Thanks Lal, can you please comment on the following that is bothering me for some time:
IF a being is nothing more than rupa, vedana, sanna, sankhara and vinnna and after death of that being (for example an arahant) rupa, vedana, sanna, sankhara and vinnana do not arise anymore, then that can only lead to the conclusion that an arahant does not exist after death. He/she just goes out like a flame, with nothing remaining.
I see two problems:
-according the sutat’s the buddha did not teach an arahant does not exist anymore after death. He also did not teach he does exist, nor did he teach that he both exist and not-exist, nor did he take the stand of nor-existing nor not-existing.
-striving for ones non-existence after death does not seem as a noble goal. striving for truth is. Striving for non-existence, fearing suffering, that looks very much like vi-bhava tanha. That is no good motivation.
Siebe