In this deep and lucid Dhamma talk, Venerable Ajahn Punnadhammo unfolds the Buddha’s most distinctive and radical teaching: emptiness and not-self (anattā). Starting from the Buddha’s instruction to the brahmin Mogarāja “Be ever mindful, see the world as empty, and abandon thoughts of self” - Ajahn explains how our instinctive belief in a solid ‘me’ and a solid ‘world’ is the root ignorance that binds us to birth and death. He clarifies mindfulness (sati) as “remembering to be present,” explores the ancient notion of ātman versus the Buddha’s analysis of the five aggregates, and shows how, when we look closely, no stable, independent essence can be found - only changing processes. He then presents two complementary approaches to not-self: examining experience down to momentary “point-instants” of dhammas, and widening the lens to see the relational, dependently arisen nature of all things (“nothing exists from its own side”). Along the way, he explains the difference between personality view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi) and the subtler self-perception (māna), and offers practical guidance like reframing “I am angry” to “anger has arisen.” The talk culminates in a powerful reflection on how both mind and its objects are empty, why self is just a convenient fiction, and how seeing this clearly opens the door to fearlessness, peace, and true liberation.
Should you wish to directly engage with Ajahn Punnadhammo, he hosts a YouTube Live Session every Thursday at 6:00 PM EST, where he explores various aspects of the Dhamma and answers questions from practitioners worldwide. Recordings of these sessions are available on his Official YouTube Channel.
If you wish to offer your support, please do so directly to the Arrow River Forest Hermitage, where Ajahn Punnadhammo resides: arrowriver.ca
This Dhamma talk was originally recorded on an earlier date and has been carefully remastered and published by The Dhamma Dāna Collective with the kind permission of Venerable Ajahn Punnadhammo. The Dhamma Dāna Collective is a volunteer initiative and operates without any commercial intent, dedicated solely to sharing the Dhamma freely.