Jung vs Buddha: Self vs Non-Self

Jung's Self archetype and Buddha's non-self teaching are two of the most profound formulations of our true nature. Are the two mutually exclusive? Here we explore how analytical psychology and Buddhist psychology conceive of the self and what lessons they teach us about what we are and what we are not.

#jung #buddha #psychology #philosophy #buddhism #religion #spirituality #dharma #dhamma

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📚 Recommended Reading

▶ C.G. Jung, Aion
▶ C.G. Jung, Psychological Types
▶ C.G. Jung, A Psychological Approach to the Dogma of the Trinity
▶ C.G. Jung, Two Essays in Analytical Psychology
▶ C. G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections
▶ Walpula Rahula Thero, What the Buddha Taught
▶ Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching
▶ Rupert Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism

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🎶 Music used

▶ original S2S score by @RMSounds
▶ YouTube Audio library and various Public Domain recordings

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⌛ Timestamps

02:08 PART 1 - JUNG
02:29 ego
04:33 complex
07:01 Self
11:48 Self = God image
16:43 PART 2 - BUDDHA
18:48 non-self
20:49 the five aggregates
24:44 person = useful fiction
27:32 PART 3 - JUNG & BUDDHA
39:47 CONCLUSION

[seekerseeker]

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I would also like to thank all the channel members who support my work through YouTube! You would know them by their orange badges in the comments :)


I owe this video, like everything else I do, to the gentle and constant support of my partner. Thank you, Elly!

[Rob_]

“Reality is too complex to surrender all its secrets to a single perspective.” I like this quote of yours. Very nice work.

[αληθεία-ιτ]

@09:55
“While you, the Ego, are experiencing Life something else’s is experiencing You. You are not conscious of “it” but “it” is conscious of You.”
Nicely stated!
Also, you described the Ego as an imperfect miniature image(8-bit) of the Self (4K). What a fantastic analogy. I feel like I finally GET IT. Thank you for an insightful video!

[drowzee]

(I’m only 18 so sorry if this a little messy bc there’s still a lot to learn) It seems like a lot of the time, people will link their concept of self to some higher purpose, no matter how they define it. Whether it’s religion, spirituality, knowledge, or even worldly achievements, there is still something we’re all pursuing in some sense. Without a thing to define our reason for living to, we’d have no desire to even exist, but even wanting your own death would mean your goal is to obtain “ something “. Just as Jung thinks the self is undefined and that the ego is the accumulations of characteristics we perceive as the self, Buddha thinks of the self as a fiction, but still something that doesn’t have a definitive truth to it. Both find a middle path of neither existing nor not existing, so for all us, this is some area of balance in which we seek to obtain. In the human experience, both the internal or external world having priority will cause imbalance as they will not always be aligned. A lot of the time we define our balance as happiness or fulfillment, but I think it’s truly whatever we label it as, therefore that balance and the self are almost one in the same. The fantasy of our internal world and the reality of external world feel in constant clash between one another, but I believe Buddha is trying to describe nirvana as the state of being where both feel permanently aligned. We see ourselves as individuals separate from the world, yet we exist within it and are comprised of its matter. Every single person is like a conscious experience of the universe observing itself, and yet we are all able to define our concept of self through our own different circumstances. To try to define the self or nirvana would go against the warnings of Jung and Buddha, so they want us to utilize their information to improve our lives, rather than treating it like it is an ultimate truth. The nature of the self is empty, but it still exists in some form. I am not my name, my body, my status, or my personality, but rather the whole of this experience. Within my life time I can not properly define my “ self” but if the self is the accumulation of all these thoughts and experiences, then the outer ring of this circle of self is where I can find fulfillment. No matter the circumstances, I know everything will be okay because my self is not the whole of my experience, but just the parts of my life i want to desire and manifest because it gives me a reason to live. I don’t need to live, or need that fulfillment or my desires granted, but I choose to in order to better understand the experience I was thrown into. It allows me to understand this driving force within all of us is being projected onto every aspect of this world. It’s all the same archetype being interpreted differently, and the ability to define that archetype yourself is what makes life worth living. Whatever feeling we’re chasing by thinking about these things, it’s a miracle to get a glimpse of it and see that it has and always will be with you until the end. Because of the novel series I’ve been wanting to write for over 7 years, I’ve practically devoted most my life to getting a better understanding of this kind of topic so I can live a more fulfilling life and make others happier as well. This video was beyond amazing and I wish this kind of topic could be talked about more. Discussions like these for sure are helping and inspiring me, and I know it will for many others.

[mariannirenkristiansen]

🕊️ Thank you. I love it and I will watch it again and again.. profound and transformative..

