Title: You're what you sense
First published: 2001
Description: You're What You Sense: Buddha on Mindbody takes the form of a Socratic dialogue between a “student of Buddhism” (who is called M) and an earnest enquirer (called E). This type of dialogue has a long and honored history in Buddhist teaching. Many of the Buddhist sutras take the form of a dialogue between the Buddha (or one of his chief disciples) and a serious enquirer or even skeptic. Another famous example is the debate between the second-century Buddhist teacher Nagasena and King Milinda, an Indo-Greek ruler in Northern India. In more recent times, The Monk and the Philosopher is an often-charged verbal joust between French rationalist philosopher Jean-François Revel and his son Matthieu Ricard, who had taken Tibetan Buddhist orders under the Dalai Lama.

The average, untrained person (puthujjana) tends to think of consciousness as self.  Yet, as Dr. Sugunasiri explains, any true “self” must be permanent and unchanging. Consciousness arises and passes away based on contact with objects from the five senses or mental objects; therefore, the popular idea of consciousness as self, as a permanent, stable core, cannot be true. The same is, of course, true of the other four constituents of “mindbody”: body, feeling, perception, and volitional elements. These five are all that can be experienced, and all are transient (anicca). Therefore, M asks E, “Is there anything or something behind the process other than the process itself?” (p. 131). The answer, based on close analysis and observation of mind and body, can only be no.  

There are many works on Buddhism on the market; some are of dubious value because they do not fully understand anatta. Some Western Buddhist writers, for example, re-interpret Buddhism to include what can only be called the Christian idea of a “soul” or perfect self. This perfected self has no place in Buddhism because, while there can be perfection (samma)—such as perfect or right view, perfect action, and so on—there is no concept of an essential self. This central philosophy of Buddhism is in full view in Dr. Sugunasiri’s book.

Anyone looking for an easy-to-follow guide to Abhidhamma will find this book helpful and accurate.
Subjects: Buddhism, Mind and body, Abidhamma, Scientific basis of Buddhism