Comparing and Contrasting the Theravadin Conception of Anatta with Sunyata and Related

Mahayana Concepts and their Relationship to Daoist Ideas

by Shaun Ramsden 10th October 2017

Introduction
Comparing Mahayana Buddhism with Theravada Buddhism and Daoism is no easy task as all three
rely on some form of an oral tradition in terms of understanding their deeper teachings. I have
therefore conducted numerous interviews with teachers from both schools of Buddhism and
Daoism. I will begin this paper by discussing what Buddhism is and the culture from which it
emerged. From this proto-Buddhism will be examined by dissecting Buddha's life story. As
Mahayana Buddhism (in my opinion) is at its essence Chinese Buddhism it is also important to look
into Daoism and the impact it had on Mahayana Buddhism.With the establishment of these
foundations the paper will compare and contrast the Theravadin conception of anatta with sunyata
and related Mahayana concepts and their relationship to Daoist ideas. I will argue below that the
essence of Theravadin and Mahayana Buddhism are one in the same with the only distinctions
being terminology and the angle taken on any given subject.

What is Buddhism?
It is difficult to describe what Buddhism is. Academically, Buddhism can be compiled into two
different branches:

1.Theravada
2.Mahayana

Buddhism tends to group all the Buddhists under these two heading as one is the path to an Arahat
(Theravada), while the other is the path of the Bodhisattva. In reality though, Japanese Zen, Tibetan
Vajrayana, and Chinese Chan are very different to each other and it really does not make much
sense to group them all under one Mahayana heading. Chinese Mahayana Buddhism was the first
Buddhism to emerge out of India in East Asia. Tibetan, Japanese and Korean Buddhism came much
later. Even though they all have the same goal, I believe they are very different. Some of the key
differences are as follows (these differences are based on my own experience after living in East
Asia for eight years and South East Asia for nine):

Tibetan Buddhism:
1.Is an institution, the Dalai Lama institution is the best example.
2.They actively seek out reincarnated masters.
3.There is reincarnation and not rebirth.
4.Tantric techniques from Hinduism are heavy throughout.
5.The methods to enlightenment vary greatly.
6.There are obvious influences from their previous Bon religion (such as deity worship).
7.It is far more ritualistic than any other Mahayana school.
8.It has many very unique aspects such as the sand mandala.

Japanese Zen Buddhism:

1.Daoist influences are more pronounced, especially with their mediation on the abdomen and
nature philosophy.
2.Their heavy emphasis on sudden enlightenment or satori.
3.The military like training approach that is extremely strict, especially in regards to daily activities,
long hours of meditation and meditative posture.
4.Unique methods of mindfulness such as ōryōki.
5.The various schools and their varied approach.
6.Koan practise.
7.Very unique practises such as the Japanese rock garden.

In answering the question, what is Buddhism, I have taken a two step approach:

1.What was proto-Buddhism (Buddhism before the establishment of the Vinaya)? It is common
knowledge that Buddha wrote down nothing! Therefore we are all receiving copies of copies of
copies and we have all heard of the game, Chinese Whispers.

Siddhārtha Gautama's personal path to enlightenment was very different to the current ones used. In
other words, he did it a different way to what has been advocated since he started teaching. We
know this from his life story. I propose that closest outline we have to proto-Buddhsim is Buddha's
life story or the path he took to enlightenment plus his earliest teachings, the first three sermons.

2.All the different schools of Buddhism follow the foundational ideas of Buddha's teachings, such
as Samsara and the Noble Eightfold Path. Even though these schools have the same foundation, the
focus of them are NOT necessarily on the foundational ideas of Buddhism.

Noble Eightfold Path

Chan Buddhism for example focuses much more heavily on their own path of enlightenment, their
focus is on Buddha-nature more than anything else. This focal point is actually so heavy that they
recommend to ignore study all together, as this only makes the “thinking mind” stronger.

Cultural Context
During the time of Buddha, Brahmanism reined as the primary religion of the time. Even though it
was to some degree the law in regards to the caste system, it was still in competition with many
other emerging ideas, philosophies, ways of life and what would become opposing religions.

The main philosophies/religions of Buddha's time were:

1.The samaṇa or renunciate groups (from which Buddhism emerged).

The main schools were:

1.Jainism
2.Ājīvika
3.Ajñana
4.Cārvāka

2.The Materialists
The materialists believed in annihilationism.

3.The Skeptics
Ancient India also had its fair share of skeptics which is conveyed in the Samannaphala Sutta.

Even though there were similarities between these groups, many of the core differences evolved
around the idea of “self” or “soul”.

-Brahmanism: There is a life principle that is one in the same with the universal principle

-Jainism: There is a life principle that is individual and not part of the universal principle

-Buddhism: There is no self

-Materialists: There is a self but it ends at death

To get a feel of what India was really like in terms of the varied practises of the time we can look at
India’s Kumbh Mela Festival. I feel the Sadhus of the Kumbh Mela Festival give us an ancient
insight into ancient India. Some of the more extreme practises involve, holding ones hand in the air
for years, not sitting for years, not talking for years, burying oneself, eating one bowl of rice per day
and lifting up heavy objects with the genitals (for further details please refer to the numerous video
footage available on youtube).

Outside of the jungles of ancient India we find cities run by warrior kings, a powerful priesthood, a
very strict hierarchal culture and a society that was very conservative in regards to womens rights
and freedom (for further details please refer to the Manusmṛti ancient legal text).
Brahmanism
As Brahmanism was the main religion of the time it is important to take a brief look at its
philosophies.

Foundations of Brahmanism

Buddha's Life Story

By reviewing Buddha's life story one is able to get a grasp on what the earliest form of Buddhism
was, long before the influences of other people, groups, cultures and countries.

Proto-Buddhism
Buddha's Life Story
1.According to the Jataka Tales, Buddha also known as Gautama Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama,
Śhakyamuni Buddha was born in Lumbini, Nepal, which was part of the Shakya Republic. The
dates given are either c. 563 BCE or c. 480 BCE (Norman, 1997). Gautama was born as a Kshatriya
(Samuel, 2010) the son of Śuddhodana, “an elected chief of the Shakya clan” (Warder, 2000),
whose capital was Kapilavastu. Siddhartha was born into a wealthy family and lived a life of riches,
he is said to have spent 29 years as a prince in Kapilavastu. He was married to Yaśodharā and he
had one son whom he named named Rāhula.

