If There Is No Soul, Then What Is Reborn?

Recycling, Rebirth, and Reincarnation  

The idea that I refer to here as "recycling" is widely accepted in both science and culture. Joni Mitchell referred to it when she sang, "We are stardust, we are golden," in the 1969 song "Woodstock". The primordial universe had only two elements: hydrogen and helium. All of the heavier elements in the universe today, including most of the atoms in our bodies, were the result of stellar fusion -- the bonding of hydrogen and helium atoms into heavier atomic elements under tremendous pressure and temperatures. When ancient stars exploded at the ends of their lives, these elements were spewed into the universe, and became the stuff of which our planets and bodies are made. Our bodies are, quite literally, the recycled ashes of long-dead stars.

This common knowledge fits perfectly into the Buddhist idea of interdependent co-arising, or, as Thich Nhat Hanh called it, Interbeing. We are all made of each other, and of everything else, and there is no me without you. As he often liked to say, "This is because that is."

But when we take this idea into the realm of metaphysics, it becomes more problematic. In Buddhism there are said to be five "skandhas" or aggregates of which all beings are made: Form, Feelings, Perceptions, Mental Formations, and Consciousness. Atoms and physical bodies are in the realm of Form, but what about Feelings, Perceptions, Mental Formations, and Consciousness? Are they recycled too?  

To imagine how they might be, we need to shift away from the conventional view of materialism, which holds that consciousness is an accidental byproduct of matter, entirely dependent on the brain. This view, while dominant in modern science, is far from unanimous. In fact, many reputable scientists and philosophers today take the opposite view, namely, that consciousness precedes matter. This view, called idealism or panpsychism, holds that consciousness is actually the substrate that underlies and pervades the physical universe. From this perspective, our world may be a "Matrix"-like projection, or, to put it poetically, a dream in the mind of God. This is roughly the cosmology of Hinduism, from which Buddhism was culturally derived. 

But Buddhism distinguishes itself from Hinduism in the doctrine known as Anattā, usually translated as no-soul or no-self. Where Hindus believe in an Atman, or soul, most Buddhists do not. This is a consequence of Śūnyatā, the Buddhist idea that all beings and phenomena are "empty" of a permanent, separate essence or existence. This is what Avalokiteshvara means in the Heart Sutra, when he tells Sariputra, "Form is emptiness; Emptiness is Form."

But if there is no soul, what then is reborn? It is crystal clear from innumerable scriptural references and cultural conventions within Buddhism to this day that the Buddha and those he taught believed in reincarnation or rebirth. Among the oldest forms of Buddhist literature are the so-called Jataka Tales, stories of the Buddha in previous lifetimes, as he accumulated the wisdom to become a fully enlightened being. If there is no soul, then how and where is this wisdom accumulating? 

An online search of Buddhist sources does little to resolve this question. Bhikkhu Bodhi and other respected Buddhist scholars make the distinction between reincarnation, which implies a singular personality taking birth many times, and rebirth, in which skandhas are recycled, but without a continuous personal identity. Other scholars such as Stephen Batchelor simply give up on reincarnation altogether, putting it in the category of ancient superstition that is irrelevant to Buddhism's primary mission of addressing the problem of suffering. 

My own view is informed by the teachings of Meher Baba, which I believe are completely congruent with the Buddha's, but not necessarily with traditional Buddhist interpretations. Simply put, there is indeed a soul, which is the temporary and provisional locus of an ultimately false individuality. This soul is like a drop of water living under the delusion that it is separate from the ocean. Its sole purpose is to provide a focal point or scaffold around which the evolution of consciousness can take place. An intrinsic part of that process is what Meher Baba called “involution” — the eventual dismantling of the scaffold. 

The caterpillar's life cycle is a useful metaphor here. The caterpillar forms a hard chrysalis around itself which is usually attached to a branch. The chrysalis is, in effect, an incubator. Inside, the caterpillar is undergoing a metamorphosis, transforming into a butterfly. Once the transformation is complete, the chrysalis falls away. 

In the same way, we can regard the soul or individual ego-mind as an incubator for a fully liberated Buddha or, as the Hindus would call it, a God-realized being. The soul's metaphysical anatomy includes subtle and mental structures that interact with and retain impressions (sanskaras) of past actions, which bind consciousness to the objects and experiences of this world and transmit karmic tendencies from lifetime to lifetime. In a sense, these bindings form the cocoon within which the soul comes to believe that it is trapped. Through many incarnations, over the long course of spiritual evolution, the soul eventually figures out how to start unwinding these bindings. This unwinding process is “involution” — the spiritual path — be it the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism, the esoteric practices of other traditions, or discipleship under an authentic master.

After innumerable incarnations, the liberated being penetrates the illusion of separateness and experiences unity with all entities and phenomena, while still making use of his or her current identity as long as the current body endures. However, he or she is no longer attached to the identity or limited by the body. It is now merely a vehicle for interaction with those still bound to this plane of existence. 

This view accords completely with the Buddha's teaching that there is no permanent separate self or essence. Nor is the personality that reincarnates identical from life to life. Personality archetypes are malleable and change from one incarnation to another, depending on the circumstances into which one is born and the particular life lessons to be learned. The main distinction between what I've just described and mainstream Buddhist beliefs is the idea of a provisional soul that carries the mental formations (sanskaras) of past lifetimes into subsequent ones, thus allowing it to learn from its experiences and gradually mature to the point of liberation. Just as the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, so does a fully-enlightened being emerge from the incubator of its former individuality, transcending the separate self and leaving it behind forever. 

This short summary cannot begin to do justice to the breadth and depth of Meher Baba’s teachings on reincarnation, nor of what has been written by others on this subject over many millennia. It is only a starting point for further contemplation. I have encountered both support and opposition to these views, and have no problem with either reaction. For my own part, however, getting into heated debates over things that we can't be sure about is a silly waste of time. We adopt these views to the extent that they are useful to our practice. If and when we find something that better serves that purpose, we are always free to change our mind. 

In 1966, Thich Nhat Hanh distilled the traditional bodhisattva precepts of Mahayana Buddhism into fourteen advanced mindfulness trainings. Part of the first of these reads as follows:
 
“We are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. We are committed to seeing the Buddhist teachings as a guiding means that help us learn to look deeply and develop understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill, or die for.”

For those who wish to look deeper into Meher Baba's teachings on this subject, I highly recommend the collection of relevant essays under the title "Reincarnation and Karma" contained in Meher Baba's Discourses published by Sheriar Foundation. They are available at no charge online here.

A delightful online version of the Buddhist Jataka Tales can be found here.