Set down the baggage of life,
and let enjoyment, appreciation and inspiration flood our Being.
and let enjoyment, appreciation and inspiration flood our Being.
Buddha's message of inner peace radiating across the lands.
Buddha’s Discourse on
What is Not Me, Not Mine,
Anattalakkhana Sutta
anattā lakkhaṇa sutta
(Pronunciation note. A dot under a letter or a bar above it, called diacritics, are important, for they indicate proper pronunciation of sacred language. Please read my webpage “Pronouncing the Sanskrit.”)
1. Introduction to the Sutta.
2. Introduction to the Pali (pāḷi.)
3. The Five khanda or Categories of Body and Mind.
4. anatta-lakkhana sutta.
5. Comments.
6. The Rest of the Sutta.
7. Discussion of anatta-lakkhana Sutta.
8. Etymology of saññā, viññāṇa and pra-jñāna.
9. Locating the Five Questions in the Sutta.
10. More Info on attā.
11. Problems with Traditional Presentation.
1. Introduction to the Sutta.
This discourse or sutta = Sutra of the Buddha was delivered soon after his enlightenment experience. So it follows on from his First Sermon, and was delivered to the same audience; his first five followers = pañca vaggiya. It is better understood when we combine these two very early suttas of the historical Buddha, Siddharta Gautoma. My webpage for his First Sermon is now placed next to this one in the menu of mantra-translate.
Buddha’s First Sermon = dhamma·cakka·pavattana sutta talks about misdirected desire that arises in suffering, driven by defilements and wants things out of reach, and the misdirected drive in seeking happiness. It lists the many kinds of painful suffering that inevitably results. It also stresses the importance of letting go of such misdirected desire.
This sutta helps us with the problem of pain driven pain filled thoughts, and all the harmful attitudes, judgements, opinions that come from such unnecessary thinking. All too often, we find ourselves explaining and justifying such pain, and this only makes the problem much worse.
This sutta talks helps us develop a more objective attitude to such defilements of mind. Do we realise how destructive they are? Are we doing our best to free ourselves from them? Are they really our True Nature? Do they belong to our higher self, our ātmā ?
Perhaps we should take better care of our mind, the only one we have, and the most valuable gift we have received in this life.
This Sutta is best viewed as a series of questions, aimed at these defilements and helping us wake up to their harmfulness. These five questions help us check their worst excesses, then help us restore our consciousness, and so return to the Path. We can use these questions to gently nudge and push our mind to where it needs to go : an objective stance towards defiled thought. Then we can return to our higher self.
Our spiritual practice could be described as returning to our higher self or ātmā and restoring into much of our daily life, where it belongs. When we achieve this important Goal, then enjoyment, appreciation, clarity, good will for the people and pursuits in our live, determination and diligence flow freely and naturally through our Being, and from our Being into our lives.
So this sutta is called anattā lakkhaṇa sutta (anattalakkhana sutta) in pāḷi -
ātmā is pronounced attā in Pali (pāḷi), a less melodious accent or dialect of Sanskrit, the sacred language of the East. Theravadan Buddhism of south Asia uses the Pali (pāḷi) dialect for its scriptures.
This sutta is numbered saṃyutta nikāya SN 22. 59, and it is sometimes called pañca-vaggiya sutta = the discourse to the five (pañca) group members (vaggiya).
I offer a new translation of this famous sutta, word by word, so we can explore what the original pāḷi actually says. This new translation differs quite significantly from the traditional presentation and translation, found on several Buddhist websites. I discuss these religious traditions at the end of this webpage.
2. Introduction to the Pali (pāḷi.)
I used the word-for-word translation provided by Buddha Vacana. It has info bubbles on (nearly) every Pali word. Note how most paragraphs are repeated five times, differing in only one word. Available at –
https://www.buddha-vacana.org/sutta/samyutta/khandha/sn22-059.html
Didactic doctrine does degrade some of the repetitions of this sutta. One hundred generations have passed since the Buddha’s years, giving plenty of time for indoctrination to creep into the scriptures. We need to be careful about this, for our goal is insightful reflection, not indoctrination. However, other repetitions of this sutta are more to help memorisation in oral tradition, or repeat an important verse for emphasis.
anattā lakkhaṇa sutta (anattalakkhana sutta) is fairly short, with only 600 words of pāḷi in it. You can skim through the full 600 words on Buddha Vacana. But among these 600 pāḷi words there are some 50 words of real value. I selected these verses, so we can give them close attention.