- Siddhartha's early years clearly portray that he was born into a family of riches and in terms of
material wealth and desires, he could have anything he wanted. It also conveys that he was a normal
person like you and me in that he got married and had a family.

2.At the age of 29 he left his palace on an excursion to meet his people. Siddhartha was said to have
seen an old man. On further trips beyond the palace walls, he encountered a diseased man, a
decaying corpse, and an ascetic.

- These trips resemble the first signs that Siddartha was deeply “unsatisfied” with life in general and
that even before these events he felt there was much more than just material desires. It is also in this
second key event that we start to see the very early idea of dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) and anicca
(impermanence) emerging and therefore the early beginnings of the 3 Marks of Existence.

3.Gautama quit his palace for the life of a mendicant, initially he went to Rajagaha and began his
ascetic life by begging for alms in the street.

- This is renunciation and the beginnings of monk-hood.

4.He left Rajagaha and practised under two hermit teachers of yogic meditation (Laumakis, 2008).
After mastering the teachings of Alara Kalama he was asked by Kalama to succeed him. Instead
Gautama felt unsatisfied by the practice and moved on to become a student of yoga with Udaka
Ramaputta (Armstrong, 2004). With him he achieved high levels of meditative consciousness, and
was again asked to succeed his teacher. But, once gain, he was not satisfied, and moved on (Narda,
1992).

- In this part of his life the idea that the methods and techniques at the time were inadequate is
portrayed; there needed to be a new idea, philosophy and way.

5.Siddhartha and a group of five companions led by Kaundinya are then said to have set out to take
their austerities to a new level. They tried to find enlightenment through deprivation of worldly
goods, including food and begun practising self-mortification. After nearly starving himself to death
by restricting his food intake to around a leaf or nut per day, Siddhartha collapsed in a river while
bathing and almost drowned. A village girl named Sujata gave him some madhupayasa (a rice
pudding now known as kheer) after which Siddhartha got back some energy.

- After the mainstream methods did not provide results, Siddhartha decided to use more extreme
ones that were abundant in India at the time. They nearly killed him and the beginnings of the
Middle Way or Noble Eightfold Path begun to emerge.

6.Gautama goes to sit under a pipal tree (now known as the Bodhi tree) in Bodh Gaya, India, where
he vowed never to arise until he had found the truth. After a reputed 49 days of meditation, at the
age of 35, he is said to have attained Enlightenment and became known as the Buddha (Awakened
One).
- Siddartha's enlightenment is very important because we see that he primarily used meditation to
achieve it. Later on we learn he used mindfulness meditation.

7.After his awakening, the Buddha met Taphussa and Bhallika, two merchant brothers from the city
of Balkh (current day Afghanistan). They became his first lay disciples. He then travelled to Deer
Park in northern India where he set in motion what Buddhists call, the Wheel of Dharma by
delivering his first sermon to the five companions with whom he had originally sought
enlightenment. Together with Buddha, they formed the first saṅgha.

- Here we see the emergence of a new religion/philosophy that is very different to the current ones
in India and a clear emergence of the Triple Gem or Three Jewels: Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha.
Underneath what Buddha's life story portrays we find out his insight with the first 3 base sermons
he gave. The first 3 sermons are called, The Three Cardinal Discourses and they lay down the entire
philosophy of Buddha's Buddhism:

(1)Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Setting in Motion The Wheel of Dhamma)

(2)Anatta-lakkhana Sutta (The Not-Self Characteristic)
(3)Ādittapariyāya Sutta (Fire Sermon)

8.For the remaining 45 years of his life the Buddha is said to have traveled in what is now Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, and southern Nepal teaching a diverse range of people from nobles to servants,
murderers (such as Angulimala), and cannibals (Alavaka, 1960).

- Buddha did not live life as a hermit, he remained in the world of people and civilisation, he taught
(openly to anyone) what he had found and passed on his wisdom. He was open to questions and the
questionings of his ideas. This is an important point because it meant that the untouchable class of
India now had a religion to go to that offered a very different future.

9. According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the Buddha
announced that he would soon reach Parinirvana (final deathless state) and would thereby abandon
his earthly body. After this, the Buddha ate his last meal, which he had received as an offering from
a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Ānanda to
convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his passing and that his meal
would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha. According to
Buddhist tradition, the Buddha died at Kuśināra (present-day Kushinagar, India), c. 483 BCE or c.
400 BCE (aged 80).

-In this final point we are all reminded that Buddha was no different to you or me, he was still a
human being subject to old age, sickness and death. Nibbana is available and can be achieved by
anyone.

Summary of Buddha's Path to Enlightenment:

1.Awakening – Material goods do not make for happiness. Buddha thought life at its essence was
unsatisfactory (suffering).
2.Renunciation – the giving up of an ordinary life, material goods, everything.
3.Middle Way – later on we find Buddha called this, the Noble Eightfold Path.
4.Meditation - the primary method to achieve enlightenment was meditation built on the foundation
of the Noble Eightfold Path. Later we find the meditation technique used was mindfulness.
5.What we could not see were Buddha's insight that was given in the first 3 sermons. These insights
were as follows:
Dhammacakkappavattana sutta (The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dharma:
(1) The Middle Way: 2 extremes to be avoided
(2) The Middle Way which is the Noble Eightfold Path
(3) The Four Noble Truths: Three aspects of suffering to make 12 insights

Anatta-lakkhana Sutta (The Not-Self characteristic):

(1)No self
(2)The 5 Aggregates
(3)Impermanence of the 5 Aggregates

Ādittapariyāya Sutta (Fire Sermon):

(1) Six Internal Sense Bases: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind which leads to eye contact, ear
contact etc. Contact meaning contact with the consciousness which makes feelings and cravings.
(2)The Six External Sense Bases: visible forms, sound, smells, tastes, touches and mental objects.
(3)Consciousness, contact and feeling.
Buddha taught that the “consciousness” comes in “contact” with the “sense bases” which in return
creates a “feeling” and then a “craving.” He said that each of these sense bases, consciousness,
contact, feelings and cravings are burning with passion, aversion and delusion and all lead to
suffering. Buddha taught achieving Nibbana from suffering came about through detaching oneself
from the Six Base Senses by which the burning of passion (craving) would fade away.

