The Doctrine of Not-self (anatta) in Early Buddhism

Abstract

Anatta or the Not-Self is a very important concept of Buddhism, which distinguishes it from other religions. there are some ways to explain this doctrine and many debates were happened between Buddhist schools and between Buddhists and the Brahmanists on this issue. Early Buddhism analyse that self is the combination of five aggregates (skandhas), and each of them is not the self. Based on this explanation, Buddhists think wrongly that anatta is 'No-self. Deeply understand and practice of the not-self concept will help practitioners of Buddhism to be free from all sufferings. So, one needs to have a clear understanding on this concept. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive view of Not-self (anatta) doctrine in Early Buddhism. All its related aspects are presented in succession. This article investigates the doctrine of anatta, it is also examined with other related doctrines in Early Buddhism. By analyzing method, the meaning of Not-self (anatta) in Early Buddhism is proposed by the author.