Buddhism
“Everything that arises also passes away,
so strive for what has not arisen.” - Buddha
Three Marks of Existence
Impermanence (anicca)
No Self (anatta)
Suffering (dukkha)
The Greater Discourse
on Cause
Buddhist Conception of
Reality
Doctrine of Dependent Arising
Reality is a flow of multiple
momentary mutually conditioned
events.
Impermanence is a pervasive
feature of the universe.
Impermanence
(1) All things come into existence and go
out of existence.
(2) While things exist, they undergo
constant change.
The 12
Links in
the Causal
Chain of
Dependent
Arising
John Holder Observation
The Buddhist view of reality stands in
between the extremes of theories that postulate
a transcendent absolute reality (e.g., Brahman
in Hinduism) and those that postulate that
nothing exists (metaphysical nihilism).
“From the point of view of dependent
arising, things do exist, but only as
complex, interdependent, changing
processes.” (Holder, p. 26)
Discourse to Kaccayana
“‘Everything exists’ – this is one
extreme. ‘Everything does not exist’ –
this is the second extreme. Without
approaching either of these extremes,
the Tathagata teaches dhamma by the
middle.” (Buddha, in Holder, p. 83)
A Discourse to the
First Five Disciples
Verses of Sister Vajira
No Self (Anatta)
All Things
are
Impermanent
There is
No Self
There is no permanent self or
enduring mind.
“For the Buddhist there is no atman or essential
self underlying the changing stream of events
which constitute the mind-body complex. The
Buddhist doctrine of no-abiding-self (Pali:
anatta; Sanskrit: anatman) provided a stark
philosophical contrast to brahmanical notions
of a substantial self (atman).”
– Richard King, Indian Philosophy, p. 78)
What is the human person?
Personhood in Buddhism
Buddhism maintains that a person is a dynamic aggregation of
five different elements (skandhas), together called Nama-Rupa
Vinnana
Consciousness
Sankhara
Dispositions or Tendencies
Sanna
Perception or recognition
of sensation
Vedana
Feelings or Sensations
Rupa
The Physical Body
The Skandha-Identity Argument
(1) “The self” is not anything other than
the five skandhas (individually or
collectively considered).
(2) None of the skandhas is permanent.
Therefore
(3) “The self” is not permanent.
The Five Elements (skandhas) constitute “the
individual person,” though not in any substantial
sense. “Self” is simply a name given to the
aggregate of skandhas.
There is no soul or permanent self residing in or
behind the skandhas.
There is no “atman.”
Buddhaghosa, 5th century CE
Buddhist Philosopher
“The words ‘living entity’ or ‘ego’ are but a mode
of expression for the presence of the five
aggregates, but when we come to examine the
elements one by one, we discover that, in the
absolute sense, there is no ‘living entity’ there to
form the basis for such figments as ‘I am’ or ‘I’’ in
other words, that in the absolute sense, there is only
Nama and Rupa.” - Buddhaghosa
The Chariot Analogy
Verses of Sister Vajira
“Why do you assume a
‘person’? Mara, you have
adopted a wrong speculative
view. This is only a heap of
processes. There is no person
to be found here.”
“Just as the word ‘chariot”
refers to an assemblage of
parts, so, ‘person’ is a
convention used when the
aggregates are present.”
(Holder, p. 87).
Substantialist Tendencies?
In some branches of Buddhism,
something similar or functionally
equivalent to atman seems to be
affirmed.
The Buddha-Nature
Mahayana Buddhism
In Mahayana Buddhism, the “Buddha-nature”
typically refers to an innate potentiality in all
sentient beings for becoming enlightened.
In several scriptures, though, the Buddha-nature
appears to refer to an underlying ontological
reality, a single essence shared by all sentient
beings. It seems to be functionally equivalent to
a transcendental Self.
This Buddha-nature is said to be uncreated,
immutable, and immortal.
Tantric Scripture exalts the “beginningless
Self,” “the Self of primordial unity,” and “the
Supreme Being,” each in contrast to the
empirical or phenomenal self. ~ Jeff Hopkins
(Mountain Doctrine, pp. 279-294)
“Permanent is the Self; the Self is
thoroughly pure. The thoroughly pure is
called ‘bliss’. Permanent, blissful, Self,
and thoroughly pure is the one-gone-thus
[i.e. Buddha].” ~ Jeff Hopkins
(Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, Trans. Hopkins in
Mountain Doctrine, p. 129)
“The Buddha-nature is eternal bliss, the Self,
and the Pure. Buddha-Nature is not noneternal, not non-bliss, not the non-Self, and
not non-purity”
~ Buddha
(Mahayana Mahaparinirvana, Trans. Kosho Yamaoto in
Mahanaya Mahabarinirvana, vol. 8, p. 23)
What about Anatta?
