Why “self” is the biggest illusion — Buddhist wisdom
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| Self is dependently originated. |
This video looks at the Buddhist teaching of “not-self” [that ALL things are impersonal] alongside insights from modern neuroscience.
Let’s see why the constant feeling of [me, myself, and] “I” may not be a fixed entity [remaining fixed through time] but an impersonal process the mind creates moment by moment.
Let’s learn about the Five Aggregates clung to as self —
- form;
- feelings,
- perceptions,
- mental formations, and
- consciousness —
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| I am that beautiful I am. I am GOD. Right? |
and how they shape the idea of a personal self. Modern brain science also points to the same conclusion: There’s no single control center in the brain that is “I.”
This isn’t about denying life, being confused by it, or falling into nihilism. It’s about understanding the true nature of experience and freeing ourselves from unnecessary ignorance, attachment (clinging), aversion, and tremendous amounts of suffering. What could set us free? The Truth sets one free.
[For anyone who foolishly says that because there is no self there is nothing, there is the profound ultimate truth of Dependent Origination, that all things that come to be come to be dependent on causes and conditions and not without them. But just as these things, these elements or ingredients, are not the constituent-composite-thing that seems to come into being when they come together, just so the only thing that really comes into being is unsatisfactory. It is ignorance (illusion). It is radically impermanent (in constant flux and hurtling towards destruction). Seeing this with clarity, with right view (vipassana, lit. "clear seeing"), the mind/heart lets go of what it was previously clinging to so fiercely. It is, according to the Buddha, on according of not seeing the truth of Dependent Origination that we continuously wander on through uncountable lives in search of pleasure, pleasant distractions, and fulfillment without find anything but unsatisfactoriness. But if I'm not my thoughts, who’s thinking them? Buddhism's answer changes everything and it can be verified, which leads to enlightenment in this very life!]
It's a practice, not a theory of origins.
Let’s walk through the practical path of Virtue (Ethics, Morality, Kind), Stillness (Calm, Singlepointed, Concentration), and Wisdom (Insight, Right View, Enlightenment), leading to clarity and a deeper sense of freedom.
When rebirth ends, death ends
- 00:00 - Why “I” feels so real
- 03:16 - What we’re made of 09:14 - How the mind creates the story of “me”
- 14:13 - When we let go completely [because we have seen things as they really are], peace reveals itself
- 19:05 - Life without the “self” — not “empty” but free
What really happens after death, according to Buddhism?
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| Rebirth leads to me. |
Based on early Buddhist texts, this teaching points beyond the idea of a fixed self and reveals a deeper truth: liberation begins not at death, but in this very moment. [If we were to understand Dependent Origination, this moment itself could be the moment of realization and awakening to the Truth.]
- 00:00 - Who are we—before we ask where we’ll go
- 04:23 - What shapes the path after death?
- 09:18 - What are the [31 Planes of Existence, summarized as Six Realms, and countless] worlds of rebirth?
- 14:47 - What happens in the last moment of consciousness?
- 19:56 - The final answer: beyond maps and destinations
- Mirror self memes (tenor.com); Buddhism Podcast, Aug. 10, 2025; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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