Karma, Theseus, Nihilism, and the Illusion of Self

One question I get asked alot regarding Buddhism is whether I believe in karma and reincarnation or not. Better yet, how exactly does that all fit together? Can you spend karma like credit? If I kill someone, will I become a bug in my next life? You’ll get many different answers depending on who you ask, but here’s my interpretation on the two: Neither exist.

…At least in the traditional sense. Now before you accuse me of not believing in reincarnation, you must first consider what your definition of reincarnation is. Are we literally born into different lifetimes as different beings? That implies that you and I have a “self” or “soul”. Sakyamuni Buddha taught otherwise. For the majority of my life, I struggled to understand how one could have a unique identity, yet still not exist as an individual. If I also claim karma doesn’t exist in the way that most Buddhists say that it does (transferring through lifetimes and reincarnations), then how am I to claim myself a Buddhist at all? Let’s walk first through karma…

Cause and Effect

Some say that karma is an intricate system of exchangeable credit where good deeds are offset by bad ones, and at the end of the day (or life), if you have more good than bad, then perhaps you won’t be reborn as an ant. I find this claim to be fundamentally false. Karma is nothing more than an abstraction of human behavior, social morality, and statistics. With time, what’s deemed “moral” or “immoral” will change countless times. Rights and wrongs are social constructs created by man— as are the rewards and punishments resulting from such actions. In Ancient Greece, exacting revenge on the one who killed your father was a sign of honor and loyalty. Doing the same today, depending on where you live, would send you to prison or possibly to your death.

Therefore, karma is nothing more than cause and effect existing back and forth between postive and negative social reactions. As a student, if you cheated on every exam, you may not be caught every time; but the more you cheat, the chances of being caught become higher over the course of your academic career. As a philanthropist, every donation that you give may not be be recognized; but the more you give, the more likely it is that you will be celebrated.

Now let’s zoom out to a macro scale. When the overall karma of a population, race, or country begins to skew in one direction, we become either more evolved or more animal. Because of actions/karma of someone thousands of years ago, society established that homosexuality should be punished by death in certain areas of the world. On the other hand, because of the actions/karma of another individual just 50 years ago, Americans of all races are allowed to participate in government. This is how karma is transferred over time.

Reincarnation?

Here is where I begin to diverge from the popular schools of Buddhism on a physical sense (but perhaps not philosophical). I don’t believe in reincarnation. When I die, I don’t expect my “soul” to be reborn as another being. Sounds awfully nihilistic, doesn’t it? Quite the contrary.

The Ship of Theseus is a paradox that asks whether something that has had its individual parts replaced ceases to be the same object in its original form. If, over time, you replaced the wooden planks, the sails, the cannons, and the crew of a ship, does it continue to exist as the same ship? This is my view of reincarnation. A human being living 500 years from now that carries the same beliefs as yourself… is that “you”? The physical attributes may not be the same, but on a metaphysical sense, you are one in the same. Karma still flows linearly and affects the two of you. Your actions today will affect his/her life in the future (albeit possibly infinitesimally depending on the social impact of said actions) and so on and so forth through the generations.

Avoiding Nihilism

With these beliefs, it is very easy to slip into an existiential nihilist mindset. As a biological entity, “you”, as you perceive yourself, will cease to exist on a conscious level. Your body will broken down into hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, calcium, etc. So, then what is the point of life if we all will ultimately die?

Aha! Here you have discovered the illusion of “self”. The most elementary form of possession — obsessing over your social identity. Imagine that your ability of perception is so great that you are able to understand everyone’s mindset and beliefs. The homeless man in the subway stop asking for money; can you empathize with his sadness? The billionaire hedge fund manager; can you understand his ego? Once you are able to do this on a much grander scale, you can understood everyone’s reasons for suffering. Suddenly, you realize that you have “lived multiple lifetimes” vicariously through others. You have been reborn multiple times without physically dying. During this process, you were no longer yourself— you were millions of other people. And such, the illusion of “self” is dispelled and you realize karma only affects the ego and the individual.You are liberated. You are enlightened.

“If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are”
-Zen Proverb

In Conclusion

I don’t claim myself to be a master of this practice. Understanding the illusion of “self” is only 10% of the battle. Being able to sustain this mindset and relate with those around us is the most difficult task. Too often, we let our ego dictate our actions. Too often, we view social morality as static, while it has clearly shown to be dynamic over the course of history.