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The ''anatta'' doctrine is not a kind of materialism. Buddhism does not deny the existence of "immaterial" entities, and it (at least traditionally) distinguishes bodily states from mental states.<ref>''Sources of Indian Tradition'', vol. 1, ed. Theodore de Bary (NY: Columbia UP, 1958), p. 93-94</ref> Thus, the conventional translation of ''anatta'' as "no-soul"<ref>for example, in Walpola Rahula, ''What the Buddha Taught'' (NY: Grove, 1962), p. 51-66</ref> can be confusing. If the word "soul" simply refers to an incorporeal component in living things that can continue after death, then Buddhism does not deny the existence of the soul.<ref name="Indian Tradition 1958 p. 94">''Sources of Indian Tradition'', vol. 1, ed. Theodore de Bary (NY: Columbia UP, 1958), p. 94</ref> Instead, Buddhism denies the existence of a permanent entity that remains constant behind the changing corporeal and incorporeal components of a living being. Just as the body changes from moment to moment, so thoughts come and go. And there is no permanent, underlying mind that experiences these thoughts, as in Cartesianism; rather, conscious mental states simply arise and perish with no "thinker" behind them.<ref>Walpola Rahula, ''What the Buddha Taught'' (NY: Grove, 1962), p. 26</ref> When the body dies, the incorporeal mental processes continue and are reborn in a new body.<ref name="Indian Tradition 1958 p. 94"/> Because the mental processes are constantly changing, the being that is reborn is neither entirely different from, nor exactly the same as, the being that died.<ref>Walpola Rahula, ''What the Buddha Taught'' (NY: Grove, 1962), p. 34</ref> However, the new being is ''continuous'' with the being that died – in the same way that the "you" of this moment is continuous with the "you" of a moment before, despite the fact that you are constantly changing.<ref>Walpola Rahula, ''What the Buddha Taught'' (NY: Grove, 1962), p. 33</ref> | The ''anatta'' doctrine is not a kind of materialism. Buddhism does not deny the existence of "immaterial" entities, and it (at least traditionally) distinguishes bodily states from mental states.<ref>''Sources of Indian Tradition'', vol. 1, ed. Theodore de Bary (NY: Columbia UP, 1958), p. 93-94</ref> Thus, the conventional translation of ''anatta'' as "no-soul"<ref>for example, in Walpola Rahula, ''What the Buddha Taught'' (NY: Grove, 1962), p. 51-66</ref> can be confusing. If the word "soul" simply refers to an incorporeal component in living things that can continue after death, then Buddhism does not deny the existence of the soul.<ref name="Indian Tradition 1958 p. 94">''Sources of Indian Tradition'', vol. 1, ed. Theodore de Bary (NY: Columbia UP, 1958), p. 94</ref> Instead, Buddhism denies the existence of a permanent entity that remains constant behind the changing corporeal and incorporeal components of a living being. Just as the body changes from moment to moment, so thoughts come and go. And there is no permanent, underlying mind that experiences these thoughts, as in Cartesianism; rather, conscious mental states simply arise and perish with no "thinker" behind them.<ref>Walpola Rahula, ''What the Buddha Taught'' (NY: Grove, 1962), p. 26</ref> When the body dies, the incorporeal mental processes continue and are reborn in a new body.<ref name="Indian Tradition 1958 p. 94"/> Because the mental processes are constantly changing, the being that is reborn is neither entirely different from, nor exactly the same as, the being that died.<ref>Walpola Rahula, ''What the Buddha Taught'' (NY: Grove, 1962), p. 34</ref> However, the new being is ''continuous'' with the being that died – in the same way that the "you" of this moment is continuous with the "you" of a moment before, despite the fact that you are constantly changing.<ref>Walpola Rahula, ''What the Buddha Taught'' (NY: Grove, 1962), p. 33</ref> | ||
Buddhist teaching holds that a notion of a permanent, abiding self is a delusion that is one of the causes of human conflict on the emotional, social, and political levels.<ref>{{Cite book|last= Conze |first= Edward | Buddhist teaching holds that a notion of a permanent, abiding self is a delusion that is one of the causes of human conflict on the emotional, social, and political levels.<ref>{{Cite book|last= Conze |first= Edward |title= A Short History of Buddhism |year=1993 |publisher= Oneworld |isbn=1-85168-066-7 |page=14 }}</ref><ref>Walpola Rahula, ''What the Buddha Taught'' (NY: Grove, 1962), p. 51</ref> They add that an understanding of ''anatta'' provides an accurate description of the human condition, and that this understanding allows us to pacify our mundane desires. | ||
Various schools of Buddhism have differing ideas about what continues after death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-MAG/45144_2.htm |title=六朝神滅不滅論與佛教輪迴主體之研究 |publisher=Ccbs.ntu.edu.tw |accessdate=13 November 2011}}</ref> The Yogacara school in Mahayana Buddhism said there are Store consciousness which continue to exist after death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-AN/an162621.htm |title=佛教心理論之發達觀 |publisher=Ccbs.ntu.edu.tw |accessdate=13 November 2011}}</ref> In some schools, particularly Tibetan Buddhism, the view is that there are three minds: ''very subtle mind'', which does not disintegrate in death; ''subtle mind'', which disintegrates in death and which is "dreaming mind" or "unconscious mind"; and ''gross mind'', which does not exist when one is ''sleeping''. Therefore, ''gross mind'' less permanent than subtle mind, which does not exist in death. ''Very subtle mind'', however, does continue, and when it "catches on", or coincides with phenomena, again, a new ''subtle mind'' emerges, with its own personality/assumptions/habits, and ''that'' entity experiences karma in the current continuum. | Various schools of Buddhism have differing ideas about what continues after death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-MAG/45144_2.htm |title=六朝神滅不滅論與佛教輪迴主體之研究 |publisher=Ccbs.ntu.edu.tw |accessdate=13 November 2011}}</ref> The Yogacara school in Mahayana Buddhism said there are Store consciousness which continue to exist after death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-AN/an162621.htm |title=佛教心理論之發達觀 |publisher=Ccbs.ntu.edu.tw |accessdate=13 November 2011}}</ref> In some schools, particularly Tibetan Buddhism, the view is that there are three minds: ''very subtle mind'', which does not disintegrate in death; ''subtle mind'', which disintegrates in death and which is "dreaming mind" or "unconscious mind"; and ''gross mind'', which does not exist when one is ''sleeping''. Therefore, ''gross mind'' less permanent than subtle mind, which does not exist in death. ''Very subtle mind'', however, does continue, and when it "catches on", or coincides with phenomena, again, a new ''subtle mind'' emerges, with its own personality/assumptions/habits, and ''that'' entity experiences karma in the current continuum. | ||