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Glite Dictionary
🦠 Foreign material 🧘 No permanent self
nonself

nonself

1 9.9
The Buddhist idea that a person has no permanent self
  • noun
  • /nɒnˈsɛlf/
  • Jargon
: no-yo
  • In Buddhism, understanding nonself helps individuals realize that their identity is not fixed and can change over time.

Examples

  • It is at these "synapses" that the continual redefining of the self/nonself (culture/nonculture) boundary takes place.

    Academic text (1998)

  • There is an identifiable pattern of psychophysical behaviors and changes that facilitates this continual interplay between inner and outer self and nonself at all levels.

    Academic text (1998)

  • The teaching of nonself encourages practitioners to let go of attachments to a permanent identity.

  • Meditating on nonself can lead to a deeper understanding of the nature of existence.

Synonyms

anatta
vsnonself
  • Specialized
1 9.9

The idea that people have no permanent self or soul

refers to persons instead of all living beings
anatman
vsnonself
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A Buddhist idea that people do not have a permanent self or soul

focuses on persons rather than all living beings

Antonyms

self
∞ 3.9

A person's idea of who they are

Surface Forms

nonself singular
nonselfs plural

Morphology

nonself = self (semi-transparent) = non + self

While the word is literally 'not self', the Buddhist philosophical meaning ('no permanent, unchanging self') is an abstract doctrinal concept that goes beyond a simple negation.

Etymology

Nonself comes from the prefix non- meaning 'not' and self meaning 'the person', and it is used to translate the Buddhist word anatta meaning 'no-self'. So in Buddhism nonself means there is no fixed, unchanging 'I', which is why the idea helps people let go of attachments.