Selfless Persons: Imagery and Thought in Theravada Buddhism (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780521397261)

This book explains the Buddhist doctrine of annattá ("not-self"), which denies the existence of any self, soul, or enduring essence in man. The author relates this doctrine to its cultural and historical context, particularly to its Brahman background. He shows how the Theravada Buddhist tradition has constructed a philosophical and psychological account of personal identity on the apparently impossible basis of the denial of self. Although the emphasis of the book is firmly philosophical, Dr. Collins makes use of a number of academic disciplines, particularly those of anthropology, linguistics, sociology, and comparative religion, in an attempt to discover the "deep structure" of Buddhist culture and imagination, and to make these doctrines comprehensible in terms of the western history of ideas.

Author: Steven Collins
ISBN-10: 052139726X
ISBN-13: 9780521397261
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 11/29/1990
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.08w x 0.99d