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The Story of Nagasena and the Chariot shows Buddhists that there is no such thing as the self (anatta). However, this leads to the question of what a human is. The teachings of the skhandas (for Theravada Buddhists) and sunyata (for Mahayana Buddhists) help to explain this basic Buddhist idea.

Skhandas (Theravada Buddhism)

In Theravada Buddhism a human is understood to be a combination of five elements, known as skhandas. This word can be translated as ‘heaps’, ‘collection’ or ‘aggregates’. A human is made up of five heaps – body, sensation, perception, thoughts and consciousness. This awareness helps Buddhists to see that there is no one thing called the ‘self’, but a collection of things that in themselves are always changing.

Sunyata (Mahayana Buddhism)

In Mahayana Buddhism, the skandhas that make up a human are seen as empty. Sunyata translates as ‘emptiness’ or ‘without form’. The teaching of sunyata helps Buddhists to understand that there is no fixed, stable self, and the universe is neither fixed nor stable either. This is because everything is dependent on something else (dependent origination) and nothing has form of its own. This is true of the five skandhas and the self.

Buddha-nature (tathagatagarbha)

The idea of Buddha-nature, also called tathagatagarbha, is particularly important in Mahayana Buddhism. It means that within all humans is a potential Buddha, or the potential to become enlightened. The phrase ‘Buddha-nature’ is translated from the Sanskrit compound word ‘tathagatagarbha’. In order to understand this difficult word, it is helpful to consider its meanings:

• tatha = ‘one who has come’
• gata = ‘one who has gone’
• garbha = ‘womb’ or ‘embryo’

The Buddha achieved enlightenment and became the ‘one who has gone’. However, he stayed on Earth to help others, so is also the ‘one who has come’. Therefore, ‘tathagata’ refers to the Buddha.