Sasatavada (English: eternalism/perpetualism) is the Pali term for the Buddhist doctrine of eternal becoming or eternal life, "one life after another", or the "round of Samsara". The idea of eternal becoming is a perfect example of this. Buddhism however rejects perpetualism/eternalism (bhava-becoming) along with nihilism (vibhava-unbecoming). The rejection is based on the notion that when a phenomenal object is analysed into elements, no independent eternal parts can be found. This is also true of the entirety of Vedanta and Neoplatonism wherein becoming (eternally) is a heresy and flaw of the will (nous; Pali: citta) that identifies with matter and is perpetually reincarnated into a new form, life after life. Common modern doctrinal missconception in Buddhism is that the denial of Eternalism is the rejection of the Subjective Soul (atman), however no such substantiation exists.
