What Is Non-Self in Buddhism? Getting “The Self” Out of The Way
- David Roylance
- 6 days ago
- 19 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
The unEnlightened mind develops an image of “who I am”.
It identifies with a name, the physical body, thoughts, feelings, memories, possessions, relationships, accomplishments, occupations, and countless experiences from the past.
It then creates expectations of who it thinks it should become in the future.
From these thoughts, ideas, perceptions, memories, and expectations, the mind constructs a self image and self identity.
The mind then becomes deeply attached to this idea of “the self”.
It wants others to see the self in a favorable way. It wants to protect the self from criticism, defend the self from perceived harm, and continually build a more pleasing image of who it thinks it is.
But is there actually a permanent self that needs to be protected?
The Teachings of The Buddha on The Universal Truth of Non-self guide a Practitioner to understand that neither the physical body nor the mind is a permanent self. Both are impermanent. Therefore, neither can accurately be identified as a permanent “me”, “mine”, or “who I am”.
Understanding Non-self helps a Practitioner get “the self” out of the way so that the mind can become more peaceful, calm, generous, loving, and open to all beings.
Summary
Non-self is the realization that neither the physical body nor the mind is a permanent self. The unEnlightened mind constructs a self image and self identity from the body, thoughts, feelings, memories, possessions, relationships, occupations, accomplishments, and the opinions of others. It then attempts to protect and please this impermanent identity. Understanding The Universal Truth of Non-self helps a Practitioner eliminate personal existence view, dissolve the ego, and train the mind to become more peaceful, generous, loving, and unaffected by praise or criticism.
Table of Contents
What Does Non-Self Mean in Buddhism?
The Universal Truth of Non-self is the realization that there is no permanent self.
The unEnlightened mind falsely identifies the physical body and/or the mind as “the self”. It believes there is a lasting and permanent person who needs to be continually protected, pleased, defended, and presented favorably to the world.
This misunderstanding is described in The Ten Fetters as personal existence view.
Personal existence view is the mind’s concept or false belief that there is a permanent self. Eliminating personal existence view involves training the mind to realize Non-self.
The mind will often identify the body as the self:
“This body is me.”
“This appearance is who I am.”
“Other people’s opinions about this body are opinions about me.”
The mind may also identify thoughts, ideas, perceptions, feelings, and emotions as the self:
“These thoughts are me.”
“These feelings are who I am.”
“This personality is my true self.”
“My past determines who I am.”
But the physical body is constantly changing.
The mind is constantly changing as thoughts, ideas, perceptions, feelings, and emotions arise, are experienced, and then cease to exist.
If the body is impermanent and the mind is impermanent, where is the permanent self?
The mind believes there is one. But the belief in a permanent self is a misunderstanding, misperception, or false belief that needs to be eliminated through learning, reflecting, practicing, and acquiring wisdom.
What Non-Self Does Not Mean
Non-self does not mean that a physical body and mind are absent. It does not mean that a Practitioner should neglect the body, abandon daily tasks, refuse to use a name, or stop making wise decisions.
The Teaching is that neither the physical body nor the mind can be accurately identified as a permanent self.
Non-self is also not a declaration that a soul does or does not exist. The question concerning a soul was left undeclared by The Buddha.
The practical purpose of the Teaching is to eliminate the mind’s false identification with the physical body and/or mind as a permanent self so that it can experience the peace and joy of the Enlightened mental state.
The Body Is Not a Permanent Self
The physical body did not always exist in its current condition.
It was born, developed, grew, and continually changed. It will experience sickness, aging, and death.
The body that existed during childhood is not the same body that exists today. Its appearance, size, strength, health, and abilities have changed. This changing process will continue throughout the entire human existence.
Can something that is constantly changing be a permanent self?
No.
The physical body is made of bones, tissue, fluids, and skin. It is the physical form that has come together with the mind for this current existence.
The body needs to be cared for. A Practitioner needs to provide it with food, clothing, shelter, and medical care.
But caring for the physical body does not require the mind to falsely identify the body as a permanent self.
There is a difference between wisely caring for the body and creating an identity around its appearance.
The mind can care for the body while understanding:
The body is not “who I am”. The body is impermanent.
The Mind Is Not a Permanent Self
The mind is where intentions for speech and actions originate. Thoughts, ideas, perceptions, feelings, and emotions arise within the mind, are experienced, and then cease to exist.
