Leon Kackman, Rev. Master

Most of us come to Buddhist practice with some idea or hope of finding a better way of living than that which we currently have, know or experience. Some of us are completely dissatisfied with the state of our lives and long for something more substantial to live for. And some of us come with a wish for the meaning or purpose that living a spiritual life gives. Buddhism, as a religious system, addresses these wishes in a way that is unique; it leads to a place that may, ultimately, be the same as that of other religious traditions, but it goes there in a way that is different from the others.

This difference hinges on the doctrine of non-self, anatta. As a doctrine, anatta simply means that, within us or outside of us, there can be found no thing that can precisely be called a self that abides unchanging, independent of its surroundings. Although you could say there are beings and things that are unique, and that appear to have a certain degree of independence, all are part of an immense ever-changing flow.

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