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Here’s a clean side-by-side comparison of Sāṃkhya, Advaita Vedānta, and Buddhism across the key philosophical questions.
Comparative Table: Sāṃkhya vs Advaita Vedānta vs Buddhism
| Theme | Sāṃkhya philosophy | Advaita Vedanta | Buddhism |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ultimate reality | Two eternal principles: Puruṣa (consciousness) + Prakṛti (matter/nature) | Only Brahman (non-dual absolute consciousness) is real | No permanent ultimate substance; reality is dependent arising (paṭicca-samuppāda) |
| Self (atman) | Many eternal individual selves (puruṣas) | One universal Self (Ātman = Brahman) | No permanent self (anattā / no-self) |
| World status | Real but unconscious product of Prakṛti | Appears real but is ultimately illusory (māyā) | Real in a conventional sense, but impermanent and non-substantial |
| Cause of suffering | Misidentification of Puruṣa with Prakṛti | Ignorance of true Self (avidyā) | Craving, ignorance, and attachment |
| Liberation (goal) | Isolation of consciousness (kaivalya) from matter | Realization of non-dual Brahman | Nirvāṇa: cessation of craving and ignorance |
| Method | Discriminative knowledge (viveka) between self and nature | Self-inquiry (“Who am I?”), knowledge (jñāna) | Eightfold Path: ethics, meditation, wisdom |
| Nature of consciousness | Pure witness, passive, many individual centers | One universal consciousness only | Stream of processes; no permanent essence |
| God / Creator | Generally non-theistic (no creator God required) | Brahman is absolute reality (sometimes conceptualized as Ishvara) | No creator God necessary or central |
| Time & change | Prakṛti evolves cyclically; Puruṣa is unchanged | World of change is ultimately unreal | Impermanence (anicca) is fundamental law |
| Key insight | “You are consciousness, not matter.” | “Only Brahman is real; everything is That.” | “All phenomena are impermanent, non-self, and conditioned.” |
One-line essence of each
Sāṃkhya: “Liberation is realizing consciousness is separate from all material processes.”
Advaita Vedānta: “Only non-dual consciousness exists; separation is illusion.”
Buddhism: “Nothing has a permanent self; freedom comes from ending attachment.”
Important contrast (the real fault line)
The deepest disagreement is this:
Sāṃkhya: many eternal souls exist
Advaita Vedānta: only one Self exists
Buddhism: no permanent self exists at all
That single axis (self or not-self) is what makes them fundamentally incompatible, even though modern teachings often blend them.
If you want, I can also map:
who influenced whom historically
or which system is closest to modern neuroscience / psychology
or a “decision tree” to see which view fits which kind of meditation practice
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