It is important to be selective when we (try to) look for something useful in famous Buddhist scriptures. This aids clear understanding of sacred verse, and avoids the burden of unnecessary and unhelpful material. It also avoids the risk of indoctrination. Here are the useful parts of anattā lakkhaṇa sutta (anattalakkhana sutta)
2. Introduction to the Pali (pāḷi.)
3. The Five khanda or Categories of Body and Mind.
4. anatta-lakkhana sutta.
5. Comments.
6. The Rest of the Sutta.
7. Discussion of anatta-lakkhana Sutta.
8. Etymology of saññā, viññāṇa and pra-jñāna.
9. Locating the Five Questions in the Sutta.
10. More Info on attā.
11. Problems with Traditional Presentation.
1. Introduction to the Sutta.
This discourse or sutta = Sutra of the Buddha was delivered soon after his enlightenment experience. So it follows on from his First Sermon, and was delivered to the same audience; his first five followers = pañca vaggiya. It is better understood when we combine these two very early suttas of the historical Buddha, Siddharta Gautoma. My webpage for his First Sermon is now placed next to this one in the menu of mantra-translate.
Buddha’s First Sermon = dhamma·cakka·pavattana sutta talks about misdirected desire that arises in suffering, driven by defilements and wants things out of reach, and the misdirected drive in seeking happiness. It lists the many kinds of painful suffering that inevitably results. It also stresses the importance of letting go of such misdirected desire.
This sutta helps us with the problem of pain driven pain filled thoughts, and all the harmful attitudes, judgements, opinions that come from such unnecessary thinking. All too often, we find ourselves explaining and justifying such pain, and this only makes the problem much worse.
This sutta talks helps us develop a more objective attitude to such defilements of mind. Do we realise how destructive they are? Are we doing our best to free ourselves from them? Are they really our True Nature? Do they belong to our higher self, our ātmā ?
Perhaps we should take better care of our mind, the only one we have, and the most valuable gift we have received in this life.
This Sutta is best viewed as a series of questions, aimed at these defilements and helping us wake up to their harmfulness. These five questions help us check their worst excesses, then help us restore our consciousness, and so return to the Path. We can use these questions to gently nudge and push our mind to where it needs to go : an objective stance towards defiled thought. Then we can return to our higher self.
Our spiritual practice could be described as returning to our higher self or ātmā and restoring into much of our daily life, where it belongs. When we achieve this important Goal, then enjoyment, appreciation, clarity, good will for the people and pursuits in our live, determination and diligence flow freely and naturally through our Being, and from our Being into our lives.
So this sutta is called anattā lakkhaṇa sutta (anattalakkhana sutta) in pāḷi -
- the discourse that explores the characteristics (lakkhaṇa) of what is NOT our higher self (an-attā).
- attā = ātmā = ātman = higher self
ātmā is pronounced attā in Pali (pāḷi), a less melodious accent or dialect of Sanskrit, the sacred language of the East. Theravadan Buddhism of south Asia uses the Pali (pāḷi) dialect for its scriptures.
This sutta is numbered saṃyutta nikāya SN 22. 59, and it is sometimes called pañca-vaggiya sutta = the discourse to the five (pañca) group members (vaggiya).
I offer a new translation of this famous sutta, word by word, so we can explore what the original pāḷi actually says. This new translation differs quite significantly from the traditional presentation and translation, found on several Buddhist websites. I discuss these religious traditions at the end of this webpage.
2. Introduction to the Pali (pāḷi.)
I used the word-for-word translation provided by Buddha Vacana. It has info bubbles on (nearly) every Pali word. Note how most paragraphs are repeated five times, differing in only one word. Available at –
https://www.buddha-vacana.org/sutta/samyutta/khandha/sn22-059.html
Didactic doctrine does degrade some of the repetitions of this sutta. One hundred generations have passed since the Buddha’s years, giving plenty of time for indoctrination to creep into the scriptures. We need to be careful about this, for our goal is insightful reflection, not indoctrination. However, other repetitions of this sutta are more to help memorisation in oral tradition, or repeat an important verse for emphasis.
anattā lakkhaṇa sutta (anattalakkhana sutta) is fairly short, with only 600 words of pāḷi in it. You can skim through the full 600 words on Buddha Vacana. But among these 600 pāḷi words there are some 50 words of real value. I selected these verses, so we can give them close attention.
