authority

No-Self and Buddhism

|#> In relation to the comparison of the 2 religions Hindu and Buddhism is this
|#> where  'non self' was introduced.   My understanding of non self was for the
|#> other religions in India at the time, now defined as Hindu, and their belief
|#> that more than just kamma was transfered duringtheir rebirth.  So to
|#> differentiate between the two, nonself was introduced.  Hence in Buddhism it
|#> is only the kamma, not spirit caste etc.

|# Yes this is I think what happened. Partly Anatman (no-soul) was
|# introduced to specifically  repudiate the Upanishadic tradition of
|# Atman having a permanent essential nature (identical with Brahma).
|#
|# However it also those of us that have grown up in a Christian
|# influenced society which also believes in a soul.

| Is this to be let go of? Is this an attachment on *I,me,my*?

yes

| Personally if I go, sobeit, my soul was attached to my shoe and can remain
| there:-p  

apparently this means you've realized the conditional reality of that
 so many like to identify as a central identity

| Just my kamma account will remain open for the next life (describing it 
| this way is also an attachment).  

karma as an adhesion dissappears except socially when examined critically,
 just as the notion of an atman vaporizes with any consistent attention

| That's why I try to assist others rather than just look after myself 
| (a norm of todays society).

convention. self-interest; being helpful to get karma-points

| Respectively the first will help my kamma account the later my bank account
| but would not be any use next life around.

		karma account -- variables on how to close it; some suggest
			         that a Zero Sum balance is needed = 0 with
			         no positive or negative karma; some suggest
				 that you need a positive balance; some say
				 that karma is not the determining factor

		bank account -- this pertains only to your range of dominion

| Maybe if our fear is - what about my soul? Why not concider the kamma
| account instead.  What is the difference?

the difference is that the soul is continual identity

| If with Christianity, would the kamma be satisfactory for judgement (is that
| why hell is envisaged with red). 

a very good question; typically the karma would have to be tallied by the
 Cosmic God in order to have any bearing on the Judgment

| Is the soul to focus on *your* only life, hence the need for part of 
| *you* to go the heaven with *your* kamma?

quite correct

| Personally if you can go to heaven/hell after death, how can you not then be
| reincarnated. Is this a reincarnation anyway?

no, because the idea is that the meat-body is left behind, or transmuted
 into the heavenly realm ('ascended bodily', as special legendary persons)
 and changed into some 'perfect' substance

| In the bible others are writting *their* version of an occurence, the 
| Dhamma is a quote of what was said by Buddha or other monks at a site.  

too simplistic. suffice it to say that religious tracts are unreliable

| By having people write their version is this tainted by their *self*

and transmitted through a tradition this taints it by virtue of some
 kind of reputation to uphold (school's authority, master's level, etc.)