Characteristics of Non-Self
SN 22.59 Anatta-lakkhana Sutta: The Characteristics of Non-Self
After the very first Sutta (SN 56.11) the group of five the Buddha used to practice with are still confused. He tells them:
“Form, monks, is not self. If form were the self, this form would not lend itself to dis-ease. It would be possible (to say) with regard to form, ‘Let my form be thus. Let my form not be thus.’ But precisely because form is not self, this form lends itself to dis-ease. And it is not possible (to say) with regard to form, ‘Let my form be thus. Let my form not be thus.’
“Feeling is not self…
“Perception is not self…
“Fabrications are not self…
“Consciousness is not self…
The group of five all become arahants!