By Natural Philosopher Michael Alan Prestwood
By Natural Philosopher Michael Alan Prestwood
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Non-Self or Anatman and Self or Atman

From Year 0 (BCE/CE): -544
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Non-Self or Anatman and Self or Atman

Imagined image: The concept of non-self, emphasizing the idea that nothing lasts forever and the notion that the "self" does not exist. It captures the transient nature of existence and the dissolution of the perceived self into the natural world.

Non-Self or Anatman and Self or Atman

30 Phil, Chapter 6, Buddhism, Touchstone 15: Illusion: Self and Non-self.

The Buddhist terms of Atman and Anatman relate to the idea of “Self,” or “Atman,” your eternal soul and the Buddhist doctrine of “Non-Self,” or “Anātman.” To understand non-self, you have to understand the concept of “emptiness,” which refers to the idea that nothing lasts forever. “Non-self” says what we consider our “self” does not exist. What we perceive as an unchanging “self” or “soul,” is actually a collection of ever-changing physical and mental components, such as form, sensations, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. There is no enduring “I,” existing independently of these aggregates.

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