It is important to be selective when we (try to) look for something useful in famous Buddhist scriptures. This aids clear understanding of sacred verse, and avoids the burden of unnecessary and unhelpful material. It also avoids the risk of indoctrination. Here are the useful parts of anattā lakkhaṇa sutta (anattalakkhana sutta)
rūpa vedanā saññā saṅkhāra viññāṇa
saññā attā ābādhāya saṃvattati ?
ābādhe saṃvattati labbhati saññā me hotu mā ahosī ?
saññāṃ niccaṃ vā aniccaṃ ?
saññāṃ āniccāya dukkhaṃ sukhaṃ ?
āniccaṃ dukkhaṃ vipariṇāma,
kallaṃ nu taṃ sam-anu-passituṃ:
‘etaṃ mama, eso aham·asmi, eso me attā’?
evam·etaṃ yathā·bhūtaṃ samma paññāya daṭṭhabbaṃ.
saññā attā ābādhāya saṃvattati ?
ābādhe saṃvattati labbhati saññā me hotu mā ahosī ?
saññāṃ niccaṃ vā aniccaṃ ?
saññāṃ āniccāya dukkhaṃ sukhaṃ ?
āniccaṃ dukkhaṃ vipariṇāma,
kallaṃ nu taṃ sam-anu-passituṃ:
‘etaṃ mama, eso aham·asmi, eso me attā’?
evam·etaṃ yathā·bhūtaṃ samma paññāya daṭṭhabbaṃ.
These phrases are short and succinct, with all unnecessary verbiage excluded. To help the mind move towards refreshing stillness and silence.
So we usually have to add words to them in the discussion, to help us understand the full profundity of sacred verse.
To help us locate these phrases in the 600 words of this sutta, I provide the pāḷi in both block and separate questions at the end of this webpage.
3. The Five khanda or Categories of Body and Mind.
anattā lakkhaṇa sutta (anattalakkhana sutta) repeats the same paragraph five times, once for each of the khanda. Buddhism classes body and mind into five categories or khandas : thus -
rūpa vedanā saññā saṅkhāra viññāṇa
body feeling perception conception consciousness
rūpa means both body and the nature of the body. Thus rūpa also means the health and vigour of our body. rūpa also means material possessions. Thus rūpa is a word of wide ranging meaning, and sometimes is translated as ‘form.’ Our body, health and possessions become a problem when they ‘fail’ us, through sickness, weakness, loss or breakage. They seem to ‘fail’ us when we fail to properly care for them, or fail to properly allow for their limitations.
When vedanā or feelings are a problem, they are the feeling of the defilement, be it feeling disappointed, feeling badly judged, feeling betrayed, feeling anxious or depressed. How the defilement actually feels, as opposed to pain filled and pain driven thoughts.
When saṅkhāra or conceptions are a problem, they are the thoughts, attitudes, judgements, opinions, and intentions that proliferate when defilements invade our mind and hijack our will.
saññā (perception) and viññāṇa (consciousness) are inter-related terms. They are our ability to be aware of, perceive and recognise defilements, and know that they are indeed causing trouble. In a sense, saṅkhāra is the do-er, and saññā and viññāṇa are the know-er. More on these after the discourse.
4. anatta-lakkhana sutta.
The first word of the discourse is bhikkhave = “Listen, you disciples!” This is the vocative form of the noun bhikkhu = disciple. The disciples are being spoken to. This kind of advanced Dharma is for those who are devoted to the discipline of spiritual practice, seeking spiritual Liberation, and dedicated to regular meditation training.
The bulk of this sutta is best understood as a series of five questions for quiet reflection. These questions are best understood in relation to the mind. I chose the middle of the five repeated paragraphs, about saññā, but the questions apply also to all four khanda of mind. For sake of simplicity, I have ‘translated’ saññā as ‘mind’ in the following discussion, although saññā actually means ‘perception.’
