Haribol Posted 8 hours ago So, my friends, a monk at the Krishna temple I attend mentioned that Buddhists believe in reincarnation, but not the soul. I got quiet, trying to figure out how that works. If there is not an individual soul that is unique to me and survives death, how can one be reincarnated? Further more, what are your takes on the soul: do we have an individual one that transcends death, or is it more like a drop of water that gets reabsorbed into the one ocean of conciousness or whatever it is? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Haribol Posted 8 hours ago (edited) Edited 8 hours ago by Haribol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gerard Posted 7 hours ago No one has the perfect answer to this complex topic. Btw, you answered yourself in the second paragraph. The ultimate YOU projects each mini-copies of you which will vary accordingly. View them as leaves on the tree connected by the branches. We all store tiny fragments of all our lifetimes. You can access them via deep meditation, but it's a siddhi so not everyone may have developed that ability. Rather then being a small drop we are the ENTIRE OCEAN. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
forestofclarity Posted 3 hours ago Generally goes from life to life is the subtle mind part of the mind (i.e. the storehouse consciousness or alaya vijnana or bhavanga citta or other terms depending on the school), but it is not a permanent, unitary, independent self. Rather, it is an afflicted consciousness. As the Dalai Lama XIV puts it: A: ...If one understands the term "soul" as a continuum of individuality from moment to moment, from lifetime to lifetime, then one can say that Buddhism also accepts a concept of soul; there is a kind of continuum of consciousness. From that point of view, the debate on whether or not there is a soul becomes strictly semantic. However, in the Buddhist doctrine of selflessness, or "no soul" theory, the understanding is that there is no eternal, unchanging, abiding, permanent self called "soul." That is what is being denied in Buddhism. from Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lairg Posted 3 hours ago 4 hours ago, Gerard said: The ultimate YOU projects each mini-copies of you Agreed. The real You produces a range of parallel lives to develop the human skills necessary for the purposes of the real You Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
