If there is no self, how reincarnation exist?
According to Buddhism, there is no part which we can treat as self (or soul) among material or non-material parts of a living being. All of the material and non-material parts exist as a huge sequence of base units and we conventionally treat those as a living being.
When we think scientifically, a living being is a huge collection of various kinds of atoms. Similarly Buddhism teaches there is an ultimate entity of matter (this may be the fundamental particle as in the science) which is very much smaller than an atom, and called Rupa-kalapa. Life time of a Rupa-kalapa is very short but when one dies one or many new Rupa-kalapa arises. So, we can see objects (E.g.; coin, pencil, electron, physical body) as solid and unchanging things. But actually every material object is a huge changing sequence of Rupa-kalapas.
Every physical object (E.g.; pencil) is a convention that is felt differently from animal to animal by the nature of their sense base. Humans have universally agreed on some scale for measuring the length. Then for similar shaped objects they have given a name. Evan for the same pencil, different humans see different things. Conventionally they may say there is a pencil. But actually a pencil is a huge changing sequence of ultimate entities. For an animal with eyes like an electron microscope, the world is just a vast collection of atoms. By the Lord Buddha, material things are likened to a great lump of foam.
Similar to the materials, there are ultimate entities for non-material parts (which is related to the mind). Let’s simply call it “Citta”. Citta is not like material entities, it can only exist one at a time for a being. When one dies another one arises instantly without any delay (like a wave). Lifetime of a Citta is very small (smaller than trillions part of a second). Sequence of Citta never stops, even at the sleep. At death this sequence will smoothly transfer to a new body without any break. So, the non-material part is a huge Citta sequence or stream. When our last Citta vanishes from the body, the next Citta arises at a new place as a new being without any delay since a Karma (this Karma is called Regenerative-Karma). Citta stream doesn’t end since its craving to exist. Before the last Citta vanishes, the Citta stream will remind a past Karma. So, this Karma will power the new life. But nothing goes from past life to new life. But we can't treat new life as a different being. Since new life arises since the past life. For an example, think about your image from a mirror. Image arises since you and we treat image as yours but it is a different thing. Similarly you should think about the new being after death. New birth is not the same being but also not a different being.
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