Perhaps the strangest Buddhist teaching is “no self” or “not-self” (anatta). What does that mean? How is it experienced? In contemporary terms, our sense of self is a psychological and social construct which, because it doesn’t correspond to anything real, is inherently insecure. We usually experience this as a persistent sense of lack: the feeling that “something is wrong with me”, “I’m not good enough.” Thinking and acting this way causes many problems, not only for ourselves, but for society as a whole. The Buddhist path is about deconstructing and reconstructing this delusive sense of separate self, so that we can experience the world, including ourselves, more nondually.

Learning Intentions:

To understand how our sense of lack arises; how our sense of lack consciously and unconsciously affects our lives and our society; and how Buddhist practice addresses our sense of lack.