[BrokeNekiNeko]

Robert Sapolsky said in his book Determined that letting go of the idea of free will is similar to Un-Selfing in Buddhism. It was so interesting listening to your video after his book! Fantastic channel, you remind me of Blind Dweller, one of my favorite YouTubers

[nutthaponrathie]

It's very helpful to study comparatively. Living around everything Buddhists in Thailand, most of the time we don't have a reference point to see ourselves from other perspectives. Thanks for all the great work you've done. I'm looking forward to your work on "dependent origination."

[kamilszlufik]

Your the only channel i support by donating monthly.

I cant stress enough how you manage with each video, to push me deeper into myself and ponder on the "I" and its proper place within the experience of life.

Thank you for your work, thank you for allowing us reflect together.

[suzannecarter]

I can't believe this is the first video I've seen on this subject. After reading a great deal of Jung and studying Buddhism in depth, I felt confused and wanted to talk to someone about it. It is very hard for Americans to hold 2 seemingly contradictory ideas at once. We hate cognitive dissonance! Throw in Existential thought and it gets even weirder. My Asian studies have helped me learn to do this - I have to first ask myself if we are talking in absolute terms or relative terms, then there are a few more questions I would have to ask to start discussing this topic. Well done! Many thanks for putting so much thought and care into this video.

[vision]

Buddhas teaching about non self and ego is fascinating. Explains why people suffer as they do. I find it peaceful to think that once you get rid of ego and self, the mind can comprehend and understand suffering around you and also feel compassionate towards other living beings. Being in the moment and keeping your mind alert and aware of each moment and emotion will help one to calm ones mind. In other words observe when you get angry, sad, jelous, vindictive, lustful, greedy and analyzing those emotions as they arise. Baby steps that would lead to ultimate Nirvana or keeping your mind still. These days I am trying to incorporate "walking meditation" concentrating on each step and how it feels when your feet touch the ground. Its hard to concentrate as you have your eyes open and too many distractions around. Its a total different experience and soon after you sit down to meditate, i find its much easier to keep your mind still. This is how I understood Buddhas teachings. Love your channel. Keep up the great work you are doing.

[futurematt]

Your videos are so well researched and presented. You're really helping to increase our self awareness.

[nikolaybelorusov]

One of the best produced and well written videos I have seen! Congrats my friend, your work is very moving and inspiring!

[waxon]

Absolutely brilliant! This is a masterpiece, Simeon. Thank you for all the time and hard work that surely went into it :)

[MarcelPirosca]

To my mind the Self and the Ego are different from what Jung describes. I see the Self as the fiction we've constructed from our previous experiences, beliefs and appearances; while the Ego is a tool of the Self, a compensation mechanism which is activated whenever you hit a Its role is to get us out of trouble(real or imagined) by providing the necessary energy to surpass it. It is not only a defensive mechanism, as it's commonly called, because you can attack with it as well and you can even use it to suppress your own impulses. So, I wouldn't regard it as a shield, but rather as a Barrier keeping outer energy from coming in, or inner energy from going out.

The way to dismantle the Ego and prevent it from triggering ad infinitum is to realize the story of the Self is an illusion. Since there is no you, then there will be no obstacles to oppose you and hence no need to compensate with the Ego.

Mother nature wouldn't have created it if it wasn't useful and I think Ego proved to be a very effective tool for keeping us alive. It's only when it's overused that it becomes a destructive force, like everything else.

At this point mister Jung's model seems a bit overcomplicated and abstract, while the Buddha's a bit oversimplified and missing some points(like survival).

Whatever the truth may be and wherever you are, thank you for this video my friend, I didn't know about a lot of things mentioned here. Must've been a great undertaking piecing all of this together.
I send my gift of gratitude and wish you happy holidays.

[philiprussell]

The clarity of insight you possess is always wonderful to see in action, and the skill and effort put into the production is appreciated.

Also, perhaps this is an incomplete observation, but I have noticed that the viewers that assemble in the community comments reflect your wisdom and yearning for truth. Many other channels that surround these topics are filled with argument and strife. Here it seems everyone has understood to the best of their abilities . I am glad to be here with all of them.

