Buddhism teaches us the truth about the universe and about ourselves. So we can be awaken from this illusory world to the meaning and purpose of life. So we know our buddha nature is in one with the universe. We each have the power within us to change. Our habitual thoughts and the content of our subconscious mind determine our behaviour and the way we act and react. When we change the way we feel and think about things, and the way we react to people and situations, our actions and behaviour change accordingly. These changes within us, create changes in our external, outer life. We will never change the outside until we change within.
Another important concepts in Buddhism is non-self. That means we are one with the universe, the within and without is one. We once thought that we were no bigger than our physical bodies, but now we are discovering that we are deeply connected participants in the continuous co-arising of the entire Universe. Awakening to our larger identity as both unique and inseparably connected with a co- arising Universe transforms feelings of existential separation into experiences of subtle communion as bio-cosmic beings.
Here, we provide deeper look into the Buddhist concept of non-self based on a Shambhala Sun interview of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh by Melvin McLeod. The article, This Is the Buddha’s Love, appeared in the March 2006 issue.
The Teaching of Non-Self
After establishing that the goal of meditation practices is to bring us back to our true home, Melvin McLeod asked, What is the difference between this true self, the self you come home to, and how we normally think of ourselves?
Thich Nhat Hanh: True self is non-self, the awareness that the self is made only of non-self elements. There’s no separation between self and other, and everything is interconnected. Once you are aware of that you are no longer caught in the idea that you are a separate entity.
Melvin McLeod: What happens to you when you realize that the true nature of the self is non-self?
Thich Nhat Hanh: It brings you insight. You know that your happiness and suffering depend on the happiness and suffering of others. That insight helps you not to do wrong things that will bring suffering to yourself and to other people. If you try to help your father to suffer less, you have a chance to suffer less. If you are able to help your son suffer less, then you, as a father, will suffer less. Thanks to the realization that there is no separate self, you realize that happiness and suffering are not individual matters. You see the nature of interconnectedness and you know that to protect yourself you have to protect the human beings around you.
That is the goal of the practice—to realize non-self and interconnectedness. This is not just an idea or something you understand intellectually. You have to apply it to your daily life. Therefore you need concentration to maintain this insight of non-self so it can guide you in every moment. Nowadays, scientists are able to see the nature of non-self in the brain, in the body, in everything. But what they have found doesn’t help them, because they cannot apply that insight to their daily lives. So they continue to suffer. That is why in Buddhism we speak of concentration. If you have the insight of non-self, if you have the insight of impermanence, you should make that insight into a concentration that you keep alive throughout the day. Then what you say, what you think, and what you do will then be in the light of that wisdom and you will avoid making mistakes and creating suffering.
Melvin McLeod: So the practice of mindfulness is to try to maintain the insight of non-self and interconnectedness at all times.
Thich Nhat Hanh: Yes, exactly.
