What Continues After Death?
Does a ‘me’ or a ‘self’ or a ‘soul’ continue after death? Yes. Just as there has been a ‘me’ throughout your life, there is a ‘me’ that continues after death. The ‘me’ I was yesterday continues to be the ‘me’ I am today; the ‘me’ I was last year continues to be the ‘me’ I am this year. And the ‘me’ I am today will continue to be ‘me’ after I die. This ‘me’ is not like the religious concept of a soul that is spoken of in the Abrahamic religions, it is merely an imputed idea. In other words, ‘me’ is an illusion. But don’t despise ‘me’ just because it is an illusion. All our illusions are very powerful and the ‘me’ illusion is the strongest of all. The Oxford English Dictionary tells us that the Abrahamic religions think of the soul as “the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal”. These religions also believe that animals and other living beings have a different kind of soul to human beings. Buddhists, on the other hand, believe in continuity. W...
