“Then, Bāhiya, you should train yourself thus: In reference to the seen, there will be only the seen. In reference to the heard, only the heard. In reference to the sensed, only the sensed. In reference to the cognized, only the cognized. That is how you should train yourself. When for you there will be only the seen in reference to the seen, only the heard in reference to the heard, only the sensed in reference to the sensed, only the cognized in reference to the cognized, then, Bāhiya, there is no you in connection with that. When there is no you in connection with that, there is no you there. When there is no you there, you are neither here nor yonder nor between the two. This, just this, is the end of stress.”
Bāhiya Sutta, Pali Canon
The liberating truth of Anatta is the recognition that there is no fixed self. There is no ‘me’ that continues through time, that needs to be maintained, manicured, and protected. This is a radical realization that can bring about a great letting go and revolutionize our entire way of thinking, feeling, and being. Every form, thought, and feeling that appears is simply a temporary manifestation of the one flowing body that we are and does not belong to anyone. In actuality, there is no one. These appearances are not ours, there is no one in charge. We are an unfixed, ever-changing possibility with no solidity to be found. This teaching can initially be scary to reckon with because we have based our entire lives on the fixed identity, the permanent person we believe ourselves to be. However, when we begin to feel the implications of not needing to maintain an identity, great relief can dawn.
This and all dharma truths are pointers for each of us to investigate in our moment to moment lived experience. The Buddha often said ‘ehipassiko” which is a Pali word that means “come and see for yourself.” The Buddha’s teachings will not be liberating unless we directly touch them ourselves. Annata (no-self) is something for each of us to verify. Is it true that ‘I’ do not exist in the way I have been taught I do? Can I find an ‘I’ in my direct experience? Can I find a boundary to this presence? Without my story, who am I? Who is it that thinks, feels, sees, tastes, touches, and hears?
Meditation helps us to look and see for ourselves. Without a meditation practice, it is difficult to investigate direct reality. Instead, we find ourselves continually circling in thought. In order to clarify the deeper dharma truths, we must learn to still the mind and focus on the direct raw experience. It is in this full intimacy with that which is below thought that we can enter the living truth that liberates.