“the Self” According to Indian Philosophy
“The Self” According to Indian Philosophy
After completing the readings in this Indian Philosophy course I have come to realize that it is all centered, built upon and around the idea of “the self”. It is bent on teaching those who choose to study Indian Philosophy or achieve the status of Brahman or finally become a Buddhist all the components of the self. Whether it is physical or none physical components it all leads to the idea of coming into fruition with the self. To truly know who you are and where you are going you must truly know thy self. It is said that in order to achieve enlightenment or Brahman the most important aspect is learning all one can about the self and then removing all your attachments that your current identity has, because that will ultimately lead you to a life of suffering from losing those attachments. It is very detrimental to note that the Buddhist and Upanisadic term for the self is called “Atman” and its opposite is called “Anatman”. In this paper I will explain all the notions and ideas surrounding the idea of “the self” and “no self” that we have covered in Indian Philosophy including the ancient story of how Buddhism came to be and how the development of theories lead to the creation of Atman and Anatman, then I will attempt to critically discuss that idea and its complete opposite as it pertains to two ancient but very valid perspectives, one being the Upanisadic view on the self and the other being the Buddhist view. Although the two perspectives may have different ideas, many similarities can be drawn from the ancient texts. From there I will compare and contrast the two sets of beliefs as pertains to Atman and Anatman and finally take a stand on which set of beliefs on the subject seems to be more plausible and effective towards describing ones true sense of one’s existence otherwise known as the self.
According to the Upanishads, the idea of the self also known as Atman is considered to be the essence of Brahman or the
After completing the readings in this Indian Philosophy course I have come to realize that it is all centered, built upon and around the idea of “the self”. It is bent on teaching those who choose to study Indian Philosophy or achieve the status of Brahman or finally become a Buddhist all the components of the self. Whether it is physical or none physical components it all leads to the idea of coming into fruition with the self. To truly know who you are and where you are going you must truly know thy self. It is said that in order to achieve enlightenment or Brahman the most important aspect is learning all one can about the self and then removing all your attachments that your current identity has, because that will ultimately lead you to a life of suffering from losing those attachments. It is very detrimental to note that the Buddhist and Upanisadic term for the self is called “Atman” and its opposite is called “Anatman”. In this paper I will explain all the notions and ideas surrounding the idea of “the self” and “no self” that we have covered in Indian Philosophy including the ancient story of how Buddhism came to be and how the development of theories lead to the creation of Atman and Anatman, then I will attempt to critically discuss that idea and its complete opposite as it pertains to two ancient but very valid perspectives, one being the Upanisadic view on the self and the other being the Buddhist view. Although the two perspectives may have different ideas, many similarities can be drawn from the ancient texts. From there I will compare and contrast the two sets of beliefs as pertains to Atman and Anatman and finally take a stand on which set of beliefs on the subject seems to be more plausible and effective towards describing ones true sense of one’s existence otherwise known as the self.
According to the Upanishads, the idea of the self also known as Atman is considered to be the essence of Brahman or the
Bibliography: "Anatman -- Anatman or Anatta is a foundational Buddhist teaching." Buddhism. Web. 04 Dec. 2009. . "Anatman." Buddhism. Web. 05 Dec. 2009. . "Anatta, the Buddhist concept of no-self." Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism and Other Resources. Web. 06 Dec. 2009. . Koller, John M., and Patricia Koller. Sourcebook in Asian Philosophy. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1991.