初探佛教心理學之思想起源與現代意義：以「軸心突破」為線索

The Philosophical Origins of Buddhist Psychology and its Relevance to Modern-day Explorations of Mind: Taking the “Axial Breakthrough” as a Clue

本文以「軸心突破」為線索，初探佛教心理學之思想起源，認為佛教心理學之成形，可向前追溯到婆羅門教《奧義書》傳統，在「軸心突破」的背景下揚棄各種神巫信仰的規範，而回歸到生命主體之觀照，走向「內向超越」運動。然相對於《奧義書》的「真心梵我」說，佛教卻主張「五蘊非我」說，並在此獨到見解下展開心意識的相關理論，藉以實現解脫苦痛的目的。本文指出，此以解脫為關懷的佛教心理學暨唯心思想，截然不同於科學進路的心理學，其既不在於研究「腦」，也並非在於研究「行為」之表面，卻著重於德性的涵養和精神的鍛鍊。可知「心」之概念為一價值相關的語彙，「心」密切關乎「業」，而未必僅是大腦、心臟等之生物性或生理性指涉而已。如此的心理學可說是價值論、倫理學、救渡學等密切結合，迥異於現今心理學之研究向度，故期能藉由此唯心思想之重新審視，以助於「心」之整全性認識。 This article focuses on the “axial breakthrough” in an attempt to uncover the philosophical origins of Buddhist psychology. While the roots of Buddhist psychology can be traced back to the ancient Indian tradition of Brahmanism and the Upaniṣads, the “axial breakthrough” prompted a rejection of a ritualistic world-view in favor of renewed interest in the value of human life and the quest for “inward transcendence”. Unlike the Brahmanist doctrine of ātman (Soul/ Self), the Buddha propounded the concept of anātman (Non-Self) and on that basis developed a theory of mind and consciousness which is said to enable the cessation of suffering through mental cultivation. This soteriological concern of Buddhist psychology can perhaps in a sense be regarded as an idealist system built around the theme of transcendence. Rather than trying to discover the mechanisms of the physical “brain” or attempting to decode the outward “behavior,” it focuses instead on ethical cultivation and inward spiritual growth. In Buddhism therefore, mind is not merely seen as a biological or physiological referent, but rather as an axiological term closely related to karma. This unification of psychology with axiology, ethics and soteriology, though markedly different to the approach taken by modern psychology, could prove immensely beneficial in our quest to gain a more comprehensive understanding of mind.

This article focuses on the “axial breakthrough” in an attempt to uncover the philosophical origins of Buddhist psychology. While the roots of Buddhist psychology can be traced back to the ancient Indian tradition of Brahmanism and the Upaniṣads, the “axial breakthrough” prompted a rejection of a ritualistic world-view in favor of renewed interest in the value of human life and the quest for “inward transcendence”. Unlike the Brahmanist doctrine of ātman (Soul/ Self), the Buddha propounded the concept of anātman (Non-Self) and on that basis developed a theory of mind and consciousness which is said to enable the cessation of suffering through mental cultivation. This soteriological concern of Buddhist psychology can perhaps in a sense be regarded as an idealist system built around the theme of transcendence. Rather than trying to discover the mechanisms of the physical “brain” or attempting to decode the outward “behavior,” it focuses instead on ethical cultivation and inward spiritual growth. In Buddhism therefore, mind is not merely seen as a biological or physiological referent, but rather as an axiological term closely related to karma. This unification of psychology with axiology, ethics and soteriology, though markedly different to the approach taken by modern psychology, could prove immensely beneficial in our quest to gain a more comprehensive understanding of mind.