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Atman is a Sanskrit word, normally translated as 'soul' or 'self' (also ego). In Buddhism, the concept of Atman is the prime consequence of ignorance, – itself the cause of all misery - the foundation of Samsara itself. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, who lived between approximately 566 and 486 BCE. Originating in India, Buddhism gradually spread throughout Asia to Central Asia... The cultural elements of Buddhism vary by region and include: Buddhist cuisine Buddhist art Buddharupa Art and architecture of Japan Greco-Buddhism Tibetan Buddhist sacred art Buddhist music Buddhist chant Shomyo Categories: Buddhism-related stubs ... The history of Buddhism spans from the 6th century BCE to the present, starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddharta Gautama. ... Contents: Top - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The following is a List of Buddhist topics: A Abhidharma Ahimsa Ajahn Ajahn Chah Ajanta Aksobhya Alexandra David-Néel Amara Sinha B... Buddhist beliefs and practices vary according to region. ... The percentage of Buddhist population of each country was taken from the US State Departments International Religious Freedom Report 2004 [1]. Other sources used were CIA Factbook [2] and adherents. ... An image of Gautama Buddha with a swastika, traditionally a Buddhist symbol of good luck, on his chest. ... The Buddhist temple Wat Chiang Man, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, which dates from the late 13th century Buddhist temples and monasteries, sorted by location. ... Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term. ... There is great variety in Buddhist texts. ... // Before Common Era Trad. ... The soul according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the ethereal substance — spirit (Hebrew:rooah or nefesh) — particular to a unique living being. ... See the following articles for discussion of the self: Self (psychology) Self (philosophy) Self-concept Self programming language Self (book), a novel by Yann Martel Self (magazine) Soul discusses religious concepts relating to the self This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise... eGO is a company that builds electric motor scooters which are becoming popular for urban transportation and vacation use. ... In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, samsara or saṃsāra refers to the concept of reincarnation or rebirth in Indian philosophical traditions. ...

In a number of sutras of Mahayana Buddhism, as well as in certain Buddhist Tantras, however, the term "Atman" 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 Nirvana, a Selfhood stated to be unchanging, unshakeably firm, and eternal within all beings (see Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra). Nirvana Sutra or Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (Chinese: Niepan Jing (涅槃經); Japanese: Nehangyō (涅槃経)) is one of the major texts of Mahāyāna Buddhism. ...

The need for Buddhists to understand Atman

Shantideva (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. Shantideva (sometimes Santideva) was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamika philosophy. ...

 Without contacting the entity that is imputed You will not apprehend the absence of that entity - Bodhicaryavatara 

The definition of Atman in Buddhism

In Candrakirti's Commentary on Aryadeva's "400 verses", he contextualises Atman as follows: Candrakīrti (born approx. ...

 "Atman" is an essence of things that does not depend on others; it is an intrinsic nature. (Note this represents only one school of Indian Buddhist philosophy) 

In the 'Abhidharma pitaka', which deals with metaphysics, the prime doctrine which allows pure Buddhist philosophy to successfully explain all phenomena is that all things happen with cause. 'Atman' 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 'Nirvana' as all forms of attachment do.

The ontological status of Atman in Buddhism

As Atman is identified as the cause of Samsara, it is not merely cognate with the various concepts of Atman as found in Hindu philosophy (atman (Hinduism)), and indeed the specific identification of what Atman is, is an essential philosophical concept for the Buddhist meditator. Hinduism (सनातन धर्म; also known as Sanātana Dharma, and Vaidika-Dharma) is a worldwide religious tradition that is based on the bedrock of the Veda scriptures. ... Beginning with Vedantic Hindu philosophy, the Ātman — Sanskrit (masculine nominative singular: Ātmā) is regarded as an underlying metaphysical self. ...

If Atman were not to exist at all, then we would all be naturally free from Samsara. What this entails is that Atman is identified as existing as a concept - more specifically, as a cognitive obscuration.

So, when Buddhists claim that there is no Atman, 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.

The abandoment 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. The Buddhist doctrine of Anatta (Pāli) or Anātman (Sanskrit) specifies the absence of a supposedly permanent and unchanging self or soul (ātman). ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, who lived between approximately 566 and 486 BCE. Originating in India, Buddhism gradually spread throughout Asia to Central Asia... Look up Action in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Action can be used in different contexts: Action movie Action game Action Comics, an American comic book series featuring Superman Action, a British comics anthology of the 1970s In physics, the action is a crucial concept in Lagrangian mechanics In philosophy, action... The philosophical concept of causality or causation refers to the set of all particular causal or cause-and-effect relations. ... Basic definition: Karma is a concept of eastern religions about the entire universal law and cycle of cause and effect. ... Past Lives redirects here. ... Dependent Origination (Sanskrit: pratÄ«tya-samutpāda, Pali: paticca samuppada) The doctrine of Pratitya-samutpada is Buddhisms primary contribution to metaphysics. ... The skandhas (Sanskrit: Pāli: Khandha; literally: heap or bundle) are the five constituents or aggregates through which the functioning and experience of an individual is created according to Buddhist phenomenology. ...

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. Advaita Vedanta is probably the best known of all Vedanta schools of Hinduism, the others being Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita. ... A being, in the most general sense, is anything that is alive. ...

