more on this theme     |     more from this text


Single Idea 7906

[filed under theme 16. Persons / E. Rejecting the Self / 4. Denial of the Self ]

Full Idea

The great Buddha passed through the eight stages of Transic insight, and quickly reached their highest point. From the summit of the world downwards he could detect no self anywhere.

Gist of Idea

When the Buddha reached the highest level of insight, he could detect no self in the world

Source

Ashvaghosha (Buddhacarita [c.50], XIV)

Book Ref

'Buddhist Scriptures', ed/tr. Conze,Edward [Penguin 1959], p.50


A Reaction

In the manner of Nietzsche, I am inclined to say that they find what they want to find, because that is their value. They want to get rid of the self, and dream of a mode in which existence continues without it. Is Buddhism opposed to human life?


The 6 ideas from Ashvaghosha

The first stage of trance is calm amidst applied and discursive thinking [Ashvaghosha]
When the Buddha reached the highest level of insight, he could detect no self in the world [Ashvaghosha]
The Buddha sought ultimate reality and the final goal of existence in his meditations [Ashvaghosha]
The Eightfold Path concerns morality, wisdom, and tranquillity [Ashvaghosha]
At the end of a saint, he is not located in space, but just ceases to be disturbed [Ashvaghosha]
Pursue truth with the urgency of someone whose clothes are on fire [Ashvaghosha]