Atheist Contributions to the World
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Thanks Sam. Will have a look later. Cheers Euphrosene
Supposedly, but there is no agent or spirit that gets reborn. Transcending the illusion of ego is the essence of Buddhist thought. If there is nothing that can be called you, then what gets reborn?
you run the risk of getting differents answers, or perhaps different tangents of the same answer, according to which school of buddhism you are refering to
1) Vaibhasika - direct realism
2) Sautrantika (Hinayana) - representationalism
3) Yogacara or Vijnanavada - subjective idealism
4) Madhyamika or Sunyavada (Mahayana) - Voidism
Buddhism does not directly refer to the soul, but there are arguments (of a similar characteristic to the statements of euphrosene) that their philosophy indicates the necessity of a function that fulfills the same job description as the soul
What in general is suggested by Soul, Self, Ego is that in man there is a permanent, everlasting and absolute entity, which is the unchanging substance behind the changing phenomenal world. According to some religions, each individual has such a seperate soul which is created by God, and which, finally after death, lives eternally either in hell or heaven, its destiny depending on the judgement of its creator. According to others, it goes through many lives till it is completely purified and becomes united with God or Brahman, or Universal Soul from which it originally emanated. This soul or self in man is the thinker of thoughts, feeler of sensations, and receiver of rewards and punishments for all its actions good and bad. Such a conception is called the idea of self.
Buddhism stands unique in the history of human thought in denying the existence of such a Soul or Self. According to the teaching of the Buddha, the idea of self is an imaginary, false belief, which has no corresponding reality, and it produces harmful thoughts of "me" and "mine", selfish desire, craving, attachment, hatred, ill-will, conceit, pride, egoism, and other defilements, imputities and problems. It is the source of all the troubles in the world from personal conflicts to wars between nations. In short, to this false view can be traced all the evil in the world.
Two ideas are psychologically deep-rooted in man; self-protection and self-preservation. For self-protection man has created God, on whom he depends for his own protection, safety and security, just as a child depends on its parent. For self-preservation man has conceived the idea of an immortal Soul, which will live eternally. In his ignorance, weakness, fear, and desire, man needs these two things to console himself. Hence he clings to them deeply and fanatically.
The Buddha's teaching does not support this ignorance, weakness, fear, and desire, but aims at making man enlightened by removing and destroying them, striking at their very root. According to Buddhism, our ideas of God and Soul are false and empty. Though highly developed as theories, they are all the same extremely subtle mental projections, garbed in an intricate metaphysical and philosophical phraseology. These ideas are so deep-rooted in man, and so near and dear to him, that he does not wish to hear, nor does he want to understand, any teaching against them.
~Dr.Walpola Rahula (Buddhist Scholar and Sri Lankin Monk), from What The Buddha Taught
Great enlightening beings know all things are empty and are without self or
anything pertaining to self, without creation or creator, without knower, without
life, without soul, without personality, detached from mind, body, sense, and sense
experience---they forever leave all views and their minds are like space.
~Avatamsaka Sutra
Buddhism stands unique in the history of human thought in denying the existence of such a Soul or Self. According to the teaching of the Buddha, the idea of self is an imaginary, false belief, which has no corresponding reality, and it produces harmful thoughts of "me" and "mine", selfish desire, craving, attachment, hatred, ill-will, conceit, pride, egoism, and other defilements, imputities and problems. It is the source of all the troubles in the world from personal conflicts to wars between nations. In short, to this false view can be traced all the evil in the world.
Two ideas are psychologically deep-rooted in man; self-protection and self-preservation. For self-protection man has created God, on whom he depends for his own protection, safety and security, just as a child depends on its parent. For self-preservation man has conceived the idea of an immortal Soul, which will live eternally. In his ignorance, weakness, fear, and desire, man needs these two things to console himself. Hence he clings to them deeply and fanatically.
The Buddha's teaching does not support this ignorance, weakness, fear, and desire, but aims at making man enlightened by removing and destroying them, striking at their very root. According to Buddhism, our ideas of God and Soul are false and empty. Though highly developed as theories, they are all the same extremely subtle mental projections, garbed in an intricate metaphysical and philosophical phraseology. These ideas are so deep-rooted in man, and so near and dear to him, that he does not wish to hear, nor does he want to understand, any teaching against them.
~Dr.Walpola Rahula (Buddhist Scholar and Sri Lankin Monk), from What The Buddha Taught
Great enlightening beings know all things are empty and are without self or
anything pertaining to self, without creation or creator, without knower, without
life, without soul, without personality, detached from mind, body, sense, and sense
experience---they forever leave all views and their minds are like space.
~Avatamsaka Sutra