The Relational Dimension of Liberation (<i>vimutti</i>) in the Pāli Discourses of the Buddha

This paper investigates the embodied dimension of liberation (vimutti) in the P & amacr;li discourses of the Buddha. Liberation is to be understood in relation to different kinds of "persons"' who experience reality in different ways. For the ordinary person, there might be a presumption of being free, but there is actually no experience of liberation. For the disciple in training, liberation starts to become real and shows itself to be different to the ordinary person's way of life. Eventually, for the awakened disciple, the ordinary way of life is entirely left behind. This does not necessarily entail an escape from the world of embodied life, but it does open new possibilities for choice and freedom in the overall psychophysical and social ecosystem. In all these cases, liberation (or its lack thereof) must be understood from a relational perspective, namely, in connection with how one functions and behaves in relation to other living beings.