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(c) Absence of an Ego. Anatta.
the aspect not so much of a permanent entity
as of a changeful process, in which naught
1
Change is the great enemy, the immediate
endures save the flow of energy and the
cause of pain. Unable to arrest it, I slow the
rational order which pervades it.
process, and render it temporarily painless, by
eating. This is a concession to weakness, no This is an admirable summary of the
doubt, in one sense. Do I eat really in order
Buddhist doctrine.
to check change, or to maintain my ego-
(b) See above on the First Noble Truth.
consciousness? Change I desire, for my present
(c) This is the grand position which Buddha
condition is sorrow. I really desire the im-
carried against the Hindu philosophers. In
possible; completely to retain my present egoity
our own country it is the argument of Hume,
with all its conditions reversed. A. C.
2
following Berkeley to a place where Berkeley
For an able and luminous exposition of
 The Four Noble Truths I refer the reader certainly never meant to go a curious
to the pamphlet bearing that title by by old
parallel fulfilment of Christ s curse against
friend Bikkhu Ananda Maitriya, published by the
Peter (John xxi.). The Bishop demolishes
Buddhasasana Samagama, 1 Pagoda Road,
the idea of a substratum of matter, and
Rangoon. A. C.
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SCIENCE AND BUDDHISM
Hume follows by applying an identical ness; this being the sole condition on which
process of reasoning to the phenomena of morals, religion, and fees to priests can
mind.1 continue. For the Deist has only to advance
Let us consider the Hindu theory. They his fundamental idea to be forced round in a
classify the phenomena (whether well or ill vicious circle of absurdities.1
matters nothing), but represent them all as The Buddhist makes a clean sweep of all
pictured in, but not affecting, a certain this sort of nonsense. He analyses the phe-
changeless, omniscient, blissful existence nomena of mind, adopting Berkeley s para-
called Atman. Holding to Theism, the ex- dox that  matter is immaterial, in a sane
istence of evil forces them to the Fichtean and orderly way. The  common-sense Phi-
position that  the Ego posits the Non-Ego, losopher, whom I leave to chew the bitter
and we learn that nothing really exists after leaves of Professer Huxley s Essay  On
all but Brahm. They then distinguish Sensation and the Unity of the Structure of
between Jivatma, the soul-conditioned, and Sensiferous Organs, observes, on lifting his
Paramatma, the soul free; the former being arm,  I lift my arm. The Buddhist ex-
the basis of our normal consciousness; the amines this proposition closely, and begins:
latter of the Nirvikalpa-Samadhi conscious-  There is a lifting of an arm.
By this terminology he avoids Teutonic
1
The Buddhist position may be interpreted
discussions concerning the Ego and Non-
as agnostic in this matter, these arguments being
ego.2 But how does he know this proposi-
directed against, and destructive of, the
tion to be true? By sensation. The fact is
unwarranted assumptions of the Hindus; but no
therefore:
more. See Sabbasava Sutta, 10.
 There is a sensation of the lifting of an
 In him, thus unwisely considering, there
arm.
springs up one or other of the six (absurd) notions.
 As something real and true he gets the notion,
But how does he know that? By percep-
 I have a self.
tion. Therefore he says:
 As something real and true he gets the notion,
 There is a perception of a sensation, &c.
 I have not a self.
And why this perception? From the in-
 As something real and true he gets the notion,
herent tendency.
 By my self, I am conscious of my self.
(Note carefully the determinist standpoint
 As something real and true he gets the
notion,  By my self, I am conscious of my involved in the enunciation of his Fourth
non-self.
Skandha; and that it comes lower than
 Or again, he gets the notion,  This soul of mine
Viññanam.)
can be perceived, it has experienced the result of
 There is a tendency to perceive the
good or evil actions committed here and there;
sensation, &c.
now this soul of mine is permanent, lasting,
And how does he know that there is a
eternal, has the inherent quality of never
tendency ? By consciousness. The final
changing, and will contiue for ever and ever!
 This, brethren, is called the walking in de- analysis reads:
lusion, the jungle of delusion, the wilderness of
 There is a consciousness of a tendency
delusion, the puppet-show of delusion, the
to perceive the sensation of a lifting of an
writhing of delusion, the fetter of delusion.
arm.
There are, it may be noted, only five (not
He does not, for he cannot, go further
six) notions mentioned, unless we take the last as
back. He will not suppose, on no sort of
double. Or we may consider the sixth as
the contrary of the fifth, and correct. The evidence, the substratum of Atman uniting
whole passage is highly technical, perhaps
1
untrustworthy; in any case, this is not the place As Bishop Butler so conclusively showed.
2
to discuss it. The sun of Agnosticism breaking I may incidentally remark that a very few
through the cloud of Anatta is the phenomenon hours practice (see Section VIII.) cause  I lift my
to which I wished to call attention. A. C. arm to be intuitively denied. A. C.
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SCIENCE AND BUDDHISM
consciousness to consciousness by its eternity, from such possibility of misinterpretation in
while it fixes a great gulf between them by our own bodies. Compare the longevity of a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]