The mind is not fixed or permanent.
A thought arises and passes away.
A feeling arises and passes away.
An idea arises and passes away.
A perception arises and passes away.
The contents and condition of the mind continually change. Through training and practice, the mind can gradually eliminate unwholesome qualities and cultivate wholesome qualities.
If the mind can be trained and transformed, then the mind cannot be a fixed and permanent self.
The unEnlightened mind does not understand this. It identifies with temporary thoughts, feelings, and perceptions and declares:
“I am angry.”
“I am sad.”
“I am afraid.”
“This is simply who I am.”
“I will always be this way.”
A wiser understanding is that anger, sadness, fear, and other discontent feelings are temporary conditions arising in the mind. They are not a permanent identity.
The mind is experiencing anger, but anger is not “who you are”.
The mind is experiencing sadness, but sadness is not “who you are”.
The mind is experiencing fear, but fear is not “who you are”.
The mind is experiencing shyness, but shyness is not “who you are”.
These conditions can be understood, trained, reduced, and ultimately eliminated.
There Is No You There
The Buddha shared a concise Teaching with Bāhiya to explain how a Practitioner can experience what is seen, heard, sensed, and recognized without constructing “the self” in connection with the experience.
Then, Bahiya,…
When for you there will be only the seen in reference to the seen, only the heard in reference to the heard, only the sensed in reference to the sensed, only the recognized in reference to the recognized, then, Bahiya, there is no you in connection with that.
When there is no you in connection with that, there is no you there. When there is no you there, you are neither here nor there nor between-the-two.
This, just this, is the end of stress.
(Reference: UD 1.10)
This Teaching does not mean that seeing, hearing, sensing, and recognizing are absent. It explains that these experiences can occur without the mind creating a permanent “me”, “mine”, or “I” in connection with them.
The unEnlightened mind typically adds “the self” to an experience:
“I am seeing this.”
“This is happening to me.”
“I like this.”
“I do not like this.”
“This affects who I am.”
The mind then constructs a self image or self identity around what has been experienced.
When there is only the seen in reference to the seen, only the heard in reference to the heard, only the sensed in reference to the sensed, and only the recognized in reference to the recognized, the mind does not need to create or defend “the self” in connection with the experience.
This supports the realization of Non-self, the elimination of personal existence view, and the end of discontentedness.
The unEnlightened mind, however, habitually takes changing experiences and uses them to construct an identity. Through clinging and a lack of wisdom, the mind uses these changing experiences to create “the self”.
How the Mind Creates “The Self”
At birth, a name is given to the unique combination of the physical body and the mind.
The name is useful.
It allows family members, friends, Teachers, employers, governments, and other people to refer to this particular human existence. Without names, ordinary communication and daily activities would become unnecessarily difficult.
The problem is not the name.
The problem begins when the mind adopts the name as “who I am” and constructs a self image and self identity around it.
The mind begins collecting information:
What happened to me?
What do other people think of me?
What have I accomplished?
What do I own?
What work do I perform?
What position do I hold?
What type of person am I?
What do I want to become?
How do I want others to see me?
From these past experiences and future expectations, the mind develops an image of who it thinks it is.
But this image is not permanent.
The body changes. The mind changes. Relationships change. Occupations change. Possessions change. Reputation changes. Social status changes. Other people’s opinions change.
Everything being used to construct the self image and self identity is affected by impermanence.
The mind is attempting to create something permanent from conditions that are constantly changing. This can never provide permanent peace or contentedness.
Self Image: How the Mind Wants to Be Seen
Self image is the outward appearance that the mind wants to project into the world.
The mind may accumulate clothing, jewelry, makeup, vehicles, houses, technology, titles, qualifications, and other material possessions to influence how it is perceived by others.
It may want to be viewed as:
Successful
Wealthy
Intelligent
Attractive
Important
Powerful
Spiritual
Accomplished
The mind hopes that projecting this image will produce favorable treatment, admiration, acceptance, or praise from others.
When people respond favorably, pleasant feelings may arise. The mind experiences happiness, excitement, or elation and concludes that its self image is creating fulfillment.
But the pleasant feelings do not remain.
