Becoming and non-self

The interplay between becoming (*bhava*) and non-self (*anattā*) lies at the very heart of the Buddha’s insight into the nature of suffering. Becoming refers to the continual process of constructing identity — the formation of roles, narratives, and mental positions that sustain the sense of “I am.”

Yet all of these constructions rest upon unstable foundations. Every moment of becoming is built upon conditions that themselves are impermanent and empty of inherent substance. The self that seems so solid is, upon examination, a dynamic pattern of arising and ceasing aggregates — not a lasting entity, but a process of habitual identification.

Ironically, becoming and non-self are inseparable: becoming arises precisely because the mind fails to see non-self. When one believes in an enduring “me,” the mind grasps at existence, seeks fulfillment, and fears loss. This craving gives rise to clinging, which fuels new becoming. The cycle perpetuates itself as long as ignorance blinds us to the empty, dependent nature of all phenomena.

The realization of non-self dissolves this entire mechanism. When no enduring core is found behind experience, the need to fabricate identity falls away. Becoming ceases not by suppressing existence but by releasing the grasp that turns impermanent processes into a story of selfhood.

In this way, non-self is not a doctrine to be believed but a truth to be seen directly — the key that unlocks the cessation of becoming and the end of suffering.

“In the seen, only the seen; in the heard, only the heard. When there is no ‘I’ in relation to these, becoming ceases.”
— Bahiya Sutta, Udāna 1.10 (expanded)