Discourse on the Not-Self Characteristic / Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta
{"WorkMasterId":7482,"WpPageId":288676,"ParentWpPageId":193872,"Slug":"discourse-on-not-self-characteristic-anattalakkhana-sutta","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/siddhartha-gautama/discourse-on-not-self-characteristic-anattalakkhana-sutta/","RelativeUrl":"theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/siddhartha-gautama/discourse-on-not-self-characteristic-anattalakkhana-sutta/","HasFullText":true,"RawHtmlLength":77418,"CleanHtmlLength":19944,"Kicker":"Philosophy Work","Title":"Discourse on the Not-Self Characteristic / Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta","Deck":"The discourse analyzes the five aggregates as impermanent, unsatisfactory, and not-self, making liberation depend on seeing that no aggregate can function as an enduring self.","BackLink":{"Text":"Back to Siddhārtha Gautama","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/siddhartha-gautama/"},"AuthorCard":{"Label":"Author","Title":"Siddhārtha Gautama","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/siddhartha-gautama/","MediaHref":"","ImageSrc":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/siddhartha-gautama-01-sculpture-of-the-buddha-preaching-his-first.jpg","ImageAlt":"Buddha preaching the first sermon at Sarnath","FilterTerra":"India and Central Asia","ClickText":"Siddhārtha Gautama","ClickHref":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/siddhartha-gautama/","Copies":["563 BCE – 483 BCE","Lumbinī","Founder of Buddhism whose transmitted early discourses frame suffering, liberation, dependent arising, not-self, mindfulness, ethics, and the Middle Way."]},"ContextCards":[{"Label":"Period","Key":"Period:1","Title":"Ancient History","DateText":"3000 BCE – 499 CE","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/eras-of-thought/philosophers-of-ancient-history/"},{"Label":"Era","Key":"Era:2","Title":"Iron Age","DateText":"1200 BCE – 501 BCE","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/eras-of-thought/philosophers-of-ancient-history/philosophers-of-the-iron-age/"},{"Label":"Composition","Title":"528 BCE","Url":"","DateText":""}],"DateNote":"528 BCE is a cautious teaching-sequence display and sorting proxy within Siddhartha Gautama\u0027s life chronology; it is not an autographed composition date or manuscript date.","GeoCards":[{"Label":"Region","Key":"Region:2"},{"Label":"Terra Avita","Key":"TerraAvita:9"},{"Label":"Terra Avita Region","Key":"TerraAvitaRegion:37"},{"Label":"Modern Country","Key":"Country:NPL:9"}],"OriginalTitle":"Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta","Language":"Pāli","DisciplineCards":[{"Label":"Primary Discipline","Key":"Discipline:metaphysics"},{"Label":"Secondary Discipline","Key":"Discipline:philosophy-of-mind"}],"Tradition":"Early Buddhism, Nikaya/Agama transmission, śramaṇa debate, Middle Way teaching, dependent arising, not-self, awakening, liberation, monastic discipline, meditation, ethics, and Buddhist philosophical reception","FullText":{"Title":"Full Text","Copy":"Full text from SuttaCentral: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhana Sutta .","Url":"","Label":"","Kicker":"","Cards":[]},"CoreThesis":["The discourse analyzes the five aggregates as impermanent, unsatisfactory, and not-self, making liberation depend on seeing that no aggregate can function as an enduring self."],"Classification":{"AlternateTitles":"SN 22.59; Discourse on the Characteristic of Not-Self; Anatta-lakkhana Sutta","KeyConcepts":"SN 22.59; Discourse on the Characteristic of Not-Self; Anatta-lakkhana Sutta","Methodology":"Early Buddhist oral-discourse transmission, canonical sutta framing, dialogue, simile, causal explanation, ethical testing, meditative instruction, and liberation-oriented argument.","Structure":"Early Buddhist discourse page keyed to a teaching-sequence proxy year; no autographed treatise is asserted."},"Arguments":["The discourse analyzes the five aggregates as impermanent, unsatisfactory, and not-self, making liberation depend on seeing that no aggregate can function as an enduring self."],"Influence":{"InfluencedBy":"","InfluenceOn":""},"Significance":["Accepted as a transmitted discourse because it is central to the early Buddhist rejection of self as a metaphysical and psychological substance.","Remains central to ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, meditation studies, and comparative accounts of self, suffering, action, and liberation."],"EvidenceNote":["Accepted as a transmitted discourse because it is central to the early Buddhist rejection of self as a metaphysical and psychological substance."],"MainSections":[{"Kind":"RawSection","Title":"Full Versions","BodyHtml":"\u003cdiv class=\"dz-philo__full-version-grid\"\u003e\n \u003carticle class=\"dz-philo__full-version-card\"\u003e\n \u003cp class=\"dz-philo__full-version-provider\"\u003eSuttaCentral\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003ch3 class=\"dz-philo__full-version-title\"\u003eSN 22.59 Anattalakkhana Sutta\u003c/h3\u003e\n \u003cp class=\"dz-philo__full-version-meta\"\u003eHtmlText · LinkOnlyReady\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003ca class=\"dz-philo__full-version-link\" href=\"https://suttacentral.net/sn22.59/en/sujato\"\u003eOpen full version\u003c/a\u003e\n \u003c/article\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e"},{"Kind":"TextSection","Title":"Core Thesis","Paragraphs":["The discourse analyzes the five aggregates as impermanent, unsatisfactory, and not-self, making liberation depend on seeing that no aggregate can function as an enduring self."]},{"Kind":"FieldSection","Title":"Classification","Fields":[{"Label":"Alternate Titles","Value":"SN 22.59; Discourse on the Characteristic of Not-Self; Anatta-lakkhana Sutta"},{"Label":"Key Concepts","Value":"SN 22.59; Discourse on the Characteristic of Not-Self; Anatta-lakkhana Sutta"},{"Label":"Methodology","Value":"Early Buddhist oral-discourse transmission, canonical sutta framing, dialogue, simile, causal explanation, ethical testing, meditative instruction, and liberation-oriented argument."},{"Label":"Structure","Value":"Early Buddhist discourse page keyed to a teaching-sequence proxy year; no autographed treatise is asserted."