Reincarnation is a very interesting concept to Buddhist's and non-Buddhists alike. In fact, many non-religious people readily believe in the idea of reincarnation and past lives. But there is one crucial difference between reincarnation in Buddhism and the more popular ideas concerning reincarnation, and that is the role of the personal soul. It is often stated in Buddhist sutras that there is no permanent soul in Buddhism. This is intuitive because in Buddhism there is nothing personal in general. There is not "I" and there is no "self." Because neither the "I" nor "self" is permanent. This is so because there is nothing permanent besides the truth and the truth is that there is no discrimination in this world beyond those created by our own ignorance. This then begs the question- what is it that reincarnates if not the soul?
As discussed in other sections, the driving force behind reincarnation is karma. The karma one creates in the past bears fruit in the present and the karma one creates in the present bears fruit in the future. And often times the effects caused by our actions may lie dormant in this life time, and manifest in a future life. So, what reincarnates is not our soul but the karma that we have accumulated. Now, some may think this mere semantics, but in Buddhist philosophy there is a big difference. When we think of a soul, we inevitably think of something personal to us that even if our personalities and physical forms may change, the soul stays true to itself, a permanent part of us that cannot be degraded by the vagaries of life. Conversely karma, supposes that all that we are is impermanent, and can change at any moment based on our actions. That there is no inherently good soul or bad soul, only the accumulation of what we have done. So how does this difference in belief actually play out in reality?
Let's take for example a man named Bill. Under the soul theory, Bill has a soul, so when Bill passes away Bill's soul leaves his body and then reincarnates in a new body. And once that body passes away, Bill's soul leaves that body and reincarnates into a new body. There are many problematic issues with this belief. 1) under this belief, the idea of a human reincarnating as an animal is seemingly impossible as it would be difficult to imagine the elements of a human soul still remaining true to itself in an animal form. Although in Buddhism, we believe all life is precious, it is undeniable that human life has a higher capacity for wisdom and spiritual achievement than that of an animal. So if that is the case, then a human soul will always reincarnate as a human and an animal will always reincarnate as an animal, or maybe for some animals have no soul to reincarnate. 2) Also, under this belief that there is a permanent soul that transmigrates between bodies, the issue then arises of where does this soul come from and what does the soul constitute of. The human population today is over 7 Billion, there were much less people living in the past, where did all these souls come from? Were they created by some greater being, and are still being created by such being? Is the soul actually something physical that was created when the universe was created? Can souls reproduce like people? 3) Finally, if there is a permanent soul that reincarnates, is there an end to this process or will it continue forever. And if it continues forever, was there no beginning as well, and what happens when humans become extinct as a species? These are just some of the issues that conventional idea of reincarnation face.
For Buddhists, reincarnation is a much more straightforward process. Karma, both positive and negative, is continuously being generated by a being, and that karma manifests itself in many ways. Once the action is taken, the karma must be reaped. As in every action as a reaction. Only when no action is taken, will no karma be produced. As long as karma is produced, the fruits of the karma will take hold if not in this life then in future lives. Such is why we see many examples of people doing horrible things, but seemingly not dealt any consequences in their lifetime. In this way, when Bill dies it is not Bill's soul that reincarnates, but rather Bill's karma, and such karma although created by Bill. A way to see this more clearly is to imagine a painting studio. At the studio there are two easels. One easel is Bill's everyday he comes in and draws on it. The other easel has a rotation of artists. Every day both easels are being painted on, when the day ends the artists pick up the next day. Day after day Bill looks at what he painted before and adds to his painting. Whereas the other painting, every day a new artist comes and adds to what was done the day before by someone else. So somedays easel 2 had a lot of beautiful things added and some days very little done or maybe even parts were destroyed. In this analogy Bill's easel is the conventional reincarnation, and easel 2 is Buddhist reincarnation, with each new day representing a new life. So in Buddhism, when a new life is born it has to deal with all the karma that has been produced in the past life, so in a way it is a continuation of the past life, but it is also a completely new being, so in a way it is not a permanent soul. Now, some might think, wait isn't it not fair that the artists of easel 2 must deal with what was done the day before when it's not "their" actions. The short answer to that is fairness is a subjective concept. What one deems fair may seem unfair to another. But perhaps the easel 2 artists all represent the same team, or come from the same school or are friends, etc. so if there is some connection there would it be more fair? Well, in Buddhism we consider death to just be another thought moment not different from any other moment. As death brings about change, so does every other moment of our lives. The person you are today is in some ways different from the person you were 10 minutes ago, and different from 10 months or 10 years ago, but in some ways the same. So when a person dies and reincarnates, they are a different person in some ways and the same in others. If a kid committed a crime when he was 15 years old and today he is 50 years old, is he a criminal? is he not? Is he the same person? Is he not? The answer is both yes and no.
