Negation, the self and dharma

I have been looking at a very expensive book I just got in the mail yesterday (I was lucky, I got it cheap). In subsequent blogs I will use it. Oh, by the way, its title is Linguistic Approach to Buddhist Thought. The author is Genjun H. Sasaki. Yeah, its pretty heady stuff but interesting even for a beginner.

As we all know just before the Buddha died he said the following to Ananda:

Therefore, Ananda, stay as those who have the self as an island (attadp), as those who have the self as refuge (attasaran), as those who have no other refuge; as those who have the dharma as an island, as those who have dhamma as refuge, as those who have no other refuge (Mahaparinibbana Sutta, D. ii. 100)

In Sasakis book we learn the following about self from a linguistic point of view.

The Pali term atta (self) in this passage [this is the above on taken from the Mahaparinibbana Sutta] implies dhamma. Geiger also equalizes atta and dhamma in his book, Pli Dhamma (p. 79). K. Bhattacharya is incline to recognize Geigers view (CF. Ltman-Brahman dans le bouddhisme ancient. p. 62) (p. 59). (Brackets are mine.)

From this same book we also learn that Buoddhaghosa also recognizes the equivalence atta = dhamma (p. 59) although from an Abhidhamma perspective.

When we come across such phrases as form is not-self (anatta) or feeling is not-self this is no more a denial of self than saying the engine of the automobile is not a driver. We understand the driver to be totally different than the automobile and its various parts. By saying form is not-self, the Buddha is simply saying the true dharma or dhamma, i.e., the self, is not one of the Five Aggregates which, incidentally, belong to Mara the Evil One.

I know I keep on harping on this but a lot of Buddhists have been fed inaccurate information! about t he role of self in Buddhism, including negation (the via negativa). Given that Buddhism uses negation a great deal, such as the negation of the Five Aggregates which are not my selfand can never be my self, Buddhism also has a positive side which points to the absolute. Negation works, in fact, as a surefire method by which to approach the supreme positive, namely, the absolute.


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