Buddhism: No such thing as a soul?

Does Buddhism deny the existence of the soul?

Oddly enough, in the Lotus Sutra's* translator's introduction, it says [page xi]: "Buddhism vehemently denied that there is any individual soul or personal identity that passes over from one existence to the next - to suppose there is is simply to open the way for further craving - but it did accept the idea of rebirth or transmigration, and taught that the circumstances or realm into which a being is reborn are determined by the good or bad acts done by that being in previous existences."

Many people from a Christian background are uncomfortable with such denials. They feel that they were uniquely created by God, and don't like it when they feel their individuality and uniqueness are called into question.

I can reassure the Wordians (and other Christians) on this point, but first a digression. What is a Wordian? This is simply a word I coined to describe those who think it's blasphemous to refer to Him as "Jesus Christ," preferring instead to call Him "The Word." If His name is "The Word," as it states in the Bible, then those who embrace Him by that name must be Wordians.

Back to that translator's note...I will divide it into three parts with commentary:

"Buddhism vehemently denied that there is any individual soul or personal identity that passes over from one existence to the next..." I don't care what you call it, but it seems obvious to me that something passes from one existence to the next. The best example is the Buddha himself, as well as many of his most advanced disciples who were actually able to remember their past existences.

So why do Buddhists (and presumably the Buddha himself, somewhere in his earlier teachings) deny the existence of a "personal identity that passes over from one existence to the next?" That's answered in the next part of the quote:

" - to suppose there is is simply to open the way for further craving." That's why the Buddha denied the soul. Our "craving" (always grasping for more and more for ourselves) only causes suffering and leads us ever further from the goal of attaining Enlightenment.

Chapter Two of the Lotus Sutra* is entitled Expedient Means. In it, Buddha speaks of intentionally teaching provisional (though errant) doctrines in order to prepare his disciples for higher teachings. He knew how arrogant we are, how much we love ourselves and think not of others, how narcissistic we are. Buddha wanted us to give him (and us!) the benefit of the doubt - that is, to give him an opening to teach us by encouraging us to doubt our own overblown self-images to which we so fiercely cling to the exclusion of all else. By failing to embrace this "all else," we fail to attain Buddhahood.

Reincarnation

And now for the last part of that quote:

"- but it did accept the idea of rebirth or transmigration, and taught that the circumstances or realm into which a being is reborn are determined by the good or bad acts done by that being in previous existences."

To me, this end-piece is part of a classic strategy of denying something (for the sake of argument), then giving a reason why this denial is made for a practical purpose but is false, and then denying the original denial. If Buddhism accepts "the idea of rebirth," then it should be fairly obvious to ask: "Just what exactly is it that's being reborn?"

Sad to say, though, this is not such an obvious question to ask. Over five years ago, I was introduced to a famous Buddhist teacher from Thailand. [No names, please.] I was introduced to him by a friend who was a disciple of this man. I couldn't help but notice how attached this monk was to the concept of teacher, though the Buddha had taught of "wisdom that comes of itself, teacherless wisdom, Buddha wisdom."

I was told by my friend that I was fortunate to have a one-on-one with this monk, since that was a rare privilege. And you know what? I did feel fortunate - he was a very likable fellow who radiated genuine compassion, and that moved me tremendously. That's why I was disappointed when he said, "In Buddhism, we don't speak much about reincarnation." That was his response to a question I had asked about an incident in one of the Buddha's prior lifetimes.

It's true that some people obsess about reincarnation, as in "I would really like to remember who I was in a past life and what I did." Maybe he was trying to steer me away from such an obsession. Maybe he was trying to urge me into contemplating the power of now. It seemed to me at the time, though, that he just didn't want to answer my question. Buddhists, too, can be very human that way.

Steven Searle, just another member of the Virtual Samgha of the Lotus

"Now that we've determined there is such a thing as a soul, we can go about the business of enlightening it."

* The Lotus Sutra: All references I've made (above) to The Lotus Sutra are to the Burton Watson translation of this sutra © 1993