The Doctrine of 'ANATTA' - Non-Selfness
In spite of the great knowledge accumulated in the course of time and the immense progress made in Science in the last fifty years, there are still people who earnestly believe that man is born out of nothing and after death will return to nothing. Again there are those who, like in Christianity, believe that man has been created by Divinity, that he is the image of God and superior to all creatures because he possesses an immortal Soul, whereas all other creatures are being denied immortality. Life being a gift of God, it would be most ungrateful not to enjoy it to the full and to the very last minute. While those who believe that man is born out of nowhere and of nothing and will no more be reborn, will also try to make the best of life by indulging in all the vices and pleasures of life to the last of their breath. Those who believe in God and faith- fully live according to the Gospel all hope to enter Heaven, although there is a Hell, because they hope that God will forgive their sins if they only confess their guilt and ask God’s forgiveness.
The Buddha, in contrast to all religions, taught something
quite different. He taught above all that man is his own Creator, that he is
born according to his previous will-actions (Karma) and becomes exactly what he
has made himself; his previous and present Karma will determine his future existence
and the realm into which he will be reborn.
Reincarnation was already known to the ancient Brahmins
before the Buddha’s advent, but had not as yet been worked out to its logical
consequence, whereas the Law of Karma and Rebirth and its moral application to
all sentient being; and to the whole universe was the Buddha’s own discovery.
He was the first to realize that all Sentient Beings and the whole universe are
subject to the inexorable, all-embracing Law of Karma (the Law of Cause and
Effect), and since man is his own creator he is solely responsible for himself.
He can by his" own effort attain to Supreme Wisdom and to deliverance from
suffering and rebirth without any outside help.
The Buddha not only realized the Law of Karma but He
discovered that the whole universe and all sentient life in it is impermanent,
miserable and not self-contained. Thus He was the first and the only one to
teach that there is no Self (Atta) behind individual life. He taught that the
Five Aggregates of Existence which we falsely believe to be our very essence, are
but constantly changing products of our Six Senses, and none of the Five
Aggregates can be stated as being essential to individual life. We cling to
these Five Aggregates because of Ignorance of the true facts of life and
because of our desire to live, to be, to possess what we like; and not to be,
not to possess what we dislike. In other words, because of ignorance and desire
to live we identify ourselves with whatever we can grasp with our Six Senses
(the Sixth sense being the mind which controls all other senses).
The Buddha’s Doctrine of Anatta is unique. It is found no- where else and is the most important Teaching of the Buddha as it forms the basis of the Law of Karma and Rebirth and of the “Four Noble Truths”.
The Doctrine of Anatta was the Buddha’s greatest discovery. It is the best and most effective way of convincing man to give up the Delusion of Self, to give up once and for all his Attachment to Self and therefore also his Attachment to the world. Once man realizes that the five groups of Attachment are something alien, not essential to his individual existence, the whole world too will appear to him as something alien and therefore not desirable. In the end he will gradually realize that he is but the result of his own Karma with no Self behind. He will come to the conclusion that he must improve himself and get rid of delusion until the forces of Karma are all destroyed, thus freeing himself of all Suffering and Of Rebirth. To give up the very thought of Self means to free the mind of all suffering because it means to free one’s own self of all attachment to life.
How did the Buddha discover the Doctrine of Anatta?
In his Enlightenment under the Bodhi-tree the Buddha beheld through
intuitive Insight, in direct vision, that all natural phenomena, nay the whole
universe, is subject to change. All things arise and cease in an endless chain
with no perceivable break in it. Nothing remains the same for two consecutive
moments and as no single event is ever isolated a cause by itself cannot stand.
There is no primary cause apparent; but all things arise: and cease in
dependence of each other in a long chain of cause and effect without any
perceivable break in it. Nothing really is, all is “Becoming”, without
permanent substance, “put together, unstable and changeable”. Therefore, says
the Buddha, everything is “transient, miserable not self-contained” (Anicca-Dukkha-Anatta).
The true nature of life is: Impermanence (Anicca), Misery (Dukkha)
and Non-Selfness (Anatta).
If we keep this constantly in mind we gradually become
detached from pleasure and pain. Self-control and Self-restraint and Insight of
the true nature of life lead to a higher spiritual life; to self-contentment and
tolerance towards all sentient life. We suffer because of the Impermanence of
all material life. Over-indulgence in the pleasures of life causes, therefore,
disappointment and sorrow. In order to enjoy the same pleasures again and again
we have to stimulate our nerves with still greater pleasures because everything
that stimulates our nerves causes them to become blunt by sheer exhaustion. If we
do not control ourselves but constantly seek to satisfy our craving for worldly
pleasures we shall in the end die a premature death from a nervous breakdown
and from diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Yet we shall never be able to
satisfy our craving. If on the other hand, we exercise self-control and self-restraint,
being well aware of the impermanence and futility of everything, we can by
living a higher spiritual life, attain to peace of mind and happiness.
The knowledge of the Anatta-Doctrine does not make us pessimistic,
but sober and reasonable. We may still enjoy life and all the good there is in
it, but when time comes for the things we love to break down and disappear
beyond our reach, we should not feel sorrow, for we know from the start, they were
perishable. Therefore, let us not be too attached to anything because we cannot
hold on to them forever.
Furthermore, we should not plan too far ahead and always seek
happiness in a future day. We cannot change the past, and the future is still
to come and uncertain. But the present is real and the responsibility of using
this present moment to the best of his knowledge lies within each individual.
We should, therefore, make use of the present and do good merit for the future.
The Doctrine of Anatta is an incentive to improve actively our spiritual
well-being as well as our social welfare by leading a good life and not causing
any distress to other beings.
