Anattā
Buddhist doctrine of "non-self" / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the concept in Buddhism. For the concept in Hinduism, see Anātman (Hinduism).
In Buddhism, the term anattā (Pali: 𑀅𑀦𑀢𑁆𑀢𑀸) or anātman (Sanskrit: अनात्मन्) is the doctrine of "non-self" – that no unchanging, permanent self or essence can be found in any phenomenon.[note 1] While often interpreted as a doctrine denying the existence of a self, anatman is more accurately described as a strategy to attain non-attachment by recognizing everything as impermanent, while staying silent on the ultimate existence of an unchanging essence.[1][2][3] In contrast, dominant schools of Hinduism assert the existence of Ātman as pure awareness or witness-consciousness,[4][5][6][note 2] "reify[ing] consciousness as an eternal self."[7]