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James Arthur Flowerdew (1 December 1906 – 30 September 2002) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
man from
Norfolk, England
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North ...
whose claimed recollections of the ancient city of
Petra
Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
in
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
are offered as a supposed proof of the existence of
reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
.
Life
From his adolescence, Flowerdew experienced strange visions of a stone city carved into a cliff, which were particularly strong when he played in the multicolored pebbles on a beach near his home. The clarity of his visions grew as he did.
One day, as an adult, he watched a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary on the ancient city of Petra in Jordan and immediately recognized it as the city of his visions. He became convinced that he had lived a previous life in Petra and contacted the BBC. They filmed and broadcast a short piece on Flowerdew, which the Jordanian government saw and was intrigued by. They offered to fly Flowerdew out to Petra to examine its remains and perhaps offer insights on analyzing the city.
In ''
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
''The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying'', written by Sogyal Rinpoche in 1992, is a presentation of the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism based on the '' Tibetan Book of the Dead'' or ''Bardo Thodol''. The author wrote, "I have written ''The Tibetan B ...
'', Rinpoche claims that before Flowerdew left for Jordan, he was interviewed by an archaeological expert excavating Petra to test his knowledge of the ancient city. He also claims Flowerdew described the city with astounding accuracy and pointed out three landmarks prominent in his memory, as well as going directly to these landmarks upon his arrival at Petra (including his purported place of murder), explained a very plausible use for a device whose explanation had baffled archaeologists, and even correctly identified the locations of many landmarks that had yet to be excavated. Many experts said that Flowerdew had more knowledge of the city than many professionals studying it, and they did not believe him to be an incredible con man (a feat which, in this case, they felt would have taken extraordinary skill). The archeological expert on Petra who accompanied Flowerdew to Jordan said,
According to Sogyal Rinpoche's story, Flowerdew maintained he had never seen or heard of Petra before the BBC documentary and had never read any literature on the city.
[ Rinpoche, Sogyal. '']The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
''The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying'', written by Sogyal Rinpoche in 1992, is a presentation of the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism based on the '' Tibetan Book of the Dead'' or ''Bardo Thodol''. The author wrote, "I have written ''The Tibetan B ...
''. San Francisco: Harper, 1993. pp. 88-90. .
Many spiritual leaders, including
Tibetan Buddhist
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
lama
Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...
Sogyal Rinpoche, believe that Flowerdew's experience offers highly suggestive evidence for the existence of
rebirth
Rebirth may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Film
* ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film
* ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film
* ''Rebirth'', a documentary film produced by Project Rebirth
* ''The Re ...
or
reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
.
Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanians, Romanian History of religion, historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who establ ...
may have used Flowerdew's experience as the basis of his 1976 novel "
Youth without Youth", which was adapted into a
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
in 2007 by
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...
.
He died at
James Paget University Hospital
James Paget University Hospital is at Gorleston-on-Sea, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, on the A47 Lowestoft Road. It is managed by the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
History
The hospital, which replaced Great Yarmouth ...
in
Gorleston-on-Sea
Gorleston-on-Sea (), known colloquially as Gorleston, is a town in the Borough of Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, England, to the south of Great Yarmouth. Situated at the mouth of the River Yare it was a port town at the time of the Domesday Book. ...
, Norfolk.
[''England & Scotland, Select Cemetery Registers, 1800–2016'']
References
External links
Zoroastrian publication's account of Flowerdew's experience
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flowerdew, Arthur
1906 births
2002 deaths
People from Great Yarmouth
Reincarnation