Anātman

Anatta (Faded; Sanskrit anâtman ) is the Buddhist concept of impersonnality, by opposition in the belief hindouist in the âtman. There exists according to this sight no heart, no gasoline to be found, but a simple aggregation of conditioned phenomena.

Anatta is often exposed according to the formula " Each thing is without Oneself ". It is one of the Three characteristics. While the first two characteristics, Dukkha (or dissatisfaction) and Anicca (or impermanency) apply only to the conditioned phenomena, Anatta applies to all things, including apart from the Samsara: the Nirvāna (Absolute) is also gasoline empty.

It should be noted that the school Pudgalavada ( personalist ) is the only one to consider a oneself .

Anatta in the Buddhism hînayâna

The old vehicle distinguishes two levels from belief:

the philosophical opinion considering one oneself;
belief, the feeling of oneself.

To destroy the philosophical opinion is not enough to remove the " feeling even of soi". According to the formula of the Visuddhimagga, Seule the suffering exists, but one finds nobody who suffers, the acts are, but one does not find an actor .

There are five " aggregates of attachement" , Skandha S:

the body (Rūpa];
the feelings (Vedanā);
perceptions (Samjñā);
" mentales" manufacture; (Samskāra);
the conscience (Vijñāna).

These five aggregates of attachments are not " soi" ; the belief in self (satkayadrsti) emerges from these five aggregates. The five aggregates cause the attachment and the belief which these parts are " soi".

One finds in Milinda Panha a metaphor comparing the person with a tank: none of both has propre.
existence

Anatta in the mahâyâna

The Mahâyâna schools do not refute only the existence of self of the person, but well the inexistence of self of the phenomena; there is thus double vacuity .

Metaphor of Chandrakirti

The teaching of Chandrakirti belongs to Buddhism Madhyamika.
In Madhyamakavatara, Chandrakirti includes the metaphor of the tank and deepens it:

the tank is not different from its parts. One does not perceive the oneself independently of the perception of aggregates.
the tank is not identical to its parts, otherwise there would be several oneself .
the tank is not owner of its parts, otherwise it would be necessary to concenvoir a oneself distinct from the parts which is the Master.
the tank does not depend on its parts, with the direction where to change a wheel the tank does not abolish, does not prevent it from appearing to exist.
the tank is not at the base of its parts, because it would be about a concept deprived of all.
the tank is not simply the meeting of its parts, otherwise the components of the tank piled up would be a tank.
the tank is not the form of the meeting of its parts.

DEBATEs within Mahâyâna

Anatta will lead various schools of the mahâyâna to postulate various comprehensions from this oneself which ultimately, does not exist:

simple collection of the five aggregates
mental Conscience
agent of the karmic traces
pure convention

Certain schools are idealistic (Cittamatra, i.e. the Single Spirit). In this case the phenomena do not exist quite simply and double vacuity applies to the relation subject-object: it on neither subject there nor relation subject-object.

Anatta and mathematics

In mathematics, autoréférencement (which corresponds more or less to the concept of oneself) involves paradoxes easily. For example, is the following sentence true or false?

This sentence is false.

It is a sentence which speaks about itself. It is seen that it is neither true, nor distorts, which mathematically is embarrassing if one admits the principle of the third excluded. That means that, from mathematical point of view, the concept of oneself cannot be used to constitute a complete theory, i.e. where all the proposals are true or false.

See too

Heart
Skandhas
Chandrakirti

References

Atman-Brahman in old Buddhism, K.Bhattacharya, 1973, EEFO.

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