Buddha's path to enlightenment is what I call Proto-Buddhism. It is specifically Buddhism before

the sangha, Buddhism before Vinaya Piṭaka and Buddhism long before people, groups, states and
countries interfered. Please refer to Appendix 1, Model 1 as it shows the path Buddha took. It begun
with an initial awakening, which to led to renunciation by which he discovered the Middle Way;
this allowed him to meditate and achieve a final awakening. Underneath the surface though we find
that Buddha believed that life was suffering and the cause of this was craving. He believed in a
doctrine of no self as each of the 5 Aggregates was impermanent. He eventually lived his life
following the Noble Eightfold Path which gave him the foundation to meditate and to detach
himself from the 6 senses to reverse the process of contact, feelings and cravings by which he
reached the final awakening; Nibanna.

What has Buddhism Become?

Understanding what Buddhism has become can be a difficult and somewhat problematic
undertaking. The reason is that the philosophies and practises between the various schools can be
very different. What are not different are the foundational ideas:

1.Samsara, Karma, Rebirth

2.Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path
3.Dependant Origination and the Twelve Links
4.Three Marks of Existence
5.Five Aggregates
Samsara

Foundations of Buddhism
In what environment did Chinese Mahayana Buddhism emerge?
It is important to understand that in Chinese there are two Daoisms:

1.道家 – Dao Jia – Daoist philosophy

2.道教 – Dao Jiao – Daoist religion

Daoist philosophy is Lao Zi's Daoism from the Dao De Jing. The Daoist religion is what I will term
a “combination religion.” It combined elements of ancestor worship, local religious ideas, some
philosophical Daoism, Chinese Medicine, shamanistic practises like exorcism, a numerous and
varied pantheon of gods and ghosts, Confucianism and tantric like ideas and practises. What I
describe below is Daoist philosophy.

The basic structure of Daoist thinking is as follows:

Lao Zi said, the Dao is something that cannot be described with language (speaking, discussing,
writing or reading) but he still wrote a book about it, hence I will try to define it for you.
If one were to make a riddle based on Lao Zi's writings it would be as follows: I am something that
existed before heaven, earth and the gods (Dao De Jing Chapter, 1 & 42). I am in everything. If you
call me A then I am not B and vice versa. I actually have no name ( Dao De Jing Chapter 32), I am
something so subtle you can't see me, hear me or taste me (Dao De Jing Chapter 35). What am I?
The answer to this riddle is emptiness, which is also the very fabric of this universe.

The Dao was also described by Lao Zi as manifesting as nature itself, therefore it is also the natural
law (Dao De Jing Chapter 25). The Dao is also Lao Zi's teachings which aim to teach us one thing:
wu wei er wu bu wei. For humans, the Dao is wu wei (Dao De Jing Chapter 37) and therefore we
are told by Lao Zi that no matter what we do as humans we must come back to wu wei (Dao De
Jing Chapter 48).

In summary, the Dao is:

1.Emptiness
2.Nature (natural law)
3.Wu wei (er wu bu wei)

These three cover that which everything came from: 天 universe，人 man，地 earth . The Dao
made the 1 (Tai ji) , the one made the 2 (yin and yang), the 2 made the 3 (heaven, man and earth),
and 3 man everything.

This brings up the question, what does non action, wu wei, 无为 actually mean?

At its essence achieving wu wei in life is finding the Dao in yourself and should be the aim of life
according to Lao Zi. The entire Dao De Jing is divided into yin and yang paragraphs and sentences.
Therefore wu wei should also be combined with wu bu wei. By using wu wei you can do anything.
The wu of wu wei comes from the 无极 – the ultimate emptiness. The wei of wu wei means action.
Therefore the correct translation of wu wei er wu bu wei is, “with the use of emptiness you can do
anything.”

So how does one actually do this? Some examples of “emptiness in action” are as follows:

1.Less interference; letting things take their natural course, don't interfere with other peoples lives,
be less controlling and instead more guiding.
2.Live more simply; a simple life can only bring about less agitation and cravings.

3.Less desire; having desire only leads to wanting more and more, having less desire only leads to
needing less and less.

4.Following nature's way; following the seasons, eating natural food, sleeping early etc.

5.Meditating by putting your focus in the abdomen in order to empty the mind; have you noticed
when you don't over think how easily you can do something?

6.Non-reaction; don't react to traffic, to someone cutting you off, to a pain in the body. The more
you put your awareness into something the more it becomes agitated.

The ENTIRE Dao De Jing is based on examples (like above) explaining what and how to use wu
wei.

What is the Dan-tian?

In Lao Zi's time there was no such thing as the dan-tian. It was called, the abdomen, we know this
from Zen Buddhism; haka = 腹 = fu = abdomen. It appears to me that Zen Buddhism is more
Daoist than Chinese Chan Buddhism. This is probably due to it receiving Buddhism at an early
stage in China's history when Daoism was still prevalent and Japan was still isolated from the rest
of world. I personally believe the closest thing to Daoism in the modern world is Zen Buddhism.
The abdomen was seen as an embryo within the human body, a place where the wu (the emptiness)
actually resides. It was by focusing on the wu/dan tian/abdomen that qi would descend bringing
clarity and peace to the mind. A description of this can be found in the Tai Xi Jing or Embryo
Breathing Classic.

In ancient China, the mind and heart were one in the same character: 心. What's interesting about
this is for every other organ in the human body the characters contained a symbol for flesh: 月 (it
also means the moon). For example, 脾 (spleen)，胃 (stomach)，肾(kidney)，胆 (gall bladder)，
肝 (liver)，肺 (lungs)，肠 (intestines) etc. The character for brain 脑 'nao' also had the flesh
symbol. The mind was seen as non tangible. This idea of the non tangible mind permeated all
Chinese thinking.

Within the heart/mind resided the 神 'shen' - this is hard to translate, in its yin aspect (tangible
aspect) it is seen as someone's complexion, the yang aspect (intangible aspect) can be loosely
translated as someone's aura. Not in the sense of glowing or being seen, but the feeling someone
gives off. In Chinese Medicine, nearly all issues with the mind/shen are treated from the heart. A
good example is insomnia. From a biological point of view, blood quality and its free flow play a
vital role in mind health. Issues with the brain on the other hand are normally treated from the
kidney or the body as a whole.