}]},{"Kind":"TextSection","Title":"Arguments","Paragraphs":["The discourse analyzes the five aggregates as impermanent, unsatisfactory, and not-self, making liberation depend on seeing that no aggregate can function as an enduring self."]},{"Kind":"FieldSection","Title":"Influence","Fields":[{"Label":"Influenced By","Value":""},{"Label":"Influence On","Value":""}]},{"Kind":"TextSection","Title":"Significance","Paragraphs":["Accepted as a transmitted discourse because it is central to the early Buddhist rejection of self as a metaphysical and psychological substance.","Remains central to ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, meditation studies, and comparative accounts of self, suffering, action, and liberation."]},{"Kind":"TextSection","Title":"Evidence Note","Paragraphs":["Accepted as a transmitted discourse because it is central to the early Buddhist rejection of self as a metaphysical and psychological substance."]},{"Kind":"RawSection","Title":"Full Text","BodyHtml":"\u003cp class=\"dz-philo__section-copy dz-philo__full-text-source\"\u003eFull text from \u003ca href=\"https://suttacentral.net/sn22.59/en/sujato\"\u003eSuttaCentral: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhana Sutta\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003carticle class=\"dz-philo__full-text-body\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt one time the Buddha was staying near Varanasi, in the deer park at Isipatana. \r\nThere the Buddha addressed the group of five mendicants: \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“Mendicants!” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“Venerable sir,” they replied. \r\nThe Buddha said this: \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“Mendicants, form is not-self. \r\nFor if form were self, it wouldn’t lead to affliction. And you could compel form: \r\n‘May my form be like this! May it not be like that!’ \r\nBut because form is not-self, it leads to affliction. And you can’t compel form: \r\n‘May my form be like this! May it not be like that!’ \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFeeling is not-self … \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003ePerception is not-self … \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eChoices are not-self … \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eConsciousness is not-self. \r\nFor if consciousness were self, it wouldn’t lead to affliction. And you could compel consciousness: \r\n‘May my consciousness be like this! May it not be like that!’ \r\nBut because consciousness is not-self, it leads to affliction. And you can’t compel consciousness: \r\n‘May my consciousness be like this! May it not be like that!’ \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWhat do you think, mendicants? \r\nIs form permanent or impermanent?” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“Impermanent, sir.” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“But if it’s impermanent, is it suffering or happiness?” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“Suffering, sir.” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“But if it’s impermanent, suffering, and perishable, is it fit to be regarded thus: \r\n‘This is mine, I am this, this is my self’?” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“No, sir.” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“Is feeling permanent or impermanent?” … \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“Is perception permanent or impermanent?” … \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“Are choices permanent or impermanent?” … \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“Is consciousness permanent or impermanent?” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“Impermanent, sir.” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“But if it’s impermanent, is it suffering or happiness?” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“Suffering, sir.” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“But if it’s impermanent, suffering, and perishable, is it fit to be regarded thus: \r\n‘This is mine, I am this, this is my self’?” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“No, sir.” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e“So you should truly see any kind of form at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near: \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;all\u0026lt;/em\u0026gt; form—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’ \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAny kind of feeling at all … \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAny kind of perception at all … \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAny kind of choices at all … \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eYou should truly see any kind of consciousness at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near: \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;all\u0026lt;/em\u0026gt; consciousness—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’ \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSeeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness. \r\nBeing disillusioned, desire fades away. When desire fades away they’re freed. When they’re freed, they know they’re freed. \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThey understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further for this place.’” \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThat is what the Buddha said. \r\nSatisfied, the group of five mendicants approved what the Buddha said. \r\nAnd while this discourse was being spoken, the minds of the group of five mendicants were freed from defilements by not grasping. \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/article\u003e"}],"SectionSequence":["Back Link","Work Title","Deck","Author","Period","Era","Composition","Date Note","Region","Terra Avita","Terra Avita Region","Modern Country","Original Title","Language","Primary Discipline","Secondary Discipline","Tradition","Full Versions","Core Thesis","Classification","Arguments","Influence","Significance","Evidence Note","Full Text"],"Counts":{"ContextCards":3,"GeoCards":4,"DisciplineCards":2,"Links":11,"Sections":25,"Styles":3,"Scripts":1}}