Buddhist self or no self, Kant's thing-in-itself and the quantum mechanical wave function
Item abstract only
Author
Wang, George S. See all items with this value
Wang, Hui-chin See all items with this value
Date
2002
Volume
3
Pages
352-368
ISSN
1530-4108 See all items with this value
Abstract
The aim of this writing is to fully discuss and thereby to resolve the issue over Self or Non-self in Buddhism. Our result is confirmation of the existence of the true or holistic self.
We start consideration with a verse uttered by an ancient monk, who had the concept of no Master, Ego, Self or Personality and therefore felt easy to face the execution. However, careful study after our full discussion reveals that he still had underlying Master or true Self that possessed the concept of no Master, Self or Personality.
For the non-self part, the 2nd of the three proofs of Buddhist Theravada doctrine as well as the Theravada "Dhammapada Sutra" certainly holds non-self. Besides, most contemporary Mahayana and Theravada Buddhists and scholars claim non-self or non-personality. The popular book "What the Buddha taught?" explicitly says "No Self, No Soul". In fact practical searching for self, both physically and mentally, can not directly find out the self.
Statement for self is mainly from the Nirvana Sutra, which claims the four virtues including the transcendental Personality or the true self, or more formally the holistic self.
Explanation for the Self or Non-self issue is traditionally given in the Surangama Sutra via Ananda's searching for self and the story of an old king. The former demonstrated that no self can be found in phenomenal world or realm. The latter showed via Buddha's answer to the king that the true self always exists and functions there in the transcendental or noumenal realm. Thus the issue is resolved: Non-self should mean "Self not findable in phenomenal realm" and the true self always exists there in a hidden way in the transcendental realm.
To make the fact "existing but not findable" easily understandable we give a metaphorical illustration of √2, which exists between 1.414 and 1.415 but not findable in the decimal fractional system or realm.
Philosophically the feature "existing but not findable" appears in the form of Kant's Thing-in-itself, which is proposed as equivalent to the Buddhist Self. And scientifically the feature "existing but not findable" appears in the form of the Quantum Mechanical Wave Function Ψ, whose complex-number property makes it not findable. Ψ, the Thing-in-itself, and the Buddhist Self are essentially equivalent to one another.
The true or holistic self is analogized to the root of a tree, which is not findable in the air phase (the phenomenal realm) but exists in the soil phase (the noumenal realm) and functions to support the life of the stem, branches, etc. (the ego, etc.) of the tree.
We start consideration with a verse uttered by an ancient monk, who had the concept of no Master, Ego, Self or Personality and therefore felt easy to face the execution. However, careful study after our full discussion reveals that he still had underlying Master or true Self that possessed the concept of no Master, Self or Personality.
For the non-self part, the 2nd of the three proofs of Buddhist Theravada doctrine as well as the Theravada "Dhammapada Sutra" certainly holds non-self. Besides, most contemporary Mahayana and Theravada Buddhists and scholars claim non-self or non-personality. The popular book "What the Buddha taught?" explicitly says "No Self, No Soul". In fact practical searching for self, both physically and mentally, can not directly find out the self.
Statement for self is mainly from the Nirvana Sutra, which claims the four virtues including the transcendental Personality or the true self, or more formally the holistic self.
Explanation for the Self or Non-self issue is traditionally given in the Surangama Sutra via Ananda's searching for self and the story of an old king. The former demonstrated that no self can be found in phenomenal world or realm. The latter showed via Buddha's answer to the king that the true self always exists and functions there in the transcendental or noumenal realm. Thus the issue is resolved: Non-self should mean "Self not findable in phenomenal realm" and the true self always exists there in a hidden way in the transcendental realm.
To make the fact "existing but not findable" easily understandable we give a metaphorical illustration of √2, which exists between 1.414 and 1.415 but not findable in the decimal fractional system or realm.
Philosophically the feature "existing but not findable" appears in the form of Kant's Thing-in-itself, which is proposed as equivalent to the Buddhist Self. And scientifically the feature "existing but not findable" appears in the form of the Quantum Mechanical Wave Function Ψ, whose complex-number property makes it not findable. Ψ, the Thing-in-itself, and the Buddhist Self are essentially equivalent to one another.
The true or holistic self is analogized to the root of a tree, which is not findable in the air phase (the phenomenal realm) but exists in the soil phase (the noumenal realm) and functions to support the life of the stem, branches, etc. (the ego, etc.) of the tree.