The Concept Of Self And Selflessness

Buddhism is not about God or Gods, it doesn't supply a hypothesis about what may occur in after death, nor does it express perspectives about creation; it is situated in the realm of day by day living. Furthermore, Buddhism is largely associated with the condition of being awaken by the nature of humanity. As the fourth-largest religion in the world, Buddhism has proven to be both influential and significant. While most religions have profound theoretical foundations that they are built upon, and while most individuals within such religions have faith that the theory is true, Buddhism does not address theories; nor does it agree or disagree with any religion, but rather acknowledges religion as a means to live in a positive manner. This religion is about not only living a peaceful life but also about enlightening a person through the regaining of wisdom and grace from within. The purpose of this paper is to examine the depth of Buddhism through Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and karma.

Even though Zen and Pure Land Buddhism are usually considered to be quite different, they are actually part of the same type of Buddhism, Mahayana, and thus have an underlying similarity. This essay will argue that, in particular, the Mahayana concepts of non-duality and no-self are present in both schools, and that the ways employed in each school to reach their respective goals can be analyzed in a similar fashion, proving that these two schools are part of, rather than deviations of, Mahayana Buddhism.

Stephen Prothero explains how Buddhists observe the fact that we have no souls. They also accept that we have no self because the self is just a figment of our imagination. Prothero further describes how words associated with the self like, “I”, “me”, and “mine”, give rise to ego and as a result, contribute to the world’s suffering. He also explains the essence of Buddhist teachings with Four Noble Truths. These truths are not meant, as Prothero mentions, not to be worshipped but rather practiced and experienced, to see whether or not they actually hold some accuracy.

In life, one will undertake a spiritual journey in which you will uncover the meaning of the self. Many religions, including Hinduism, Confucianism and monotheistic religions, have developed philosophies placing importance of the “self.” Emphasis on morality, virtues, honest contribute to the development of the inner self. In religions such as, Islam and Judaism the importance of conducts and worship will lead you to paradise in the after as promised by Allah or Yahweh. The teachings of proper behavior, edict, ethics and conduct are also part of the teachings of Confucius, an ancient Chinese philosopher. Redeveloping the self, according to the founders of Buddhism and Christianity, will lead to your spiritual enlightenment and Salvation.

Buddhist theories of the self and personal identity must be studied in relation to their background in early Indian thought. (Kapstein, 2010)

Pluralism is found in many ancient Indian traditions including Jainism, Buddhism, and the Advaitic interpretation of the Upaniṣads and the Bhagavad Gītā. Each tradition’s core values internally ground non-violence. In all of these traditions there is a multiplicity of world views and individual needs, overcome by a common goal of breaking free from bondage to reach enlightenment. At face value, these traditions appear to have opposing metaphysics. While the conceptions of what is achieved by freedom from bondage differ in form, these traditions all recognize a pluralism of paths to a common goal. This not only promotes tolerance, but transcends this to reach a fuller form of respect. It should be clarified that this respect does not, however, mean that these views are entirely tolerant or relativistic. These conceptions of pluralism simply require that each view must considered as one of the many sights which potentially have some truth to

Huston Smith, explores, the various processes in which man could transcend the austere and lucid form of being to a more enlightened one. Smith, explores this notion, in the context of religion, and mainly the various religious traditions and practices that attempt to enlighten and save one's soul from the allencompasing, worldly, goods and desires. Smith’s arguments, tremendously, revolve around the notion of ‘transcendence’ and the important role of religion in facilitating the enlightenment of the mind and soul. This notion of transcendence is evident in almost all religions (however, mainly South Asian) i.e. Hinduism (Moksha) and Buddhism (Nirvana) these form of transcendence do not only differ in terms of the linguistically, but most importantly, in the ways at which they can be achieved. I believe that Hinduism does in fact facilitated the move from imperfection to perfection, however I would like to emphasises the notion that various other forms religion may play a similar role in transforming one's soul for the better. Therefore, in this paper I will explore the inevitable and vital role of religion (hinduism) in transforming one's soul, whilst simultaneously providing that basis to other

From the moment you are born, you are being influenced. Influenced on what to wear, how to do your hair, how to speak, whom to associate with, etc. All of these criteria make up who you are. These influences determine how you think and what you believe. With all these influences in our daily lives we inevitably do actions throughout the day, and our actions have consequences. Some consequences are good and some are bad, but based on our actions are there ulterior motives involved? Do we do things to solely benefit ourselves or do we sometimes do things to help out others and the greater good of mankind? These questions bring to the surface the topics of egoism, psychological and ethical, and altruism.

