Buddhism, and especially Indian Buddhism, famously takes the position that there is no self. What this is usually taken to mean is that there is no core in a person (or anything else) that remains unchanged while other features change. Critics of Buddhism have usually raised the objection that if there is no core that remains unchanged in a person—if there is no self—then it is difficult to make sense of the Buddhist teaching in rebirth. Moreover, if there is no self, then there is no one to undergo awakening or enlightenment. Both of these issues will be discussed in the module, which will be followed, as in previous modules, with questions for discussion.

How can there be personal continuity through one or more lifetimes?

What makes awakening possible?