Saññā attā?
mind higher self
ābādhāya saṃvattati
towards problems used by, prone to
Q 1. The mind; is it my higher self when it heads towards problems and is used by pain and problems?
ābādhe saṃvattati
into trouble led
labbhati saññā me hotu mā ahosī
receive mind from me be thus not be thus
Q 2. When led into trouble, is the mind receiving instructions from me to be like this? Or to not be like this ?
saññā niccaṃ vā aniccaṃ ?
mind reliable or unreliable
Q 3. Is the mind reliable?
saññā āniccāya dukkhaṃ sukhaṃ ?
mind unreliable pain pleasure
Q 4. Is the mind’s unreliability painful?
Yaṃ āniccaṃ dukkhaṃ vipariṇāma,
that which unreliable painful deteriorating,
kallaṃ nu taṃ sam-anu-passatuṃ :
well & sound clearly percieve
‘etaṃ mama, eso aham·asmi,
‘this is me, this I am,
this is my true nature
eso me attā’ ?
this is my higher self or ātmā ?
Q 5. That which is unreliable, painful and deteriorating in nature, is it well and sound to perceive : ‘this is me, I am this (this is my true nature), this is my higher self (attā = ātman)?’ Is this a complete and perfect (sam-anu or saṁ-anu) perception (passatuṃ) ? (Note. passati actually means ‘see’.. saññā = perception follows after passati = seeing.)
5. Comments.
Our perception (saññā) and our consciousness (viññāṇa) are essential for our spiritual advancement, but unfortunately they are not always reliable. Far too often our saññā and viññāṇa are far from being samma diṭṭhi = perfection in view, perfection in understanding. In his first sermon, the Buddha lists samma diṭṭhi as the first factor in the Way to spiritual Liberation, the first factor in the Way to be free (the Fourth Noble Truth, SN 56. 11).
In addition, our feelings (vedanā) and our thoughts (sankhāra) are very changeful (aniccā). They can become quite upset (dukkha) at times, and so become emotions or disturbances. Are they really our higher self or ātman = attā ?
These can be skilful reflections to help build some objectivity towards mind and body, especially when they have deteriorated, and help us let go of what we need to let go of. So the Buddha gives us some recommendations …
6. The Rest of the Sutta.
anattā lakkhaṇa sutta (anattalakkhana sutta)
After these five questions, there are five paragraphs, one for each of the khandas, and all ending with -
evam·etaṃ yathā·bhūtaṃ samma paññāya daṭṭhabbaṃ.
them according to best wisdom see, perceive.
their true nature
See and perceive them (ie body and mind) according to their true nature, according to our best wisdom. By “perceive their true nature” I mean a perception of body and mind that will help us move towards spiritual Liberation. In this context, the word combo ‘yathā·bhūtaṃ’ means ‘according to (yathā) the genuine natural form (bhūtaṃ),’ or ‘in its real essence.’
The last paragraph of this Sutta ends with the following verses. They describe the ultimate fruits of successful anattā practice -
“khīṇā jāti, vusitaṃ brahma-cariyaṃ kataṃ.”
ceased is rebirth, dwelled in spiritual practice performed
“Know that rebirth of troubles is ceased for Now, because spiritual practice is being dwelled in and performed.”
“karaṇīyaṃ, na āparaṃ itthatte.
needs doing no more in this moment
pa-jānāti”
know this with wisdom.”
“No more busy-ness needs doing in this moment” – know this.” (ie do not waste the healing opportunity with mundane matters.)
The opening phrase of the first paragraph is “bhikkhave! Rūpa an-attā.” This is repeated for the next four paragraphs, with one of the four khanda of mind replacing the word rūpa. The sutta is talking about some aspect of mind and body. The sutta is pointing towards our deep innate tendency to identify with mind and body. We also identify with our ownership of the material possessions we rely on the most. These are ours, and to some extent appear to be ourself = attā. Indeed, such attachment drives us to look after them, and try to give them best care and protection. Our worldly interests are important.
But Buddha is pointing towards spiritual values. His interest is to transcend the suffering of life, and take a new Path that is free from mental pain and problems. Buddha is trying to help us see the suffering that such attachment can bring, when mind, body and material possessions deteriorate.
