Questions tagged [self]
The self tag has no usage guidance.
126
questions
48
votes
18answers
41k views
If there is no soul, how can there be rebirth?
Anatta is often described as "not-self" which I understand to mean that our identities are illusions. But it's also described as "soullessness" which I think implies that there is no mind other than ...
15
votes
14answers
2k views
If anatta is a reality, then how do you explain Volition or Will?
I'm just trying to understand the concept of anatta better here. Buddhism tells me there is the concept of no-self (anatta), and even the so called conditional self is actually an illusion that arises ...
14
votes
7answers
2k views
What are examples of identity-view?
Identity view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi) is the first of the ten fetters.
The "eradication" of identity-view is important towards enlightenment.
Presumably, "eradication of identity-view" is ...
12
votes
12answers
2k views
If there is no self, why do anything?
My limited understanding of Buddhism has already helped me in many ways and I am very glad to have found it.
With that said, I have always wondered about this title question. If there is no 'I', ...
11
votes
3answers
312 views
What is it that is re-incarnated ? [duplicate]
I have been reading Mahayana philosophy.
It proposes non-self and that self does not exist in the 5 aggregates.
If the self/atman does not exist, what is that is re-incarnated?
How can nothing ...
10
votes
9answers
1k views
As per buddism, how is it possible to leave behind my obsession with drugs?
I don't want to consult any doctor about my obsession. I do not even want to speak about it to my family and friends. I wish to get an answer tailor-made for me about my obsession with getting dead-...
9
votes
4answers
793 views
If there is no soul or self, why did the Buddha speak of his past lives?
How is it possible that he had past lives and how did he know they were his? What defines them as his?
9
votes
5answers
293 views
Did the Buddha ever delve on the dangers of one's own spirtual achievements feeding the ego?
This question came up when I really thought back on both my and many others' spiritual journey. In the New Age community, especially, the sense of viewing things as illusions and making progress in ...
8
votes
3answers
175 views
Answering Other's Questions About Oneself
Do all people practicing Buddhism have difficulty answering questions like these:
What gives your life meaning?
What do you like about yourself?
Somebody asked me these questions, and I am having a ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
How does an ālaya-vijñāna work?
And in particular, is it eternal, unchanging and like any other formulation for a soul that we might have seen, in say Christianity or Hinduism?
This particular idea, that ālaya-vijñāna is like a ...
8
votes
9answers
297 views
Are all forms of Dukkha related to a sense of self?
A few days ago I started reading books about Paticcasamuppada because I realized how little and shallow was my understanding on this capital matter.
Despite getting the gist of it, I still have ...
7
votes
15answers
1k views
How is it wrong to believe that a self exists, or that it doesn't?
the one place where the Buddha was asked point-blank whether or not
there was a self, he refused to answer. When later asked why, he said
that to hold either that there is a self or that there is ...
7
votes
11answers
1k views
Why is “I have no self” a wrong view?
In the Sabbasava Sutta (MN2), the view that "I have no self" is listed as one of the six wrong views and one who holds this view will not be freed from suffering.
Questions:
Why is "I have no self" ...
7
votes
15answers
2k views
If there's no “self” then why should I care about the future lives and nirvana?
English is my second language.
If there's no "self', and "I am" is just a "flow" or "mix" of information (dharma, karma, etc.); and if, when I die, "I" (body, illusory self, soul) will die but this ...
7
votes
5answers
1k views
Did the Buddha discover jhana by himself?
I was reading Ajahn Brahmavamso's book 'The Jhanas' (available freely online) in which he says that the Buddha discovered Jhanas by himself, and what Alara Kalama and Uddakha Ramaputta taught, were ...
6
votes
8answers
1k views
Hesitation between Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta
I hesitate between Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta.
Buddhism pleases me very much for its willingness to seek an end to suffering, being depressed it speaks to me a lot.
But intellectually, ...
6
votes
4answers
491 views
Is it helpful to avoid first person pronouns when speaking and writing?
"There's no 'I' in team" is an aphorism that promotes the selfless group effort, but what about first person pronouns from a Buddhist perspective such as 'I', 'me', 'mine', and 'my'. I am also ...
