Editing Order of the Solar Temple (section)

=== Reincarnation ===
Both the Masters and human beings were believed to be capable of reincarnation, a key aspect of OTS theology.{{sfn|Chryssides|2006|p=119}} OTS members believed themselves to be reincarnated versions of the original Templars who had been burned at the stake with grandmaster [[Jacques de Molay]],{{sfn|Clusel|Palmer|2020|p=219}} and even further, members of a class of people who had been reborn since ancient times, whose purpose in the world was to fulfill a "cosmic mission".{{sfn|Mayer|1999|p=173}} Di Mambro personally claimed he was a reincarnation of, among others, an Egyptian pharaoh, one of the [[Twelve Disciples]], [[Longinus]] (the Roman soldier who pierced Jesus's side during the crucifixion){{Efn|As noted by Chryssides, the lives of the apostle and Longinus would have overlapped in time. Chryssides notes this as either a mistake on the informant's end or, alternatively, a sign that Di Mambro may have "had little regard for doctrinal consistency".{{sfn|Chryssides|2006|p=120}}}} and an Ascended Master, Manatanus. Jouret claimed he was a reincarnation of [[Bernard of Clairvaux]], founder of the original Knights Templar.{{sfn|Chryssides|2006|p=120}} Di Mambro often revealed these past lives to members, in the process giving them new spiritual identities. In doing this, according to Susan J. Palmer, both drama and the illusion of spiritual progress were applied to the member's time in the group.{{sfn|Palmer|1996|p=309}}

The OTS was said to believe that souls had no gender,{{sfn|Palmer|1996|p=309}}{{sfn|Hall|Schuyler|2000|p=129}} however Chryssides notes this is difficult to reconcile with the "cosmic marriage" doctrine, as well as the explicitly gendered nature of the Ascended Masters who were always consistent in gender throughout their incarnations.{{sfn|Hall|Schuyler|2000|p=129}} One former OTS member expressed the idea that the "inner self" was sexless, with there being no difference between the souls of the sexes.{{sfn|Palmer|1996|p=309}} The "Cosmic Child" was always referred to as a he, despite being a girl.{{sfn|Hall|Schuyler|2000|p=129}}