So where conventional reincarnation believes in a permanent lake or depository that continuously holds more experiences that constitute a soul, Buddhists believe in a river that flows taking parts of what was but moves it forward with new parts to keep changing. As the saying goes you an never see the same river twice, because you have changed and the river has changed.
As discussed in other sections, the driving force behind reincarnation is karma. The karma one creates in the past bears fruit in the present and the karma one creates in the present bears fruit in the future. And often times the effects caused by our actions may lie dormant in this life time, and manifest in a future life. So, what reincarnates is not our soul but the karma that we have accumulated. Now, some may think this mere semantics, but in Buddhist philosophy there is a big difference. When we think of a soul, we inevitably think of something personal to us that even if our personalities and physical forms may change, the soul stays true to itself, a permanent part of us that cannot be degraded by the vagaries of life. Conversely karma, supposes that all that we are is impermanent, and can change at any moment based on our actions. That there is no inherently good soul or bad soul, only the accumulation of what we have done. So how does this difference in belief actually play out in reality?
Let's take for example a man named Bill. Under the soul theory, Bill has a soul, so when Bill passes away Bill's soul leaves his body and then reincarnates in a new body. And once that body passes away, Bill's soul leaves that body and reincarnates into a new body. There are many problematic issues with this belief. 1) under this belief, the idea of a human reincarnating as an animal is seemingly impossible as it would be difficult to imagine the elements of a human soul still remaining true to itself in an animal form. Although in Buddhism, we believe all life is precious, it is undeniable that human life has a higher capacity for wisdom and spiritual achievement than that of an animal. So if that is the case, then a human soul will always reincarnate as a human and an animal will always reincarnate as an animal, or maybe for some animals have no soul to reincarnate. 2) Also, under this belief that there is a permanent soul that transmigrates between bodies, the issue then arises of where does this soul come from and what does the soul constitute of. The human population today is over 7 Billion, there were much less people living in the past, where did all these souls come from? Were they created by some greater being, and are still being created by such being? Is the soul actually something physical that was created when the universe was created? Can souls reproduce like people? 3) Finally, if there is a permanent soul that reincarnates, is there an end to this process or will it continue forever. And if it continues forever, was there no beginning as well, and what happens when humans become extinct as a species? These are just some of the issues that conventional idea of reincarnation face.
For Buddhists, reincarnation is a much more straightforward process. Karma, both positive and negative, is continuously being generated by a being, and that karma manifests itself in many ways. Once the action is taken, the karma must be reaped. As in every action as a reaction. Only when no action is taken, will no karma be produced. As long as karma is produced, the fruits of the karma will take hold if not in this life then in future lives. Such is why we see many examples of people doing horrible things, but seemingly not dealt any consequences in their lifetime. In this way, when Bill dies it is not Bill's soul that reincarnates, but rather Bill's karma, and such karma although created by Bill. A way to see this more clearly is to imagine a painting studio. At the studio there are two easels. One easel is Bill's everyday he comes in and draws on it. The other easel has a rotation of artists. Every day both easels are being painted on, when the day ends the artists pick up the next day. Day after day Bill looks at what he painted before and adds to his painting. Whereas the other painting, every day a new artist comes and adds to what was done the day before by someone else. So somedays easel 2 had a lot of beautiful things added and some days very little done or maybe even parts were destroyed. In this analogy Bill's easel is the conventional reincarnation, and easel 2 is Buddhist reincarnation, with each new day representing a new life. So in Buddhism, when a new life is born it has to deal with all the karma that has been produced in the past life, so in a way it is a continuation of the past life, but it is also a completely new being, so in a way it is not a permanent soul. Now, some might think, wait isn't it not fair that the artists of easel 2 must deal with what was done the day before when it's not "their" actions. The short answer to that is fairness is a subjective concept. What one deems fair may seem unfair to another. But perhaps the easel 2 artists all represent the same team, or come from the same school or are friends, etc. so if there is some connection there would it be more fair? Well, in Buddhism we consider death to just be another thought moment not different from any other moment. As death brings about change, so does every other moment of our lives. The person you are today is in some ways different from the person you were 10 minutes ago, and different from 10 months or 10 years ago, but in some ways the same. So when a person dies and reincarnates, they are a different person in some ways and the same in others. If a kid committed a crime when he was 15 years old and today he is 50 years old, is he a criminal? is he not? Is he the same person? Is he not? The answer is both yes and no.
So where conventional reincarnation believes in a permanent lake or depository that continuously holds more experiences that constitute a soul, Buddhists believe in a river that flows taking parts of what was but moves it forward with new parts to keep changing. As the saying goes you an never see the same river twice, because you have changed and the river has changed.