..续本文上一页e aggregate of consciousness is circumscribed, in the discourses, by terms denoting the content of consciousness, indicating hereby that the self is here believed to be the totality of mind or consciousness. Included in this view are the conceptions of a Super- or Cosmic Consciousness,[2] or any notion of an "Over-self" (mahaatmaa, paramaatmaa), imagined to exist "beyond the five aggregates."[3]
The view that the self is the unity of all five aggregates is found, for instance, in those religions which believe in a final resurrection of a (re-animated) body or in other forms of survival of the whole personality, body and mind, be it in an eternal heaven or an eternal hell.
The first five "grounds for false views" can be summarized by the following succinct statement of the Buddha: "Those ascetics and brahmans, O monks, who conceive a self in many ways, all those conceive it as the five aggregates or as one of them" (SN 22.47).[4]
As to the sixth "ground for false views," it should be noted that it does not consist in the eternalist view itself (which is covered by the foregoing), but in the strong attachment to that view, up to the degree of full identification with it, as part and parcel of one”s inpiduality: "This (view) is mine, this I am, this is my self." Such a tenacious clinging to the soul-belief has its roots firstly in the deep urge for self-assertion and self-perpetuation; and secondly in the "conditioning" forces of education, environment and tradition. Like the other more common types of "self-defense," this identification with the belief in a self can assume quite a passionate character, with hostility or contempt for those who do not share it.
The persistence of the soul-belief is demonstrated by the fact that from the earliest time of the Teaching up to the present day there have been not only inpiduals (like Saati in MN 38), but also groups and sects within the Buddhist fold who believed in a self though they usually relegate it to a realm beyond the five aggregates.
In the next section (§18ff.), it is shown that the belief in "I" and "Mine," instead of giving a feeling of security, is, in fact, a cause of anxiety, fear and worry. And even when the faith in an immortal soul breaks down, its after-effect is still so strong that the assumption of a self that can be destroyed still persists, and, through the fear of annihilation, becomes a source of despair. This belief in "I" and "Mine," and the passionate attachment to it, is at the root of the existentialist philosopher”s "anguish" as well as of the anxiety neuroses that haunt modern man. The belief in unrealities, even if a temporary solace, must ultimately end in disappointment and despair.
Hence the Buddha took great care to question and re-question his monks on this crucial point of soul and self, in order to remove any doubt in this respect. The thorough manner of his inquiry is exemplified in §§22-25 which leave no room for ambiguity on this issue. In §§26-27 all the possible constituents of an alleged self (i.e., the five aggregates) are examined and found to be evanescent, liable to suffering and without a self or any other underlying substance. It should be noted that the statement of the text extends also to the most sublime manifestations of consciousness, be they conceived as internal ("in oneself") or external.
Though the analysis of "the inpidual and its property" as given in the preceding sections is placed here in the context of refuting wrong views, this is in no way its intrinsic value and purpose, which rather consists in opening the gateway to liberation. To indicate this, §§28-29 speak of the attainment of final deliverance in sainthood (arahatta), brought about by insight that leads to alienation and detachment from all that is transien…
《The Discourse on the Snake Simile:Alagaddupama Sutta (MN 22)》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…