The heart is represented by fire, while the kidney is represented as water. In China, they are not
elements though (different to India). They represent movements, fire is of course up and out. The
earliest Daoist meditation (actually there were no Daoists or Daoism back in those days) was
focusing on the breath in the abdomen. To do this one had to put the 意 - the minds intent into the
abdomen. This meant that the heart fire was underneath kidney water which in turn makes steam.
The character for qi is a symbol of steam coming off rice. The abdomen was seen as the engine
room of the body and was therefore called 气海 - sea of qi, the opposite spot on the back was called
命门 - life's gate and was seen to store was we nowadays call DNA. By putting the mind in the
abdomen it was believed that the energy room of the body would be tonified (this was all to do with
the Daoist aim of longevity) and it was also done to anchor the mind or give the mind an anchor as
one focused on the lowest part of the human body (it's not the feet; where is the bottom of the
Earth?).

This is why nearly all tranquillising medicine in Chinese Medicine is either minerals, bones or
shells (heavy substances). They were meant to anchor the hearts fire so it would meet with the
kidney water. In other words, bring the fire make into the abdomen. The question is, whats make
the heart fire pathogenic or not stay in the abdomen? The answer is anger, over excitement,
overthinking, holding the breath (as in lifting weights), sleeping late, an excessive amount of
physical movement, over sweating; in other words; stimulants.

The examples of this separation between brain and mind go on and on. The three most well known
“internal” martial arts in China are, Tai Ji, Ba Gua and Xing Yi. Internal means the aim is to
develop power which issues from the centre of the body outwards. External (like Karate) means
power is issued from the hand, arm or shoulder. Xing yi which means “form intent” was originally
called, “Xin Yi” which means heart/mind intent. The entire martial art was based on how to use the
intent of the mind to develop power. Meditating by focus on the breath in the abdomen is clearly an
intrusive meditative practise into Buddhism as no sutta mentions such a technique.

A summary of philosophical Daoism is as follows:

The Dao = emptiness = wu; it functions via wu wei er wu bu wei. It produced yin and yang which is
a law of duality that the natural world adheres to. Yin and yang produced everything. The goal of a
Daoist is to live by the principe of wu wei which means having a simple, desire free life, where you
don’t interfere with the natural order of things and you meditate on the abdomen to achieve the
Dao/wu/emptiness inside of you.
The Classic of the Way and Virtue

(Note: To discuss Lao Zi's ideas of virtue is beyond the scope of this paper as I do not see much
runoff (apart from Zen) into Chinese Buddhism)

Listing some of the important concepts in Mahayana Buddhism and one can see the connection
with Daoism:

-Tatagatagharba
-Buddhadhatu
-Sunyata
-Abdominal breathing in Zen and sometimes Chan

Even though one may argue that these four concepts alone in an ocean of other Buddhist teaching
do not constitute a good argument as these four are in fact core principles among Chan and Zen.
Imagine every time you sit in meditation which for a monk maybe many hours a day and all you do
is focus on the breath in the abdomen, it is clearly a core concept.

I would argue the Tatagatagarha and Buddhadhatu are one in the same and only different in that one
refers to the embryonic (containing) Tathagata (Buddha), while the latter means Buddha-nature.
Daoism employed the idea of the embryonic breathing in the abdomen. The Dao on the other hand
was something that was in everyone and the aim of the Daoist was to reach or find or attain the Dao
(which is emptiness).

The Zen tradition also emphasises that Buddha-nature is sunyata, the absence of an independent and
substantial "self". This of course goes hand in glove with the idea that Dao is emptiness. The only
difference is that in Buddhism the Buddha-nature is emptiness which also means there is no self.
Daoism did not have this idea of no self.

It is actually quite easy to understand and see how Daoism influenced Chan and Zen Buddhism and
how the ideas merged quite neatly. It is also easy to see how the Theravadins reject the idea of a
Buddha-nature. The Theravadin idea of no self comes from the five khandas, an assembly of parts;
nothing to do with a Buddha-nature.

What is the Mahayana Buddhist Road to Enlightenment vs the Theravada Path

Broad Differences and Similarities (Religion Facts, 2017)
Theravada
Etymology Pali, "School of the Elder
Monks"
Location Southern (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Northern (Tibet, China, Taiwan,
Burma, Laos, Cambodia, parts Japan, Korea, Mongolia, parts
of Southeast Asia). of Southeast Asia )
Language and Scriptures Tipitaka is strictly in Pali.
(Both share the common basic Dharma teaching in Pali
Buddhist teachings of Four supplemented by local
Noble Truths, Eight-fold path) language.
The Pali Canon is divided into
3 baskets (Tipitaka): Vinaya
Pitaka of 5 books, Sutta Pitaka
of 5 collections (many suttas)
and Abhidhamma Pitaka of 7
books.
Bodhisattvas Maitreya. Theravada suggests
Bodhisattvas seek
enlightenment first before they
can help others stuck in
Samsara.
Goals Arahant or pacceka-buddha
Teachings Theravāda promotes the
concept of vibhajjavāda
“teaching of analysis”. This
suggests the seeker should gain
insights from his own
experience, application of
knowledge, and critical
reasoning. Though this should
be weighed against scripture
and wise monks.
Meditation Mainly silent-mind,
Mahayana
Sanskrit, "Great Vehicle"
Buddhist canon is translated
into the local language (except
for the 5 untranslatables), e.g.
Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese.
Original language of
transmission is Sanskrit.
The Mahayana Buddhist Canon
also consists of Tripitaka of
disciplines, discourses (sutras)
and dharma analysis. It is
usually organised in 12
divisions of topics like Cause
and Conditions and Verses. It
contains virtually all the
Theravada Tipikata and many
sutras that the latter does not
have.
Maitreya, Avalokitesvara,
Mansjuri, Ksitigarbha and
Samanthabadra. Mahayana
Buddhism suggests
Boddhisatva’s delay their
realisation to stay in Samsara
and help other struggling
humans. In Mahayana
Buddhism, Bodhisattvas have
greater prominence.
Buddhahood via bodhisattva
path
Mahayana promotes the idea
that an aspirant should not just
seek personal enlightenment but
the enlightenment of all beings.
Mahayana Buddhism greater
 mindfulness meditation. There
are two main types of
Theravada meditation:
Samatha: Calming meditation
Vipassana: Insight meditation
Schools One surviving major school
following years of attrition
reducing the number from as
high as 18. Thai forest tradition
is included.
Trikaya (3 Buddha Bodies) Very limited emphasis on the 3
bodies of a buddha. References
are mainly on nirmana-kaya
and dharma-kaya.
Buddha's Disciples Historical disciples described in Many bodhisattvas that are not
Scriptures
Buddha-nature No Taught
Bardo (Limbo) Rejected
Rituals Very few and not emphasised
Mantras and Mudras Some equivalent in the use of
Parittas
Nirvana No distinction is made between
nirvana attained by a buddha
and that of an arahat or pacceka
buddha
Concept of Bodhicitta Main emphasis is self
liberation.
There is total reliance on one-
self to eradicate all defilements.
Dying and death aspects Very little research and
knowledge on the process of
dying and death. Usually, the
dying persons are advised to
meditate on impermanence,
suffering and emptiness
emphasis on mantras, chanting,
especially in Tibetan Buddhism.
Though Tibetan Buddhism is
based on Mahayana, it could be
seen as its own strand –
Vajrayana. Tibetan Buddhism is
based on Tantric disciplines.
8 major (Chinese) schools based
on the partial doctrines (sutras,
sastras or vinaya) of the
teachings. The four schools
inclined towards practices like
Pure Land/Amitabha, Ch'an,
Vajrayana and Vinaya (not for
lay people) are more popular
than the philosophy based
schools like Tien Tai,
Avamtasaka, Yogacara and
Madhyamika.
Very well mentioned in
Mahayana buddhism. Samboga-
kaya or reward/enjoyment body
completes the Trikaya concept.
historical figures
Emphasised, especially in
practice-based schools
Taught by all schools
Many, owing to local cultural
influences
Emphasised in Vajrayana;
sometimes incorporated in other
schools
Also known as 'liberation from
Samsara,' there are subtle
distinctions in the level of
attainment
Besides self liberation, it is
important for Mahayana
followers to help other sentient
beings.
The Vajrayana school is
particularly meticulous in these
areas. There are many inner and
external signs manifested by
people before they die. There is
heavy stress in doing
transference of merit practices

