Anatta
Also called: Anatman · Topic: Buddhism, Jainism and Heterodox Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings"
Meaning
Anatta means "no-soul" or "soullessness". It is a core Buddhist teaching that the world is soulless, because nothing in it is permanent or eternal. A person is seen as a changing collection of body, feelings and thoughts, not a fixed self. This was a sharp break from the Upaniṣhads, which taught that each being has an eternal self, the ātman. It is one of the three marks of existence in Buddhism, along with anicca (change) and dukkha (sorrow).
Example
In the Pali text Milindapañha, the monk Nāgasena tells the Indo-Greek king Menander (Milinda) that a chariot is only a name for its wheels, axle and frame put together. In the same way, "person" is only a name for changing parts, with no lasting soul.
Don't confuse with
- Ātman (Upaniṣhadic): the ātman is a permanent inner self. Anatta denies that any such permanent self exists.
Related concepts
- Four Noble Truths
- Dukkha
- Anicca
- Pratityasamutpada
- Middle path
- Eightfold Path
- Nibbana
- Sarnath
- Buddha's teachings to laity
- Panchashila of Buddhism