More importantly, Buddha is focussing on attachment to mind when our mind deteriorates. And what we can do to help prevent such deterioration of mind. Care and repair of the physical body and material possessions is the work of medical physicians and tradesmen. Buddha’s work was that of a great spiritual leader and teacher.
Hence the opening word is an-attā. Trying to let go of our attachment to mind, especially thin-king. Trying to depose the tyrannical ruler of our mind and thus our lives, when defilements invade our mind and hijack our will.
So Buddha talks about identifying with the mind when it is ābādhāya saṃvattati, when our mind heads towards problems and is used by pain and problems. Buddha then offers certain themes that might help us let go of the pain and problems that is caused by defilement invasion. Hence his five questions, and other useful verses in this sutta.
These five questions about body and mind are intended to help the mind let go of unhelpful and unnecessary thinking, and head towards the refreshing and clarifying stillness of the Silent Mind. As a kind of meditation.
Of the five khanda, saṅkhāra is the target for this meditation technique. When our thinking (saṅkhāra ) is caught up in problems (ābādhe) and being used (saṃvattati) by pain, then we can expect much mental noise, and painful noise. In this, the mind continues to make more pain, has intention to make pain, and the next painful thought arises from the previous, in an endless and heedless manner. This is one way of defining saṅkhāra that is driven by defilements.
Yet this problem arises because our consciousness (viññāṇa) is unreliable (aniccaṃ). Our first step towards recovery is to wake up, so that we are at least aware there is a problem. Then we need reawaken our perception (saññā) so that we can recognise the pain (dukkha). Then our thinking (saṅkhāra) needs to receive instructions (labbhati) from us (me) to not be like this (mā ahosī).
When we become familiar with these words of Buddha, some of them will come naturally to us, when we are trying to recover from troubles -
- saṅkhāra, vedanā, dukkha? Are my thoughts and feelings painful?
- ābādhāya saṃvattati ? Heading towards pain, used by pain?
- eso me attā ? Is this really my higher self?
- viññāṇa saññā nicca? Are my consciousness and perceptions reliable?
- saṅkhāra labbhati me hotu? Are my thoughts receiving instruction from me to be like this?
When some order has been restored, we can ask ourselves -
“When our poor afflicted mind is unreliable (āniccaṃ), painful (dukkhaṃ) and deteriorating in nature (vipariṇāma), is it well and sound (kallaṃ) to perceive (passituṃ) : ‘this is me (etaṃ mama), this is my true nature (eso aham·asmi), this is my higher self (eso me attā) ?’
Is this a complete and perfect (sam-anu or saṁ-anu) perception (passatuṃ) ?
All this pāḷi is included in Buddha’s five questions.
We can identify a root cause of all these problems. Our consciousness and perception are lacking and needing some development. It can help to explore the deeper meaning of these two words in sacred language : saññā and viññāṇa, and how they are related to a third important Sanskrit word : prajñāna.
8. Etymology of saññā, viññāṇa and pra-jñāna, ref 15.
saññā is also spelled saṃ-jñānana, viññāṇa is also spelled vi-jñāna. The j in jñānana and jñāna is almost silent, and often omitted in the spelling. ṃ has a sound similar to ng as in English sing, sung, except the tongue is retroflex, is pointed to mid palette instead of the teeth. To pronounce saṃjñā the tip of the tongue moves from the retroflex ṃ to point to the teeth to make the sound ñ.
jñānana and jñāna both mean “know, recognise”. In this context, vi- can mean “separate from”. So vi-jñāna is our ability to observe and know the thoughts passing thru our mind with some objectivity towards them. This is essentially consciousness and awareness of where we are in this moment, with respect to defilements.
saṃ- primarily means “together,” and in this context it is the opposite to the prefix vi-. So saṃ-jñānana is our ability to know what is going thru our mind, and identify what kind of thought, attitude, judgement, opinion, habit it might be. In a sense, saṃ-jñānana means to know the thought and be with it. We are closer to the thought when we are perceiving what kind of thought it might be.