[markmannm]

At first, I was thinking of apples and oranges. Then my ideal self was reminding me to remain sensitive to perspective. As we are all aware psychology is an inexact science and even the leading schools of thought are highly subjective. Everyone has their feelings about just how much they do exist or perhaps even why they exist. Buddha's concepts are highly complex and very technical especially when we consider the period that Buddha existed. Carl Jung I believe to a large extent was a work in process. Both had very insightful intuitiveness in defining the window of ourselves. Now before my comments seem to become a mumbo jumbo of convoluted conundrum I will just simply conclude with, "good video, good job there's a lot of interpretation that needs to continue. Godspeed to all, however particularly those who seek to understand." MarkMannM2

[AwakenInsight]

“Anatta” is the most misunderstood teaching of the Buddha. If you put aside what scholars have said and just go directly to the original teachings, the Buddha never said there is no self (soul). As you point out in the video, the word “Anatta” can be translated as “no self”, “non-self”, or “not self”, and then proceed to suggest that “non-self” is the best translation without qualifying that suggestion. If you want to know which is the best translation of any word you have to look at the context in which the word is used. If you actually read what the Buddha said, it's very clear that he is talking about what is not the self. Never does he say there is no self or that self is a fiction. He doesn't explain what the self is, only what the self is not. Therefore, “not self” is the proper translation of "Anatta". Calling it “non-self” or “no self” is only perpetuating misunderstanding.

[blackhoven]

Please keep up with your work! Your videos are excellently researched and presented 🔥🔥
I can feel how many thoughts you had, not only while planning and writing the script, but also much time before that.
Again I can only beg you to keep up your hard work because it is enriching and inspiring!

[oasisnoe]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:04 🧠 *The Self in Jungian psychology and the non-self in Buddhism represent central concepts in each framework, reflecting the processes and goals of psychic or spiritual growth, respectively.*
01:00 🌐 *Jungian psychology's Self and Buddhist non-self aren't abstract concepts but pertain to our fundamental nature, offering insights into human experience.*
02:24 💭 *In Jungian psychology, the "ego" refers to the center of consciousness, distinct from the technical term "Self, " which encompasses the totality of the psyche.*
04:16 🧩 *Jung describes "complexes" as unconscious focal points formed by emotions, thoughts, and memories, influencing behavior and often leading to unconscious actions.*
08:29 🛌 *Jungian perspective suggests that dreams dissolve the ego, providing insights and feelings beyond conscious awareness, highlighting the unconscious's influence.*
10:46 🔍 *Jung's Self represents a universal pattern in the collective unconscious, contrasting with the ego's personal nature, challenging the idea that it's a simple projection of the ego.*
16:56 🤔 *The Buddha's concept of non-self (anattā) rejects the ultimate reality of the 'self', emphasizing it as a useful convention rather than an ultimate truth.*
20:09 🌀 *The Buddha's non-self doctrine breaks down the 'self' into five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness), dismissing the notion of a permanent, independent self.*
23:21 📖 *The Buddha acknowledges the pragmatic use of 'self' as a fiction, serving as a useful concept in understanding experience despite lacking ultimate reality.*
25:48 🎵 *A concert, composed of performer, instrument, music, audience, and venue, is more than the sum of its parts, analogous to experiences in life, where the whole is greater than its individual components.*
26:18 🌌 *Dream analysis according to Jung and Buddhism highlights the dissolution of the sense of self, suggesting individuality isn't fundamental to experiences.*
27:43 ⚖️ *Bridging Buddhism and Jungian psychology requires caution against biases and not reducing one system to favor the other, acknowledging their differences and evolutionary trajectories.*
29:04 🔄 *Jung and Buddha's teachings on aggregates and complexes both emphasize that an individual is a process, not a fixed entity, comparing it to a river with a unique shape but ever-changing moments.*
30:54 🔍 *Jung's Self and early Buddhism's totality differ; the former seems personal, engaged, and compensatory, while the latter is impersonal and operates like a cosmic algorithm of karma.*
32:46 ⚖️ *Both Jung and Buddha hint at a Middle Way or cosmic law of wholeness, suggesting a center against which actions are measured, providing balance and consequences for deeds.*
34:10 🎭 *The analogy of becoming overly attached to a movie character parallels the Buddha's teaching of the self as a performance, while Jung explores patterns in the fantasy world, aiming to find meaning in suffering.*
35:29 🎥 *The Buddha's non-self shifts the focus from the small self to the conditioned world, dissolving boundaries between 'I' and 'not I', akin to Jung's individuation reclaiming energy from complexes.*
39:04 🌊 *Differences in the models of the Self by Jung and Buddha are analogous to receiving different forms of water; they originate from the same source but are perceived diversely.*

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[blazewilliams]

My guy Simeon, this was absolutely brilliant! We think very much alike, and the time and effort you put into creating these videos really helps me organize my mind and thoughts on these matters, as I often find myself alone when trying to integrate what I read on Jung, Buddhism, Evolutionary Astrology, etc. because as you mentioned, other intellectuals dismiss it and/or deem it taboo to speculate on. You are a beacon to truth my friend!