Buddhist Doctrine of No-Self and Human Rights

The interaction between Buddhism and human rights does not only happen in the academic circle, but also in real historical contexts, especially in Asia. Many political events in the twentieth century have forced Buddhists to face the issue of human rights. Among the scholars, some like Damien Keown and Sallie King defend a Buddhist affirmation of human rights, while others like Craig Ihara and Peter Junger provide sceptical arguments about this kind of affirmation. The debates about these questions are complicated and so far indecisive, as I argue in another chapter. In this chapter, I will explain how scholars like Michel Clasquin and Derek Jeffreys argue that there is an incompatibility between human rights and the Buddhist doctrine of no-self. I will also survey many attempts to offer solutions to this problem. I finally argue that these attempts are not adequate.