The Anatta Lakkhana Sutta emphasises that both saṃ-jñānana and vi-jñāna are conditioned, and can be quite shaky or even absent at times. It all depends on where we are at, in this moment. So we can use another word pra-jñāna which can mean “pure consciousness”.
pra- can mean “before” or “priority”. So the word pra-jñāna suggests that pure consciousness is a priority for our spiritual practice. It pre-cedes everything in spiritual practice. pra- can also mean “continue”. This suggests that spiritual practice will succeed for as long as pure consciousness continues. Pure consciousness pro-cedes throughout successful practice.
In a sense, the Heart Sutra prajñā-pāramitā hṛdayam is all about prajñāna = prajñā, although the word prajñā occurs only once, in the first paragraph. The Buddha-to-be was practising the perfection (pāramitā) of perfect wisdom (prajnā = prajñāna) that takes us beyond the problems of this world (vyava-loka-yati). He then instructs the Buddha’s chief disciple, Shāriputra, in this prajñāna. I offer a word-for-word translation for the Heart Sutra on this website.
9. Locating the Five Questions in the Sutta.
We need some help in locating the five questions in the text of anattā lakkhaṇa sutta, saṃyutta nikāya 22. 59. I provide pāḷi in both block form, and in separate sentences.
To get the pāḷi I visited the Access to Insight website, and clicked onto the icon at the page heading PTS: S iii 66. This means Pali Text Society (the first people to transliterate the Buddhist scriptures into this Roman alphabet) saṃyutta nikāya, bhāgo iii. Available at –
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.059.nymo.html
This sutta repeats the same paragraph five times, once for each of the khanda. I locate the five questions in the two paragraphs for saññā = perception. For sake of simplicity, I have translated saññā as ‘mind.’
Bhikkhave ! Saññā; anattā ? Saññañ·ca h·idaṃ bhikkhave, attā abhavissa na·y·idaṃ saññaṃ ābādhāya saṃvattati? Labbhetha ca saññāya: ‘evaṃ me saññā hotu, evaṃ me saññaṃ mā ahosī’ti. Yasmā ca kho bhikkhave, saññaṃ anattā, tasmā saññaṃ ābādhe saṃvattati, na ca labbhati sañña: ‘evaṃ me saññā hotu, evaṃ me saññaṃ mā ahosī’ti.
Saññā attā? ābādhāya saṃvattati
mind higher towards used by,
self trouble prone to
Q 1. The mind; is it my higher self when it heads towards problems and is used by pain and problems?
ābādhe saṃvattati
into trouble led, inclined
labbhati saññā me hotu mā ahosī
receive mind from me be thus not be thus
Q 2. When led into trouble, is the mind receiving instructions from me to be like this? Or to not be like this ?
Saññā niccaṃ vā aniccaṃ vā ti? Aniccaṃ bhante. Yaṃ pan āniccāya, dukkhaṃ vā taṃ sukhaṃ vā'ti? Dukkhaṃ bhante. Yaṃ pan āniccaṃ, dukkhaṃ vipariṇāma dhammaṃ, kallaṃ nu taṃ sam-anu-passatuṃ : 'etaṃ mama, eso aham asmi, eso me attā' ti?
saññā niccaṃ vā aniccaṃ ?
mind reliable or unreliable
Q 3. Is the mind reliable?
saññā āniccāya dukkhaṃ sukhaṃ ?
mind unreliable pain pleasure
Q 4. Is the mind’s unreliability painful?
Yaṃ āniccaṃ dukkhaṃ vipariṇāma,
that which unreliable painful deteriorating,
kallaṃ nu taṃ sam-anu-passatuṃ :
well & sound clearly percieve
‘etaṃ mama, eso aham asmi,
‘this is me, this I am,
this is my true nature
eso me attā’ ?
this is my higher self or ātmā ?
Q 5. That which is unreliable, painful and deteriorating in nature, is it well and sound to perceive : ‘this is me, I am this (this is my true nature), this is my higher self (attā = ātman)?’ Is this a complete and perfect (sam-anu or saṁ-anu) perception (passatuṃ) ?
10. More on attā
In my discussions, I interpret the word attā = ātman as higher self, when I am discussing what we need to restore and return to in our spiritual practice. When I interpret Buddha’s five questions, I am trying to help us see the fundamental difference between our higher self, and our mind when it is ābādhāya saṃvattati; when it is hijacked by defilements.
