Grimm devotes a good part of his book to the elaboration of the anatta-doctrine; he states that the Buddha sought for the atta in the indirect way, by taking away from the atta everything that is not the atta. The Buddha followed this way so radically and with so much success, that whatever is cognizable revealed itself to his as anatta. He says: "You teach the atta, but I teach what the atta is not. You speak about the atta, but I speak of anatta; in short, you have the atta-method, the atta-vada, whereas I have the anatta-method, the anatta-vada.
Commenting on Grimm’s work, Edward Conze states: "The more I am concerned with these things, the more convinced I become that George Grimm’s interpretation of the Buddhist theory of atman comes nearest to the original teaching of the Buddha.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR George Grimm
George Grimm (25th February, 1868 - 26th August, 1945) had first studied theology; then he devoted himself to jurisprudence and officiated as judge in Bavaria. His profound knowledge of the works of the German philosopher A. Schopenhauer (1788-1860) attracted his attention to the ancient Indian thought. The translations from the Pali Canon by the Indologist K.E. Neumann (1865-1915) aroused his interest in the Buddha's Teaching. For years Grimm and Neumann were closely connected through a vast correspondence. From 1908 on Grimm devoted himself to an intense study of Sanskrit and Pali. Paul Deussen (1845-1919), who paved the way for the knowledge of Indian philosophy in Germany, became his friend. To such an extent his Buddhist attitude influenced even on his official activities that he was called "Bavaria's most benevolent judge". From 1920 on he lived in concentrated seclusion, in the course of which he created his great work on behalf of the Dhamma. Together with the Indologist K. Seidenstucker (1876-1936) he founded the "Old Buddhist Community" in 1921. He was a man of complete integrity whose prominent traits of character were his great veracity and his friendliness towards all living beings. He encouraged his friends and inspired them with his own enthusiasm for the Buddha's Teaching. More and more came to the force George Grimm's strong tendency to meditative introspection, an inner attitude that illuminated his writings and his practical realization of the Dhamma.
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