One of the most important Buddhist doctrines is the theory of karma and rebirth. In the Maha ̄vastu, Buddha even said, "I teach only one thing, karma." However, unlike other theories of rebirth, Buddhist theory doesn't admit the substance of karma.
M...
One of the most important Buddhist doctrines is the theory of karma and rebirth. In the Maha ̄vastu, Buddha even said, "I teach only one thing, karma." However, unlike other theories of rebirth, Buddhist theory doesn't admit the substance of karma.
Most people, however, think that, when a phenomenon happens, there must be the substance to bring about the phenomenon. It is difficult for people like this to understand the Buddhist theory of non-self rebirth easily. Thus the Buddh- ists needed a suitable term to explain the continuity of reincarnation to them.
The Early Buddhism used the theory of consciousness (Vijn~n~a ̄na, 識) as a germ of the continuity of reincarnation. Consciousness is not immutable nor everlasting; but it appears and disappears in a moment, and is nothing but one of many mental phenomena. However, the Early Buddhist monks thought the consciousness as like the subject of reincarnation, a ̄tman, rather than a sort of mental phenomenon. After Buddha's entering Nirvana, Buddhist sects tried to explore the thing which put all transitory dharmas together and offered the unity and continuity of personality. As a result, there appeared many theories such as the fundamental consciousness (根本識) theory of Maha ̄saa ̄ghika or the existence cause consciousness (有分識, bhavaa ̄ga-vijna ̄na) theory of Theravada.
Japanese Buddhism which accepted the western philosophy earlier than Korea used the term of 'subject' on these theories. However, we can't find the term of subject in any Buddhist script. Western idea of subject is similar with self, substance, spirit and so on. So it is necessary to reconsider how this idea of subject was used in order to understand the Buddhist theory of non-self rebirth: is it proper or does it make confused?
In this respect, I examined core examples on the idea of subject in the Sutra on Absolute and Ultimate Emptiness (第一義空經, Diyiyikingjing) contained in the Za-ahanjing (雜阿含經) vol.13. In this sutra, Buddha said about karma and its doer, "there exist karma and its rebirth, but there doesn't exist its doer." Buddha's utterance of 'not exist' doesn't mean relative relation with 'exist,' for Buddha teaches the middle way. Substantial self which is identical and immutable during three times, cannot be admitted. However, the situational state of causal karma which explains the present retribution must be supposed and the continuity of karma be admitted.
As for the theory of rebirth which says karma and its retribution continue from this life to the next life, most people understand very simply and personally, that is, they think on the basis of the western idea of identical subject that, when one dies, one's something continues to the next life unchangingly. Yet, this western philosophical idea of identical subject, from beginning, contradicts Buddhist idea based on the dependent arising (緣起, Prata ̄tya-samutpa ̄da). Most of all, Buddhist rebirth does not transit from this place to other but transforms and succeeds continuously.
Buddhist view of subject is that the functional subject in the changing progress does exist, but the immovable and immutable does not, and that the subject in terms of 'how' does exist, but the subject of 'what' does not. This is the very idea of middle way taught by Buddha.
Western philosophy of subject have collapsed. Although western people sought the alternation of God in the absolute self immovable and immutable, the instant God was denied and the self was revealed just to the false ideal image in modern times, the substantial idea of subject has lost its pretext to exist. Thus, reinterpreting the relation between karma and its doer through Buddha's idea of middle way, will go far toward establishing the desirable morality in present times where the substance have collapsed.