Do you believe in reincarnation?

Well, when I get that question, I can't easily say "yes" or "no."

As a child, I thought that when a person dies, it's either the end or they are reborn with memories of their past life, one of the two.

However, the more I look deeply into it, the more I feel there's something that can't be explained by just those two options.

Is my body really 'me'?

I often think that the 'self' we commonly refer to doesn't completely align with this visible body.

The body is born, grows, ages, gets sick, and eventually breaks down and disappears. But the 'consciousness' within us has a different nature.

Haven't you ever felt that way when you just woke up from sleep?

In that brief moment when you open your eyes, your mind is very clear that 'I am awake,' but your body is still sluggish and not fully awake.

If you pay attention then, it feels like consciousness and body are not entirely one but rather two separate entities connected to each other.

It's like a driver driving a car on the road. If the car gets old and breaks down, it will eventually stop and be scrapped, but does that mean the driver disappears too?

Just because the body stops functioning doesn't mean the consciousness that was observing the world from within it is completely erased.

The body might just be a temporary outfit or tool borrowed to experience this stage called the world.

The Illusion of 'Self' and the Candle Analogy

That said, I don't believe in reincarnation in the sense of "I will be born again with the same memories as before" like in the movies.

Many people mix their thoughts here. If you think about it, where do the personality, preferences, and small habits that make up who I am now come from?

They are the results of the people I've met, the experiences I've had, and the wounds and joys that have shaped me over decades.

In other words, they are fragments of memory that cannot exist without this body and the current environment.

If the body disappears with death and all the memories in the brain are erased, how can one say that the same 'me' is reborn? That's impossible.

So when I think of reincarnation, I picture a 'candle.'

Here is a candle with a flame. If I transfer this flame to another candle, a new flame will emerge, right?

Now, is this new flame the same as the original flame, or is it a different flame? It's quite mysterious. It's certainly a continuation of the previous flame, but we can't call it completely the same flame.

I think our consciousness might be similar. When conditions and connections align, it's like a new life igniting as the flame transfers.

This isn't the same 'me' repeating but rather a phenomenon where the energy of life continues to 'connect.'

Flowing Body, Continuing Consciousness

In fact, just looking at our bodies shows this. Biologically, the cells in our bodies are constantly dying and being reborn at every moment.

They say that after a few years, most of the cells that make up our bodies are completely replaced. In the end, I am still me, but my body is not the same as it was before.

Yet, we mysteriously feel the same 'self' as we live.

Ultimately, what makes 'me' exist is not the physical mass of the body but the continuity of consciousness that flows without interruption.

As Buddhism says, it's a phenomenon that appears momentarily when conditions and connections come together, and Western philosophy has also stated that human identity comes from the links of memory and experience.

The Reason I'm Not Afraid of Death

Thinking in this way has made my perspective on death much more comfortable.

No one in this world can prove whether death is complete annihilation or the beginning of another world.

But it's clear that the current 'me' does not repeat endlessly like a hamster on a wheel.

However, if after I leave, conditions align somewhere in this universe again, another clear consciousness will emerge like a candle flame.

And that consciousness will open its eyes again and marvel at the world.

Of course, that being will be completely different from me now in name, face, personality, and memories.

But the great flow of life and the vast ocean of consciousness continue to flow without interruption.

The fear of death comes from the feeling that everything ends.

But if you think of it as not the end, but a natural process of briefly staying at this station called the body and then flowing away in the great cycle of nature, a strange comfort comes to your heart.

Ultimately, what matters isn't the distant mystery of 'what will I be born as in the next life.' After all, this outfit called the body must be shed someday.

What's truly important is what thoughts I held, whom I loved, and how warmly I embraced the world in this very moment while wearing this outfit.

So, in response to the question of whether I believe in reincarnation, my answer is this: I do not believe in the miracle of being reborn as the same 'me.'

But I believe that the warmth of consciousness and life within me will connect to another flame whenever the conditions are right.