Self-Assertion and Self-Negation in Buddhist Psychology

Abstract

Many Western psychologists find the Buddhist teachings on the self difficult to understand. Even humanistic psychologists sometimes feel a conflict between humanistic concepts such as self-esteem and self-acceptance and the Buddhist view of anatta or not-self. What is the point of encouraging self-esteem and self-acceptance if in reality there is no self to be esteemed or accepted? And if there is no self, does this mean annihilation on a personal identity level? And if it does, surely this is a way of arousing the individual's fears and anxieties rather than of laying them to rest? This article attempts to show how this conflict can be reconciled and how in a practical and straightforward way Buddhist psychology helps us build a model of the self that allows a profound realization of true human nature.