A Psychological Study in Dealing with Conceit (Māna) According to Theravāda Buddhism

Abstract

This qualitative documentary study examines conceit (māna) as a psychological and ethical problem within Theravāda Buddhism. It aims to investigate the nature and causes of conceit, analyze relevant Buddhist teachings, and formulate a practice-oriented framework for its management and eventual eradication. Primary sources included selected texts from the Sutta and Abhidhamma Piṭakas, together with authoritative commentaries and English translations. Secondary sources comprised scholarly works on Theravāda psychology, the five aggregates, insight meditation, and Buddhist approaches to mental cultivation.

The findings indicate that māna is not limited to overt arrogance but functions as a persistent process of self-referential measurement. It appears through comparisons in which individuals regard themselves as superior, equal, or inferior to others. From the Abhidhamma perspective, conceit is associated with greed-rooted consciousness and is sustained by ignorance, attachment, unwise attention, and identification with the five aggregates. Importantly, conceit must be distinguished from identity view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi): although identity view is abandoned at stream-entry, the subtle conceit “I am” (asmimāna) persists until Arahantship.

The study proposes a two-level framework for dealing with conceit. At the worldly level, ethical restraint, humility, mindfulness, loving-kindness, and wise attention can regulate its behavioral and emotional manifestations. At the supramundane level, insight into impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and non-self progressively uproots the basis of self-comparison. The resulting framework demonstrates that Theravāda Buddhism addresses conceit through both practical self-regulation and radical transformation of self-identification. This model offers a conceptual foundation for Buddhist education, contemplative practice, conflict reduction, and further interdisciplinary research on ego, social comparison, and psychological well-being.