One meal a day practice
Vegetarianism
Focus of worship in the
temple
Non Buddhist influences
in the immediate few weeks
following death to assist in the
deceased's next rebirth.
This the norm among This is a highly respected
Theravada sanghas. practice but it is left to the
disposition of each individual in
the various sanghas.
This aspect is not necessary. In Very well observed in all
places like Thailand where Mahayana schools (except the
daily morning rounds are still Tibetans due to the geographical
practised, it is very difficult to circumstances). However, this
insist on the type of food to be aspect is not compulsory.
donate
Simple layout with the image of Can be quite elaborate; with a
Sakyamuni Buddha the focus of chamber/hall for Sakyamuni
worship. Buddha and two disciples, one
hall for the 3 Buddhas
(including Amitabha and
Medicine Buddha) and one hall
for the 3 key bodhisattvas;
besides the protectors, etc.
Mainly pre-Buddhism In the course of integration and
Indian/Brahmin influences. adoption by the people in other
Many terms like karma, sangha, civilisations, there were heavy
etc were prevailing terms mutual influences. In China,
during Sakyamuni Buddha's life both Confucianism and Taoism
time. References were made exerted some influence on
from the Vedas and Buddhism which in turn had an
Upanishads. impact on the indigenous
beliefs. This scenario was
repeated in Japan and Tibet.

Real Life Differences between Mahayana and Theravadin schools

For me personally there is a clear gap between the Theravada sangha and the general public. This
gap shows up in the following ways:

1.The monks (not the main venerable/abbot) involvement in the community is minimal.

2.Learning and teachings is done on mass and rarely on a personal level.

3.There tends to be a gap between monks and the public, this is something that is felt as a wall
between the monk and the layman.

4.Theravada Buddhism is clearly; this is about “me” (monk), not “you” (public).

In Mahayana Buddhism the approach is much the opposite. This is about “you” (public), not me
(monk). Hence there is a much greater involvement in the community, teachings are done on a
personal level; there is a small gap between monks and the public.

Mahayana Buddhism is very superstitious, mystical and believes heavily in miracles. This is
something that very evident in southern Chinese culture pointing towards an added cultural
influence on Buddhism. Some examples include, using chanting to cure cancer, seeing the Six
Realms as something you can see with the naked eye when you reach a higher enough level etc. In
Theravada Buddhism this belief in superstition, mysticism and miracles is also present but to a
lesser degree.

Theravada Buddhism has highly structured meditation goals with the jhanas and hence meditation
tends to me more boxed up in a certain direction, in other words it has structure and levels.
Mahayana Buddhism has a heavier influence on rituals, chanting and doesn’t include the jhanas.
The meditation is less boxed up, the goals less clear and there is sometimes a much greater
emphasis on imagination and gaining mystical powers. The gaining of mystical powers has been
heavily emphasised in China from qi gong and dao yin for 2 millennia.

In general both traditions do not focus on academics. In Tibetan Buddhism academics is heavily
emphasised. Theravada Buddhism does seem to have a greater emphasis on the study of early suttas
then Mahayana. Mahayana focuses much more on their own texts, not only in general sense but also
that of a particular lineage and teachers within that lineage.

Theravadins tend to speak less about Mahayana in terms what they think is wrong with the
teachings than the Mahayanas do about the Theravadins. When the Theravadins do speak about
them they tend to emphasise that Nibbana can certainly not be postponed and that there is no such
thing as a Buddha-nature. The Mahayanas tend to focus on the fact that an Arahat is regarded as a
lower level to what can be achieved with Mahayana Buddhism.

Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism have exactly the same core essence
It appears to me after asking numerous Theravadin venerables that the essence of their Buddhism is
anatta. When asking numerous (Chinese) Mahayana venerables what the essence of their
Buddhism; the answer was Buddha-nature (Jue Ru and Jue Ying, 2017).

Definition of Anatta

The term anattā and its translation has been the subject of much debate.

Ajahn Sujato (2017) says that, “Not self”, “no self”, “no soul” are acceptable translations. There
was an online poll on Sutta Central (Brahmali, 2017) asking the question how to translate anatta,
three versions were given:

1.without soul
2.without self
3.none of the above.

47% of the votes were for 'without soul', 37% for 'without self' and 16% for none of the above.

Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2013) says, “the anatta teaching is not a doctrine of no-self, but a not-self
strategy for shedding suffering.”

The complexities of translating a simple word such as anatta portray how difficult the idea of anatta
is for a person to understand it right from the get go. The reasons for the different translations is
simply due to the fact that people have different mental conditioning. Westerners with their
Christian background will commonly understand it as without a soul, while easterners will
understand it as no self, probably due to the idea of ego or “face” that permeates their culture.
If one goes further into the idea of no self it is inevitable you will come across an immense amount
of debate on the subject. The debate is two fold, firstly in what it means and secondly in actually
proving that there really is no self.

