Do you believe in a Hindu Self, Christian Soul or Buddhist no self?

[django]

Buddha must have been brought up with Hindu beliefs, but he turned Hindu wisdom on it's head and stated there was no self, only a false self. I Believe there is an Atman Self/Higher Self/Soul, and I've been thinking about this versus the Buddha's no self, and wondering how does a belief in a Higher Self or No self affect other people's approaches to spirituality. There must be quite a difference, considering the two beliefs are polar opposites, I'd love to hear how this particular aspect of belief has affected you.

[Deepsoul]

They are both polar opposites and both exsists I feel and compliment each other if you allow them to flow..

[sky]

Originally Posted by django

Buddha must have been brought up with Hindu beliefs, but he turned Hindu wisdom on it's head and stated there was no self, only a false self. I Believe there is an Atman Self/Higher Self/Soul, and I've been thinking about this versus the Buddha's no self, and wondering how does a belief in a Higher Self or No self affect other people's approaches to spirituality. There must be quite a difference, considering the two beliefs are polar opposites, I'd love to hear how this particular aspect of belief has affected you.

django the Buddhas teaching on ' anatta ' is ' not-self rather than ' no-self '.

[django]

Originally Posted by sky123

django the Buddhas teaching on ' anatta ' is ' not-self rather than ' no-self '.

Thanks Sky, I'm not really into Buddhism, what does not self mean? They don't believe in a higher self do they? Am I right in thinking that Buddhists believe ego is a false self? There are some things I do like about Buddhism, but I felt it clashed with my notion of having a higher self.

[sky]

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/a.../notself2.html

See if this link helps you
Yes ego is a false self, I think it's similar to the clouds obscuring the sun. Buddhist do not believe in a higher self..




QUOTE=django]Thanks Sky, I'm not really into Buddhism, what does not self mean? They don't believe in a higher self do they? Am I right in thinking that Buddhists believe ego is a false self? There are some things I do like about Buddhism, but I felt it clashed with my notion of having a higher self.[/quote]

[django]

Originally Posted by sky123

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/a.../notself2.html

See if this link helps you
Yes ego is a false self, I think it's similar to the clouds obscuring the sun. Buddhist do not believe in a higher self..

Yes the link did help thanks sky I'm happy to think of it as not-self, and within Buddhist terms as not a question worth asking.

I am starting to see Buddha as a psychologist ahead of his time with a solution to a perceived problem, and to quite an extent I agree with his stated problem, but I don't agree with his solution, this is why I see this issue of Higher Self vs Not self as utterly important in terms of the solution, I feel it makes such a big difference.

[sky]

Originally Posted by django

Yes the link did help thanks sky I'm happy to think of it as not-self, and within Buddhist terms as not a question worth asking.

I am starting to see Buddha as a psychologist ahead of his time with a solution to a perceived problem, and to quite an extent I agree with his stated problem, but I don't agree with his solution, this is why I see this issue of Higher Self vs Not self as utterly important in terms of the solution, I feel it makes such a big difference.

In Buddhism you are encouraged to find your own path, Buddha himself said to use his teaching as a raft ( Raft Parable ). If you believe in a higher self then thats ok because that is your path

When you start studying the Buddhas teachings you do start to see him as a Psychologist.

If you are interested, Google ' Dalai Lama Mind and Life Institution' there are lots of Video discussions between Buddhist's/Dalai Lama and Scientist, very interesting.

[wolfgaze]

The Hindu concept of the relationship between Atman & Brahman speaks to me and what I have discovered in my own life journey...

[django]

Originally Posted by wolfgaze

The Hindu concept of the relationship between Atman & Brahman speaks to me and what I have discovered in my own life journey...

The closest for me is Visistadvaita (or "qualified non-dualistic") Vedanta which claims that individual atmans are distinct from Brahman but utterly dependent on Brahman as their inner-controller. According to this school, Brahman is both "non-dual" and "qualified" by souls and matter. Yet, while the atman maintains its own will, it is ultimately dependent upon Brahman for its creation and preservation.

[ajay00]

Originally Posted by django

Buddha must have been brought up with Hindu beliefs, but he turned Hindu wisdom on it's head and stated there was no self, only a false self. I Believe there is an Atman Self/Higher Self/Soul, and I've been thinking about this versus the Buddha's no self, and wondering how does a belief in a Higher Self or No self affect other people's approaches to spirituality. There must be quite a difference, considering the two beliefs are polar opposites, I'd love to hear how this particular aspect of belief has affected you.

The difference is at a very subtle level really. Even the idea of the eternal soul is a construct of thought to reinforce the ego or false self, which is the source of all problems.

The conditioned Hindu Brahmins couldn't quite grasp Buddha's teachings at his time and hence opposed Buddha for that matter.

A study of the works of Jiddu Krishnamurti helped me to understand clearly the teaching of Buddha in this matter.

The idea of the soul or atman itself can become a barrier to experiential understanding which is what really counts in spirituality.