RE: In Buddhism Where Will Souls Go if they Haven''t Reached Nirvana Before the Sun Dies?
November 20, 2017 at 4:25 pm
(This post was last modified: November 20, 2017 at 4:26 pm by LuisDantas.)
(November 20, 2017 at 9:43 am)Khemikal Wrote: That's an interesting take on buddhism. Are you sure that you've described the meaning of anatta properly, and what leads you to conclude that reincarnation and rebirth are not analogous concepts?
There are those who understand Anatta far better than me, but you do not have to take my word on the contrast between reincarnation and rebirth. If anything, it is as close to a consensus as it gets.
https://www.thoughtco.com/reincarnation-...ism-449994
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/reincarnation.htm
Quote:For example, if I were to suggest that anatta means that there is no underlying singular substance to self, but that the transcendent immaterial consciousness we are can be reborn with karmic responsibilities, what would the functional difference between that and having a reincarnating soul actually be, as concepts?
It seems to me that a soul is supposed to be personal. Karma is not.
(November 20, 2017 at 9:59 am)Mathilda Wrote: A related question is how this reincarnation process copes with changes in population size. If the population keeps growing then where do the souls come from for each birth? Is there a queue of souls waiting to reincarnate and as the population grows the time to rebirth gets shorter? And what if there aren't enough souls? Do they then start inhabiting multiple bodies?
Or is this compensated by the fact that there is a mass extinction underway and that means there are fewer animals but more people? But how are you supposed to learn anything new by reincarnating as a slug if you messed up your last life as a human?
If you want a Buddhist response, the short of it is that there are no such ideas on Buddhadharma.
Morituri Delendi!