Alternatively, I interpret attā as what we normally identify with, when I discuss the key opening phrase “bhikkhave! Saññā an-attā.” In this opener, Buddha is focussing on attachment to mind when our mind deteriorates. And what we can do to help prevent such deterioration of mind.
I am discussing the meaning of attā = ātman for the modern day. Many Westerners are turning to the Wisdom of the East, trying to find something useful as a guide in daily life, which might help with the problems of modern life in big impersonal cities and consumerism.
But attā meant something quite different in the Buddha’s day, 2500 years ago. attā was an important theme in the prevailing religion of his time. It meant the soul as postulated in the animistic theories held in North India in the 6th and 7th centuries. B. C. It is described in the Upanishads as a small creature, in shape like a man, dwelling in ordinary times in the heart. It escapes from the body in sleep or trance; when it returns to the body life and motion reappear. It escapes from the body at death, then continues to carry on an everlasting life of its own. For numerous other details see Rh. D. Theory of Soul in the Upanishads J R A S 1899. Bt. India 251 — 255.
This is from the Pali Text Society’s dictionary. It is probably the best one we have to understand Pali words, for it gives very detailed meanings. It is at least a million words long. PTS dictionary discusses the meaning of two Pali words attan and atta, which have the same meaning and both correspond to the Vedic word ātman. PTS gives the following declensions -
For attan – acc - attānaṁ, gen + dat – attano, instr + abl – attanā, loc – attain
For atta – acc - attaṁ, instr – attena, abl – attato
attā is the nominative declension. But the word occurs very rarely in the nominative declension. Therefore the word attā is insignificant in Pali Buddhist scriptures.
By contrast, the word anattā is very common in these Buddhist scriptures. I simply remove the prefix an- to enable discussion about the higher self, when the word anattā appears. Buddhism seems to have no interest in the higher self. Perhaps this is one of its shortfalls.
attan and atta appear in the Pali Buddhist scriptures in many places, in any case other than the nominative.
PTS gives two meanings for attan and atta –
- soul, as understood in the Buddha’s time (13 suttas)
- self (31 suttas)
For the second meaning, PTS cites the following examples thus –
- you yourself know whether that is true or false
- would not give for himself, as a slave
- on one's own account, spontaneously
11. Problems with Traditional Presentation.
Buddhist tradition presents anattā lakkhaṅa sutta quite differently. In summary, they assert that –
- mind and body are not self (anattā).
Then they set out to ‘prove’ this statement. They claim that if mind and body were ‘self’
- we would not suffer, and
- we would be able to control them (may they be like this, may they be like that) and
- therefore body and mind must be ‘not self,’ and
- therefore consciousness is also ‘not self.’
- mind and body are impermanent (anicca), and
- this is suffering.
- Therefore, mind and body must be regarded as NOT ‘self’ (anattā).
This is a very dogmatic and didactic way of presenting Buddha’s teaching on anattā. And the arguments they put forward to support their opinions about Buddha’s teaching are somewhat unconvincing. These arguments can lead to views and opinions about Buddha’s teachings and attachment to Buddhist doctrines, instead of insightful understanding. This in turn breeds further attachment to mind-made things (saṅkhāra).
One religious belief that is likely to arise from this is –
- The self does not exist, or even
- the higher self or soul does not exist.
Such beliefs make it impossible for Buddhists to find common ground in central themes about God, soul and the higher self, with the vast majority of Wsterners who are inclined towards religion. They greatly complicate any communication and co-operation in spiritual practice. Divisions like these only aggravate the isolation and alienation from community in the modern Western world. They probably add to the problems of our times.
Such beliefs also defeat the very purpose of Buddha’s teaching on what we need to let go of = anattā.
Hence the need for a new translation of anattā lakkhaṅa sutta. We need a new interpretation of this simple yet powerful Sutta. One that offers us questions for quiet reflection, in the privacy of our mind. Instead of indoctrination imposed by religious authorities.
Discussion on this page is Copyright© Mike Browning, 2023. Revised March 2024. However, Copyright© cannot be claimed for the Pali, nor its translation into English, for it comes from ancient tradition.
You are permitted and encouraged to copy text from this webpage and use as you see fit, provided it is not harmful to mantra-translate.
You are permitted and encouraged to copy text from this webpage and use as you see fit, provided it is not harmful to mantra-translate.
