Nirodbaran

Talks with Sri Aurobindo

Volume 1

10 December 1938 – 14 January 1941

7 September 1940

Sri Aurobindo: Radhakrishnan finds contradictory statements in Buddhism about the Self. In one place, he says, it doesn’t recognise the Self and in another it takes the Self as the sole refuge and giver of enlightenment.

Purani: Yes, that is a famous quotation. But we thought that Buddhism doesn’t recognise the Self.

Sri Aurobindo: Yes, perhaps it means the phenomenal self.

Satyendra: Krishnaprem gives a different interpretation to Buddhism. He says Nirvana is only a half-way house.

Sri Aurobindo: That agrees with my experience.

Satyendra: In one of his letters I saw that he didn’t agree with you about some idea of Buddhism. I don’t remember exactly what it was.

Sri Aurobindo: What I might have said or now say about Buddhism is based on the current idea about Buddhism. Krishnaprem puts his own interpretation.

Nirodbaran: He follows the Mahayana school.

Sri Aurobindo: Mahayana is nearer to the Advaita school.

Satyendra: Even Mahayana teachings may be a modern interpretation. Nobody knows what Buddha said.

Sri Aurobindo: Yes. My impression is that even Mahayana has no clear idea about the ultimate concepts.