In No-Self or Not-Self, Thanissaro Bhikkhu argues that the question of whether or not there is a self “should be put aside”. In other words, individuals should neither believe that there is a self nor believe that there is no self. In this post, I outline the argument.
First, Thanissaro Bhikkhu argues that individuals should abandon the causes of suffering. In particular, he argues that “[s]tress should be comprehended, its cause abandoned, its cessation realised, and the path to its cessation developed”. Indeed, in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, the Buddha argues the “noble truth of the origination of stress is to be abandoned.”
Second, Thanissaro Bhikkhu argues that both the belief that there is a self, and the belief that there is no self, cause suffering. In other words, individuals who either believe that there is a self, or believe that there is no self, are more likely to suffer as compared to individuals who neither believe that there is a self, nor believe that there is no self. In particular, he argues that however one answers the question “of whether or not there is a self”, the answer “lead[s] to suffering and stress”.
Last, because individuals should abandon causes of suffering, and both the belief that there is a self, and the belief that there is no self, are causes of suffering, Thanissaro Bhikkhu argues that individuals should abandon both beliefs. In particular, he argues that the question of whether or not there is a self “should be put aside”. Indeed, in the Ananda Sutta, the Buddha argues that individuals should abandon both the belief that there is a self (i.e., eternalism), and the belief that there is no self (i.e., annihilationism).