The Philosophy of Psychologism: The Universal ‘Creed’ of Buddhism
Author: Mousumi Guha Banerjee
Abstract: In this paper, I would make an attempt to see Buddhism as a philosophy that hails the religion of man by being clearly a-ritualistic and a-Brahmanic. It came to take the shape of a world- view that seeks to liberate man from the ‘tedious confines’ of his circumstances and make him aware of his inner strength, whereby he can actualize his potential by transcending all notions of the self – an idea that we also find in the Gita. The study would also discuss the “psychology” of the East that has always embraced this idea of a consummate unification with the “Universal Soul”, but it was difficult to teach the masses about the nature of reality and the perception of truth in an ordinarily perceivable way – a reason why it was a challenge that led the Buddha to strive towards discovering the path of deliverance.