Atman (Buddhism)

Ātman (Sanskrit) or Atta (Pāli) literally means "self", but is sometimes translated as "soul" or "ego". In Buddhism, the misplaced or inappropriate belief in ātman is the prime consequence of ignorance, – itself the cause of all misery - the foundation of saṃsāra itself. Some Buddhist sutras, however, accept the Reality of the Atman, when it is equated with the essential being of the Buddha.

The need for Buddhists to understand ātman

Śāntideva (a late Indian Buddhist philosopher and practitioner) informs us that in order to be able to deny something, we first of all need to know what it is that we are denying.

"Without contacting the entity that is imputed

You will not apprehend the absence of that entity""

-- Bodhicaryāvatāra

The definition of ātman in Buddhism

Candrakīrti contextualises ātman as follows:

"Ātman is an essence of things that does not depend on others; it is an intrinsic nature. The non-existence of that is selflessness".

-- Bodhisattvayogacaryācatuḥśatakaṭikā256.1.7

In the Abhidharmapiṭakapiṭaka (Pāli: Abhidhammapiṭaka), which deals with metaphysics, the prime doctrine which allows pure Buddhist philosophy to successfully explain all phenomena is that all things happen with cause. "Ātman" is a conceptual attachment to oneself that promotes a false belief that one is intrinsic and without incident. This attachment further diverges one's route from the path to enlightenment and hence nirvāṇa as all forms of attachment do.

The ontological status of ātman in Buddhism

As the belief in ātman is identified as a cause of saṃsāra, it is not merely cognate with the various concepts of ātman as found in Hindu philosophy, and indeed the specific identification of what ātman is, is an essential philosophical concept for the Buddhist meditator.

If no concept of ātman were to exist at all, then we would all be naturally free from saṃsāra. What this entails is that ātman is identified as existing as a concept - more specifically, as a cognitive obscuration; moreover, it is this specific cognitive obscuration which is identified as being the root cause of all suffering.

So, when Buddhists claim that there is no ātman, they are not really saying that it does not exist, but that it exists solely as a cognitive obscuration - as an innate response to the world around us; and this deeply enmeshed obscuration lies at the root of all misery.

Ātman and the Tathagatagarbha

In a few sūtras of Mahāyāna Buddhism (those known as the Tathagatagarbha sutras), as well as in certain Mahayana Buddhist Tantras, however, the term ātman is used in a dual sense, in some instances denoting the impermanent, mundane ego (attachment to which needs to be overcome), and on other occasions explicitly referring to the ultimately real, pure, blissful Self of the Buddha in the state of nirvāṇa, a Selfhood stated to be unchanging, unshakeably firm, and eternal within all beings (see Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra).

It is erroneous to construe the Tathagatagarbha as some tangible, worldly, changeable, personalised, desire-driven "ego" on a grand scale, similar to the "fictitious self" comprised of the five mundane skandhas (impermanent mental and physical constituents of the unawakened being). The Tathagatagarbha is indicated by the relevant sutras to be the ultimate, pure, ungraspable, irreducible, invulnerable, true and deathless Quintessence of the Buddha's liberating Reality, the very core of his highest being (Dharmakaya).

Ātman in Nikāya Buddhism

Atman is a Sanskrit word (Pali: Attan), normally translated as 'soul' or 'Self'. In Buddhist sutra, the Atman is the “light (dipam), the only refuge” 2.100. As contrasted to the 5-aggregates, which are anatman (Pali: anatta), are not the Soul, are “na me so atta” (are not my Soul).

At no time or location in the Nikayas is the Atman rejected. What has Buddhism to say of the Self? "That's not my Self" (na me so atta); this, and the term "non Self-ishness" (anatta) predicated of the world and all "things" (sabbe dhamma anatta; Identical with the Brahmanical "of those who are mortal, there is no Self/Soul", (anatma hi martyah, II. 2. 2. 3). J-1441 “The Soul is the refuge that I have gone unto”. For anatta is not said of the Self/Soul but what it is not. There is never a ‘doctrine of no-Soul’, but a doctrine of what the Soul is not (form is anatta, feelings are anatta, etc.).

In the Nikaya sutras, the Atman is the “light (dipam), the only refuge” 2.100. As contrasted to the five aggregates, which are anatman (Pali: anatta), are not the Soul, are “na me so atta” (are not my Soul).

What do the Nikayas have to say of the Self? "That's not my Self" (na me so atta); this, and the term "non Self-ishness" (anatta) predicated of the world and all "things" (sabbe dhamma anatta; Identical with the Brahmanical "of those who are mortal, there is no Self/Soul", (anatma hi martyah, II. 2. 2. 3). J-1441 “The Soul is the refuge that I have gone unto”. For anatta is not said of the Self/Soul but what it is not. There is never a ‘doctrine of no-Soul’, but a doctrine of what the Soul is not (form is anatta, feelings are anatta, etc.).

