Expert: Justin Choo - 7/2/2008

Question
QUESTION: I have been trying to understand what is meant by "no I" in Buddhist literature and I am hoping you can help me. Here is my question. If I dropped all my acquired attitudes, and beliefs, and didn’t identify with my job, status, position, power, accomplishments, clothes, body, thoughts or anything else, (false I’s) would what is left, be just pure conscious awareness? Is this what the Buddhists call the "no I" state of awareness?

Does each one of us have a separate, distinqiushing, yet evolving changing pure conscious awareness? If this separate pure consciousness is not the "true I" what is it?

I am trying my best to understand this on the intellectual level, am I on the right tack?

Thanks

AL


ANSWER: Hi AL,

The "no I" concept is the 3rd characteristic of what we call the 3 characteristics of the nature of this world.  The Buddha expounded the trilogy of Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta, meaning Impermanance, Unsatisfactoriness, No soul or insubstantiality or emptiness or "no I".
This concept of "no I" can only be understood if one understands the concept of Anatta.  It takes some time and a lot of contemplation to understand Anatta.  The underlying concept of Anatta is that in the final analysis, there is nothing in this world which we can call our own.  As such there is no "I".   If one can really accept this concept then one is free from the clutches of the miseries of this world.

What we are experiencing in life IS real; there is this physical "I" in you.  Even if you drop everything you are still you.  It is the whole futile process of living (existence) that is "no I", just an 'illusion".  Now let us be an observer of a life cycle of a butterfly.  First the egg, then the caterpillar, followed by the pupa in the chrysalis, and finally emerged the butterfly.  All this process took only a few weeks, and the butterfly will die after another two weeks.  As an observer, we can SEE the futility of this cycle which is real; but don't we see the "emptiness" in this process?  As far as the butterfly is concerned, it is a real life.  As far as we observers are concerned, it is just a passing passage of one very short life.  This to me relates very well to the concept of "no I". The whole process of living does not leave a permanent entity in you.

A more direct explanation is this. What the Buddha meant was that there was no permanent, unchanging self.  There is no permanent unchanging soul.  There is no permanent unchanging "I".  In order to understand this concept, we need to know the Buddha's revelation of what constitute a person.  A person is comprised of matter (physical body) and mind.  We know that this physical body will perish one day.  It is not a permanent entity.  The mind is also not a permanent unchanging entity.  The mind is always in a state of flux.  There are thought moments continuously going on in the mind.  This is the consciousness or energy that gives the mind its substance.   The energy of the mind is just like the electric current flowing continuously, but no two moments are the same.
The existence of a person is the results of the energy of the mind taking existence in this physical body. The nature of life-form that this mind energy affixes to, will depend on the nature of the accumulated "kammic" store-house which the being had generated throughout its numerous life existences. If the kammic storehouse has a greater portion of evil and unwholesome kammic energy, this mental energy will seek a rebirth in the appropriate existence such that the evil and unwholesome energies will actualize in that life, causing agony and suffering for the being.  Likewise, wholesome kammic energy will seek out a happy rebirth.  Often, the kammic energy is a mixture of both good and bad strains.

This phenomenon of rebirth is a very unique one. As pointed out, the consciousness is like an electric current. This current lights up different bulbs. This current is not the same at any one moment, it travels or in a flux. As for the bulbs, it is quite obvious that they are different bulbs. However the light that the different bulbs emit is neither the same nor different because it comes from the same source, the electric current. The different bulbs are just like our different bodies in the cycle of rebirths. The Buddha expressed the rebirth process as "neither exactly the same nor completely different" ("Na ca so, na ca anno", in Pali) (Pronounce: "Nar cha so, nar cha un-yo"). To cut off this vicious cycle, the mind has to completely erase any trace of craving and clinging. Once this is achieved, the mind is liberated; no more rebirth, no more death.

<<Does each one of us have a separate, distinqiushing, yet evolving changing pure conscious awareness? If this separate pure consciousness is not the "true I" what is it?>>

This consciousness is the store-house of kammic energy reflecting our "personality", the false "I" which we mistakenly, through our ignorance, taken as a permanent unchanging "I", "soul".  This consciousness is like the energy of the electric current: neither exactly the same nor completely different.

I hope this doesn't further confuse you instead of putting you in a better light! The best way to understand the Buddha's teachings is to continue to study his teachings, take time to analyze, and have untiring patience. Given time, you will gradually understand.

Take care.

Smile from justinchoo :-)


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Justin

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.  As I read your answer thoughts and question came into my mind, and I would like to run them by you to see if I am understanding things properly.  You stated that there is no permanent, unchanging self, soul or I. The mind is not a permanent unchanging entity, and is always in a state of flux.  Then I thought when I was a child of 5 I had the mind and the body of a 5 year old, when I was 25 years old I had the mind and body of a 25 year old.  I think I can see where you are coming from and I agree, both my mind and body are constantly changing, nothing stays the same, as you said everything is in a state of flux.  And then I thought, even though all these changes are constantly taking place do I have a mind stream that is unique and separate from all other mind streams, and if I do could this separate, yet constantly evolving and changing mind stream be called the true I or the true self or perhaps the Buddhists have another name for it?  

Thanks

AL


Answer
Hi AL,

I am very happy that you fully understood this concept of the changing entity.  When you were 5, it was you. Now you are you.  But can you say you are the same you when you were 5?  Could you at that time at age 5 felt your "self" at age 25?   They are neither completely the same nor totally different!!  They are your changing personality through this stream of consciousness, constantly generating kammic energy to sustain its existence, a continuous flow of this stream of consciousness.

It is your ever changing stream of personality. There are many terms used by the Buddha depending on the context of his statement.  These are: mind, consciousness, energy, thought processes, etc.

Regards,
justinchoo :-)

[You are invited to visit my blog:]
http://lifeislikethat999.blogspot.com/

[And this blog by Rev. Dhammika:]
http://sdhammika.blogspot.com/