The Enduring Self in Buddhism

Paper Summary:

This paper begins with an overview of Buddhism and the idea of enduring self. It then provides greater detail on this subject in an account of personal continuity explained in Buddhism through the teaching of Dependent Origination (paticca-samuppada). The paper explores what Western philosophers like Locke and Hume think about this concept. This is followed by a comparison and contrast of both the Eastern and Western views in order to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion of whether or not a person requires an enduring self to be someone who is harmonious with his/her world.

From the Paper:

"In order to discuss the concept of enduring self, then, it makes sense to put it into more specific terms. The Buddhists recognize that the self is in constant flux, yet people still cling to something called permanence or an enduring self that they form out of the impermanent self. If they deeply experienced and understood that the self is ever impermanent, there would be no identification with any particular form of craving, with any particular country, nation, or any organized system of thought or religion. But this realization perhaps comes only with sustained and serious meditation, which is a mind-cleansing rather than a mind-filling activity. This is what most people cannot practice, since it is so unfamiliar for the typical Western ways of gaining knowledge. In a more practical viewpoint, an enduring self for the Buddhists is only a myth, a fantasy or an illusion. It is pretty much the same as trying to grab hold of the rays of sunlight reflecting in a lake or an object reflecting in a mirror. Since this is impossible, it can only lead to frustration or suffering."

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