Can this Buddhist view of a transcendent Self
be reconciled with the anatta doctrine?
Yes.
Anatta can be interpreted as
“no individual, enduring self” or “no individual
soul.”
The term “atman” in the Upanishads
sometimes refers to the individual soul,
sometimes called jivatman.
Within the framework of Buddhism,
Anatta can mean (i) no permanent
individual self or (ii) no permanent self
of any sort.
“No self means to awaken to a Self
that is so vast and limitless that it
cannot be seen.” ~ Sekkei Harada
(Essence of Zen, p. 63)
Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta
• So the Buddhist anatta doctrine may
be compatible with the conception of
Atman affirmed in Advaita Vedanta,
namely a single, pure undifferentiated
consciousness.
• This may explain why bhakti vedantins
accused Sankara of being a cryptoBuddhist.
The Greater Discourse on
the Foundations of
Mindfulness
The Four Noble Truths
Suffering
“Dukkha”
“Life is suffering.” Broadly understood
in the Pali canon to include physical
and psychological pain. Lack of
satisfaction. Disappointment. Suffering
is inevitable. It is a general claim about
human life, not a claim that every
moment is suffering.
The origin of suffering is attachment
to or the desire for identity and
permanence. Desire + impermanence
= suffering. Desire is closely
connected to individuality, for desire
presupposes a subject-object duality.
Attachment
“Tanha”
Dispassion
The third noble truth of Buddhism
teaches the cessation of craving or
desire as the means of overcoming
suffering. If desire for identity and
permanence is the cause of suffering,
remove this desire and you remove
suffering. Absolute cessation of
desire is called Nirvana (“to be
blown out”).
The path to Nirvana is in actions and
thoughts that lie in between excessive
indulgence and excessive self-denial.
This is expressed in the eightfold path
toward enlightenment.
The Path
The Eightfold Path
1. The Right View: Believe the four noble truths.
2. The Right Intention: Free the mind from worldly desires,
dishonesty, egoism, and cruelty to all living creatures.
3. The Right Speech: Refrain from lying, harsh or
hurtful language, and idle talk.
4. The Right Action: Abstain from killing, stealing,
and sexual misconduct.
5. The Right Livelihood: Avoid occupations that
harm other living beings.
6. The Right Effort: Attempt to gain mastery over evil thoughts.
7. The Right Mindfulness: Give special attention to every
state of your body, mind, and feelings.
8. The Right Concentration: Concentrate on one
particular object to bring about a special state of
consciousness by way of a meditative state.
The Eightfold path is essential to achieving the six perfections:
wisdom, morality, charity, forbearance, striving, and meditation.
The Eightfold path is essential to achieving the ultimate state:
nirvana, roughly the Buddhist equivalent of Moksha in Hinduism.
Nirvana
Nirvana: The Ultimate State
Nirvana means literally “to be blown out.”
What is blown out?
“A man comes to believe in his essential nature, to know that what exists is
the erroneous activity of the mind and that the world of objects in front of
him is non-existent. . .this is called gaining nirvana.” ~ Asvaghosa (2nd
century CE Buddhist philosopher)
Nirvana is “an indefinable state, independent of all worldly ties, beyond all
earthly passion, freedom from all egotistical, false ideas, - in short, it is the
exact opposite of everything known to the conditioned, individual existence
between birth and death.” ~ Von Glasenapp, modern Buddhist commentator
Nirvana does not mean unqualified cessation of
existence, annihilation, or extinction.
Nirvana is best interpreted as the annihilation of egoconsciousness, the death of the cravings that define
myself as an individual and that tether it to the world
sense experience.
Nirvana, then, means the “blowing out”
of self only in this specific sense, a
blowing out of the desires that constitute
ego-consciousness.
Buddhism and the Doctrine of Rebirth
Physical Death
The skandhas, which together constitute an individual personality,
are severally and collectively impermanent. Hence, they cannot
survive death, individually or collectively.
At the time of death, the nama-rupa disintegrates. The individual
psycho-physical person that once existed, no longer exists.
What Survives Death?
Not any soul or enduring mind.
The doctrine of anatta prevents
this understanding of rebirth.
