The Parable of the Buddha’s Chariot

One of the most famous teachings on non-self in early Buddhism is the parable of the chariot, as presented in the dialogue between King Milinda and the monk Nāgasena. The king asks Nāgasena: “What is it that is called Nāgasena?” The monk replies with a question: “Is the chariot you arrived in a single thing, or is it merely a collection of parts?”

The king acknowledges that the chariot consists of its parts — wheels, axles, frame, reins — and that apart from these components, there is no separate entity called “chariot.” Likewise, Nāgasena explains, the person is nothing more than the aggregation of physical form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness — the five aggregates (skandhas). Beyond these processes, no independent, unchanging self can be found.

This parable cuts directly to the illusion of selfhood. The mind constructs the idea of a persistent identity by linking together transient experiences into a continuous narrative. But when examined closely, what we call “self” is seen to be a conceptual convenience — a label applied to a constantly shifting process.

Importantly, this teaching does not negate personal experience or ethical responsibility. The aggregates function in dependence upon causes and conditions, giving rise to the appearance of individuality. But awakening involves seeing that clinging to this appearance as ultimately real is the root of suffering.

The parable of the chariot invites us to loosen identification and recognise the spacious, impersonal nature of experience — not as a philosophical position, but as a liberating realisation lived directly.

“Just as there is no chariot apart from its parts, there is no self apart from the aggregates.”
— The Questions of King Milinda