khamvilay
The ultimate aim of Buddhism is Nibbana. At the time Buddhism entered to china first, there were two schools mainly those Buddhism and Daoism, their teaching of external practicing were similarly but their aim was difference, the theory of soul between Buddhism and Daoism.
So the soul is mean that the world of the personality, man, self, sense of body, identity, substantial. And the soul where we can find in our self, in our identity, therefore the different self there are different soul be hide self.
In early Buddhism, the soul theory was very interesting, there were two ideas Barhmanic arising: Sassatavadin and Ucchetavadin both of them had different idea with soul. Sassatavadin who believed the soul cannot dead, the soul continue alive, that soul is eternal, immortal and Ucchetavadin who believed soul arising and in finally vanished, nothing continue, everything of life destruction. But Buddhism is middle idea between eternality and nihilist, nor eternality and nor nihilist.
Where the soul come from which believe that the Brahmanic who create the soul, or self, or man that mean man and all being are created by Brahmanic.
The Chinese Buddhist misunderstands at the early time between Taoists and Buddhist such as: with the theory of Nibbana, Arahant, soul and pure man. Taosists and Buddhist they were mixtures, they said that the Nibbana is the same with soul immortal and the Arahant is the same with pure man.
