‘Self’, Non-Self and Truth

Siddhartha acknowledged the usefulness of the concept of self in normal life while rejecting its actual real existence. His meaning appears to be that there are no truly independent actors in samsara. In samsara a seed of karma is called samskara and the thing it acts upon is called samskrta. Real belief in self leads to thirsts for a sense of control and security that cannot be satisfied and are not real. Thus dukkha happens. One needs to “let go” of "one’s" attachment to one’s “personhood” in order to be relieved of this dukkha of “personal” desire and aversion.

Meditation on the truth that can be found within the nature of the mind rather than speculation about what may never be possible to know of the cosmos was Siddhartha’s modus operandi. Wisdom was thus much more about recognising independencies locally and the possibilities for human change than about cosmos rhythms and changes. The Sramanic purpose after all was to free humans from E=mc2 not for them to be able to understand that E=mc2 cosmically. Cosmic understanding might however ultimately be derived, too, from such deep thought, and speculation continued to occur, as I’ve mentioned. Not only did Siddhartha deliberately refrain from explaining whether the universe had always and would always be, however, he also refrained from explaining whether the state of nirvana would always be (once attained). One can only speculate on his reasons but we know he sought to give humans moral answers but also to transform them so that they could fully understand why the moral answers were correct answers. So he was both a legalist moralist and a liberal “Gnostic” soteriologist.

I mentioned earlier that Siddhartha approved a false truth for the purposes of living a conventional life. Buddhism calls it conventional truth or relative truth (samrti satya). The ultimate truth is dvaya satya. Conventional truth is about the conventions of language labelling “things” according to their function and recognition that this serves a practical purpose in everyday transactions (Vyavahara) but with the potential, of course, to be a trap. Correct practice of Buddhism is designed to make this clear. We must know that a rope is a rope (the person) even if, in the dark, it appears to be a snake, so we need not fear it (but we equally can not claim its ropeness ("personness" is a composite of 5 interdependent skandas)).

Two key illusions are that of possession and that of permanent attachment as there is no possessor and nothing to which we might be attached is permanent. Letting go of attachment means letting go of “good” and “bad” and focusing more on “is”. Why then do “good works” if our selves (such as they are) dissolve upon death (and even every instant)? Who gets to benefit from our good karma if not us? The idea is that Buddhism requires us to behave with the purest altruism in the expectation of receiving it in return not from people (except via cosmic forces). Apparently according to Theravada traditions, karma gets transferred to someone else (whoever that might be) virtually in the instant or our deaths. In at least one other tradition that process may take more like a month.

The Second Noble Truth (Samudaya – the Arising of Dukkha)

Certain human emotions and intentions (cetana) are said to predispose one to be reborn in particular realms. This is the second of the Four Noble Truths, the arising of Dukkha, corresponding with the common Indian idea of karma. Note that, as with the truth of Dukkha, this truth also had three aspects and that the six aspects may all be regarded as interdependent by Buddhists. The first aspect, Greed and meanness, sometimes represented by the cock in wheels of samsara, may lead to the Ghost realm (it seems they have huge stomachs but pin mouths thus possibly leading to extremes of hunger), anger/hate/murder (often represented by the snake) may lead to hell, ignorance and delusion (often represented by the ox) can lead to the Animal realm (including the realm of dolphins and primates, presumably) and great generosity may lead to the God realm and the attendant bliss, pride and complacency (especially of the devas – gods generally fall from their realms easily so Buddhists agree with the common misunderstanding of Proverbs 16:18 that pride tends to go before a fall). Siddhartha notes that gods have their uses but warns humans not to look to them for ultimate salvation.

Strictly speaking, according to Buddhism the ‘self’ is really some combination of what are called the five (interdependent) aggregates (skandas) and is not reborn as such so Buddhism believes in rebirth but not reincarnation. Nor is there therefore an eternal self and Buddhism (at least generally) also teaches that there was no creator God, only chains of causes and effect such as the ones I get into later (but the point of this is that there really is no I). Thus, ignorance that there is no “I” with real independent interests to champion leads to the two other causes of Dukkha: hate and greed (both on behalf of this non-existent self). The skandas include form (in a state of anger the form might include rushes of blood), sensation (the unpleasant emotion, anger), perception (the “I” might label this aspect of reality with such symbols as the words “I was wronged” or “s/he is a bad person”), volitions (reactions and habits that follow) and consciousness (constituted by the five western senses plus the sense of the mind that can together potentially gain awareness of both themselves at work (being aware) and the four other skanda realities, the blood, the labels, etc.) Buddhists try to be especially aware of, as well as of the impermanence of, all skanda states and to change habits positively. The result expected is wisdom which consists of enhanced awareness of the rest of the world and all of its interdependencies.

Tibetan wheels of samsara show Bodhisattvas living in all of the six main realms. The other feature of many of the wheels that bears on the arising of Dukkha is the 12 links of dependent origination. There is no beginning or end of the chain as it’s a chain. Traditionally they are listed with ignorance first causing karma formation as past links leading to our present and then come (as night follows day as it were) consciousness, mind body combination, six sense bases, contact, sensation, desire, clinging, becoming. The next section is traditionally regarded as our future. Number 11 is traditionally birth and number 12 is old age and death. The links are also regarded as psychological as well as cosmological links. With ignorance as number one you can imagine how becoming aware of reality was viewed as a first priority. Acting with awareness and therefore making independent cetana possible may lead to acting with true agency but the chain can strictly be broken anywhere with the same result that comes next as the third of the Noble Truths: Nirvana (that the end of Dukkha is possible).