Rebirth and the Western Buddhist - Khamkoo

74 Rebirth and the Western Buddhist
As to the manner of taking birth, alas for the Buddhist
theory which so delighted Freudians, no-one reports
having seen the parents making love and desired one and
hated the other. Some of Story's spontaneous cases felt an
attraction to the mother and followed her about, one
entered some water she was drinking, one embraced her
round the neck, all seem to have lost consciousness (in
accordance with Abhidharmakosa IIL16); none mentions
the father. Two-thirds of Wambach's subjects were reluctant
to be born but accepted it as a disagreeable necessity.
This compares with ninety percent who found death was
pleasant. Human rebirth is not a-Simple matter of grabbing
a body at all costs so that one can enjoy sensual
pleasures. Many of us come here to learn and develop.
Wambach asked her subjects the purpose of their present
lifetime, and classified the answers as follows: twentyfive
percent to gain additional experience, eighteen percent
to work out their relationships with people known
in past lives, eighteen percent to learn to give love,
twenty-seven percent to grow spiritually and to teach
others, and twelve percent other. 138
Edgar Cayce's readings assert many times
that the moment of conception does not coincide
with the entrance of the soul. The readings
frequently counsel expectant mothers to watch
their thoughts during the period of pregnancy,
inasmuch as the character of these thoughts to
some degree determines the type of entity
attracted to them .... The soul can enter the
body shortly before birth, shortly after birth, or
at the moment of birth. As much as twentyfour
hours can elapse after an infant is born
before the soul makes entry, and in some cases
there are even last-minute changes with regard
to the entity which will enter. 139