The illusion of self

Central to the Buddha’s teaching is the radical insight that the self — the solid, enduring “I” we assume ourselves to be — is an illusion. This does not mean that experience is unreal, but that our habitual identification with experience as “me” or “mine” is a fundamental misperception.

What we call the self is in fact a constantly changing aggregation of processes: form (rūpa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saññā), mental formations (saṅkhāra), and consciousness (viññāṇa) — the five aggregates (khandhas). Each of these arises and passes away moment by moment, conditioned by prior causes. There is no enduring essence behind them to serve as a fixed anchor.

The illusion of self arises because the mind strings together these fleeting events into a narrative of continuity. Memory, desire, and habit create the appearance of a single identity moving through time. Yet when examined carefully, no core can be found. There is only process — dependent, impermanent, and empty of inherent substance.

Realising the illusory nature of self is not nihilism but liberation. Without a fixed self to defend or gratify, craving and aversion lose their footing. Fear diminishes, as there is no enduring entity to preserve. In this opening, compassion naturally arises, recognising the shared, fluid nature of all beings.

Freedom lies not in strengthening the self, but in seeing through its fiction — allowing experience to flow freely, without grasping at ownership or identity.

“Just as a chariot is only a combination of parts, so too is the person merely a combination of aggregates.”
— Milindapañha