> Reincarnation, in Tibet, is not seen as some religious belief but as a fact of life. This is to the point that payments can be arranged between lifetimes.
I just have to know how that works. How are you supposed to find the guy's reincarnation to get paid? Or do they pay your reincarnation?
Not quite. You're thinking of payments as in money or other monetary goods. There are other types of payment and contracts that can be done that are out of the scope of goods. And that is time.
If chosen, one can make a binding contract that trades time for something. For example, I could agree to protect a friend for the rest of this life and of the next we meet for something. Gurus make similar agreements about being a teacher as well. Usually a guru agreement is binding until otherwise broken. And life usually puts us back in contact, even in other lives. Now, our relationship can (and usually does) change, but we will almost always meet them.
The show and movie Avatar the Last Airbender is very similar how the Dalai Lama is actually chosen. In the Dalai Lama's case, they are shown about a hundred objects, 3 of which belong to the last reincarnation. The TV show shows 4 objects that respond unnaturally (the 4 being representatives of wind/water/fire/earth). It is also in the Dalai Lama's case that he is also to choose people who was in his cabinet prior to his reincarnation, as there is only a few years between the death and life. This step is also proof of who he is. The search usually goes on 2 weeks after his death, in which the world is searched for his new incarnation. And in the case of the Dalai Lama, what makes his so important is that he is seen as the Avatar of Chenrezig (the Patron God of Tibet).
I just have to know how that works. How are you supposed to find the guy's reincarnation to get paid? Or do they pay your reincarnation?