A: It may be a number of things.  As you point out, a karmic connection of some kind is a strong possibility, although it's very difficult for one to know exactly what that connection is; karmic manifestations are extremely complex because they arise from more causes and conditions than we could possibly imagine.  This person may also possess an energy which strengthens you at this period of your life, which is why you feel such an affinity.  In Buddhism we say that one is fortunate to meet what are called "good Dharma friends," people who may assist us along the path to Enlightenment.  This person may be one such good Dharma friend, which makes you extremely fortunate.

Q: Is there supposed to be some resolution to this feeling I have of incompleteness when we are apart, maybe to be worked through later?

A: I don't know if there is or isn't "supposed" to be a resolution, however I would hope that over time you are able to strengthen yourself so that you are strong enough to carry on with your life whenever he isn't around.  People need to make sure that love does not turn into dependency....I'm not saying this is the case with you necessarily, but it does happen.  Remember, you are inherently complete, possessing what we call the Buddha-nature, the true nature of Enlightenment.  And perhaps this person also serves to point out to you that there is an area in which you could use some strengthening.  If a potential weakness or hindrance is never pointed out, we might never work to strengthen or correct it.  But this is something you must look at on your own.

Q: Is there any way to find out (more specifically, "remember") what relationships we shared in, perhaps, a past-life? 

A: In my view, the only way this may be accomplished (and I'm sure that many spiritualists, channelers, past-life regression experts and so on would disagree with me) would be to diligently develop one's spiritual faculities to a very high degree.....but this takes a great deal of time and effort.  And anyway, the Buddhist outlook on something like this is that the most important thing is to live one's life moment to moment, not being overly attached to past events.  There is no doubt that what came before contributes to our present life......but we don't live in the "before".....that has already come and gone.  The Buddha himself said that if you really want to know your past, examine your present life closely.  Going back, if it were all that easy, might be interesting and might bring certain insights, but the danger is that we might want to "stay" there in a sense, and this hinders us from living our present life fully and completely.

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