Is reincarnation the continuation of karma as a pattern as opposed to a thing?
Alan Watts often discussed the concept of reincarnation in Eastern philosophies, emphasizing it as a continuation of karma as a pattern rather than as a transfer of a concrete entity or soul. He described karma as a process or pattern of action that continues across lifetimes, similar to how a wave moves—it's a pattern that persists even though the water (or individual) changes. In this view, reincarnation is not about the movement of an individual ego or soul, but rather the ongoing flow of action (karma) that creates the continuity of life experiences 91622.
Watts further clarified that karma involves both voluntary actions and involuntary experiences, highlighting that what we recognize as "self" includes both controlled and uncontrolled elements of our experiences. Thus, karma is not simply a series of events but the broader pattern of existence that encompasses everything that happens to us 212.
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