Atman

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Translations of atman
English	self, soul
Pali	attā, atta
Sanskrit	ātman, atman
Chinese	灵魂 (Pinyin: línghún (soul, spirit))
Japanese	アートマン
Tibetan	བདག་ (Wylie: bdag; THL: dak;)

Atman (Sanskrit; Pali: atta) refers to the concept of a permanently existing "self" or "soul" that was prevelant in the ancient Indian religious traditions at the time of the Buddha. The Buddha rejected the existence of a permanent self. The Buddha instead describes the self as a collection of continually changing components. This concept of "self" as something that is collection of constantly changing composite parts is called anatman.

Etymology

Ātman and atta refer to a person's "true self", a person's permanent inner nature. Occasionally the terms "soul" or "ego" are used.

The cognates (Sanskrit: आत्मन्) ātman, (Pāli) atta, Old English æthm, German Atem, and Greek atmo- derive from the Indo-European root *ēt-men (breath).

Early Buddhism

"Atman" in early Buddhism may simply refer to the sense of "I am", similar to the pre-Buddhist Upanishads, which link the feeling "I am" to a permanent "Self". Contrary to this, the Buddha argued that no permanent, unchanging "self" can be found. All conditioned phenomena are subject to change, and therefore can't be taken to be an unchanging "self". Instead, the Buddha explains the perceived continuity of the human personality by describing it as composed of five skandhas, without a permanent entity. This analysis makes it possible to avoid attachment, and is supportive for attaining liberation.

Pudgalavada

Of the early indian Buddhist schools, only the Pudgalavada-school diverged from this basic teaching. The Pudgalavādins asserted that, while there is no ātman, there is a pudgala or "person", which is neither the same as nor different from the skandhas.

Buddha-nature

Main article: Buddha-nature

Buddha-nature is a central notion of east-Asian (Chinese) Mahayana thought. It refers to several related terms, most notably Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha-dhātu. Tathāgatagarbha means "the womb of the thus-gone" (c.q. enlightened one), while Buddha-dhātu literally means "Buddha-realm" or "Buddha-substrate". Several key texts refer to the tathāgatagarbha or Buddha-dhātu as "atman", self or essence, though those texts also contain warnings against a literal interpretation. Several scholars have noted similarities between tathāgatagarbha texts and the substantial monism found in the atman/Brahman tradition.

See also

• Anatman
• Buddha-nature
• Shunyata

Sources

• Fischer-Schreiber, Ingrid; Ehrhard, Franz-Karl; Diener, Michael S. (2008), Lexicon Boeddhisme. Wijsbegeerte, religie, psychologie, mystiek, cultuur an literatuur, Asoka 
• Harvey, Peter (1995), An introduction to Buddhism. Teachings, history and practices, Cambridge University Press 
• Harvey, Peter (1995-b), The Selfless Mind, Curzon Press 
• Kalupahana, David J. (1994), A history of Buddhist philosophy, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited 
• King, Sallie B. (1991), Buddha Nature, SUNY Press 
• Lusthaus, Dan (1998), Buddhist Philosophy, Chinese. In: Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Index, Taylor & Francis 
• Wayman, Alex (1997), The 'No-self' of Buddhism. In: Alex Wayman, "Untying the Knots in Buddhism: Selected Essays", Motilal Banarsidass Publ. 
• Yamamoto; Page, Tony (2007 (1973)), The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra (PDF) 

Further reading

• Hodge, Stephen (2009 & 2012). "The Textual Transmission of the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana-sutra", lecture at the University of Hamburg
• Wynn, Alexander (2010). "The atman and its negation". Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. 33 (1-2): 103–171. 
• Yamamoto, Kosho (tr.), Page, Tony (ed) (1999–2000).The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra in 12 volumes. London: Nirvana Publications.

External links

• "Nirvana Sutra": full text of "Nirvana Sutra", plus appreciation of its teachings.
• "Tathagatagarbha Buddhism": key sutras of the Tathagatagarbha Buddhist tradition