Buddhaghosa considers it a “confusion” to
suppose that rebirth involves a “being’s
transmigration to another incarnation. . . .a
lasting being’s manifestation in a new body.”
(Buddhaghosa, Visuddhimagga 17.113-114)
First Approximation
One’s individual karma survives the death of the self, and
provides the basis for the emergence of a new personality.
What is reborn is a cluster of
dispositions or tendencies that
constituted the character of the
formerly living person. The person
has ceased to exist with death, but
his or her character persists and
becomes integrated with a new
psycho-physical person.
"There is rebirth of character, but no transmigration of a self.
Thy thought-forms reappear, but there is no ego-entity
transferred. The stanza uttered by a teacher is reborn in the
scholar who repeats the words” ~ Buddha, The Gospel
Refining the Buddhist Concept of Rebirth
Karma is not a substance or thing that transmigrates from
life to life. Karma “passes” from one life to another only in a
figurative sense.
Karma conditions dispositions and consciousness in
subsequent sets of skandhas.
G. Karma
Mohandas Gandhi’s life
b. 1869, d. 1948
B. Karma
John Bonham’s Life
b. 1948, d. 1980
A. Karma
Christina Aguilera’s Life
b. 1980 – present
There is no identity between sets of
skandhas. There is only causal continuity
between sets of skandhas.
G. Karma
Mohandas Gandhi’s life
b. 1869, d. 1948
B. Karma
John Bonham’s Life
b. 1948, d. 1980
A. Karma
Christina Aguilera’s Life
b. 1980 – present
Rebirth Analogy. . .
cause
effect
As one fire lights another fire, so one set of skandhas
conditions another, but nothing passes between them.
Consciousness and Rebirth. . . .
The Buddha called that which is
reborn vinnana (consciousness), but
he was explicit that what is reborn is
neither the same as nor different
than the person who died in a
former existence.
Resolution. . . .
Buddhaghosa spoke of a “rebirth-linking consciousness”
(patisandhi vinnana), the first stirring of consciousness in a fetus
contingent on the karmic deposit of a former life and conditioned
by a person’s last moment of consciousness (cuti vinnana) before
death.
Past Life Memories and Rebirth. . . .
The Buddha claimed to have remembered many past lives.
Does this not imply that “memories” pass from a prior
life to a subsequent life?
Not Necessarily
Just as consciousness from one life may condition the
consciousness of a subsequent life, memorial states (a form of
consciousness) may be conditioned by past consciousness.
Memories as well as dispositions may be effects caused by the
karmic deposit of a particular life and its skandhas, rather than
things passed on from one life to the next.
The Process of Rebirth
Ignorance
Unsatisfied
Desires
Desires
Rebirth
Unsatisfied desires produce rebirth in accordance with
the flow of one’s built up karmic energy.
“Karma is like the field, craving like the moisture, and
the stream of consciousness like the seed. When beings
are blinded by delusion and fettered with craving, the
stream of consciousness becomes established, and rebirth
of a new seed (consciousness) takes place.” ~ Buddha
Rebirth Realms
As in Hinduism, Buddhism does not confine rebirth to earth
or the human species. Rebirth may take place in different
realms and in different species.
Heavenly
Realm
Human
Realm
Animal
Realm
World of
Shades
Purgatory
All realms are temporary.
Only the human and heavenly realms are
desirable. The rest are unhappy and undesirable.
Karma can only be accumulated or altered in
the human realm.
Buddhism and Hinduism Comparison
Like Hinduism, Buddhism accepts the related
ideas of karma and samsara.
However, Buddhism denies the existence of atman, a
substantial, unchanging, self.
There is no deeper or higher self behind the changing
empirical self that can be reborn.
In Hinduism the finite self (jiva) is the infinite self (atman)
enveloped in various finite sheaths or bodies.
In Buddhism, the finite self (nama-rupa) is simply another
one in a changing cluster of states of consciousness
connected by karma.
Rebirth Contrasts: Hinduism and Buddhism
Although some streams of Buddhism present a view of
rebirth very similar to the more sophisticated view of rebirth
in Hinduism, where they diverge it tends to be along the
following lines:
Hinduism: Some substance transmigrates, whether atman, jiva,
or subtle body. So there is some thing that grounds the
continuity between distinct lives.
Buddhism: Nothing transmigrates. There is only a continuity of
a causal sequence of dharmic events, a series of modifications to
distinct skandhas.
In both Buddhism and Hinduism, karmic conditioning of
subsequent lives is recognized.