Development of the notion of personal identity in Indian Buddhism

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국불교연구원
· 수록지 정보 : 불교연구 / 44호 / 9 ~ 35페이지
· 저자명 : 최경아

초록

The study on the problem of personal identity in Buddhism cannot be established without the understanding of the Three Characteristics of Existence: impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and insubstantiality. With a cursory speculation on them, it seems that they do not raise any problem or contradiction. However, in relation to the reality of the identical aspect of a person or a thing, an advocate of the doctrine of impermanency could not be free from the pressure to explain the two contradictory realities ― the reality which has no substantiality and the reality which has no durability ― in a satisfying manner. The full-scale investigation on identity and continuity took place in Abhidharma Buddhism when dharmas were meticulously analysed. Concerning the problem of personal identity, Sarvāstivādins also thought of and worked out the notion of personal identity with their own interpretation of the theory of causality and the theory of prāpti (attainment). Vasubandhu, who seemingly belonged to the Sarvāstivāda school in the later period of Abhidharma Buddhism, was not satisfied with the theories of Sarvāstivāda.
Vasubandhu provided his own version of seed (bīja) theory, that is saṃtatipariṇāmaviśeṣa (specific transformation of the continuum). bīja and saṃtatipariṇāmaviśeṣa are meant for the explanation of an identical being in temporal sequence. It seems, however, that the seed theory is not effective as the theory of prāpti is when it is related to the momentariness. Vasubandhu saw the dilemma of Sarvastivada philosophy and gave his own solution. But, as Yaśomitra criticized, a seed is neither identical with, nor different from the mind, because seed is not a separate dravya (real entity) but only a prajñapti dharma (designation).

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