Bodhisattva’s Eyes
On Vasubandhu’s No-Self View and Implication of the Universal Benevolence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18533/jah.v11i08.2294Keywords:
Yogacara Buddhism, Vasubandhu, Sidgwick, Impersonal Ethics, Personal Identity, ReductionismAbstract
As Parfit observes, the dichotomy between self-interest and morality causes the failure of moral actions in real life. One approach to resolve this conflict is Sidgwick’s impersonal ethics. This paper examines Sidgwick’s maxim of benevolence and outlines its underlying assumption: the accessibility of the universal point of view. Then, this paper reconstructs Vasubandhu’s no-self view in Abihidharmako?a and responds to two personalistic arguments, ultimately arguing that people can practice impersonal ethics if they overcome the illusion of self through Yog?car?’s meditation, as a metaphysical entity, and as a mental construct.
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