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Grammatical Analysis

Anattā: [m.; adj.] non-self; soul-less; without essence; insubstantial. Formed by an (negative prefix) + attā (self, ego, soul).

Orthodox Definition

Anattā is the most distinctive doctrine of Theravāda Buddhism, separating it completely from Hindu systems that posit an unchanging soul (ātman) and Mahāyāna systems that imply an inherent Buddha-nature. It asserts that nowhere in physical or mental phenomena can a permanent, independent, controlling self-entity be found.

The Visuddhimagga and ancient commentaries clarify that all things are Anattā because:

  1. They are unmanageable and empty of autonomous power (asāmikato - lordless; you cannot command your body or mind never to age or experience pain).
  2. They are devoid of an abiding inner core, core substance, or soul (asārato).
  3. They exist solely dependent on transient conditions (paccaya-paṭibaddhato).

Crucially, the characteristic of non-self applies not only to conditioned things (saṅkhāra) but also to the unconditioned element: “Sabbe dhammā anattā” (All phenomena, including Nibbāna, are non-self).

Quote (Discourse on the Forty Aspects of Contemplation)

Cattārīsākāraanupassanākathā.
Discourse on the Forty Aspects of Contemplation.

So tasseva pañcasu khandhesu aniccadukkhānattasammasanassa thirabhāvatthāya, yaṃ taṃ bhagavatā ‘‘katamehi cattārīsāya ākārehi anulomikaṃ khantiṃ paṭilabhati, katamehi cattārīsāya ākārehi sammattaniyāmaṃ okkamatī’’ti etassa vibhaṅge –
For the sake of firmly establishing the contemplation of impermanence, suffering, and not-self in those five aggregates, as the Blessed One said in the analysis of “By what forty aspects does one attain conformable patience? By what forty aspects does one enter the fixed course of rightness?”—

1. Aniccānupassanā (10 Aspects of Impermanence):
‘‘Pañcakkhandhe aniccato, palokato, calato, pabhaṅguto, addhuvato, vipariṇāmadhammato, asārakato, vibhavato, saṅkhatato, maraṇadhammato’’ti.
“The five aggregates are impermanent, disintegrating, unstable, perishable, unreliable, subject to change, without essence, subject to dissolution, conditioned, subject to death.”

2. Dukkhānupassanā (25 Aspects of Suffering):
‘‘Dukkhato, rogato, gaṇḍato, sallato, aghato, ābādhato, ītito, upaddavato, bhayato, upasaggato, atāṇato, aleṇato, asaraṇato, ādīnavato, aghamūlato, vadhakato, sāsavato, mārāmisato, jātidhammato, jarādhammato, byādhidhammato, sokadhammato, paridevadhammato, upāyāsadhammato, saṃkilesikadhammato’’ti.
“[The five aggregates are] painful, a disease, a boil, a dart, a misfortune, an affliction, a calamity, a disaster, a danger, an obstacle, without refuge, without shelter, without protection, fraught with danger, the root of misfortune, a slayer, with fermentations, a bait of Māra, subject to birth, subject to aging, subject to sickness, subject to sorrow, subject to lamentation, subject to despair, subject to defilement.”

3. Anattānupassanā (5 Aspects of Not-Self):
‘‘Parato, rittato, tucchato, suññato, anattato’’ti.
“[The five aggregates are] alien, empty, void, hollow, not-self.”

— Visuddhimagga (du)

Textual References

  • Sutta: Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (SN 22.59) – The historic second discourse of the Buddha, delivered to the group of five bhikkhus.
  • Canonical: Dhammapada (v. 279) – Affirming that all dhammā are non-self.
  • Commentary: Visuddhimagga (Chapter XX) – Detailed analysis of the emptiness of any soul or agent.

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