Anattā

No-self, absence of permanent being. The third of the three characteristics of existence (tilakkhaṇa), and perhaps the most radical teaching of the Buddha.

Anattā (Pāli, equivalent to anātman in Sanskrit) indicates that no aggregate (khandha) — form, sensation, perception, mental formations, consciousness — can be considered “I” or “mine.” There is no permanent, immutable, independent core behind experience.

The Buddha doesn’t say “you don’t exist.” He says: what you call “I” is a conditioned process, not an entity. The body ages without asking permission. Emotions change without control. Thoughts arise and cease from causes, not from an “I“‘s choice.

In the Dhammapada, the wise one examines the khandhas and sees they are impermanent (anicca), unsatisfactory (dukkha), and empty of self (anattā). This triple understanding is the gateway to nibbāna.

In classical yoga, anātman is understood as the distinction between purusha (witness consciousness) and prakriti (matter). Buddhism goes further: it denies even purusha as a permanent entity, maintaining only the flow of consciousness.