The earliest mention by Buddha of anatta is Anatta-lakkhana Sutta: The Discourse on the Not-self
Characteristic. It is in this discourse that we get an idea of what Buddha meant by anatta. The key
points are as follows:

-There are 5 khandas which means there are five bundles that constitute and completely explain a
sentient being’s mental and physical existence.

-The five bundles, aggregates or heaps are: form (matter or body- rupa), sensations (feelings,
received from form - vedana), perceptions (samjna), mental activity or formations (sankhara), and
consciousness (vijnana).

-The khandas demonstrate that they are each in themselves impermanent (anicca), subject to
suffering (dukkha) and thus unfit for identification with a "self" (anatta).

-In the Theravada tradition, suffering arises when one identifies with or clings to a bundle. This
suffering is extinguished by relinquishing attachments to aggregates.

It is important to understand that these three key aspects of Buddhism; anatta, anicca, and dukkha
are not just different faces of the same coin, there are the same coin. It also means that the goal in
terms of vanquishing suffering is to realise there is no self.

Whats does anatta actually mean?

Ajahn Brahm (2005) said:

“All conditioned things are impermanent. All conditioned things are suffering. All dhammas (all
things conditioned and unconditioned) are anatta. These are the three basic factors of all
existence.....It is in order to penetrate these truths that we practice the Noble Eightfold Path. We
equip our minds with power through the abandoning of the five hindrances; then we can actually
uncover these truths by experiencing the deep states of meditation.....What is impermanent, subject
to change, is suffering, and that by its very nature cannot be taken to be 'me', 'mine', or a 'self'.
Whatever is taken to be a self will cause suffering (SN 22, 59). In fact, the permanent happiness of a
self is impossible.”

“The vipallasas say that by view, thought and perception we take what is dukkha to be sukha
(happiness); we take what is impermanent to be permanent; we take what is not beautiful (asubha)
to be beautiful (subha); and we take what is anatta to be atta, a self (AN 4, 49). Never in that
teaching of the vipallasas did the Buddha say that we take what is self to be anatta. It's always
something that is anatta that is taken to be a self. This is because throughout the Buddha's
teachings there never was, in any way whatsoever, an atta (self) postulated.”

Ajahn Sujato (2017) said:

“the denial of the metaphysical self, especially the atman of the Upanishads, but applicable to any
essentialist or substantialist theory of an enduring, inalienable, and irreducible essence.”

In a personal conversation with Ajahn Brahmali (2017), he said anatta is:

“the absence of any permanent essence.”
To summarise the idea of anatta is to say that there is no “real” self because of impermanence. Your
body is forever changing and is not the exact same as it was even five seconds ago. Your mind is
also not the same as it was even one second before. Your body is not yours, who made you good a
sport for example? Did you train harder than anyone else? It was a combination of the right food for
your body, the right coaches, good DNA, the correct environment and many more factors. Is your
success really your own? Your mind is also conditioned via your experiences in life, education,
culture, parents, friends, the environment you grew up in. Are your choices really your own?
According to Ajahn Brahm, the answer is no, but you do have “free won't. ” Clinging to the
permanent (self) only brings about suffering. This is the theory in a nutshell. The issue is that there
are some very obvious problems with the theory.

How can there be no self when there appears to be a self?

This question is an important one because it is very difficult for venerables to answer quickly,
clearly and concisely. Especially without changing Buddhist foundational ideas The Theravadins
and Mahayanas do answer the question but both from very different angles. The irony is that even
though the idea of anatta in both Buddhist traditions appear to be very different, as you will see by
the end of this paper they are in fact identical.

Peter Harvey (1995, p.54) said, the suttas criticise notions of an eternal, unchanging self as baseless,
they see an enlightened being as one whose empirical self is highly developed. This is paradoxical,
states Harvey (1995, p.111), in that "the self-like nibbana state" is a mature self that knows
"everything as selfless".

In Theravada Buddhism with regards to the idea of anatta, the Mango Tree Analogy is sometimes
given; the idea of rebirth is but a “process." A B C D E F, when there is B, A is extinguished etc.
(Brahm, 2017)

The problem is that past lives can be remembered, pointing towards “personal” memory/memories
that are passed on. Or there are institutions such as the Dalai Lama of which we are now at the
“14th" Dalai Lama, again a very “personal” or “self” memory that seems to be passed on. It appears
as though “B" does not extinguish “A”, hence there is a form of “self" that goes forth.

This comes across as a contradiction? The idea of no self as a core concept in Buddhism but then
there is the idea of rebirth where a self is reborn hundreds of thousands of times. In Mahayana
Buddhism I understand that the idea of no self is to do with the fact that the real “you” is the
diamond mind/pure awareness/Buddha-nature and that everything else are imprints based on
external factors. But again, even with this the issue remains with rebirth: remembering past lives,
i.e. a personal transfer of personal memories.

I have posed this questions to many Theravada teachers. It is interesting that many Theravadins who
have answered this question provide non mainstream answers. The most reasonable mainstream
answer for me thus far was from Ajahn Brahmali who told me:

“We have a 'personal' history in this life, and this is pretty much the same as the 'personal' history
that goes across lifetimes. The 'you' of today is not the same as the 'you' of last year, let alone the'
you' of ten years ago. And yet there is a connection. That connection is your habits and the sense of
continuity that results from these. There is change and continuity working together, but there is no
ever-present essential core. It is exactly the same across lives, except that there is 'jump' in your
experiences as you cross from one life to the next. If you could recall your past lives, it would feel
like you were there in the past lives, just as it feels that you were there ten years ago in this life.”
In personal discussions with him, he has stated that in regards to the idea of rebirth, one simply
needs to have “faith”. He said that the key which makes Buddhism work is faith in rebirth and that
monks have disrobed simply because they did not believe in this idea.

Summary:

In summary the core teaching of Theravadin Buddhism is anatta. The definitions may vary but in
the end they all seem to be acceptable. What anatta means is the “absence of a permanent essence.”
There are some obvious issues with the theory of anatta. Not in terms of its idea in this life as I
think for any intellect to see the body as impermanent and the mind as conditioned is easy to grasp.
The issue is in regards to rebirth. The reason why this is important in regards to this paper is
because I would argue that the Mahayana masters of old may have noticed these problems being
that they came from a different culture, where rebirth was not automatically or generally accepted
and therefore they had to adapt certain ideas to make it work.

