Sanskrit Noun
ātman
self
आत्मन्
བདག་
我,灵魂
Basic Meaning
Though it can simply be used as the expression "I" or "me", in Indian thought the notion of self refers to a permanent, unchanging entity, such as that which passes from life to life in the case of people, or the innate essence (svabhāva) of phenomena.
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| Term Variations | |
|---|---|
| Key Term | ātman |
| Topic Variation | ātman |
| Tibetan | བདག་ ( dak) |
| Wylie Tibetan Transliteration | bdag ( dak) |
| Devanagari Sanskrit | आत्मन् |
| Chinese | 我, 灵魂 |
| Chinese Pinyin | wǒ, línghún |
| Japanese Transliteration | ga |
| Korean Transliteration | a |
| Buddha-nature Site Standard English | self |
| Karl Brunnhölzl's English Term | identity |
| Jeffrey Hopkin's English Term | self |
| Gyurme Dorje's English Term | "self" |
| Term Information | |
| Source Language | Sanskrit |
| Basic Meaning | Though it can simply be used as the expression "I" or "me", in Indian thought the notion of self refers to a permanent, unchanging entity, such as that which passes from life to life in the case of people, or the innate essence (svabhāva) of phenomena. |
| Related Terms | anātman, svabhāva |
| Term Type | Noun |
| Definitions | |
| Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism | See page 78: In Sanskrit, “self’ or “I,” with a similar range of meanings as the terms possess in English, but used especially to refer to a perduring substratum of being that is the agent of actions, the possessor of mind and body (nāmarūpa), and that passes from lifetime to lifetime. |
