Book Title: Harmony of All Religions
Author(s): Parmahans Maharaj, Veena Rani Howard
Publisher: USA Santmat Society of North America

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Page 183
________________ The Concept of No-self (anatta) and Reincarnation: A Contradiction? It is generally accepted that someone who holds to the theory of no-self would not have room for reincarnation in his philosophy. It is also assumed that a believer in n-self cannot also believe in the concept of transmigration. But, the Buddha himself speaks about his own multiple lives. His Jataka Tales (the stories of Buddha's past lives) are the prime evidence. The following verse from the Dhammapada can be presented as testifying his belief in the reincarnation of the soul: I have run through a course of many births looking for the Maker of this dwelling and have been unable to find Him. Painful is birth again and again. (Dhammapada, Jaravaggo). Conclusion Theorists of Atheism typically do not believe in an afterlife, and therefore, for them this life is the extent of fulfillment. They do not consider that there is life after the death of the gross body, and they disregard the traditional belief in heaven and hell. Consequently, the happiness of this physical body is their ultimate goal. In contrast to those opinions, Buddha unequivocally speaks about life after the physical death of the 174

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