They are based on impermanent conditions. When the attention, praise, possession, relationship, or favorable opinion changes, the pleasant feelings fade.
The mind then searches for the next possession, experience, compliment, or accomplishment that might restore those feelings.
It becomes trapped in a cycle of constructing, presenting, protecting, and improving a self image that can never become permanent.
Self Identity: Who the Mind Thinks It Is
Self identity is the internal story that the mind creates about “who I am”.
It may identify with:
A profession
A social role
A relationship
A nationality
An educational background
A personal history
An accomplishment
A failure
A physical characteristic
A belief or opinion
A reputation
A position within a family or Community
These descriptions may be useful when communicating or attending to daily responsibilities. But difficulties arise when the mind becomes attached to them as a permanent identity.
A person may say, “I need to discover my true self” or “I no longer know who I am”.
They may search through education, travel, relationships, careers, possessions, or new experiences hoping to finally discover a lasting self.
But the mind cannot find a permanent self because a permanent self does not exist.
The search becomes a never-ending pursuit of something that cannot be found. The person may experience boredom, loneliness, confusion, fear, or other forms of discontentedness because the mind continues seeking an identity that will finally feel complete.
Peace is not discovered by constructing a more satisfying self.
Peace develops as the mind begins releasing its attachment to the concept of a permanent self.
How Attachment to “The Self” Causes Discontentedness
When the mind believes there is a permanent self, it becomes engaged in everything said or done in relation to that self.
When someone offers an agreeable compliment, the mind will experience pleasant feelings:
“They respect me.”
“They think I am intelligent.”
“They recognize my accomplishments.”
“They approve of how I look.”
When someone offers a disagreeable remark, the mind will experience painful feelings:
“They insulted me.”
“They do not respect me.”
“They are attacking who I am.”
“I need to defend myself.”
The mind moves back and forth between pleasant and painful feelings based on how others respond to its self image and self identity.
It cannot remain in the middle—peaceful, calm, stable, and unaffected.
The mind becomes watchful for the next compliment while also guarding against the next criticism. It creates strategies to protect its reputation, appearance, opinions, possessions, and social position.
This false belief in “the self” can lead to:
Fear
Anger
Frustration
Anxiety
Jealousy
Selfishness
Judgment
Arrogance
Pride
Unwholesome protective habits
Difficulty sharing with others
Conflict within relationships
The mind is attempting to protect something that does not permanently exist.
Getting “The Self” Out of Relationships
Personal existence view can create significant difficulties in personal and professional relationships.
The mind continually evaluates other people based on its self image and self identity.
It may decide that associating with a certain person would improve its reputation. It may avoid another person because it believes the relationship could diminish how others perceive the individual.
The mind may judge people according to superficial qualities rather than practicing loving-kindness and peacefully coexisting with all beings.
It may also attempt to control others:
“You have to speak to me this way.”
“You have to treat me according to my position.”
“You have to agree with me.”
“You have to behave in a way that pleases me.”
“You have to protect my reputation.”
When others do not satisfy these demands, the mind reacts with anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, or resentment.
Getting “the self” out of the way allows the mind to stop interpreting every disagreement as a personal attack.
The mind can see the situation more clearly:
Someone may be speaking impolitely.
Someone may be acting disrespectfully.
Someone may be experiencing anger.
But their conduct does not need to be absorbed as an attack against “who you are”.
When there is no permanent self to defend, the mind can respond with wisdom rather than react through emotion.
Non-Self and Ego
The word “ego” was not available during The Buddha’s lifetime. What is now commonly referred to as ego can be understood through two fetters:
Personal existence view: The false concept of a permanent self.
Conceit: Arrogance, pride, judgment, and measuring or comparing oneself as superior or inferior to others.
Realizing Non-self eliminates personal existence view.
Eliminating arrogance, pride, judgment, and comparison eliminates conceit.
Both need to be removed for the ego to be completely dissolved.
The ego is formed from thoughts, ideas, perceptions, past experiences, future expectations, self image, and self identity. It continually attempts to protect “who we think we are”.
The ego may place the self above others:
“I am more intelligent.”
“I am more successful.”
“I understand more.”
“I am a better Practitioner.”
“I am right and everyone else is wrong.”
The ego may also place the self below others:
“I am inferior.”
“I am incapable.”
“I am less important.”
“Other people are better than me.”
