave as individual
entities,
as the theory of karma requires.  Perhaps in this species, genetically
endowed group karma is the only answer.
But it was a horrible sight because it was so uncanny.
We are so used to examining and thinking of even insect behavior as of
individual entities. Make a move at some roaches and they go away helter
skelter each on its own path, although they might wind up in the same hiding
place. Ants, too, unless they are the marching kind.
Joanna