6
votes
3answers
394 views
Why does 'thoughts' and 'memories' not part of aggregates?
In MN:44 it is said,
Visākha, the Buddha said that these five grasping aggregates are
identity. That is: form, feeling, perception, choices, and
consciousness. The Buddha said that these five ...
6
votes
5answers
515 views
How to view people with metta and karuna?
There are definitions of metta and karuna here: What are metta and karuna?
There's a metta-bhavana meditation.
I'm wondering how to practice these socially, though, e.g. as a lay person when talking ...
5
votes
9answers
3k views
How to live life after acknowledging anatta?
I acknowledge that there is no-self. But now I don't know what to do.
Previously I was driving a bus called life. Now I am no more the driver because according to anatta , I am not the driver. Since ...
5
votes
4answers
2k views
If there is no self how can Nirvana be described as bliss?
I've heard Nirvana described as a state of bliss, but if there is no self then how can it be described as bliss when nobody is there to experience it?
5
votes
5answers
836 views
Reconciliation of Past Sins
If a person has murdered someone: ie. A fellow human being (eg. By directly attacking someone; or by indirect attack- by speech/action ; or by other means such as abortion) , what methods are ...
5
votes
7answers
429 views
How can Buddhism help with bad habits?
I have been suffering with addictions. Addictions are complex. Both that I suffer from are in abatement. I am in recovery as they say. I am getting medical support.
Besides the addiction I have bad ...
5
votes
6answers
144 views
How can I accept losing control of my mind and will?
After some reflection, I've noticed many of my mental hangups / dispositions (sankhara) were formed due to a deep seated fear of losing control over my mind / volition.
Examples that come to mind ...
5
votes
6answers
342 views
Did the Buddha ever define what he meant by “self”?
Added: I am asking this because I am not sure if anything I observe would be considered "self" according to the Buddha. I don't have this problem with craving or suffering because I can observe/...
5
votes
10answers
2k views
Buddhism vs Advaita Vedanta
I understand that Advaita practitioners believe that we have an eternal self (consciousness) that is one with everything but that we are under an illusion that we are separate and through ...
5
votes
1answer
239 views
How to handle contrition
I've hurt a beloved one a lot. I've done something which is unforgivable to this person and the contrition is eating me up.
Contrition is, of course, a essential part in learning and preventing ...
5
votes
4answers
416 views
How do you understand Ananda Sutta?
How do you understand the Ananda Sutta?
How do you place it in relation to the Atman or Anatta (An-atman) doctrine?
SN 44.10
Then the wanderer Vacchagotta went to the Blessed One and, on arrival,
...
5
votes
2answers
96 views
Can anyone identify which suttas these quotes (having to do with the sense of self) come from?
This document contains instructions for ridding the sense of a personal self. I was wondering which suttas (or other texts) the quotes at the end come from:
“By rightly understanding ‘I am,’ one ...
5
votes
2answers
817 views
Notions of self in religions that blend Buddhism and Hinduism
I read in Peter Harvey's book an Introduction to Buddhism that there was a syncretistic religion in Bali that was a mixture of Buddhism and Hinduism. He didn't give many details as it was a very minor ...
5
votes
2answers
96 views
Can the substantiality of phenomena ever be conclusively ruled out through Buddhist practice?
I can see how one can develop, through one's practice, a very high degree of confidence in the truth of emptiness through inferring from the conditioned nature of phenomena, their impermanence, their ...
4
votes
10answers
1k views
Why did Buddha put so much emphasis on no-self?
Why should we care if we have no-self or have a self. Ultimately it is of no help. I know any buddhist teacher will say that feelings or body are not-self, so you shouldn't get attached to it, but ...
4
votes
4answers
1k views
How come enlightened people don't have any laziness?
I just heard that enlightened people have zero laziness. How is it possible? What is "laziness" ? What is the connection between laziness and ego/desire?
Edit: Also that monk said: "Laziness is ...
4
votes
5answers
731 views
Can I say that this question exists but no questioner is found?
