The Buddha taught rebirth, not reincarnation. He rejected the idea of an eternal soul being reborn in a new body. Instead, he spoke of an underlying essence or energy transitioning from one life to another, rather than the persistence of a soul or self. Our essence—driven by karma—is reborn, but without a permanent self. Beyond reincarnation, the Buddha suggested a continuity, a stream of being that transcends individual lives, challenging traditional ideas of identity and existence.
This distinction aligns more with a materialist perspective, suggesting that the fundamental nature of existence is energy or matter. In Buddhist terms of self, non-self, and emptiness, he challenged the idea of a “self,” replacing it with the doctrine of non-self and emptiness. Buddhist emptiness, or nondualism, asserts that your mind is part of the universe, and emptiness is a way to rid yourself of the illusion that it is separate.
The concept of emptiness teaches that nothing has a permanent essence. Everything, including yourself, arises due to various conditions and ceases when those conditions no longer exist. A chair is a chair until it is not.
The Buddha taught that understanding emptiness and non-self helps overcome suffering by revealing the true nature of reality. Imagine yourself standing by a river, surrounded by lush forest. As you take in the beauty, you realize that the separation between yourself and nature is just an illusion.