No Self, Selflessness (Anatta/Anatman) & the Five Aggregates
Mindah-Lee Kumar (The Enthusiastic Buddhist)
34.4K subscribers
The
concept of no self or selflessness (also known as anatta or anatman in
Buddhism) can sometimes be confusing. If there is no self, then who or
what is experiencing our present reality? The Buddha taught that there
are five aggregates that constitute a living being; however, to solely
identify with these is to rob ourselves of knowing our true nature which
isnβt defined by these five phenomena.
In
this video, I explain in detail what these five aggregates (khandhas or
skandhas) are and how the Buddhaβs teachings of no self serves as a
liberating reminder that our thoughts, feelings and perceptions are not
to be taken so seriously; that instead there is a way to live in this
world with a greater lightness of being.
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Suttas used in this video:
“βWhen
you know for yourselves…β: The Authenticity of the Pali Suttas”, by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition), 23 April 2012,http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/au….
Category
Education
The Concept of Anatta or Not Self
Buddha, the Founder of Buddhism
There
are three different views of the ego or Self. The first is the belief
in Self as the soul-entity. The second is the view of the Self based on
conceit and pride. The third is the Self as a conventional term for the
first-person singular as distinct from other persons. The Self or “I”
implicit in “I walk” has nothing to do with illusion or conceit. It is a
term of common usage that is to be found in the sayings of the Buddha
and arahants. β Discourse on the Ariyavasa Sutta.
Anatta
or the Not-Self is a very important concept of Buddhism, which
distinguishes it from other religions such as Hinduism and Jainism. In
the following discussion, we discuss the concept of Anatta in Buddhism,
its importance to the Eightfold Path and the meditative practices of
Buddhism, and its possible origins in ancient India before the Buddha.
Anatta means
Anatta
is the Pali or the crude version of the Sanskrit word, Anatma, meaning
Not-Self. It is also often called the Non Self or No Self. Anatta refers
to the absence of Self (ana + atma). Anatta also means objective
reality or what is not Self or what is other than the Self. Anatta
represents all that exists outside the Self or other than the Self.
The
roots of Anatta or Anatma are not in Buddhism or in the teachings of
the Buddha, but in the ascetic traditions of Hinduism and Jainism of
ancient India. It is also not specific to Buddhism only. The Buddha made
it popular by making it the central aspect of his teachings. In the
belief systems of ancient India, especially those of Hinduism and
Jainism, Anatta represented the objective or perceptual aspect of the
existential reality. It also represented the outward approach or the
perceptual, mindful approach to achieve liberation, in contrast to the
inward, witness approach or the withdrawal approach to experience the
subjective Self (Atma or Atman).
Anatta as Not-self
The
Buddha taught the nonexistence of eternal Souls in the beings. He held
that the eternal Self was an illusion, a notion or a formation of the
mind. It had no basis in reality. According to him, the world was bereft
of a soul (or God), and so was the case with the microcosm of any
living being. It was neither possible nor believable that an eternal,
imperishable and stable soul could exist anywhere or in any being, when a
mere observation showed that beings were subject to change, aging,
decay and death. All sentient beings, and even the objects were in the
process of becoming and changing from one state to another.
The
only Self that made sense to him was the objective self, which could be
identified with a name and form and possessed a physical Self, and
which was made up of the mind and body. The physical self, or beingness
(Anatta or Not-self), was neither eternal nor imperishable nor
subjective, but was a part of the objective reality (anatta) only, which
could be objectified as a person, but could still be subjectively
viewed in its entirety as well as in its parts. Thus, the Anatta was a
formation, created by the aggregates of thoughts, memories, desires,
expectations, compassion, attachment, illusion and egoism. It was
temporary, perishable and changeable. Beyond that objective reality of
Anatta, there was nothing else such as a permanent, unchanging, eternal
Self.
As
part of his teaching, the Buddha discouraged speculation upon any
phenomena, which were not part of the perceptual reality. Accordingly,
he discouraged questions and speculation upon the nature of the
transcendental Self or God. He also avoided speculation upon the nature
of Anatta reality, whether it was real or illusory, just as he avoided
elaborating the state of Nirvana because it too was outside the
boundaries of ordinary human experience.
In
a sermon delivered to his first five disciples (Samyutta-Nikaya 22.59),
the Buddha provided a clear reasoning in favor of his No-Self argument
and advised them to renounce all sense of ownership and possessiveness
to end attachment, suffering and the process of becoming. He told them
the following.
“O
monks, the well-instructed noble disciple, seeing thus, gets wearied of
form, gets wearied of feeling, gets wearied of perception, gets wearied
of mental formations, gets wearied of consciousness. Being wearied he
becomes passion-free. In his freedom from passion, he is emancipated.
Being emancipated, there is the knowledge that he is emancipated. He
knows: ‘birth is exhausted, lived is the holy life, what had to be done
is done, there is nothing more of this becoming.’”
On
another occasion, as recorded in the same text, he explained the
concept of Anatta to another disciple. When he was asked what Anatta
meant, he replied thus.
