If a Practitioner Is Already Enlightened, Is He Still Subjected to Reincarnation?

(This translation only includes content pertaining to IIP #148 Q-1 and a link to Vajra Sutra Discourse 17)

Q1: Asked by Lianhua Yufeng from Hong Kong. Greetings to my most respected Grandmaster and Shimu. If a practitioner is already enlightened, is he still subjected to reincarnation? And if an enlightened person is reincarnated, will the past lives' memories be completely erased? If it is indeed so, what if the practitioner does not meet someone as wise as Grandmaster, will the person easily fall into samsara? Disciple Lianhua Yufeng prostrates and sincerely thanks Guru Buddha. 

A1: I will answer you now. Enlightenment does not mean achieving Buddhahood. According to the five stages of cultivation, path of accumulation, path of preparation, path of seeing, path of cultivation, and the path of no-more-learning, enlightenment is the middle stage, which is the path of seeing. Following the path of seeing, one begins to cultivate, which is the path of cultivation. Therefore, even after being enlightened, it does not mean you have actually attained Buddhahood or the Four Holy Realms. Thus, naturally one is still subject to recairnation. If you still have karma that is not yet eliminated, then you will need to undergo cause and effect and reincarnation. 

As to your question regarding “if an enlightened person is reincarnated, will the memories of the previous lives be completely erased?” I think it will be completely removed. If one still has some memories about one’s past lives, it means one retained some good roots. When good roots are retained, one may still have some memories about one’s past lives but not all. Or, one may just vaguely remember a small part of the past. Actually if an enlightened one reincarnates, it is very easy to fall into samsara. If one is reincarnated as a human being, that is not so bad. However, if one falls into the three evil realms, then it will be bad. Even as enlightened, it is still very easy to fall into the lower realms. This answers the questions from Lianhua Yufeng from Hong Kong. In summary, when enlightened ones reincarnate, the memories from their previous lives will be completely erased as well. Therefore, if they do not meet an accomplished guru, they will easily fall into the three evil realms.

Vajra Sutra Discourse 17 by Living Buddha Lian-sheng on Sep. 19, 2021

Translated by TBTTs

Translator: Angeline Oh

Editors: Simon Chin and DJ Chang