@Lal:
Thank you for responding. You don’t have to be cocky about your knowledge.
I did read your comments and the essays you referenced. You make the same conclusion in most of your posts, summarized as, “A sentient being is an everchanging lifestream that evolves according to the law of Paticca Samuppada. There is no self in reality but beings below the arahant stage have the perception of self.”
My issue with that idea is that how can there be perception of anything along with conscious ability to think and do bodily actions if there is no self in reality? Furthermore, when an arahant realizes that there is no “me”, do they suddenly become talking corpses?
By “goal”, I wasn’t referring to the ultimate goal of ending rebirth process but the understanding one needs to have in this context. If each existence represents different “person”, why should one worry about future suffering?
Note: I started this thread with the intent of learning. If I say anything wrong, I want to be corrected. It is okay if ya’ll don’t have answers, lmk and I’ll stop posting.