Expert: Justin Choo - 3/14/2008

Question
Studying cosmology I am interested in scientific concepts but in religious ones as well. I understood, that in Buddhism other planets with biological life forms are existing, also as human life form-beings similar to us or to animals. I understood, that in Buddhism evolution is a process ocurring in cycles: for example on our own planet life evolved during billions of years and one day will be destroyed to come back in another universe. And the are billions of suns and planets, cold or hot, completely alone, without any life, without any observer, never seen.
First question:
Do you believe that extraterrestrians had influence on human
society, for example building the pyramids?
Second: what is the meaning of all the other planets without life: for example neptun and saturn, or mars: are they just for fun moving around the sun?
Last: the concept of reincarnation: how can a being reincarnate billions of time as a huma being on planet earth, if this life form exists on this planet only for some
million years?
I hope that there are not to much questions! Thank you very much! Markus

Answer
Hi Markus,

Thank you for visiting here.  You have already had a good knowledge of the Buddha's revelation of the infinite cosmos.  If you take a step further, all your questions would have been answered by you yourself.  

First question:
Do you believe that extraterrestrians had influenced on human
society, for example building the pyramids?
I really don't know. I keep an open-mind.


Second: what is the meaning of all the other planets without life: for example neptun and saturn, or mars: are they just for fun moving around the sun?
The Buddha referred it as a natural phenomenon.  


Last: the concept of reincarnation: how can a being reincarnate billions of time as a human being on planet earth, if this life form exists on this planet only for some million years?

As you already knew; there are billions of world systems out there.  There are also possibly billions of planets that sustain life.  This planet Earth is not the only one that sustain life.  In Buddhist interpretation, life or existence can even be in different planes of existence.  Here we are talking about multi-dimensional existences which we are unable to perceive, let alone see or understand.  Rebirth can take place in different forms.

You ask very interesting questions.  Please come back if you need further clarifications.

Smile from justinchoo :-)