The Phenomenon of "Non-Self" and the Issues surrounding it in Buddhist Philosophy

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Student of Religion and mystic in the univercity of shahid madany

2 Associate professor, Department of Religions and Mysticism, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran

10.22034/jrr.2024.356321.2058

Abstract

One of the main teachings of the Buddha is "Anatta" or "Non-Self ", which is actually his most important protest to the Hindu system of thought. In fact, from this point of view, there is no independent "Self" and the "Self" consists of "Five Masses" or "Skandhas". Hence the nature of the person is based on the fact that what appears as a 'Person' is actually an ever-changing combination of the five Skandhas. Therefore, from the Buddha's point of view, what should be studied is not existence itself, but the manifestations or phenomena that encompass it. This way of "Self" is also called "Process Self", that is, the self making of a series of continuous and overlapping processes having no ontological difference compared to other processes that are in constant change. Buddha also, in another definition of "Non-Self" theory, considers it to be something between the edges of existence and non-existence, to which neither absolute existence nor non-existence can be applied. Therefore, it can be said that the Buddha was not willing to deny his true self, but to the existence of “Non-Self ". In this paper, it is attempted to explain and analyze the concept of “Non-Self “ by descriptive-analytical method and by referring to the sayings attributed to Buddha himself in Triple Basket and apart from the analyses of later Buddhist schools.

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Religious Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 28 February 2024

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