[spineeupsenry]

Ah. I should have been more careful with my wording. Not "found nothing", but found nothing except the body, the various sensations and what we make of them, and the ongoing stream of consciousness. No spirit, soul, homunculus or anything that can zip out of the body at death and enter another body.

Maybe this is the main aspect to be considered. As far as I have understood, what we are is a compound of the five khandas which in the unaware mind takes them as a self as it happens with the six senses where the unaware mind thinks, for example, that the eye is myself. Same happens with the mind, mind contact and mind consciousness taken as self.

I think that the idea of stream of consciousness has never been taught in the [main?] Nikayas. What I see are moments not a flow. Very tiny moments of consciousness, its object and its sense organ: An idea-the mind-contact=consciousness. Right View or Samadhitti is developed to contemplate that moments. An idea arise and fade with no trace in our mind until we grasp, crave and cling. IMO, there is no such thing as a stream.

After the disruption of the body, where there is no more contact of the sense organ with its object, consciousness ceases. Or, where does such a stream goes?

The case of the poem... The poem is an idea, be it written or be it spoken, that makes contact with the sense organ called mind where this contact is the birthplace of mind consciousness of the poem which can be taken as mine or my self which can lead to the idea of a flow.

And yet, this life is not impotent. What we do here has countless effects into the future, so we need to behave ethically if peace is to be achieved. What then, carries on if it's not one's consciousness or spirit?

I'm really enjoying this conversation, Kaarine! That is great, I am enjoying it too!