Possible reasons for reincarnation

So, in my novel The Caged Phoenix, Misako Irwa and Olapen (actually named Paloma) discover that they've been reincarnating endlessly through the multiverse... The only problem is that I have writer's block in regards for main reasons for reincarnation... Also, Misako and Olapen's name stay the same, only their surname changes every time...

This was also because Misako Irwa destroyed the original universe, eons ago

edited 23rd Nov '17 5:33:20 AM by sabrina_diamond

Maybe a piece of their souls got ripped out and lost in the multiverse and their souls are drawn to the multiverse until they reincarnate to the right world?

My recent Intro to World Religions had practically a primer on possible reasons for reincarnation throughout Buddhism and Hinduism. I'm gonna use that as the basis for my answer.

Possible reasons for reincarnation within your story frame could be something like atoning for wrongs committed in a past life, having some unfinished business or an "incomplete life" in terms of karma, being some kind of entity on whom the multiverse depends so they keep being reincarnated in different forms. Other possible reasons include: you have a cycle of lives to live out and then you get peace, the Universe/Multiverse gods being just plain old dicks, maybe their souls are actually millennia old and each reincarnation is playing out to the same end result of them reuniting for some reason.

Or Plot Armor that you figure out later.

My novel also features reincarnation, but more as a concept since Buddhism plays a big religious role in the background. It exists in that universe, we just don't get to see it happen. Yours is a lot more active, so coming up with a solid reason that has internal logic with whatever you decide to do is important.

Best of luck!

Interestingly, in another novel draft I wrote, there are two goddesses on another planet. There is also an golden Aristolean machine called the Akashic machine that's made from aether...

In my story The Crocodile God, reincarnation appears because Spain's conquering of the Philippines has majorly screwed up the life patterns of a Tagalog sea-god and his mortal wife, and he's too traumatized after that to break the cycle (until the story happens and the mortal decides to Screw Destiny, duh).

In many beliefs with Reincarnation, most people are stuck in a "Groundhog Day" Loop of life-patterns until they Set Right What Once Went Wrong.

Thoughts on using the term Avalokitesvara from Bhuddism, which is described as as a person or a liminal being who rescues others who suffer? I'm not sure if this term is related to reincarnation, which is why I'm keen to learn if that is indeed another possible reason for reincarnation.

edited 25th Nov '17 5:49:00 PM by sabrina_diamond

I'd say to borrow the gist of that concept but not the term, since people might think you're only using Buddhist (especially Indian) terms because that's the most well-known religion with reincarnation as a theme.

edited 25th Nov '17 7:32:11 PM by Sharysa

So basically I need to recount all of Olapen's and Misako's past lives, here are some of them: Olapen was a lawyer for demons in another location, Misako was a Grecian military soldier and a ronin

edited 26th Nov '17 5:59:08 PM by sabrina_diamond

Sounds interesting to me! Question for you: is there a pattern to their reincarnations? Like, do they each serve a particular role more often than not? Is it in a certain place or time (no)? Etc.

Hm. I agree with Sharysa. Keep the concept but not the name. Giving it a name associated with a real-world religion instantly pigeonholes it into being "whatever the reader knows or assumes about that group." Which is typically "Social Studies class to nada." I have a couple books on Buddhism and a few on the mystical/neo-spiritual side of reincarnation if you want more concepts for consideration/renaming I'd be happy to go digging (I was already reading the latest ones on Buddhism for my novel anyway.)

Just "recounting their lives" isn't what I was asking.

A) Reincarnation is frequently focused on patterns. With my story "The Crocodile God," it focuses on how the Filipino sea-god Haik is stuck in a "Groundhog Day" Loop of constantly losing or being separated from his mortal wife across many lifetimes. (Her current name is Mirasol, and now she's Fil-American as opposed to island-born Filipino.) After Spain's conquest of the Philippines several centuries ago, everything started going to shit for reasons outside of their control. The point of the story is to break the pattern so Haik can start healing from his trauma.

With your story: What patterns are happening in the protagonist's lives? Are they in the roles you mentioned for certain reasons? Why was Misako a soldier/ronin, and why was Olapen a lawyer? Is the reason just because Olapen's personality naturally gravitates to roles in the justice system, and similarly Misako's personality gravitates towards military roles because he's a fighter? How are they brought together despite such different-seeming spheres, and what patterns happen when they reunite in different lifetimes?

In my story, there's no real pattern to Mirasol's roles in her lifetimes, but where she LIVES is obvious—by the sea, because Haik is her tribe's sea-god descended from Born Under the Sail Polynesians. And more specifically, she lives by the PACIFIC Ocean since she's Filipino.

B) Are these patterns good ones that need to be worked with, or bad patterns that need to be broken? My story is pretty obvious that the "Groundhog Day" Loop is focused on "colonization and its centuries-long hold needs to be broken hard," but in other stories the loop happens because something's not going quite right, and the goal is to COMPLETE the pattern instead of break it.

edited 26th Nov '17 10:46:14 PM by Sharysa