The Religions Book

149

See also: Preparing for the afterlife 58–59 ■ The ultimate reality 102–105 ■ Seeing with pure consciousness 116–21
■ The enlightenment of Buddha 130–35 ■ Immortality in Christianity 210–11

belief systems and philosophies.
It is implied by Buddha’s teaching
of the Middle Way (pp.130–35),
and also reflects his teaching of
the interconnectedness of all things.
However, nowhere is the idea of the
changing self better illustrated than
in The Questions of King Milinda,
written anonymously in the 1st
century CE. This text describes the
discussions between a Buddhist
sage known as Nagasena, and
King Milinda—the Indo-Greek ruler
of northwestern India, c.150 BCE.

Analyzing the self

Milinda starts by innocently asking

whether the person he is greeting

is indeed Nagasena, whereupon

Nagasena launches straight into

the discussion by stating that

although the name Nagasena

is conventionally used to refer to

himself, there is actually nothing

that corresponds to it. The word

is a designation, a “mere name,”

because “no real person is here

apprehended.” In an absolute

sense, Nagasena does not exist.

Bewildered, the King asks

how that can be the case, since

Nagasena is clearly standing there

in front of him. To answer this,

Nagasena uses an analogy. He

observes that the King arrived in

a chariot, so it is obvious that a

chariot exists. But he then starts

to analyze the various parts of the

chariot: the axle, the wheels, and

so on, and asks the King if any of

these “are” the chariot—eliciting

the answer that they are not.

BUDDHISM

All these things are constantly changing.

Although conventionally referred to as my “self,” in reality I am just

this bundle of changing elements. We cannot say what a person is.

Sensations Perceptions Ideas and Consciousness

Body intentions

So where is the chariot, Nagasena

asks, if it is not the wheels, or the

axle, and so on? Clearly, there is

no chariot over and above the parts

from which it is constructed.

Chariot is a name applied to the

collection of those parts when they

are put together to make the vehicle.

In the same way, Nagasena argues,

there is no fixed or permanent self

over and above the various parts

of which we are made. Nagasena

does not represent anything that

Milinda could point to. ❯❯

I am known as Nagasena.

But the word ‘Nagasena’ is

only a designation or name

in common use. There is no

permanent individuality

(no soul) involved in the matter.

Nagasena

The monk Nagasena is often referred

to as one of the Sixteen (or Eighteen)

Arhats, beings who have realized a

very high level of spiritual attainment.