Promising Across Lives to Save Non-Existent Beings: Identity, Rebirth, and the Bodhisattva's Vow

This essay considers whether the common practice within Buddhist texts of ascribing identity across lives is consistent with the lack of physical and continuity between lives, as well as the related question of whether the vow of the Bodhisattva to liberate all sentient beings can be viewed as a personal multi-lifetime commitment.