βJust
this, Radha, form is not the Self (anatta), sensations are not the Self
(anatta), perceptions are not the Self (anatta), assemblages are not
the Self (anatta), consciousness is not the Self (anatta). Seeing
thusly, this is the end of birth, the Brahman life has been fulfilled,
what must be done has been done.”
In
short, what the Buddha meant was that the body was not the (eternal)
Self, the mind was not the Self, the feelings were not the Self, or
anything possessed by them was not the Self. The notion of Self, the
belief that something was mine or yours, was a mere illusion, which
arose from the coming together of aggregates and the formation of a
personality and its consciousness. The consciousness itself was a
formation of thoughts, feelings, emotions, sensations, memory, reason
and intelligence. By observing them and understanding their movements,
one could resolve suffering and attain peace and equanimity.
Anatta as the objective reality
Anatta
means not only Not-self but also the objective or the perceptual
reality which we experience through the mind and the body. It is the
reality, which is not the Self or other than the Self or has no relation
whatsoever with the Self. Whether the Self exists or not is immaterial.
Whatever the mind and body experiences including the world in which
they reside constitute the Anatta or the Anatta reality.
atta and anatta The Anatta, objective and the Atma, subjective realities
The
religions of India fall into Atma and Anatma traditions. They are also
referred to as Asti (Is) and Nasti (Is not). Hinduism and Jainism are
Atmic traditions. They believe in the existence of eternal souls and in
their subjective reality, which is pure, transcendental, self-existing,
indefinable, indescribable, indestructible, all knowing, and infinite.
The souls are also beyond the mind and senses. Hence, they cannot be
experienced in the wakeful state.
The
soul or the Self cannot be experienced in deep sleep state also since
the mind remains covered in tamas when a person is asleep. It can be
experienced only when the mind and the senses are fully withdrawn and
absorbed in the contemplation of the Self. Since, it is subjective, the
Self cannot be objectified by any means, except notionally or
theoretically for our study and understanding.
In
contrast, Buddhism is a non-atmic tradition. It does not believe in the
pure subjective reality which can exist without any relationship to our
experience of the world. If it is, it serves no purpose in resolving
our suffering, because our suffering does not arise from the unknown
Self, but from the known world. It is the source of karma and the cause
of our suffering.
The Anatta strategy
Because
of their fundamental doctrinal differences, Buddhism and Hinduism
follow divergent strategies to deal with human suffering. Buddhism
relies upon Anatta reality and Hinduism upon the Atma reality. Hence
they fundamentally differ with regard to their methods to discipline the
mind and body and cultivate discernment to achieve liberation. Buddhism
relies upon the outward, mindfulness strategy to see the objects of the
mind, the body and the world with greater clarity and intelligence to
identify the causes of bondage and suffering, while Hinduism recommends
the inward, contemplative and restful approach in which the mind and
body are withdrawn from the objective reality and silenced to experience
self-absorption (Samadhi).
While
Hinduism aims to shut down the mind and body from the causes of
suffering, Buddhism attempts to face them and understand them with the
Anatta approach or strategy, by accepting the objective reality as the
starting point for the practice of the Eightfold Path. It is a
confrontational approach, but true to the teachings of the Buddha, with
gentleness, compassion and nonviolence. With right perception, right
thinking and right views, it dwells upon the known rather than the
unknown, and looks for solutions within the human experience rather than
outside it. The Buddhists do not believe that there can be a subjective
reality which is independent of the being or beyond the mind and
senses. Even if it exists, there is no proof that it is the cause of
suffering.
Existential
suffering is produced by the existence of things and causes or the
objective reality. Logically, it is better to begin with the known
rather than the unknown to resolve existential suffering, and look for
viable solutions in the current reality of the present moment rather
than in some metaphysical notion of an inexplicable state that cannot
humanly be experienced when the mind is active and awake. The Buddhists,
therefore, remain wide awake and mindful of their suffering as well as
their goal of Nirvana. They may renounce the worldly life, but do not
escape from it.
The
Four Noble truths unambiguously trace human suffering to the
existential reality (Anatta) in which beings are caught. Anatta is
amorphous. When people become involved with it through their senses,
they develop desires and become bound to the cycle of births and deaths.
Anatta is alluring enough to consume our attention and involvement.
However, it is also like a honey-trap, which binds the beings to
Samsara, or the cycle of births and deaths. When people cling to the
world and its objects through attraction and aversion, they become bound
to the mortal world and invite suffering into their lives. By engaging
in desire-ridden actions, they incur karma and thereby become bound to
the cycle of births and deaths.
With
this understanding, the Buddha advised monks to observe the objective
reality (Anatta) with mindfulness and discernment to see how it caused
desires and attachments and produced suffering. This was in sharp
contrast to the approach followed in Hinduism and Jainism where the
emphasis was upon withdrawing from the objective reality and remaining
focused on the Self to experience the purely subjective, omniscient
state of the transcendental Self.
