Philosophy of the Mind

Expounding upon the Knowledge of Suffering

Do we as human life forms believe in the afterlife? Do we believe that there is an eternal soul or even an eternal self? If there isn't an eternal soul and an eternal self then why do we as humans grab ahold to teachings such as the minister or the priest that preaches to us "heaven, or hell are your only options"? The Questions of Malunkyaputta is an interesting read and really causes one to think about what really matters and what is really important in life when it comes to trying to understand whether there is an eternal soul or eternal self. In reading "The Questions of Malunkyaputta" the Buddha uses the parable of the arrow to help Malunkyaputta understand the concept of suffering in a way to help teach him that there is no eternal self, and in "The Non-Existence of Individuality (The Questions of Milinda)" the analogy of the chariot helps King Milinda understand that the individual is nothing, but a fact of existence. My goal in this paper by expounding on this topic is to help you understand why I agree or disagree with the Buddha's teaching of suffering and the individual, which focuses on whether there is an eternal soul and an eternal self, which is the actual premise of "The Questions of Malunkyaputta", and "The Questions of Milinda".

The Buddha tells Malunkyaputta that there is no eternal soul and that the questions that he is asking about life are not important. The answers that the Buddha gave King Milinda was saying that there is no eternal self and both say that trying to have an eternal soul and an eternal self you must first get rid of and ignore everything that is worldly and material that is a distraction. I completely disagree with the fact that there is no eternal soul and an eternal self. I believe that there is an eternal soul and an eternal self because they help one to determine between what is right and what is wrong. The eternal self and the eternal soul is also helps one to understand what is important and what isn't important in life's journey. Although the Buddha says that "we should restrict our concerns about knowledge to practical matters" (pg 249) I completely disagree because if we do not concern ourselves with knowledge then what is the point of trying to get to the end of life? If we do not concern ourselves with knowledge then what is the point of trying to understand life and understand the ways of a person's belief and religion or any religion at that point? I'll gladly tell you. The point of concerning ourselves with practical matters is so that we can do something about issues that rise up to cause us suffering and cause us to take our eyes off of what is important in life. The point of concerning ourselves with practical matters is so that we can understand another person's struggles and help them through the process. To help us help them find the answers to their unanswered questions in life.

The same position that the Buddha took on pages 249-251 the Buddhist monk Nagasena also takes on pages 17-19 when he is confronted by King Milinda about the existence of the individual. Nagasena tells king Milinda that there is no need for titles and labels even such as a name (see top of page 18) "O King, I am known as Nagasena, my fellow brethren address me as Nagasena, but whether parents give the name Nagasena, or Surasena, or Virasena, or Sihasena, nevertheless, O King, Nagasena and so on is a term, appellation, designation, a mere name, for in this matter the individual does not exist." (pg 18). Well why doesn't the individual exist, and if the individual does not exist then why do people seem to take on offensives and defenses as individuals that have the legal right to do so? If the individual does not exist then why are we able to walk around and talk as if we have an individual and have an eternal self?

Both Nagasena and the Buddha tell their pupils that the eternal soul and the eternal self has nothing to do with understanding the meaning of life. On page 18 Nagasena takes a chariot to let King Milinda know that although a chariot is many parts separately it is nothing but "shorthand that can be used instead of saying "all of these parts arranged in this manner". There is no one thing that is the chariot and there is no one thing that is the self." (pg. 17). Well what is he really saying when he says that there is no one thing that is the self, and what is he saying when he says that the chariot is just a faster way of saying "all these parts arranged in this matter"? I mean without the self and without the soul there is no individual, and with no individual there is nothing and you cannot have one without the other. Being a self is being an essential being that distinguishes oneself from others, and an individual is a human that is distinct from a group, class, or sometimes family, and it really sounds like they are saying the completely opposite of what the self and individual are which would then cause us to practically question everything that we have learned about ourselves and others around us.

Well how is one supposed to understand the self and the individual since both of them end up being nothing? The Buddha tells Malunkyputta that in order to understand the self and get out of suffering that we must dry up our desires and stop feeding an illusion because if we don't we will continue to suffer. Well in order to endure suffering or to even know what suffering is there has to be a self and an individual. Suffering only comes from within or from understanding what one did wrong to receive such punishment. In order to have an eternal soul and eternal self one must have a body.

Do I agree with the teaching of the Buddha that there is no eternal self and no eternal individual/soul? No I do not but I will answer Malunkyputta's and King Milinda's question and will say this that there is life after living on earth. There is an eternal soul and eternal individual and that there is an existence after death. All of these things happen after death for the bible says that once we are all caught up in the rapture with the Lord we will now only live and exist in heaven with a new identity and a new spirit and soul.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bilsker, Richard, Four Fundamentals Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy. Dubuque, Iowa: 2011