My Sixth Look at Buddhism: The Last of the Three Marks: Not-Self

The Three Marks that characterize life within the Buddhist philosophy are Impermanence, Suffering, and Not-Self. This post discusses Not-Self.

Buddhism admits that this is the most challenging of the three marks to understand. It’s basic thought is that we do not have an essential self or personality that continues on without change. This is a tenet that distinguishes Buddhism from many other religious systems.

Buddhism teaches that five factors comprise an individual:

1. The body or material form.
2. Feeling.
3. Perception.
4. Thought/Decisions
5. Consciousness (Self-awareness)

These five aspects of individuality do make a person unique--but not permanently so. The Buddha taught that when a disciple considers each one of these five “components” of personhood, he should say:

This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.

In this life, a person does not remain who he has been. The adult is not the child he once was, for example. Yet this belief extends even into other lives. (Buddhism, like Hinduism teaches reincarnation--the continuation of many lives. The two appear to have different views of the same basic belief.) The personality changes when it leaves this life and enters another life in the world. This puts a personality in a continual process of change. Therefore, all that I consider to be me is really not me. I am not myself.

Not-Self is antithetical to Christianity.

What would Christ say of Not-Self? Obviously, Christ did not deal with Buddhism per se. However, His life and words do speak to the issue of a person’s soul. Does a person remain who they are after death?

One day, a group of Sadducees came to Christ to trap Him with a “discussion” of the resurrection. The Jews had a custom that if a man died without a son the next of kin would marry the widow and name the son from that marriage after his deceased brother. This kept inheritances and family names going. It was called Levirate Marriage.

The Sadducees told Christ that a man married a woman then died. His brother married her, and he died. This sad turn of events kept going until seven brothers were laid in the earth. Finally, the poor woman keeled over herself. (How many marriages can one person stand?) The Sadducees, who didn’t believe in resurrection anyway, wanted a lesson from Christ about this story. One obvious lesson would be, “Don’t marry that lady!” but Jesus went right to the heart of the matter.

He said, “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.... But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. (This story is in Matthew 22:23-33.)

Abraham lived around 2000 years before Christ. Jesus points out that God did NOT say “I was the God of Abraham.” He said, “I am the God of Abraham.” This means that Abraham is alive in the presence of God. And he is still Abraham. Isaac is still Isaac. Jacob is still Jacob.

When Christ was transfigured on the mountain, Moses and Elijah appeared with Him. They had not lost their personalities. They still bore their names and were known by the disciples through some intuitive means.

God is in the business of loving, redeeming, and glorifying individuals.

This does not mean that we don’t change or grow. One of the purposes in our salvation is to be conformed to the image of Christ. Yet the Scriptures show us that even in that process, we remain who we are.

This is true in hell, as well. Dives was still Dives there. He is who he was.

Buddhism has a solid view of reincarnation and karma. Karma dictates the good and the bad consequences a person experiences in the next life for the deeds done in this life.

However--and this is an honest question--if the personality is Not-Self from life to life:

How is it just that someone else (not myself) be punished for my “sins” in this life?

How is it just that someone else (not myself) reap the benefits of my good actions done in this life?

It sounds like the karmic record-keeping would be a horrible mess.