Anatta is beautifully described here. The following quote sums up the idea of no self:
"Mere suffering exists, no sufferer is found; The deeds are, but no
doer of the deeds is there; Nibbāna is, ...
4
votes
6answers
374 views
Can meditation strengthen the sense of self?
When I practice mindfulness meditation I can sometimes become acutely aware of my sense of self. It seems to go from a dull background awareness of self to a feeling that the sense of self is very ...
4
votes
5answers
180 views
Is it possible to have awareness without a self-sense?
Is it possible to have awareness without a self-sense? Does an awareness presuppose a self being aware no matter how refined or subtle that sense of self might be? Or to reframe the question slightly ...
4
votes
4answers
195 views
How to nullify the expectations?
Buddhist teachers say things like
Do not expect anything from anyone,
and also:
Do everything with good heart and expect nothing in return and you
will never be disappointed.
Such a wonderful ...
4
votes
2answers
171 views
Was the 'I' gone (for a moment)?
Can someone explain to me this phenomenon that has happened to me?
I am not a serious Buddhist practitioner. I used to do mindfulness practice daily (20–30 min on 90% of days), just observing ...
4
votes
8answers
450 views
Did Buddha ever think about himself?
After attaining Nibbana, Buddha had realized that there is no self. However due to practical difficulties of communication, he had to use personal pronouns like 'I' , 'me' , 'myself' many times during ...
4
votes
3answers
102 views
Does Dogen's wholehearted way say anything about the status of memory?
Seems to me that memory is notoriously fallible, whatever we think about the nature of the self. I have a copy, but rather than reread it, I thought to ask, whether Dogen's wholehearted way, or right ...
4
votes
2answers
161 views
Reconciling anātman and ancestor worship/veneration
Buddhism teaches the concept of anattā or anātman. In short:
There is no "soul" or "essence", only "processes" within the framework of the five skandhas. This gives the illusion of the individual ...
4
votes
12answers
668 views
Soul and Self in buddhism
I've heard a lot of questions like, "who is there to enlighten if there is no self?"
Is that kind of question based on ignorance on the difference between Soul and Self? Or does Buddhism deny the ...
4
votes
2answers
338 views
What is awareness?
I understand that there is no self; yet there seems to be a never changing deeply seated, unfindable awareness attached to a human body that observes the sensations that arise and pass away.
This ...
4
votes
3answers
79 views
Is the path considered or viewed as being selfish?
As i learn more about the path and as a result about myself, i cannot wonder if it selfish or self-preserving.
I have a greater appreciation that all is connected and inter-related however it ...
3
votes
8answers
417 views
If I am not the skandhas, then what entity/group of entities am I being responsible for by being a good person?
I'm look more for an epistemological Buddhist answer to this question.
If I am anatta (not self because composite) then who is the one responsible for his/her actions? Why am I still responsible for ...
3
votes
6answers
384 views
Is society the follower of Mara?
In day to day interaction, people treat me as if I exist. They say "'Dheeraj' would you like to see a movie?" They say "'Dheeraj' you are
married." They say, "Would you like to eat spicy food or ...
3
votes
5answers
239 views
Did the Buddha according to the suttas mean anything else by the word “self” beyond simply the aspect of control/power?
It looks like according to [the Anatta-lakkhana Sutta][1] one aspect that is considered "self" by the Buddha is power or control. Why did he use the word "self" instead of just "complete control/power"...
3
votes
6answers
346 views
Did the Buddha leave room for the possibility of a self?
Did the Buddha teach that a self or soul (whether permanent and fixed or impermanent and changing) cannot be found, did he teach that it cannot exist, or what?
3
votes
4answers
201 views
How does an enlightened mind distinguish itself from all other phenomena?
How does an enlightened mind distinguish itself from all other phenomena?
There is one such person amidst a crowd of other people. Somebody shouts their name, and they say, "yes, that is I. I am ...
3
votes
3answers
304 views
Is the Buddhist path one of 'selfless offering' or 'inner kindness'?
Just expanding on this answer is the Buddhist path one of 'selfless offering of oneself and efforts' or of 'inner kindness' i.e. kindness to oneself. Or is it both or neither. I've come across both ...
