Sakkayaditthi
A P€li term meaning “the illusion that a person is a separate personal identity.” It is a fundamental concept in Buddhism, and is related to the doctrine of the kandhas (Sk. sk€ndhas) or five aggregates which produce this illusion. It is one of the ten fetters to be overcome in spiritual initiation.
The teaching of Sakk€yadi˜˜hi finds affirmation in theosophical literature. In The Mah€tma Letters to A. P. Sinnett, the Mah€tma KOOT HOOMI states that there are really seven sk€ndhas which includes the five traditional ones in Buddhism which, in Sanskrit, are: n€ma-r™pa (lit. “name and form” but implying the identification of oneself as embodied), vedan€ (feeling), samjñ€ (perception), samsk€ra (habit patterns or tendencies, quirks of character), and vijñ€na (conditioned consciousness). Two more unnamed sk€ndhas are the ones responsible for the illusion of Sakk€yadi˜˜hi, “the ‘heresy or delusion of individuality’ and of Attav€da [Sk. €tma-v€da] ‘the doctrine of Self,’ both of which (in the case of the fifth principle, the soul) lead to the m€y€ of heresy and belief in the efficacy of vain rites and ceremonies, in prayers and intercession” (ML, p. 199).
Helena P. BLAVATSKY states that the bliss of Devachan is “an outcome of Sakk€yadi˜˜hi, the delusion or ‘heresy of individuality,’ which heresy, together with the attav€dic chain of causes, is necessary for the monad’s future birth” (CW V:78).
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