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Subject: atman, anatman, death and creation (was Re: Questions about Buddhism)
Date: 27 Jun 1996 11:46:53 -0700
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suyog@ihsdv1.ih.att.com (-Bhobe,S.M.):

|...I got the impression that Buddhism reject the concept of 
|"Atman" as written in the Vedas.  

that is a matter of very complex scholarly debate.  it is unclear,
 and there is very reasonable argument that there existed and 
 yet exists a diversity of understanding regarding the term 'atman'

|According to Buddhism there is no unchanging, eternal, and 
|distinct Self.  Am I right?

yes, this is the traditional teaching

|...If the Buddhists don't believe in soul, then who is it that 
|attains nirvana?  Who is it that accumulates Karma and is reborn?  

'nirvana' is not attained so much as allowed.  it is not that a
 'who' allows it so much that a 'what' does, within Buddhist metaphysics 

that 'what' is described as 'the buddha-nature'.  the buddha-nature may 
 be the comparative to the Vedic 'atman'

|What is the purpose of leading a spiritual life if there is no soul?  

in both systems the stated traditional objectives surrounding the
 practice are forms of 'liberation'.  in Vedic teachings and perhaps
 others as well the focus is upon what is called 'moksa' or 'moksha',
 which indicates differing things to different people -- to some it
 is the ability to be completely free within human existence, to some
 it is an escape from literal physical rebirth in the material world

in Buddhism the liberation is not always from the condition of
 rebirth itself but from dullness and ignorance toward a freedom of
 AWARENESS.  this is why there is a focus upon the concept of 
 'awakening'.  many diverse views exist even for an interpretation
 of these things (nirvana, the extinguishment of craving which
 leads to the attachment that constrains our awareness, is sometimes
 said to be a place of rebirth or indeed (in parinirvana) the cessation
 of rebirth altogether)
 
|...The Buddhists do believe that "something" survives "death".
|What is the nature of that "something"?  Isn't it the same
|thing as the Atman?

it is unclear whether it is meaningful to say 'atman survives death',
 especially if this death-change is somewhat illusory, and yet many
 Buddhists appear to indicate that the buddha-nature is what subsists
 between rebirths, given characteristics by the karma (action/activity
 and fruits of action) of the particular.  some say that cessation
 from the generation of karma leads to the goals outlined above

|4. What is the Buddhist view on creation?  

there is no one view on this, and it is said by many that the Buddha
 was silent not only on the matter of rebirth and what happens 
 between, before or after lives, but also regarding the precise 
 metaphysics of cosmological origination beyond the present

there is a principle central to Buddhism which is 'interdependent
 origination', or 'codependent arising', which describes not so
 much a linear temporal justification of present experience as a
 model of how manifestation occurs within consciousness

often the world in which we live is presented within the context of
 countless creations effected by the minor deity Brahma, who may
 emerge as the creation of superiors in 'the realms of divinity',
 yet these are side-issues as regards the process of awakening, 
 since even the gods and bodhisattvas, etc., continually undergo
 the rebirth and karmic oscillation attributed to sentient beings

|I think the Buddhists don't believe in God or Creator.  

it does vary considerably, and there are some who combine eastern
 Buddhist concepts with Western creation-deities for their upaya

|How did the creation come into existence without a creator?  

it was fabricated through the mutual consciousness of the buddha-nature
 as a great webwork within which to wake up.  

some take the vows which they think will persuade all sentient beings 
 into this condition and call this 'MAHAYANA' as an indicator of 
 self-discipline and compassion, 

some do not admit of the separation of this webwork, accepting that 
 their own waking will enhance the overall scheme and call this 
 'THERAVADA' and perhaps 'VAJRAYANA', 

and some consider the entire framework of the vehicles to be illusory,
 a latticework designed by illusionists to trick us into awakening and
 call this 'AVIDYANA'