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 attained 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 [i.e. all phenomena] are devoid of the Self. What is this Self? Any phenomenon ["dharma"] that is true ["satya"], real [“tattva”], eternal [“nitya”], sovereign/autonomous [“aishvarya”] and whose foundation is unchanging [“ashraya-aviparinama”] is termed 'the Self' [atman]." (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 in the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, which scripture the Buddha declares to embody the “uttarottara” (absolutely supreme) meaning of all Mahayana Buddhism. Relief image of the bodhisattva Guan Yin (Avalokitesvara) from Mt. ... Chán is a major school of Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism. ... Zen is the Japanese name of a well known branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism, practiced originally in China as Chan, and subsequently in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. ... There is great variety in Buddhist texts. ... See the following articles for discussion of the self: Self (psychology) Self (philosophy) Self-concept Self programming language Self (book), a novel by Yann Martel Self (magazine) Soul discusses religious concepts relating to the self This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise... The skandhas (Sanskrit: Pāli: Khandha; literally: heap) are the five constituents or aggregates through which the functioning and experience of an individual, ego, or soul (possibly atman) is created according to Buddhist phenomenology. ... A stone image of the Buddha. ... The death of the Buddha, or Mahaparinirvana, Gandhara 2-3rd century. ... Buddha-nature (originally in Sanskrit, Buddha-dhatu - Buddha Element, Buddha-Principle) is a doctrine important for many schools of Mahayana Buddhism. ... Buddha-nature (originally in Sanskrit, Buddha-dhatu - Buddha Element, Buddha-Principle) is a doctrine important for many schools of Mahayana Buddhism. ... The Trikaya doctrine (Sanskrit, literally Three bodies or personalities; 三身 Chinese: Sānshén, Japanese: sanjin) is an important Buddhist teaching both on the nature of reality, and what a Buddha is. ... Nirvana Sutra or Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (Chinese: Niepan Jing (涅槃經); Japanese: Nehangyō (涅槃経)) is one of the major texts of Mahāyāna Buddhism. ... Nirvana Sutra or Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (Chinese: Niepan Jing (涅槃經); Japanese: Nehangyō (涅槃経)) is one of the major texts of Mahāyāna Buddhism. ... Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ... This page has been protected from editing to deal with vandalism. ... Reality in everyday usage means everything that exists. ... While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existing for an infinite, i. ... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographic region, group of people or oneself. ... In psychology and common terminology, emotion is the language of a persons internal state of being, normally based in or tied to their internal (physical) and external (social) sensory feeling. ... Morality is a complex of principles based on cultural, religious, and philosophical concepts and beliefs, by which an individual determines whether his or her actions are right or wrong. ... Nirvana Sutra or Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (Chinese: Niepan Jing (涅槃經); Japanese: Nehangyō (涅槃経)) is one of the major texts of Mahāyāna Buddhism. ... Nirvana Sutra or Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (Chinese: Niepan Jing (涅槃經); Japanese: Nehangyō (涅槃経)) is one of the major texts of Mahāyāna Buddhism. ...

Other Buddhist sutras and Tantras also speak affirmatively of the Self. For instance, the Srimala Sutra insists: "When sentient beings have faith in the Tathagata [Buddha] and those sentient beings conceive [him] 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 (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). The Śrīmālā Sūtra (full title: ) is one of the main early Mahayana Buddhist texts that taught the theories of tathagatagarbha and the Single Vehicle, through the words of the Indian Queen Śrīmālā. ... Tathāgata (Sanskrit: The thus-come one or The thus-gone one; Chinese: 如来, Rúlái) This is traditionally interpreted as one who comes and goes in the same way (as the previous Buddhas). In this sense, Tathāgatha is generally identified as a synonym of Buddha, and is used either to refer... The Trikaya doctrine (Sanskrit, literally Three bodies or personalities; 三身 Chinese: Sānshén, Japanese: sanjin) is an important Buddhist teaching both on the nature of reality, and what a Buddha is. ... Sutra (सूत्र) in Sanskrit is derived from the verb √siv, meaning to sew. ... Samantabhadra (also Viśvabhadra, 普賢 Chinese: Pǔxián; Japanese: Fugen) is the Lord of the Truth (理) in Buddhism, who represents the practice and meditation of all Buddhas. ...

See also

• anatta
• shunyata
• Brahman
• Brahma-viharas
• Mahaparinirvana Sutra
• Srimala Sutra
• Tathagatagarbha Sutra
• God in Buddhism

The Buddhist doctrine of Anatta (Pāli) or Anātman (Sanskrit) specifies the absence of a supposedly permanent and unchanging self or soul (ātman). ... Śūnyatā, शून्यता (Sanskrit, Pali: suññatā), or Emptiness, is a term for an aspect of the Buddhist metaphysical critique as well as Buddhist epistemology and phenomenology. ... Here the underlined vowels carry the Vedic Sanskrit udātta pitch accent. ... The Brahma-viharas (literally: “Brahma-abidings”, “dwellings with Brahma”) are an ancient fourfold Buddhist meditational practice, the cultivation of which is said (by the Buddha) to have the power to cause the practitioner to be re-born in the realm of the god, Brahma. ... Nirvana Sutra or Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (Chinese: Niepan Jing (涅槃經); Japanese: Nehangyō (涅槃経)) is one of the major texts of Mahāyāna Buddhism. ... The Śrīmālā Sūtra (full title: ) is one of the main early Mahayana Buddhist texts that taught the theories of tathagatagarbha and the Single Vehicle, through the words of the Indian Queen Śrīmālā. ... The Tathagatagarbha Sutra is an influential and doctrinally striking Mahayana Buddhist scripture which treats of the existence of the Tathagatagarbha (Buddha-Matrix, Buddha-Embryo) within all sentient creatures. ... Buddhism is generally regarded as a non-theistic religion. ...

External Links

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