Both superiority and inferiority are comparisons based on conceit.
A peaceful mind does not need to place itself above or below anyone. It does not need to continually determine its position within a social “pecking order”.
It can peacefully coexist with others through fairness, equality, generosity, loving-kindness, politeness, and respect.
Stop Judging and Practice Discernment
Judgment and discernment are not the same.
Judgment places oneself above another person and attempts to declare who is good or bad, wholesome or unwholesome, superior or inferior.
Judgment is based in conceit and harms the mind.
Discernment is wise decision-making based in wisdom.
A Practitioner needs discernment to determine which intentions, speech, actions, relationships, environments, and choices are helpful or harmful. But discernment does not require looking down on another person.
The ego often projects its own unwholesome qualities onto others.
A person may accuse someone else of wanting attention because their own mind desires attention.
They may accuse someone of displaying intelligence because their own mind wants to be viewed as intelligent.
They may become jealous of another person’s appearance or importance because their own mind craves that recognition.
What the mind judges most strongly in another person may be a reflection of qualities present within itself.
Instead of focusing on another person’s practice, a Practitioner would be wise to focus on training their own mind.
Practical Ways to Get “The Self” Out of The Way
Realizing Non-self is not achieved by merely accepting an intellectual explanation of a Teaching. It needs learning, deep reflection, meditation, practice in daily life, proactive training of the mind, and guidance from a Teacher.
There are several practical ways to begin weakening the mind’s attachment to “me”, “my”, and “mine”. These practices proactively train the mind to eliminate personal existence view and get “the self” out of the way.
Change the Language Used by the Mind
Language continually reinforces how the mind views the world.
Rather than thinking:
“My phone”
“My car”
“My house”
“My clothing”
“My job”
“My hair”
A Practitioner can begin thinking:
“The phone”
“The car”
“The house”
“The clothing”
“The place where this being works”
“The hair”
Instead of “I am hungry”, one might think, “The body needs food.”
Instead of “I am thirsty”, one might think, “The body needs water.”
Instead of “I have a headache”, one might observe, “The head is experiencing pain.”
This practice is not about making communication difficult or refusing to use ordinary pronouns. It is about training the mind to loosen its attachment to ownership and identification.
If there is no permanent “me”, how could anything permanently be “mine”?
Deeply Observe Impermanence
Observe how everything changes.
The body changes.
The mind changes.
Possessions change.
Relationships change.
Occupations change.
Reputation changes.
Circumstances change.
Compliments and criticism arise and pass away.
Pleasant and painful feelings arise and pass away.
The deeper the mind understands impermanence, the easier it becomes to understand that no permanent self can be found within impermanent conditions.
Simplify the Outward Appearance
The mind may use physical appearance to build and project a self image.
A Practitioner can explore wearing simple clothing and eliminating the mind’s dependency on jewelry, body decorations, perfumes, cosmetics, or other objects used primarily to attract favorable attention.
The purpose is not to judge people who use these items.
The purpose is to investigate one’s own mind:
Why does the mind want this?
What image is it attempting to project?
What response does it want from others?
Is it seeking pleasant feelings through favorable attention?
Can the mind remain content without projecting this image?
This practice is directed inward toward understanding and training one’s own mind. The goal is to reduce the mind’s dependency on decorating the body or projecting a self image to experience pleasant feelings. The mind can gradually be trained to remain just as peaceful and joyful with or without these outward decorations.
Remove Head and Facial Hair
Removing head and facial hair trains the mind to be able to interact in the world without a craving for others to perceive the individual in a certain way.
The purpose is not to create a new identity or outward appearance. The purpose is to investigate whether the mind is attached to its hair as part of its self image and how it wants to be perceived by others.
Removing head and facial hair can reduce the mind’s dependency on how the Practitioner is perceived by others as a condition for experiencing pleasant feelings and comfort. Instead, the mind can “let go” of wanting others to perceive the Practitioner in a specific way.
This is the most impactful practice a Practitioner could employ to work on eliminating the fetter of personal existence view.
Sometimes just the thought of removing the head or facial hair produces discontentedness in the mind of the Practitioner. If so, that provides further indication that this practice will be highly beneficial for an individual because the mind is clinging to the hair.
If the thought of removing the hair causes discontentedness, this will help the Practitioner recognize the mind’s attachment to the body’s appearance.
