Selfless Persons: Imagery and Thought in Theravada Buddhism [Hardcover]

Steven Collins (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521240816 | ISBN-13: 978-0521240819 | Publication Date: July 30, 1982 | Edition: 1ST

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...it succeeds also in its avowed aim of being a book entirely accessible to non-specialists, and will be of interest not only to students of the human sciences, but also to those who are students of themselves for other than, or at least for more than, academic reasons." The Times Literary Supplement

Book Description

Drawing on anthropology, linguistics, sociology, philosophy, and comparative religion, the author explains the Buddhist doctrine of Anattá ("not-self") and shows how it is expressed in Buddhist society.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1ST edition (July 30, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521240816
• ISBN-13: 978-0521240819
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,226,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Buddhist rhetoric and metaphors unmasked, September 29, 2002

By 

Stefan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Selfless Persons: Imagery and Thought in Theravada Buddhism (Paperback)

Steven Collins' `Selfless Persons' has changed the way I look at the Theravada tradition. He is one of the few non-Buddhist scholars critically approaching the Canon and uncovering hidden presumptions and `unmasking' Buddhist specific rhetoric (the subtitle is `Imagery and thought in Theravada Buddhism.) For instance, Collins writes (p. 77) about the anatta-doctrine that `one might well describe it, [... ], as a linguistic taboo in technical discourse.' Such statements are rare in Buddhological scholarly works and illustrate the critical distance scholars as Collins can and need to take from the material. The texts are quite dense, but it is an Aha!-Erlebnis to come to the insights Collins provides us. A lot of Buddhist will find the book 'blasphemic' because of it's sober approach, but it's incontestable that it has paved a new way for critical analysis of the Canon. The book was presented as a doctoral thesis and it was a good idea indeed to publish it. I wished more of such works were published.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A work of rare excellence., May 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Selfless Persons: Imagery and Thought in Theravada Buddhism (Paperback)

Despite Buddhism's own tradition of anatta and "emptiness" and despite the traditions of its sibling systems which have always deemed it "nairatmavad", numerous scholars have continued to look for an ineffable , "atman-like", "Brahman-like" thing in its ancient traditions. This work demonstrates amply the futility of all such endeavours. This book is essential for someone who wishes to tackle one of the most the subtle and substantive issues in the remarkable tradition of Buddhist thought.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant study of the Buddhist theory of not-self, July 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Selfless Persons: Imagery and Thought in Theravada Buddhism (Paperback)

Now a classic in Theravada Buddhist studies, Collins' work bridges many gaps: between the sociology of religion and traditional philological scholarship, and most importantly between the sometimes obscure world of Indology and the larger world of the History of Ideas.