What are all the different Buddhist explanations of the soul or eternal self?

by Midpath

Question by Curious Spirit on "Buddhist":

I have read many different explanations from buddhists on what the "soul" is. What schools of buddhist thought even believe in the eternal soul and what is there evidence compared to the others who believe in a flux?

Best Answer:

Answer by P'ang
The Buddha taught that there were three "marks of existence" that are present in and characterize all existing things: - Suffering - Impermanence - Non-self "Non-self" describes the complete lack of self-identity or essential nature within existing things. The term "existing things" refer to the complete range of mental phenomena: forms, feelings, impulses, perceptions, consciousness. None of these mental phenomena have any self-nature or singularly defining characteristic. This does not mean that souls do not exist. The Buddha acknowledged that there might be a non-bodily essence that could exist. But he asserted that one could never have any evidence for the existence of such an essence based on mental phenomena. Since everything that appears to human beings constitutes mental phenomena, we can't know that souls exist. Some Buddhist traditions, especially within the vast Mahayana movement, refer to something known as "Buddha-nature." This is sometimes described as eternal and always present, yet not depending on name and form. Other Buddhist traditions point to this teaching as evidence that Mahayanists have imported the notion of "soul" into Buddhism.

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