Buddhist Philosophy of Self vs. No-Self

Paper Summary:

The concept of self versus no-self in Buddhism is explored here through Alan Watt's "The Way of Zen". Text from several Upanishads are included as part of the exploration of this topic.

From the Paper:

"According to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, "in the beginning this world was Atman, or the Self, alone in the form of Purusha. Looking about he saw nothing other than himself. He said first, "I am." Thence came the word "I" " (Watts 34). This of course is a picture of the world as a play, with God as a mythological form. The idea of each man and thing is a part which the Purusha plays in the state of self-forgetting must not be confused with a logical or scientific statement of fact. The form is poetic, " truly this atman (self) " the poets say " travels on this earth from body to body" (Watts 34). The Self of a saint or sage is no less a part of the Godhead than the Self of a lunatic or demon. Buddhism is the discipline of the way to liberation, to progressively disentangle one's Self, atman, from every identification. To realize that sensations, feelings, thoughts, even this consciousness, are not part of one's body. The basic reality of life is not any conceivable object. It is not even to be identified with any idea of God or atman (Watts 38)."

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