The History of Buddhist Thought c16.7

c16.7

The question of the nature of man centres in the doctrine of the soul. Soul has been defined as the principle of thought and action in man, or as that which thinks, wills, and feels, conceived as a perdurable entity and a subject of conscious spiritual experience. But definition is of little use. As that which thinks, wills, and feels it is the direct experience of everyone. But the term soul, or the corresponding word for *anima* in the West, has strong religious associations, and its use generally implies further theories, such as the existence of soul as a substance independent of the body, its immateriality and immortality, theories which reach far beyond the range of direct experience. The closest Indian term corresponding to soul is *ātman* (Pāli *attā*) yet the result of comparison is mere confusion unless the significance of the term is determined quite independently of the associations lying in the word soul. It is in the Upanishads where we find a new doctrine of the soul formulated which has ever since remained fundamental in Indian thought, and it is this which needs to be examined in considering the Buddhist doctrine of the self.