Dr. Samani Mangal Pragya
In the Buddhist scriptures, there is an enumeration of the five skandha (functions that constitute the human being)-Rūpa skandha (matter or form), Vedanā Skandha (feeling or sensation), Samjña-Skandha (perception), Vijñāna Skandha (consciousness) and Sanskāra-Skandha (Mental formation).[1] All these are momentary.[2] The Buddhist philosophy does not consider the soul to be different or one with skandha. Both causal and causeless origination of the soul is also not acceptable to it.[3]
According to the Sūtrakṛtāṅga and its Cūrṇi, a Buddhist does not consider the soul to be different or same from its five skandhas.[4] Description is available as to what a Buddhist does not believe in but description of what they believe in is not available. At that time, there were two streams of thought were prevalent in the philosophical world. Some philosophers considered the soul to be different from the body and some deemed the body and soul as one. Buddhism did not agree with any of the views. Regarding soul, their opinion was reflected in statements such as what is the body is the soul or what is the soul is the body should not be said. Even statements such as soul is different and the body is different, are unpresentable.[5]
According to the elementalist Buddhists, if the soul gets destroyed with the destruction of the skandha, then we have to resort to Ucchedavāda (annihilation, soul gets destroyed completely with the destruction of skandha i.e. material elements). But, with the destruction of the skandha, if the soul does not get destroyed, then, the soul becomes eternal. It becomes like the state of salvation.[6] Both, Ucchedavāda and Ṣaṣvaṭavāda are not acceptable to the Buddhists. So, it should neither be said that, the soul is different from the skandha nor should it be said, that the soul is indifferent from the skandha.
The Dhātuvādī Buddhists consider that body is built from four elements (dhātu) viz. earth, water, fire and air.[7]
From the description of the Sūtrakṛtāṅga, it transpires that at that time among the Buddhists, there were two popular opinions about the soul. One branch believed that the soul was made out of the five skandha and the other believed that it was formed out of the four dhātus. The commentator has said while presenting the Buddhist tradition that, 'skandhas are five, there is no other skandha by the name of soul other than those five.[8]'
Earth, air, water and fire have been called dhatu because they are both the possessor and the nurturer.[9] Some think that when these four are integrated body is formed, and then, they get the form of a living being.[10] The commentator, while quoting someone, has said:
caturdhatukamidaṃ śarīram na tadvyatiriktaṃ ātmāstīti.[11]'
This view seems to be very near to the Pañcabhūtavādī because the body is called as the soul, even in this philosophy. What uniqueness caturdhātuvādī has is then not clear.
Sūtṛakrāṅga Cūrṇi, p. 40.
na caitebhya ātmāntargato bhinnau vā vidyate samvedya- smaraṇāprasaṅgādityādi
