Selfless Persons: Imagery and Thought in Theravada Buddhism
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Book Overview
This book explains the Buddhist doctrine of annatt? (not-self), which denies the existence of any self, soul, or enduring essence in man. The author relates this doctrine to its cultural and historical context, particularly to its Brahman background. He shows how the Theravada Buddhist tradition has constructed a philosophical and psychological account of personal identity on the apparently impossible basis of the denial of self. Although the emphasis of the book is firmly philosophical, Dr. Collins makes use of a number of academic disciplines, particularly those of anthropology, linguistics, sociology, and comparative religion, in an attempt to discover the deep structure of Buddhist culture and imagination, and to make these doctrines comprehensible in terms of the western history of ideas.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:052139726X
ISBN13:9780521397261
Release Date:November 1990
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Length:336 Pages
Weight:1.02 lbs.
Dimensions:1.0" x 6.1" x 9.1"
Customer Reviews
4 ratings
the concept of a "self" is a heavy thing to carry around
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
I think that some of the other reviewers of this book demonstrate how attachment to the concept of "self" or "soul" can lead to suffering. Smile, you're "you" is just an idea :)
Early Buddhist rhetoric and metaphors unmasked
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
Steven Collins' `Selfless Persons' has changed the way I look at the Theravada tradition. He is one of the few non-Buddhist scholars critically approaching the Canon and uncovering hidden presumptions and `unmasking' Buddhist specific rhetoric (the subtitle is `Imagery and thought in Theravada Buddhism.) For instance, Collins writes (p. 77) about the anatta-doctrine that `one might well describe it, [... ], as a linguistic taboo in technical discourse.' Such statements are rare in Buddhological scholarly works and illustrate the critical distance scholars as Collins can and need to take from the material. The texts are quite dense, but it is an Aha!-Erlebnis to come to the insights Collins provides us. A lot of Buddhist will find the book 'blasphemic' because of it's sober approach, but it's incontestable that it has paved a new way for critical analysis of the Canon. The book was presented as a doctoral thesis and it was a good idea indeed to publish it. I wished more of such works were published.
A work of rare excellence.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
Despite Buddhism's own tradition of anatta and "emptiness" and despite the traditions of its sibling systems which have always deemed it "nairatmavad", numerous scholars have continued to look for an ineffable , "atman-like", "Brahman-like" thing in its ancient traditions. This work demonstrates amply the futility of all such endeavours. This book is essential for someone who wishes to tackle one of the most the subtle and substantive issues in the remarkable tradition of Buddhist thought.
A brilliant study of the Buddhist theory of not-self
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
Now a classic in Theravada Buddhist studies, Collins' work bridges many gaps: between the sociology of religion and traditional philological scholarship, and most importantly between the sometimes obscure world of Indology and the larger world of the History of Ideas.
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