What is self?

I’ve recently started exploring Buddhism, and one topic I’ve been thinking about and am somewhat confused on as I’ve heard/read different things is the idea of self and what that really is.

I read Mindfulness; A Practical Guide to Awakening by Joseph Goldstein and if I remember correctly he stated multiple times that there is no “self”, no observer that is actually behind this whole thing. I also remember reading a chapter on consciousness and it basically stating that consciousness is just a result of our senses, sense object and awareness meeting (I don’t know if I got that part right but I believe it was along those lines). And there was a quote of someone approaching the Buddha with a question regarding universal consciousness which the Buddha told him was untrue.

So what is “self”? And if there is no self then what would reincarnate and how would some remember past lives?

Also what is the general idea of consciousness in Buddhism? Is it a belief in a universal consciousness or just a set of circumstances that have given us consciousness?

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