(QnA-09)- Did Buddha really say that there is no soul?

[Quick links]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is quite a tricky question. It could potentially lead to unending debates. Most Buddhists believe that Buddha did say that the soul does not exist. 

 

And many a so-called ‘rationalist’ rally behind Buddhism because it rejects the concept of soul!

BookTalk: Buddha’s Soul

Quick links 

In Today’s book talk I am going to talk about my book “Buddha’s Soul’.

Real teacher Vs False teacher

We come across many teachers – some real, interested in our welfare, and some in their own. Buddha gives a nice simile to differentiate between these two categories of teachers.

Right way to look at sensuality

 

Buddha’s ‘No’ ‘No’ to sensuality confuses some people. Lot of questions get raised in their mind. “Can it ever be done?”, “What is wrong in going after sense pleasures?”, “Is the happiness derived from sense pleasures not worth it?”, "Is there something beyond these pleasures?",  and so on.

Have you ever tried living alone?

Many of us dread the idea of living alone, even for a day, let alone whole life. Loneliness scares us. We always want to be surrounded by people who are dear to us. At least we need to keep interacting with the world either through phone, TV or internet. Why is that so? 

How essential is right way of living?

We often come across people who live a unwholesome life, but talk high about their spiritual achievements. There are many modern Gurus who live a lowly life, while preaching spirituality to others. They even say that Yama and Niyama of Yoga are not at all needed and one can straight away jump to meditation or ‘other limbs’ of Yoga. 

I have ridiculed them in my post ‘tail wagging the dog’. What does Buddha say about this attitude?

Deeper insights into body and Mind

In the previous post, we saw how Buddha explains a way of coming out of the association with our bodies. This is part of Vipassana or often called ‘Insight meditation’ talked about by Buddha. 

We are not just body. We have a mind too, and the Buddhists recognize that fact. Buddha says that we have to understand the reality of this mind too and come out of its association. That is the Vipassana of the mind.  How does one do that?

How to come out of body consciousness?

Most of us are so deeply conscious of our body that we can’t think of anything without involving the body. So much so that we almost take it for granted and don’t even realize it. Beyond a limit, this can be a great impediment to our further progress. Is there a way out? Buddha has a way.

How to improve mental concentration?

Whether it is our day to day life or be it professional life, good mental concentration is a must for achieving best results. So also for meditation. Without first developing good mental concentration, you cannot successfully meditate even. 

How does one improve mental concentration? Let us hear that right from the horse’s mouth.

Why are we born?

That probably is a question that intrigues some of us. At a superficial level, the answer to this question is quite simple – “because of mating of our parents” ;-). But if we look deep, that does not answer the question completely.

Should a realized person preach others?

Is it wrong for a realized individual to propagate what he has experienced? Or should he keep away from the world without getting into the entanglement of Guru-disciple relations?

A real Guru needs no false propaganda

Today we see many Gurus trying to lure prospective disciples by posting internet ads, uploading vague YouTube videos, giving discourses in reputed organizations, visiting rich countries, getting interviewed by celebrities, displaying or talking about miracles, and so on.

Here and now (Buddha’s soul….)

 Many religions hold the promise of better life in the next birth or merry time in the heavens after death, in reward to your good deeds. Faithful accept these promises unquestioningly. But none of these things can be verified “here and now”.

A sinner becomes a saint (Buddha’s soul….)

 

There is a nice story in the Sutta Pitaka (DN 2: Samaññaphala Sutta) that says how even a worst sinner can get himself elevated through repentance and good deeds.

Baskets full of wisdom (Buddha’s soul….)

A disciple always looks up to his Guru for wisdom. He needs Guru’s guidance when he moves on the path of spiritual; quest. But the Guru can’t be there forever. So the disciples meticulously record whatever the Guru says, to look back when the Guru is no longer around.

Buddha’s soul

Did Buddha have a soul? An interesting question, but a question that may offend some Buddhists. Buddhists firmly believe that no such thing like soul exists.

BUDDHIST MEDITATION – How does it actually work?

It is very common that a young girl or a boy gets physically attracted to another person of the opposite sex. Most of this attraction could have been developed due to environmental factors – what they read, what they see, what they hear and so on. But surely there is something that is inherent in our brains that puts one in that state, no matter how much one may try to avoid.

BUDDHIST MEDITATION – The way to go about

All of us know how difficult it is to free ourselves from craving. But to attain the goal of Nirvana, Buddhists say that one has to put an end to all craving. How does one do that?

BUDDHIST MEDITATION - Its goal

Meditation is the main tool of Buddhism. It is so elaborate a process, that it will not be possible for me to go into its details in short blog posts. I will defer it to my book to be published. Here, I will only touch upon some salient aspects.

Patanjali’s goal for meditation was ‘self’ realization. But the Buddhists reject the very idea of ‘self’ or soul. So, why do they meditate?

MEDITATION - Do I get psychic powers?

I sometimes get irritated when people ask me whether I have attained any psychic powers since I write books on Yoga and Meditation ;-) In my view, that is the most stupid question to ask.