[Buddha-l] rebirth

[Franz Metcalf]

Gang,

Ron Leifer's description of various encounters with teachers on the 
subject of rebirth brings to mind one I had with Bernie Tetsugen 
Glassman Roshi (first heir to Maezumi Roshi). I was interviewing him 
for my dissertation on various subjects and he was talking about his 
work with the homeless and hungry and all of a sudden it dawned on me 
that these were "hungry ghosts," pretas. I was simultaneously abashed 
at my narrow-mindedness at never realizing this before, and grateful 
and fearful for this new perspective and the responsibility toward 
these beings it implied. I told him this and he responded as if it was 
a matter of course. Which it was.

Franz Metcalf