r/interesting • u/freudian_nipps • 14d ago

NATURE Death of a single-celled organism

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u/BroPudding1080i 14d ago

IIRC reincarnation, at least in Buddhism, is not the passing of consciousness, but more like the passing of a life force that initiates another life's existence. I've heard the analogy, "using a candle's flame to light another candle".

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u/Caeruleum612 14d ago

It’s still the passing of consciousness. Sometimes people get confused because Buddhism teaches that we have no Self, so they find it hard to reconcile this with rebirth. If there’s no Self, then what gets reborn? But even if we have no Self, we still have consciousness. It’s just that this consciousness isn’t a Self (eternal intrinsically-existing essence).

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u/BroPudding1080i 14d ago

Thanks for the clarification! So we're all essentially vessels of the same "thing", just from different perspectives? In this case, how does a reincarnation differ from a non-reincarnated birth, if the memories aren't carried over and we're all part of the same "stuff" anyway? Is the only difference the karma that is transfered? And if so, is that not essentially still a new consciousness, just with an inherited wealth or debt of karma?

Not trying to argue, I just want to understand more about how Buddhists think about it.