In this paper, I will argue that the dharmic belief of Hinduism is mistaken by building on one of Socrates’ arguments from the Euthyphro. Through Hindu scriptures, dharma has been codified as compassion, living by the rules of proper conduct, the path of uprightness, etc. According to them it is the observation of cosmic norms that permit us humans to avoid misery and be happy. In the Hindu concept of reincarnation, dharma serves as the measure that judges a person. Dharma is the barometer, and karma, the spiritual value of causality where your plans and deeds effect the future, the mercury within. To have good karma, you must abide by the norms outlined in living a dharmic life – that is doing what is right for you, your family, and your caste

Through the large array of Buddha’s teachings, those on the nature of self are still the hardest to truly comprehend, but are essential to the spiritual belief. Buddha taught that the individual is an amalgam of five parts of existence, known as the Five Skandhas, which are form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. Although their true meaning and understanding are subject to interpretation, the general consensus is that these heaps deal with physical form (our bodies), our emotions and senses, our perception and understanding of the world around us, our habits and preconceived notions, and our consciousness—our awareness to the world we inhabit. But the key takeaway from all this is to understand that an individual does not possess all of these qualities, but the individual is rather the product of the skandhas. Buddha believed that if we can see past the individual self, we can then achieve enlightenment, or nirvana.

The Jain tradition was born in India, a small but powerful religion that grew up alongside Buddhism and Hinduism. Like the other religions of India, Jainism teaches that when the body dies, the soul (known to the Jain as a jiva) is reincarnated. Eventually, through living religious lives, the soul will reach “realization,” the end of the process of death and rebirth. In his piece “Fundamentals of Jainism,” Champat Rai Jain explains that, within the Jain tradition, “the path of salvation consists in Right Belief, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct, called the three Jewels” ( Jain, 7.) One must know and understand the Jain tradition, believe what it is saying, and act in accordance with those beliefs. In order to conduct his or herself properly, a person of the Jain tradition must follow five vows. The most central statute of the Jain religion is the vow of Ahimsa, which means “non injury.” The religion places great emphasis on the 4 other vows as well, Satya (speaking only the truth) Asteya (taking only what is given,) Brahmacharya (chastity) and Aparigraha (non-possession.) (Kinsey, lecture 3/7.)

Hinduism and Buddhism are both eastern traditions with much to say about the human condition as well as the reason human beings exist at all. In some ways they are different while also being similar in other ways. In this essay, those differences will be discussed and the similarities examined for their message. In conclusion, we will examine what these two faiths offer to the human beings of the twenty-first century.

Jainism and Buddhism acknowledge extremely similar aspects in their respective religions. They both have a grounded belief of karma, samsara, and one of liberation. Although these basic principle are the same, they have differences within them. In this essay, it will discuss the similarities and differences between the basic beliefs and traditions regarding karma, samsara, recognition of the self, and final liberation in regards to Jain and Buddhist religions.

While reading the Bhagavad-Gita, I found it interesting how different the meanings of self-denial were in Hinduism and Christianity. After writing a discussion post on the differences, I wanted to dive deeper and explore the ways and meanings of self-denial described in the Bhagavad-Gita compared to Christianity. This paper will contrast the differences in self-denial between Christianity and Hinduism as described in the Bhagavad-Gita. Specifically, how Christian self-denial has a much better effect on the relationships and well-being of an individual, in that it gives us a purpose and reason to live and hope, while Hinduism is without hope, and denying everything that can bring joy to a person.

Eastern enlightenment religions have been gaining popularity throughout the western world for the past few decades, with many people attracted to a "different" way of experiencing religion. As with many other enlightenment religions, Buddhism requires disciples to understand concepts that are not readily explainable: one such concept is that of no-self. In this essay I shall discuss the no-self from a number of modern perspectives; however, as no-self is difficult to describe I shall focus on both the self and no-self. Beginning with psychological aspects, and neurophysiological research on transcendental meditation, I shall discuss the impact of modern brain science on our understanding of the self and transcendence. Next I will outline