THIS NOT THAT

In contrast to the Atman of Vedanta, there is the Buddhist Anatman. The former refers to a spiritual self or soul that, in essence, is the same as the Brahman, or Godhead. Buddhism disputes the Atman by asserting that there is no self or soul that exists apart from everything else in the world, and that certainly there is nothing that transmigrates or is reborn into a new life after death.

Indeed, the Vedantic and Buddhist views of rebirth illustrate fully the difference between Atman and Anatman. The Atman is the same stuff as the Brahman, pure Being, and as such does not die when the individual dies. It carries over into a new existence, sometimes lingering in a way station in other realms before returning. Unlike Western religions, it does not remain in a permanent, eternal heaven or hell. Buddhism says that there is no such entity (an-atman, no-self) that moves on, stating at the same time, however, that rebirth does take place. What is reborn, though, is a character structure consisting of impressions, ideas, and feelings that pass along to the new life. The process is likened to the flame of a candle that is transferred to another candle. The flame is the same yet different.

The real purpose of the doctrine of Anatman in Buddhism is to keep a person from clinging to, from becoming attached to, from being distracted by the notion that something else exists in him or her that lives on. To become so sidetracked is to place one's suffering in the here and now, and the cause of it, in a secondary position, to where it becomes an excuse for inaction. The strategy in Buddhism is for us to jettison all attachments, including all concepts, preconceived notions, and theories, so that we may focus on alleviating our suffering, what our highest priority should be.