The Pali word for non-self, one of the three marks of existence in Buddhist thought (alongside Dukka/suffering and Anicca/impermanence). It teaches that:
There is no unchanging, permanent, or independent self beneath the flow of experience
It exist as a process, not a thing. Anatta denies a fixed, permanent “I” that sits behind experience.
You are not a single unchanging consciousness. What we call “consciousness” is part of a causal stream, a process that arises in dependence on conditions.
In early Buddhism, consciousness (vijnana) arises and ceases moment to moment in dependence on sense contact. That means:
Every time an object comes into contact with a sense organ (eye, ear, mind, etc.), a moment of consciousness arises specific to that contact, then passes away.
in Buddhist thought, consciousness (vijnana) can cease entirely in certain conditions. It is not seen as a permanent stream that’s always “on.” This is important and often surprising for people coming from Western or Hindu-influenced backgrounds.