An Introduction to What is A Chariot? (What are we?)

By Lunneihoi Thangeo

Background

• Lunneihoi Thangeo is a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy at North-Eastern Hill University, India.
• She teaches philosophy to undergraduates at St. Anthony's College.
• Her main interests are metaphysics and epistemology.

Main Philosophical Question

• Are we perishable bodies or immortal souls?
• What constitutes identity? What do we refer to as "I" or "chariot"?

The Chariot Analogy

• Ngasena's View:
  • The chariot is not a permanent, singular entity.
  • It's a convenient label for a collection of parts (wheels, framework, ropes, etc.).
  • Similarly, there is no underlying permanent soul in humans.
• King Milinda's Confusion:
  • King argues for a permanent soul as necessary to understand desires and actions.
  • Ngasena counters that like a chariot, names like "Ngasena" are labels without implying a permanent soul.

Buddhist Concepts

• Skandhas: Five aggregates forming human beings:
  • Form (rūpa): Consists of sense organs and their objects.
  • Feelings (vedanā): Sensations from sense contacts.
  • Cognition (sañjñā): Helps distinguish concepts; necessary for knowledge.
  • Volitions (saṃskāra): Decisions and actions forming karma.
  • Consciousness (vijñāna): Total awareness across senses.

No Permanent Soul in Buddhism

• Consciousness doesn't prove a permanent soul.
• Dependent Origination (Pratītyasamutpāda):
  • Describes cyclic existence across past, present, and future lives.
  • Links cause and effect through ignorance and karma.
  • Explains suffering and its causation.

Comparison with Other Philosophies

• Vaiśeṣikas: Believe in eternal souls.
• Cārvākas: See the soul as a temporary material by-product.
• Advaita Vedānta: Identifies the soul with universal consciousness (Brahman).
• Buddhism: Rejects the idea of an eternal soul and views consciousness as impermanent.

Rebirth and Liberation

• Stream of Consciousness: Momentary, like lighting a candle from another.
• Karma and Nirvana:
  • Liberation (nirvāṇa) occurs when karma residues are exhausted.
  • Nirvāṇa means extinguishment, like a candle being blown out.
• Ultimate State:
  • Cannot be described in ordinary language.
  • Buddha remained silent about the state of the liberated one.

Reflection Questions

1. Can you identify another metaphor illustrating the Buddhist view of non-existence of the soul?
2. Does the stream of consciousness theory explain why present life suffers for past lives? Give reasons.
3. Why end suffering if there is no soul?
4. What is found upon investigating the idea of an individual soul in Buddhism?

References

• Davids, T.W. Rhys, "The Chariot Silile," in The Sacred Books of the East, XXXV:43-44. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1890.