Tagged: Buddhist Schools
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Krishan - Buddhism and Belief in Ātman (1984)
1The central question in Buddhism regarding a permanent soul, or *ātman*, presents a significant dilemma - the doctrine of *anattā* (no-soul) appears to contradict the belief in karma and rebirth, as it leaves no entity to bear the consequences of actions. The Buddha himself rejected the extreme views of both an eternal, unchanging soul and complete annihilation after death, instead advocating a middle path. Various Buddhist schools attempted to resolve this by proposing concepts that function like a soul without being one, such as a "rebirth-linking consciousness" (*patisandhi viññāna*), an "intermediate existence" (*antarābhava*), or an inexpressible "person" (*pudgala*). The author argues that the doctrine of *anattā* is primarily a rejection of the ego and the notions of "I" and "mine," which are the root of suffering, rather than a denial of a conscious principle. This is supported by the development of concepts like the "store-consciousness" (*ālaya-vijñāna*) and post-mortem rituals in Buddhist cultures, which imply belief in a transmigrating entity. Ultimately, Buddhism seems to deny a static, eternal soul but affirms a dynamic, impermanent yet continuous empirical self that carries karma and memory, likened to a river's current, which is only extinguished upon attaining *nirvāṇa*.
Frauwallner - The Earliest Vinaya And The Beginnings Of Buddhist Literature (1956)
2The Vinayas of the Sarvāstivādin, Dharmaguptaka, Mahīśāsaka, Pāli, Mūlasarvāstivādin, and Mahāsāṃghika schools all derive their Skandhaka section from a single, comprehensive literary work created in the first half of the 4th century BCE. This foundational text, which predates the Aśokan missions, was not a mere collection of rules but a grandly conceived narrative that embedded the monastic precepts within a biography of the Buddha, framing their promulgation as responses to specific events in his life from his early career to his death. The author of this work drew upon earlier traditions, including existing rules, commentaries on the Prātimokṣa, and Sūtra texts, which he adapted into his biographical framework, adding accounts of the first councils and a list of teachers to bestow Vedic-style authority on the text. This finding implies that the basis for many later biographies of the Buddha and early church histories is not a direct historical record but this 4th-century BCE literary creation, rendering much of what was considered authentic tradition a later, legendary construction designed to establish authority.