This body not "mine", not "me" and not "myself"...

Figure 1

Figure 2

Personality view or self Identity view (sakkaya-ditthi[sakkaaya-di.t.thi*]) is one of the main fetters that binds us to samsara. It is the first (lower fetter) of the ten fetters. Release from this is the hardest but the most important breakthrough to become a Stream Enterer and finally become a Stream Winner, the first stage of enlightenment. The stream winner also has break two more fetters and they are discussed in detail in other posts. (See labels to learn about fetters/stages of enlighenment/Stream Winner). For the purpose of this post we will mainly focus on the personality view.

There are 4 types of Personality Views that can arise for each of the five aggregates. (Please see Figure 2).

For example for the body (form)

1. The body is "me"

2. "I am" the body

3. The body is in "me"

4. "I am" in the body

The same applies to other four aggregates, feeling, perception, mental formation and consciousness. Therefore there are twenty types of personality views one could have (4X5=20). Please see Figure 1 and 2.

This view is driven by three fundamental defilements of the mind. Its the craving, conceit and ignorance.

The main three themes that comes up again and agin in the personality view are "mine" (due to craving), this is me (due to conceit) and this is my self (due to ignorance).

There is an Excellent sutta to contemplate and investigate Not-self (Anatta). This is the second disclose of the Buddha after his enlightenment. If one contemplates this sutta mindfully often enough applying to oneself, this can be excellent tool to gain some insight into the true nature of the personality view. This message of Not-self ("Anatta") comes up in many other suttas too and you can read them by clicking on the links given at the end of this post.

Before starting to contemplate on this sutta you need to contemplate on some background information on the five aggregates to gain some insight into how they work. First you need to know is their precursors or their nutriments. After that you need to contemplate on what basis you say that the five aggregates are impermanent. Otherwise the whole exercise may not make much sense.

1. The physical body or form- is made of the four main elements, the solid, liquid, heat and gas . The body is dependent on nutriments, the physical foods both coarse and fine. Without nutriments the body cannot be sustained. We all know that all condition things that are subject to birth, change while existing and cease to exist eventually. The body is no exception. It is not so difficult to see the impermanent nature of the body compared to the other aggregates. We just have be mindful and contemplate.

(Please see the labels to learn more about elements and nutriments)

2. Feeling- Feeling arises dependent on contact as its nutriment. Contact is impermanent as it depends of union of thee which are also impermanent. Something that arises of an impermanent thing cannot be permanent.

Please see the two beautiful similes in this post:

What is impermanence ?

This way we can contemplate on the nutriment and the impermanence of feeling.

3. Perception - same as feeling above.

4. Mental formation - same as feeling above.

5. Consciousness- The Nutriment for is Name-and-Form. From the suttas its not very clear the exact relationship between the two. However it is clearly stated that one cannot survive without the other, suggesting they are co-dependent. My "mind works" model give some some insights to how they may be co-dependent (please see label on the mind works model). To contemplate on impermanence of consciousness you can use same principal as in feeling. When name-and-form is impermanent it is impossible for the consciousness to be permanent.

Now to our main discussion....

To understand the sutta better here I have first extracted the discussion on the body (form) aggregate from the sutta.

Now this is how it goes:

"Bhikkhus, form is not-self. Were form self, then this form would not lead to affliction, and one could have it of form: 'Let my form be thus, let my form be not thus.' And since form is not-self, so it leads to affliction, and none can have it of form: 'Let my form be thus, let my form be not thus.'

"Bhikkhus, how do you conceive it: is form permanent or impermanent?" —

"Impermanent, venerable Sir." — "Now is what is impermanent painful or pleasant?" — "Painful, venerable Sir." — "Now is what is impermanent, what is painful since subject to change, fit to be regarded thus: 'This is mine, this is I, this is my self'"? —

"No, venerable sir."

"So, bhikkhus any kind of form whatever, whether past, future or presently arisen, whether gross or subtle, whether in oneself or external, whether inferior or superior, whether far or near, must with right understanding how it is, be regarded thus: 'This is not mine, this is not I, this is not myself.'

(same applies to feeling, perception, mental formation (translated here as determinations), and consciousness.

And to conclude the sutta Buddha said:

"Bhikkhus, when a noble follower who has heard (the truth) sees thus, he finds estrangement in form, he finds estrangement in feeling, he finds estrangement in perception, he finds estrangement in determinations, he finds estrangement in consciousness.

"When he finds estrangement, passion fades out. With the fading of passion, he is liberated. When liberated, there is knowledge that he is liberated. He understands: 'Birth is exhausted, the holy life has been lived out, what can be done is done, of this there is no more beyond.'"

Please read the full sutta:

Anatta-lakkhana Sutta: The Discourse on the Not-self Characteristic

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.059.nymo.html

To listen to a short talk on the personality view of sakkaya-ditthi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bspOKV8iosY&feature=player_embedded

Other sutta on Anatta:

Girimananda Sutta: To Girimananda ( Anatta used as a meditation subject here)

Nandakovada Sutta: Nandaka's Exhortation (MN 146) [Thanissaro]

Pañcavaggi Sutta: Five Brethren - Access to Insight

Udana Sutta: Exclamation

Sambodhi Sutta: Self-awakening

Ananda Sutta: To Ananda - Access to Insight

Channa Sutta: To Channa - Access to Insight

Maha-punnama Sutta: The Great Full-moon Night Discourse

Three Cardinal Discourses of the Buddha - Access to Insight

Further reading:

No-self or Not-self?

