American College: Spinoza's God and Buddhist Philosophy Comparison

This essay provides a detailed comparative analysis of Spinoza's philosophy and Buddhist thought, focusing on their respective views on God and the concept of self. The analysis begins by highlighting the similarities in their approaches to achieving a 'supreme good' and the emphasis on right conduct and wisdom. It then delves into the contrasting perspectives on the existence of the self, where Spinoza posits a mind-body connection as an attribute of God, while Buddhism emphasizes the impermanence and composite nature of the self through the five aggregates (rupa, vedana, sanna, sankhara, vinnana). The essay further explores the common ground between Spinoza and Buddhism, such as the understanding of God as a universal law and the importance of ethics and the pursuit of truth. It concludes by acknowledging the ongoing nature of research in this field and the potential for further exploration of the connections and harmonies between the two philosophical traditions. The essay also references the importance of in-text citations and the inclusion of a bibliography, as per the assignment guidelines. The assignment adheres to the word count and time constraints set forth in the brief.

Running head: PHILOSOPHY
Comparative Analysis between Spinoza and Buddhism
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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PHILOSOPHY
Spinoza’s philosophy is stretched across every philosophical discourse starting from
metaphysics to political philosophy to philosophy of science. This marked him as one of the
most crucial and authentic thinkers of the seventeenth century era. Whereas the Buddhist
philosophy is an amalgamation of philosophical reasoning coupled with meditation. There
has away been disputes regarding varied view points between varied Buddhist philosophers
which in turn has given room to the blooming of different schools of Buddhism.
The self and its existence has always been a fashionable topic in the discipline of
philosophy. The existence of self, its functioning has always created a debate among
philosophical researchers which has basically led to the division between the two disciplines
namely Spinoza’s and the Buddhists’. Going by the literature it is quite surprising to notice
that the two disciplines rise from a very similar perspective. While Spinoza talks about how
to achieve the supreme good in life so does Buddhism. Even the paths which are mentioned
to achieve the best revolve around following the road of right and wisdom. While the Spinoza
term it as the intellectuals understanding, Buddhists refer it as the road of wisdom or “Panna”
Discussing about the existence of self is exactly where the two disciplines can be
brought to comparison. While almost every school of Buddhist philosophy stands quite
incredulous regarding the existence of self. Buddhism rather highlights on the fact of
‘inherent existence’ which probably suggest that the self can exist without having any kind of
relation to the surrounding factors. The self that the Buddhism talks about is limited to “we,
ourselves” which is quite an illusion in their opinion. On the contrary Spinoza speaks about
the existence of body and mind. According to him the mind is always occupied with a certain
thought or idea regarding a particular issue or object which in turn develops a direct relation
with that object and it is through this relation that the mind achieves an individual identity of
its own. Spinoza also states that both mind and body are nothing but attributes of God and
either of it is incompetent without the existence of the other. Thus abiding by the philosophy

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PHILOSOPHY
of Spinoza that mind cannot exist without the existence of the body, the mind and the idea are
also quite integrally related to each other and it essentially highlights on the union between
mind and body and how the “self” is nothing but an amalgamation of both mental and
physical elements and are necessarily attributes of God himself.
Now concentrating on the Buddhism view, the discussion attributing to self is quite
detailed and vast in this discipline of philosophy. Both Theravada and Mahayana traditions
dealt with self which in their view is basically composed of five major elements which are:
form (rupa), feelings (vedana), perceptions (sanna). Thought formations ( sankhara) and
lastly consciousness (vinnana) . According to their research findings and believes the self is
composed of all these five different elements which gives it a physical and mental entity
otherwise the self is not an inherently existing entity and is seen to self dissolve itself in the
virtue of these elements. Buddhism does not deny the existence of self but view it to be
incorporate in these five elements.
The basic discussion once again highlights how both Spinoza and Buddhism does not
deny the existence of self in their respective believes and findings rather they confirm to the
believe that the self exists but in relation to certain object or element has no separate
existence of its own. There is no doubt about the fact that Spinoza and Buddhism have a lot
in common. Both view God as the Mystic Law or the sum of all the existing natural and
physical laws while for Spinoza God is attributed as the substance of the universe for
Buddhism views God as the Life of the Universe. Spinoza’s view about mind and how it is
constituted by the body is again validated by the interpretations made by the Mahayana
doctrine. Though there is no direct link between the two, going by the theories of the
doctrine, the sense of emptiness can be conferred as mental as well as physical which again
establishes a connection between two as stated by Spinoza. Both of the disciplines necessarily
talk about ethics, the fruits of Karma and how walking on the right path of wisdom and truth

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PHILOSOPHY
is the ultimate goal of an individual. This is still refereed as an ongoing study as the field of
research is comparatively treated as new and the findings need to be strengthened with further
analysis and understanding. There is no doubt a notion of pre-established harmony in both the
study findings which altogether makes it appear quite similar and supportive of each other’s
views.