discussion

200 words

Two of the most important doctrines in Buddhism, which are at the root of most Buddhist teachings, are those of anatta, or no self, and dependent origination or pañicca-samuppàda. Because most of us are coming to these doctrines from a Western point of view, which is influenced by the Platonic notion that humans have an ontological being other than our bodies, and that there is some kind of permanence in the universe in terms of the transcendent, these can be a difficult concept to grasp. So for this question, I would like you to try and come up with some kind of analogy, story or explanation to explain the concept of anatta to someone younger than yourself. In other words, if you have kids, how would you describe this concept to them?

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