Contextual doctrinal examples being: "The Soul (Attan) is Charioteer"”Ananda, dwell with the Soul (attan) as your Light, with the Soul as your refuge, with none other as refuge.” [SN 5.154, DN 2.100, SN 3.42, DN 3.58, SN 5.163. “The Soul (Attan) is ones True-Nature (Svabhava)” 3.270 "The Soul is the refuge that I have gone unto; it is the Light, that very same sanctuary, that final end goal and destiny. It is immeasurable, matchless, that which I really am, that very treasure; it is like unto the breath-of-life, this Animator.”J-1441 Akkhakandam

The abandonment of Atman in later Buddhist metaphysics

With the doctrine of anatta (Pāli; Sanskrit: anātman) Buddhism maintains that the concept of ātman is unnecessary and counterproductive as an explanatory device for analyzing action, causality, karma, and reincarnation in a Buddhist context. Buddhists account for these and other "self"-related phenomena by other means, such as pratātya-samutpāda, the skandhas, and, for some schools, a pudgala. Thus it is not necessary for Buddhists to posit an ātman, and they further regard it as undesirable to do so, as they believe it provides the psychological basis for attachment and aversion. Buddhism sees the apparent self (our identification as souls) as a grasping after a self--i.e., inasmuch as we have a self, we have it only through a deluded attempt to shore it up.

It should be noted that the critique of the individual self does not differentiate Buddhists from Advaita Vedantists, as they, too, deconstruct the individual self. It is in pushing the critique of the ātman through to the level of metaphysical being in itself, i.e. to Braḥman or Paramatman, that it becomes that Buddhism distinguishes itself from Advaita on this point.

Positive teachings on the Atman in Mahayana Buddhism

Not all Buddhist scriptures, however, deny the reality of atman. Within the Mahayana branch of Buddhism, there exists an important class of sutras (influential upon Ch'an and Zen Buddhism), generally known as Tathagatagarbha sutras ("Buddha-Matrix" or "Buddha-Embryo" sutras), a number of which affirm that, in contradistinction to the impermanent "mundane self" of the five "skandhas"(the physical and mental components of the mutable ego), there does exist an eternal True Self, which is in fact none other than the Buddha himself in his ultimate "Nirvanic" nature. This True Self of the Buddha is indeed said to be attainable by anyone in the state of Mahaparinirvana. Furthermore, the essence of that Buddha — the Buddha-dhatu ("Buddha-nature", "Buddha principle"), or Dharmakaya, as it is termed — is present in all sentient beings and is described as "radiantly luminous". This Buddha-dhatu is said in the Nirvana Sutra to be the uncreated, immutable and immortal essence (“svabhava”) of all beings, which can never be harmed or destroyed. The most extensive sutra promulgating this as an "ultimate teaching" (uttara-tantra) on the Buddhic essence of all creatures (animals included) is the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra. There we read in words attributed to the Buddha: "... it is not the case that they all phenomena are devoid of the Self. What is this Self? Any phenomenon dharma"]" target="_blank" >that is true satya", real ^*," target="_blank" >eternal sovereign/autonomous ^*" target="_blank" >and whose foundation is unchanging ^*." (translated from Dharmakshema's version of the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra). This True Self — so the Buddha of such scriptures indicates — must never be confused with the ordinary, ever-changing, worldly ego, which, with all its emotional and moral taints and turmoil, conceals the True Self from view. Far from being possessed of the negative attributes of the mundane ego, the Buddhic or Nirvanic Self is proclaimed by the Buddha of the Nirvana Sutra to be characterised by "Great Loving-Kindness, Great Compassion, Great Sympathetic Joy, and Great Equanimity". There are numerous references to the reality of this transcendental yet immanent Self of the Buddha in the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, which scripture the Buddha declares to embody the “uttarottara” (absolutely supreme) meaning of all Mahayana Buddhism. One of the features most frequently linked to this "Self-that-is-Buddha" is its great purity, which sets it apart from the illusory and tarnished mundane ego. The Buddha states in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra:

"To crush out the worldly notion of the Self and purity, the Tathagata speaks of the Self and Purity of true sense."

Other Buddhist sutras and Tantras also speak affirmatively of the Self. For instance, the Mahabheriharaka Sutra insists: "... at the time one becomes a Tathagata, a Buddha, he is in nirvana, and is referred to as 'permanent', 'steadfast', 'calm', 'eternal', and 'Self' Similarly, the Srimala Sutra declares unequivocally: "When sentient beings have faith in the Tathagata ^*" target="_blank" >with permanence, pleasure, self, and purity, they do not go astray. Those sentient beings have the right view. Why so? Because the Dharmakaya [ultimate nature of the Tathagata has the perfection of permanence, the perfection of pleasure, the perfection of self, the perfection of purity. Whatever sentient beings see the Dharmakaya of the Tathagata that way, see correctly." (The Lion’s Roar of Queen Srimala , Motilal, Delhi 1974, tr. by A. and H. Wayman, p. 102). The early Buddhist Tantra, the Guhyasamaja Tantra, declares: "The universal Self of entities sports by means of the illusory samadhi. It performs the deeds of a Buddha while stationed at the traditional post" (i.e. while never moving). The same Tantra also links the Self with radiant light (a common image): "The pure Self, adorned with all adornments, shines with a light of blazing diamond ..." (Yoga of the Guhyasamajatantra by Alex Wayman, Motilal Delhi, 1977, pp. 18 and 28). And the All-Creating King Tantra (the Kunjed Gyalpo Tantra, also designated a sutra) has the primordial Buddha, Samantabhadra, state, "... the root of all things is nothing else but one Self … I am the place in which all existing things abide." (The Sovereign All-Creating Mind, tr. by E.K. Neumaier-Dargyay, pp. 158-159).

References

The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra in 12 volumes, Vol. 9 (Nirvana Publications, London, 2000), translated by Kosho Yamamoto, ed. by Dr. Tony Page.

External links

"Nirvana Sutra": full text of "Nirvana Sutra", plus appreciation of its teachings.

"Tathagatagarbha Buddhism": key sutras of the Tathagatagarbha Buddhist tradition

Buddhist philosophical concepts

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