By cutting it off for a period of multiple months and years, the mind can be trained to "let go" of its clinging to experience increased amounts of peacefulness and joy by eliminating its personal existence view.
Apply Right Effort
When pleasant or painful feelings arise in relation to the self image or self identity, a Practitioner needs to practice Right Effort.
When a Practitioner notices the arising of discontentedness related to personal existence view, cut it off and let it go.
Do not allow praise to create conditioned happiness, excitement, elation, arrogance, or pride.
Do not allow criticism to create sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, or annoyance.
Repeatedly cutting off and letting go of these reactions weakens the mind’s attachment to a permanent self and gradually eliminates personal existence view. Over time, this fetter can be eliminated to the point where these discontent feelings never arise.
Meditation and the Realization of Non-Self
There is a specialized meditation practice to assist with realizing Non-self. The meditation uses Breathing Mindfulness Meditation together with reflections such as:
“I am not the body” (Repeat several times directing it to the body.)
“I am not the mind” (Repeat several times)
“There is no self” (Repeat several times)
“I do not exist” (Repeat several times)
“I am not the body, I am not the mind, There is no self, I do not exist” (Repeat several times)
In this meditation, the phrase “I do not exist” refers to the absence of a permanent self. It does not mean that the physical body and mind are absent. A physical body and mind have come together for this existence, but neither can be accurately identified as a permanent “me”, “mine”, or “who I am”.
Continued practice of this meditation helps the mind to realize there is no self. The mind can come to understand that there is no permanent self, and by releasing identification with both the body and the mind, a Practitioner can experience more peacefulness and joy. The mind can move closer to realizing non-self.
However, meditation alone will not produce the realization of Non-self.
A Practitioner first needs:
An intellectual understanding of the Teaching
Deep reflection
A well-developed practice of The Eight Fold Path
A consistent meditation practice
Guidance from a Teacher
The mind may not initially be prepared to release the concept of a permanent self. A strong foundation in wisdom, moral conduct, and mental discipline, to include meditation, is needed before the mind will be willing and able to let go of personal existence view.
The Teaching of Non-self should therefore not be approached as a casual affirmation or an isolated meditation technique. It is part of a complete life practice leading toward the liberation of the mind.
How Will You Know the Fetter of Personal Existence View Is Weakening?
The mind will become less interested in receiving credit for wholesome deeds.
It will be more interested in wholesome outcomes for all beings than in personal recognition.
When criticized, the mind will not experience anger, sadness, or defensiveness.
The mind will practice wholesome intentions, speech, and actions because they are the right things to do—not because it expects acknowledgment or reward.
A person will be able to remain polite, kind, friendly, and respectful regardless of how another person perceives them.
There will be less desire to protect a reputation, defend a personal image, or prove a point.
The mind will become more comfortable allowing others to succeed and receive recognition.
Getting “the self” out of the way allows the mind to become more generous, loving, peaceful, and open.
To more fully understand the fetter of personal existence view, how to eliminate it, and how to know when it has been eliminated, you might consider learning with this recorded class.
Common Misunderstandings About Non-Self
Non-Self Does Not Mean Neglecting Tasks
Realizing Non-self does not mean abandoning the physical body, refusing to use a name, neglecting tasks, or becoming incapable of making decisions.
Names remain useful.
The body still needs care.
Tasks still need to be fulfilled.
Wholesome decisions still need to be made.
The Teaching on The Universal Truth of Non-self addresses the mind’s false identification with the body and mind as a permanent self. It removes the desire to construct, project, protect, and defend a permanent identity.
A Practitioner can fulfill tasks without ego.
One can care for the body without identifying the body as a permanent self.
One can use a name without constructing an identity around the name.
One can work diligently without defining the self through an occupation.
One can help others without needing recognition.
One can speak and act wisely without needing to prove superiority.
Non-Self and the Question of a Soul
The Teaching of Non-self explains that there is no permanent self that can be identified.
The question of a soul is treated separately. The Buddha left any Teaching concerning a soul as undeclared.
The Buddha never taught that a soul does or does not exist.
Therefore, it would be unwise and unsupported to expand The Teachings of The Buddha into declarations concerning a soul.
The practical task remains clear: eliminate the mind’s false identification with the physical body and/or mind as a permanent self.
