{"id":127749,"date":"2024-08-04T09:33:08","date_gmt":"2024-08-04T13:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=127749"},"modified":"2024-08-06T10:23:10","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T14:23:10","slug":"anatta-in-buddhism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/anatta-in-buddhism\/","title":{"rendered":"Anatta in Buddhism: The View of the Self in Eastern Thought"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever questioned the nature of your self? What if your sense of identity was just an illusion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his book No Self, No Problem<\/em>, Chris Niebauer explores Eastern perspectives on the self. He discusses concepts such as anatta<\/a> in Buddhism, which challenges our Western notions of identity. Niebauer offers insights into how our understanding of self shapes our experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get ready to challenge your assumptions<\/a> and explore a different way of perceiving yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Anatta<\/em> in Buddhism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the East, people learn to regard the self as just an illusion, a concept closely related to anatta<\/em> in Buddhism. Unlike people raised in the West, those who view the world through the lens of Eastern schools of thought\u2014like Buddhism, Taoism, or the Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism\u2014learn a very different concept of the self. Niebauer explains these schools of thought teach that the self is an impermanent idea we have to loosen our grip on if we want to see reality as it actually is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: What\u2019s the true nature of reality? It\u2019s a big question, but Eastern schools of thought teach that we\u2019re all connected and participate in a universal whole<\/a>. Buddhism, for one, teaches that we\u2019re so interconnected with one another that we can\u2019t make a meaningful distinction between one person\u2019s \u201cself\u201d and another\u2019s, so the self is just an illusion.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to several schools of Eastern thought, you don\u2019t really have a self that exists in any real sense because the self as you perceive it is just a product of your thoughts<\/strong>. Niebauer explains that this means the self isn\u2019t really the \u201cthinker\u201d you feel it is. Your thoughts appear in your consciousness, and you think your \u201cself\u201d produces or directs them. But it\u2019s actually the other way around, and your sense of self comes from your thoughts. In other words, the self is no more real or durable than the thoughts that you think and forget from moment to moment. Niebauer explains that, to Eastern ways of thinking, holding onto the illusion of the self<\/a> obscures more lucid ways of perceiving who you are<\/a> and what you experience in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: While it seems like you think your thoughts and those thoughts don\u2019t exist until you<\/em> think them, psychologists agree with Niebauer that this doesn\u2019t appear to be true<\/a>. So where do they come from? Subjectively, you could say that your thoughts seemingly come from nowhere. But objectively, they come from your brain\u2014and from the vast array of experiences<\/a> and sources of information that influence your brain. In a process experts don\u2019t fully understand, your brain combines all of these influences to form your thoughts, perceptions, emotions, memories, and sensations. You\u2019re not consciously aware of this happening. So as Niebauer notes, you don\u2019t produce your thoughts; you simply become aware of them.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Buddhist teaching that Niebauer characterizes as crucial to the Eastern idea of the self is a concept called anatta<\/em>, or \u201cno self.\u201d Niebauer explains that anatta<\/em> means we have no permanent self, and the self only exists when we\u2019re thinking about it<\/strong>. Buddhists contend that a belief in a stable self is not only erroneous but also leads to all of the suffering we experience in our lives. That\u2019s because it makes us feel invested in thoughts, feelings, and judgments, which are all just temporary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: While many people refer to anatta<\/em> as the concept that we have no real self, as Niebauer does, some experts note the Buddha<\/a> never actually said<\/a> the self doesn\u2019t exist. They say that anatta<\/em> is more accurately translated as \u201cnot self\u201d than \u201cno self,\u201d and the Buddha taught that you should resist your tendency to attach yourself to impermanent thoughts and feelings<\/a>. The idea isn\u2019t to convince yourself that those thoughts, emotions, or perceptions aren\u2019t real, but to see them for what they are<\/a>: impermanent. When you can watch them come and go, then you can realize that everything that contributes to your sense of self is always changing<\/a> and remind yourself that these things are \u201cnot-self\u201d<\/a> and not worth holding onto.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever questioned the nature of your self? What if your sense of identity was just an illusion? In his book No Self, No Problem, Chris Niebauer explores Eastern perspectives on the self. He discusses concepts such as anatta in Buddhism, which challenges our Western notions of identity. Niebauer offers insights into how our understanding of self shapes our experiences. Get ready to challenge your assumptions and explore a different way of perceiving yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":127762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,6],"tags":[1559],"class_list":["post-127749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","category-spiritual","tag-no-self-no-problem","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nAnatta in Buddhism: The View of the Self in Eastern Thought - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chris Niebauer explores Eastern ideas such as anatta in Buddhism. 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