The idea of anatta according the Mahayana teachings:

In Chinese anatta is written 无我 which means 'no/without self' (they clearly didn’t see the meaning
as no/without a soul). In the Mahayana tradition it is said, the nature of all aggregates are
intrinsically empty of independent existence. Empty of Emptiness are the key words here as the
Mahayana Buddhists saw the idea of no self as emptiness. Nagarjuna denied there is anything called
a self-nature as well as other-nature, emphasising true knowledge to be comprehending emptiness
(Kalupahana, 1996).

The early Mahayana Buddhist texts link their discussion of "emptiness" (sunyata) to anatta and
Nirvana. They do so, states Mun-Keat Choong (1999), in three ways: first, in the common sense of
a monk's meditative state of emptiness; second, with the main sense of anatta or “everything in the
world is empty of self”; third, with the ultimate sense of Nirvana or realisation of emptiness and
thus an end to rebirth cycles of suffering. The anatta doctrine is another aspect of sunyata, its
realisation is the nature of the nirvana state and an end to rebirths (Billington, 2002). Please keep in
mind that in Daoism as discussed above the core concept is also emptiness.

Theravadins generally argue that emptiness is sunyata which is not anatta. It appears though that
this is not so clear cut:

Ajahn Brahm (2005) in his writings on anatta said,

“I'll always remember his reply (Ajahn Chah's reply). As he walked off it was like a profound
teaching that he had just shared with me. What he was actually saying here by his teaching, 'Mai
me arai' was, there is nothing, just emptiness, anatta. This is a powerful teaching because in our
world we always want to have something. We always want to grab on to something, and to say
"there is something". But actually, there is nothing.”

Once again we find the idea of anatta as being the same as emptiness/nothingness. In other words
the already present idea of emptiness within in China fitted very well into the idea of their being no
self.

How does the tathgatagarbha fit into this?

Once again we need to look at its definition, the primary sutta itself, what it actually means and how
it was used.
Definition:

Tathagatagarbha in Chinese is 如来藏 rúláizàng. Tathāgata is a Pali and Sanskrit word that
Gautama used when referring to himself in the Pāli Canon. The term means “one who has thus
gone” or “one who has thus come.” This is interpreted as signifying that the Tathāgata is beyond all
coming and going. The “garbha” means “root, embryo, essence” (Lopez, 2001). Peter Harvey
(2013) translates it as “embryonic Buddha” and explains that this embryo is seen in all living beings
and that no matter how deluded they are they can mature into a Buddha.

In Chinese 藏 as a noun means, “hiding” or “storehouse.” As a verb it means, “to hide” or “to
store.” Within Mahayana Buddhism the tathagatagarhba and buddhadhatu are used interchangeable
and seen to mean the same thing. This allows us to get a clear definition of the word
Tathgatagarbha: “A Buddha-nature that is stored and hidden within in us.” The choice of words
here is very important as you will see shortly. This Buddha-nature is something that is within us all
but is hidden under layers of “junk”.

What does tathagatagahba actually mean?

As with many Buddhist concepts, the definitions do not really tell us what the concept actually
means. In practise Buddha-nature and the tathagatgarbha are see as pure awareness, which the
Chinese called 觉性, 觉 means awareness and 性 means nature.

According to Wayman (1990), the idea of the tathagatagarbha is grounded on sayings by the
Buddha that there is an innately pure luminous mind. Wayman (1990) goes further to say that from
the idea of the luminous mind emerged the concept that the awakened mind is the pure and
undefiled. In the tathagatagarbha-sutras it is this pure consciousness that is regarded to be the seed
from which buddhahood grows.

When I spoke with a Mahayana venerable, she said that in meditation they want to sit in a state of
pure awareness for as long as possible; they want to sit in a state of emptiness. When I asked, what
is Buddha-nature? She said, it is that thing which everything sits inside, in other words that which
can observe thoughts and images of the mind. It has 无形, which means no form, it simply is
nothing. It is emptiness. The key point here is that pure awareness is emptiness. The
Tathagatagarhba and Buddha-nature is nothing more than nothing, pure emptiness, pure awareness.

The Tathāgatagarbha sūtras

The Tathāgatagarbha sūtras and those with its ideas include (Williams, 2000):

1.Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra: This is first sutra to mention the Tathagatgarhba. This sutra gives many
examples of the how it is hidden within and takes much effort to dig it out.

“The tathagatagarbha of sentient beings

Is like the honey in a cave or tree.
The entanglement of ignorance and tribulation
Is like the swarm of bees
That keep one from getting to it.
For the sake of all beings,
I expound the saddharma with virtuous expedients Removing the klesha bees,
Revealing the tathagatagarbha.”
2.Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra: This sutra centers on the teaching of the tathagatagarbha as
"ultimate soteriological principle" (Brown, 1994).

“Lord, the Tathagatagarbha is neither self nor sentient being, nor soul, nor personality. The
Tathagatagarbha is not the domain of beings who fall into the belief in a real personality, who
adhere to wayward views, whose thoughts are distracted by voidness. Lord, this Tathagatagarbha is
the embryo of the Illustrious Dharmadhatu, the embryo of the Dharmakaya, the embryo of the
supramundane dharma, the embryo of the intrinsically pure dharma” (Wayman and Wayman, 1990
p.106).

“Either covered by defilements, when it is called only "embryo of the Tathagata"; or free from
defilements, when the "embryo of the Tathagata" is no more the "embryo" (potentiality) but the
Tathagata (actuality)” (Wayman and Wayman, 1990 p.45).

“This Dharmakaya of the Tathagata when not free from the store of defilement is referred to as the
Tathagatagarbha” (Wayman and Wayman, 1990 p.98).

3.Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra: The Nirvana Sutra is an eschatological text. Its core was written in India
in a time which was perceived as the age in which the Buddha-dharma would perish, and all the
Mahayana sutras disappear. The sutra responds to this awaited end with the proclamation of the
tathagatagarbha, the innate buddha-hood present in all man (Hodge, 2006).

4.Ratnagotravibhāga: the Ratnagotravibhāga (otherwise known as the Uttaratantra) follows on with

the idea that Buddha-nature is in a state of concealment under a vast array of defilements.

