Now when we say 'no self', 'no soul', what we're talking about
is that in terms of ultimate reality there is no self or a
soul-entity that can be found. If you practise Buddhism, you will
eventually reach this realisation from direct intuitive experience,
you will see for yourself that there is no self separate self to be
found, and then you attain enlightenment. This is not a theory, and
there are many people today including many in this forum who have
become enlightened to the reality of no self... and we all
can.
Consciousness or self is not an agent, or entity that lives in our
body, nor is it a permanent entity that moves from one lifetime to
the next like some Hindus or other religions think. It is only a
momentary self that is reborn -- Self1, Self2, Self3, not a
permanent 'soul'. Rebirth happens not only lifetime to lifetime,
but every moment in our lives as long as we have not attained
enlightenment.
BUT, conventionally, in terms of relative truths, we still speak of
'you and me', 'him or her', we still recognise people by their
appearance. In terms of relative truths for example, I met you 5
years ago, but now I saw you again and I know that you are
monkeywarrior -- I know you are the same person, because I
recognise your looks. This is relative truths, concepts,
perceptions, names.
But in terms of ultimate reality there is no 'monkeywarrior' that
is the same person for 5 years... it's like asking are you the same
person since you were a baby? Actually there is really no permanent
self, only a momentary Self1, Self2, Self3, so you are neither the
same you nor different -- because a 'self' with inherent existence
cannot be found in the first place. It is empty.
Back to rebirth. So since 'No Self' is about ultimate reality, it
does not mean that there is 'No Self' therefore our consciousness
cannot continue after death. It continues but not as a fixed entity
-- just like Self1, Self2, Self3, etc. There is no inherently
existing self, but a momentary self that is utterly empty. It does
not mean just because there is no self to be found, a person cannot
fall into the ghost realm.
When we die, our consciousness undergoes stages of bardo, which is an intermediate state
of existence between death and rebirth. Bardo can last up to 49
days. There are exceptions of those who do not stay in bardo for
long -- for example, those with very good karma may ascend to
celestial realms/heaven almost immediately after death, while those
with very bad karma may descend to the hell realms almost
immediately after death. Those whose conditions are there and
chants Amitabha, and sincerely wish to be reborn in Pure Land,
Amitabha can bring them to his Pure Land, also almost immediately.
And then there are those who at the time of death, his
consciousness dissolves into the infinite Clear Light of our Buddha
Nature, and attains Nirvana, a state of liberation from Samsara.
This is truly possible if we practise the Dharma well, so we must
all start practising until we can overcome rebirth at death. Such a
person no longer needs to be reborn in the 6 realms, but when the
condition arises (i.e compassion; bodhisattva vows) he takes birth
in the 6 realms to lead sentient beings to enlightenment as a
Bodhisattva. Such a person is not reborn due to the power of Karma,
but due to the power of Vows, and he will appear in the world not
as an ordinary unenlightened sentient being but as a
Bodhisattva.
But let's talk about the case of most people. For most people, the
dead person's consciousness eventually leaves the body and takes
form of an Antarabhava, or Zhong Ying Sheng, which is an
intermediate body. You can call this 'soul' or whatever you like,
no problem, but you must understand that this 'soul' is also empty
in the ultimate sense -- but relatively speaking we can say that
there is an intermediate body, just as relatively speaking we can
say that we have a physical self/body right now.
Within this 49 days, the Antarabhava seeks for conditions for
rebirth. It happens that every 7 days there will be a light that
appears to the consciousness and serves as an opportunity for
rebirth, those whose karma syncs will be reborn to the various 6
realms of existence according to their karma. During this period,
there are many people who report visions of their dead relatives
coming to their dreams. This is a very common phenomena. During the
49 days we should also invite venerables to speak the dharma, about
the teachings of impermanence, suffering and emptiness to the
antarabhava so that he can quickly let go of the life he passed
away from (things such as his family, belongings, etc etc), be
reborn quickly and not dwell longer.
There are those who after 49 days fail to take rebirth, mainly due
to their attachment. Like they are very attached to their wife, or
to anything. Then they will turn into a ghost after 49 days because
all opportunites for rebirth are gone. Even if they do not have bad
karma, they have to dwell in the ghost realm for some period of
time in a state of misery though they probably dont have to go
through the torment of those ghosts who fall into that realm due to
bad karma. They'll be those 'wandering ghosts' who dwell in the
place of his attachment. If your loved ones keep appearing to you
after 49 days, then the likelihood is that he has become too
attached and turned into a ghost. In such cases you should ask a
venerable for advise, the ghost should be told to let go of their
attachment, and merits should be dedicated so that he can be reborn
in the 3 higher realms as quickly as possible and not dwell any
longer.
Next, Asuras and Ghost realm are different. Asuras belong to one of
the 3 realms. They also have good karma... but they like to fight
and are violent.. so those devas/celestial beings that love to
fight eventually descend into the Asuras realm.
Ghost is a different realm... there are many evil ghosts (and also
good ones) but they are not the same as asuras.