The Not-self Strategy

Meditating on No-Self: A Dhamma Talk (Edited for Bodhi Leaves)

* sakkaya-ditthi [sakkaaya-di.t.thi]:

Self-identification view. The view that mistakenly identifies any of the khandha as "self"; the first of the ten fetters (samyojana). Abandonment of sakkaya-ditthi is one of the hallmarks of stream-entry (see sotapanna).

The Earth Property...

The Earth Property

"And what is the earth property?

The earth property can be either internal or external.

Which is the internal earth property?

Whatever internal, within oneself, is hard, solid, & sustained [by craving]: head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, tendons, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs, large intestines, small intestines, contents of the stomach, feces, or whatever else internal, within oneself, is hard, solid, & sustained: This is called the internal earth property. Now both the internal earth property and the external earth property are simply earth property. And that should be seen as it actually is with right discernment: 'This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.' When one sees it thus as it actually is with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the earth property and makes the mind dispassionate toward the earth property.

"Now there comes a time, friends, when the external liquid property is provoked (see the post below), and at that time the external earth property vanishes. So when even in the external earth property — so vast — inconstancy will be discerned, destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be discerned, changeability will be discerned, then what in this short-lasting body, sustained by clinging, is 'I' or 'mine' or 'what I am'? It has here only a 'no.'

Maha-hatthipadopama Sutta: The Great Elephant Footprint Simile
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu

The Liquid Property...

The Liquid Property

"And what is the liquid property?

The liquid property may be either internal or external.

What is the internal liquid property?

Whatever internal, belonging to oneself, is liquid, watery, & sustained: bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, skin-oil, saliva, mucus, fluid in the joints, urine, or whatever else internal, within oneself, is liquid, watery, & sustained: This is called the internal liquid property. Now both the internal liquid property and the external liquid property are simply liquid property. And that should be seen as it actually is present with right discernment: 'This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.' When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the liquid property and makes the mind dispassionate toward the liquid property.

"Now there comes a time, friends, when the external liquid property is provoked and washes away village, town, city, district, & country. There comes a time when the water in the great ocean drops down one hundred leagues, two hundred... three hundred... four hundred... five hundred... six hundred... seven hundred leagues. There comes a time when the water in the great ocean stands seven palm-trees deep, six... five... four... three... two palm-trees deep, one palm-tree deep. There comes a time when the water in the great ocean stands seven fathoms deep, six... five... four... three... two fathoms deep, one fathom deep. There comes a time when the water in the great ocean stands half a fathom deep, hip-deep, knee-deep, ankle deep. There comes a time when the water in the great ocean is not even the depth of the first joint of a finger.

"So when even in the external liquid property — so vast — inconstancy will be discerned, destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be discerned, changeability will be discerned, then what in this short-lasting body, sustained by clinging, is 'I' or 'mine' or 'what I am'? It has here only a 'no.'

Maha-hatthipadopama Sutta: The Great Elephant Footprint Simile

translated from the Pali by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Contemplation of the body...as a cave

Staying attached to the cave,
covered heavily over,
a person sunk in confusion
is far from seclusion — 
for sensual pleasures
sensual desires
in the world
are not lightly let go.

Guhatthaka Sutta-The Cave of the Body
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.4.02.than.html

Contemplation of the body...as a boil

"Monks, it's just as if there were a boil that had been building for many years with nine openings, nine un-lanced heads. Whatever would ooze out from it would be an uncleanliness oozing out, a stench oozing out, a disgust oozing out. Whatever would be discharged from it would be an uncleanliness discharging, a stench discharging, a disgust discharging.

"'A boil,' monks, is another word for this body composed of the four properties*, born of mother & father, fed on rice & porridge, subject to inconstancy, rubbing & massaging, breaking-up & disintegrating. It has nine openings, nine un-lanced heads. Whatever would ooze out from it would be an uncleanliness oozing out, a stench oozing out, a disgust oozing out. Whatever would be discharged from it would be an uncleanliness discharging, a stench discharging, a disgust discharging. For that reason, you should become disenchanted with this body."

Ganda Sutta-A Boil
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an09/an09.015.than.html

*See labels

The four elements...

the monk contemplates this very body — however it stands, however it is disposed — in terms of properties: 'In this body there is the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, & the wind property.'

Just as a skilled butcher or his apprentice, having killed a cow, would sit at a crossroads cutting it up into pieces, the monk contemplates this very body — however it stands, however it is disposed — in terms of properties: 'In this body there is the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, & the wind property.'

And as he remains thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, any memories & resolves related to the household life are abandoned, and with their abandoning his mind gathers & settles inwardly, grows unified & centered. This is how a monk develops mindfulness immersed in the body.