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The Buddhist theory has developed a specific approach to the comprehension of the process of an individual’s experience of life and oneself. The Buddhist teaching of “no-self” has to be analyzed in conjunction with the notion of “self” to avoid misinterpretations of the idea meant by Buddha. The “no-self” teaching does not convey that there is no such thing as “self” but underlines that there are different ways of perceiving it to be able to understand the unchanging patterns of experience.
The dual understanding of experience from the “self” and “no-self” perspectives is complicated and is not clearly explained by Buddha. He never denied the existence of “self” but also never claimed that it is some unchanging concept. If a person starts to introspect his or her experiences and feelings, it might be found that there is nothing constant. Every time one analyzes his or her inner world, he or she finds a particular feeling or emotion, or even knowledge that is relevant to the moment and will change immediately. According to Gethin’s (1998) explanation of Buddha’s ideas, the “I” is “something entirely elusive” (p. 138). Thus, Buddha did not deny the existence of the self in his “no-self” teaching but underlined its changing and elusive nature.
Such a way of comprehension of “self” made it possible to validate the teachings of the four noble truths. Concentrating on the “self” is viewed by Buddhists as a manifestation of attachment and greed, thus contradicting the ideas of noble truths (Gethin, 1998). Any attachment is suffering, and the exaggerated importance of the “self,” when regarded as an attachment, leads to suffering. Buddha taught his monks that “all body … feelings …and conscious awareness … should be seen as ‘this is not mine … this is not my self’” (Gethin, 1998, p. 137). Such an attitude to experience perception eliminates greed and attachment and ensures noble truths as the milestones of Buddhism.
To summarize, when Buddha taught about “no-self,” he did not deny the very existence of such a concept as “self” but emphasized that self is always changing and cannot be referred to as something constant. From the perspective of the four noble truths, concentrating on the self is regarded as an attachment and will ultimately lead to suffering. To avoid suffering and to judge about any experience objectively, one should think from the point of view of “no-self.”
Reference
Gethin, R. (1998). The foundations of Buddhism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
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