5.Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra: This sutra focuses on the idea that “all” sentient beings have a Buddha-
nature.

6.Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra: This is an important sutra because it presents the tathāgatagarbha as being a
teaching completely consistent with and identical to emptiness.

7.Anunatva Apurnatva Nirdeśa: It is this sutra that links the idea of Buddha-nature to the
Tathagatgarhba.

In terms of reading about the Tathagatgarhba it is difficult not to notice the parallels in Daoism. Lao
Zi said: 滌除玄覽,能無疵乎; “in purifying and eliminating the mysterious mirror, can you have no
blemish?”

Below is a translation of a Daoist text on meditation:

《胎息经》Tai Xi Jing (translated by Shaun Ramsden)

胎从伏气中结,气从有胎中息
The embryo comes from the accumulation of concealed qi, qi comes from breathing at the centre of
embryo.

气入身来谓之生,神去离形谓之死。
Qi enters the body and there is life, spirit leaves the body and there is death.

知神气可以长生:
Know the spirit and qi and you can live a long time.
固守虚无,以养神气;
Hold on to the emptiness and you will nourish your spirit and qi,

神行即气行,神住即气住;
the spirit moves and the qi follows, the spirit stays and the qi stays,

若欲长生,神气相注。
if you wish to live long the spirit and and qi must become one.

心不动念,无来无去,

If the heart does not think, neither coming or going

不出不入,自然常住,

neither out or in, it will naturally dwell.

勤而行之,是真道路。

To diligently do this is the true road of Dao.

It appears to me that the idea of an embryo, pure awareness, emptiness and an intrinsic state of no
form or nothingness was able to fit very easily into the ancient Chinese mindset that came from
Daoism. Hence we end up with a Buddhism different to what was in India. With that being said it
also appears to me that the essence of Chinese Buddhism being Buddha-nature and the essence of
Theravada Buddhism being anatta are actually one in the same thing, just explained differently due
to different cultural conditioning.

Coming back to the question I have asked so many Theravadins: “How can there be a self when
there are so many personal past lives that can be remembered?” The Mahayana Buddhist may give
an answer as follows: Since the beginning of time you and every sentient being has had a Buddha-
nature hidden and concealed within. This “thing” can be seen as an embryo as it has the potential to
be cultivated to shine brightly inside of you. At its essence though it is nothing, it has no form, it is
emptiness. You and every other being at your essence is nothing more than a nothingness of
emptiness, there is no you and no self. To find this Buddha-nature you need but sit in pure
awareness and rid yourself of all defilements so you can once again return to the state of emptiness
that was and has actually always been there. What this means is that when the last microscopic
defilement no longer exists you would have finally let go of everything. All the past lives that you
remember are you to some degree because even though conditioned they are still your defilements,
but they are also not you because at your essence you are emptiness. Any answer like this still
requires belief in rebirth but it is relatively clear.

Conclusion
In a well known Confucian children's book that used to be memorised in schools called the, “Three
Word Classic,” the opening lines are as follows:

《三字经》“人之初，性本善。性相近，习相远。”

“People are born with an intrinsic nature of goodness. Peoples natures are close (similar) but our
habits (customs) are far away (very different).”
The intrinsic essence of Buddhism is the idea of no self that fits hand in glove with emptiness. All
schools of Buddhism have this same core idea, it is only the habits and customs of Buddha-dharma
practitioners that vary greatly.
References:
Bhikku, Thanissaro, (2013). Access to insight. Available at:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/notself2.html (Accessed: 29 April 2017).

Billington, R. (2002) Understanding Eastern Philosophy. Routledge. pp. 58–60. ISBN 978-1-134-
79348-8.

Brahm, Ajahn (2005). Dhamma talks. Available at:

http://dhammatalks.net/Books3/Ajahn_Brahm_ANATTA.htm (Accessed: 26 April 2017).

Brahm, A. (2017) Direct conversation with Shaun Ramsden, 15 March.

Brahmali, Ajahn (2017). Sutta central. Available at: https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/a-poll-on-

how-to-translate-anatta/4971/19 (Accessed: 20 April 2017).

Brahmali, A. (2017) Direct conversation with Shaun Ramsden, 21 May.

Brown, B. E. (1994) The Buddha Nature. A Study of the Tathagatagarbha and Alayavijnana. Delhi:
Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.

“Comparison Chart: Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism.” ReligionFacts.com. 19 Jan. 2017. Web.
Accessed 18 Mar. 2017. <www.religionfacts.com/charts/mahayana-theravada>

Harvey, P. (2013) An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, histories and practises (second

edition). Cambridge: Cambridge university press, pp.139.

Harvey, P. (1995). The Selfless Mind: Personality, Consciousness and Nirvana in Early Buddhism.
Routledge. pp. 54–56. ISBN 978-1-136-78336-4.

Harvey, P. (1995). The Selfless Mind: Personality, Consciousness and Nirvana in Early Buddhism.
Routledge. pp. 111–112. ISBN 978-1-136-78336-4.

Hodge, S. (2006) On the Eschatology of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra and Related Matters (PDF)
(Speech). University of London, SOAS. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 14, 2013.

Jue Ru and Jue Ying. (2017) Direct conversation with Shaun Ramsden, 30 May.

Lopez, D. S. (2001) The Story of Buddhism: a concise guide to its history & teaching. New York,
NY, USA: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-06-069976-0 (cloth): p.263

Mun-Keat, C. (1999) The Notion of Emptiness in Early Buddhism. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 1–4,
85–88. ISBN 978-81-208-1649-7.

Nāgārjuna; David J. Kalupahana (Translator) (1996). Mūlamadhyamakakārikā of Nāgārjuna.

Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 56–59. ISBN 978-81-208-0774-7.

Sujato, Ajahn (2017). Sutta central. Available at: https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/what-is-the-

meaning-of-anicca-and-anatta/4706/2 (Accessed: 25 March 2017).

Wayman, A. and Wayman, H. (1990) The Lion's roar of Queen Srimala. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
Publishers.
Wayman, A. and Wayman, H. (1990) The Lion's roar of Queen Srimala. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
Publishers pp45.

Wayman, A. and Wayman, H. (1990) The Lion's roar of Queen Srimala. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
Publishers pp98.

Wayman, A. and Wayman, H. (1990) The Lion's roar of Queen Srimala. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
Publishers pp106.

Williams, P. (2000). Buddhist Thought. Routledge pp. 161.