Buddhism
wholeheartedly accepts the Anatta approach, without any ambivalence,
and urges its followers to face the reality rather than engaging in
speculations about it, or shutting down their minds and senses to it. It
is a very practical, psychoanalytical and down to earth religion, which
relies upon intelligence (Buddhi) rather than divine intervention to
deal with the problems and the suffering people face. It firmly holds
that one cannot resolve suffering by escaping from it or putting the
mind to sleep, but by becoming more aware, awake and mindful of its
causes and avoiding all possible mistakes that lead to them by right
living on the Eightfold Path. One may speculate upon the Self and its
reality, but it is an intellectual effort or an elitist approach, which
does not mitigate suffering other than giving some people the smug
satisfaction that they engaged their minds in higher thinking.
Anatta as impermanence
The
Buddha taught not only the Not-self approach to observe oneself but
also the impermanence of the personality. He advised his followers not
to identify themselves with their names and forms (nama rupa) or their
Anatta reality, but become aware of the different aspects of their minds
and bodies to know how they produced suffering. By knowing that they
were mere aggregates of mental and physical objects and understanding
the objective reality (anatta) within them and around them, they could
overcome their desires and clinging and come to terms with their
suffering and their seeking and striving.
In
Buddhist parlance, every living being is just like a river, which is
ever changing. Since it flows continuously, one may outwardly see the
same river, with the same twists and turns. However, it is never the
same because its water is continuously replaced by the water flowing
from behind. Over a long period, the river itself may change course, or
dry up completely, due to the changes in the climate or environment.
Our
consciousness is similar to the river, and our bodies are similar to
the earth which supports the rivers. Just as the rivers, our
consciousness is always in a state of flux, moving and changing. When a
monk realizes that change and impermanence characterize our existence,
he is no more troubled by what happens to him, what changes in him or
what he gains or loses. He becomes equal to the happenings in his mind
and body as well as in the world. Having discerned the truth about
himself and the world, he attains peace and equanimity, which in
Buddhism, is called the state of Nirvana.
From
the teachings of the Buddha we understand that if you study the
individual components of a being and if you separate each of them, you
will realize that nothing exists beyond them, which is permanent and
stable. The personality or the beingness is like a bubble. It is an
aggregate of many individual components, which are held together by
desires and essential nature. If you separate them, can you say that the
individual still exists?
The
notion of Self is not only an illusion but also an obstacle to the
realization of Nirvana or knowing the truth about oneself. A person or
his beingness is created by the aggregates of memories, feelings,
perceptions, emotions, etc. Depending upon which of them the person
chooses to define himself, the person becomes distinguished or acquires
distinctive traits and characteristics which separate him from the rest.
If
those choices or components are changed, a different personality
emerges from the same person. We know from experience that people do not
hold the same thoughts or feelings or emotions always. Hence, they act
differently in different circumstances and remain unpredictable. The
same happens when a person loses his mind or suffers from amnesia. He
becomes a different person with a different personality. From an
existential point of view, the objective Self (self-image) is oneβs own
creation or formation. It is an objective reality which can be
perceived, altered, influenced or silenced.
Anatta as emptiness
The
essence of Anatta is emptiness. Anatta is the objective experience of
the formation and aggregation of things. Nothing is permanent there and
nothing there lasts forever. It is like the clouds in the sky or the
colors that manifest before the sunset. It exists as long as the mind
and the senses exist. When the personality is dissolved, the Anatta
which is dependent on it also dissolves. Sister Khema 1 explains the
Anatta state from the perspective of Nirvana in the following words.
“The
Non-Self is experienced through the aspect of impermanence, through the
aspect of unsatisfactoriness, and through the aspect of emptiness.
Empty of what? The word βemptinessβ is so often misunderstood because
when one only thinks of it as a concept, one says βwhat do you mean by
empty?β Everything is there: there are the people, and there are their
insides, guts and their bones and blood and everything is full of stuff β
and the mind is not empty either. It’s got ideas, thoughts and
feelings. And even when it doesn’t have those, what do you mean by
emptiness? The only thing that is empty is the emptiness of an entity.
There is no specific entity in anything. That is emptiness. That is the
nothingness. That nothingness is also experienced in meditation. It is
empty, it is devoid of a specific person, devoid of a specific thing,
devoid of anything which makes it permanent, devoid of anything which
even makes it important. The whole thing is in flux. So the emptiness is
that. And the emptiness is to be seen everywhere; to be seen in
oneself. And that is what is called anatta, non-Self. Empty of an
entity. There is nobody there. It is all imagination. At first that
feels very insecure.”
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Suggestions for Further Reading
Buddhism - The Concept of Anatta or No Self
Anatta and Rebirth or Reincarnation
What Anatta or No-Self is All About
Why The Buddha Taught the Anatta or Not-Self Doctrine
The Right Approach to the Anatta or Not-Self Doctrine
Anicca or Anitya in Buddhism
The Agendas of Mindfulness
The Five Aggregates A Study Guide
The Working of Maya or Illusion - A Buddhist Perspective
Respect in Buddhist Thought and Practice
Buddhism and the Need For Security
Buddhism - Meditation Upon the Body
The Buddhist Meditation
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The Meaning and Practice of Mindfulness
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Right Conduct For Lay Buddhists
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Buddhism - Right Speech and Mind Training
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Handbook for the Relief of Suffering by Ajaan Lee
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