Non-Self and the First Stage of Enlightenment
Personal existence view is the first of The Ten Fetters.
The Ten Fetters are the individual pollutions of the mind that need to be eliminated as a Practitioner progresses toward Enlightenment.
Among other important criteria, realizing Non-self and eliminating personal existence view are needed for attaining the first Stage of Enlightenment.
This realization does not usually occur at the beginning of practice. A Practitioner first needs to establish a strong foundation in The Eight Fold Path, including a well-developed meditation practice. The Universal Truth of Non-self needs to be learned, deeply reflected upon, and practiced gradually until the mind is prepared to release its attachment to a permanent self.
Guidance from a qualified Teacher is needed. Reading an explanation can provide conceptual understanding, but conceptual understanding alone is not the complete realization of Non-self.
The Teaching needs to penetrate the mind through practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Non-self mean that the physical body does not exist?
No. A physical body and a mind have come together for this human existence. The Teaching is that neither the body nor the mind is a permanent self.
Why do we use names when there is no permanent self?
Names are practical labels that allow people to communicate and attend to daily activities. The problem begins when the mind creates a self image and self identity around the name and adopts that construction as “who I am”.
Is the mind the true self?
No. The mind is impermanent. Thoughts, ideas, perceptions, and feelings arise, are experienced, and cease to exist. Something that continually changes cannot be accurately identified as a permanent self.
Why does clinging to a self cause discontentedness?
The mind becomes dependent on how others respond to its self image and self identity, wanting to be perceived in a certain way. Agreeable comments produce pleasant feelings, while disagreeable comments produce painful feelings. The mind cannot remain peaceful because it continually seeks praise and attempts to protect itself from criticism.
Is Non-self the same as having low self-esteem?
No. Feeling inferior is still a form of conceit because the mind continues comparing itself with others. The goal is neither superiority nor inferiority. The goal is to eliminate the need to measure and compare “the self” with others.
Does realizing Non-self eliminate the importance of decisions?
No. Non-self eliminates identification with a permanent self; it does not eliminate the importance of wise decision-making.
Can meditation alone produce the realization of Non-self?
No. Meditation alone is insufficient to train the mind to realize non-self. A Practitioner needs learning, reflection, daily practice, a well-developed practice of The Eight Fold Path, guidance from a Teacher, and proactive training of the mind as described in this article.
How does Non-self improve relationships?
The mind becomes less defensive, judgmental, controlling, fearful, and concerned with protecting its reputation. It becomes more capable of responding with wisdom, generosity, loving-kindness, politeness, and respect.
Should a beginner focus intensely on realizing Non-self?
A beginner can gain familiarity with the Teaching. However, the deeper realization is approached after establishing a well-developed practice of The Eight Fold Path and meditation, with guidance from a Teacher.
Getting “The Self” Out of The Way
The mind has spent an entire lifetime constructing the concept of “the self”.
It has collected experiences from the past, developed expectations for the future, accumulated possessions, created relationships, and built an image of who it thinks it is.
It then protects this image as though it were permanent.
But the body is impermanent.
The mind is impermanent.
Self image is impermanent.
Self identity is impermanent.
Possessions, relationships, reputation, occupations, accomplishments, praise, and criticism are all impermanent.
There is no permanent self to be found within these changing conditions.
Getting “the self” out of the way does not diminish life. It removes the burden of continually creating, presenting, comparing, protecting, and defending an identity.
Without this burden, the mind can become less fearful and defensive.
It can stop interpreting every disagreement as a personal attack.
It can stop searching for permanent fulfillment through praise, possessions, appearances, accomplishments, and other impermanent conditions related to the self image and self identity.
It can become generous without seeking recognition.
It can practice loving-kindness without requiring anything in return.
It can listen without needing to prove that it already knows.
It can peacefully coexist with others without placing itself above or below them as if there is a pecking order.
The ego serves no purpose.
There is no need to walk through life continually protecting “who you think you are”.
A wise Practitioner only needs to walk with wisdom and a smile because there is “no self”.
David Roylance is a dedicated Practitioner, Teacher, and published author who has taught The Teachings of The Buddha since 2005. Based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, he guides Household and Ordained Practitioners worldwide through courses, retreats, and special events on The Path to Enlightenment.
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