October 30, 2025
Why Nonself Gives Way to Compassion
Of the three marks of existence—impermanence, suffering, and nonself—the last is the hardest to comprehend. Our attachment to a sense of self is so strong that the idea that no self exists at all feels counterintuitive.
For meditation teacher and Insight Meditation Society co-founder Joseph Goldstein, one way in is to consider the concept of self-centeredness, which we understand in everyday terms. Nonself means that our selves are not, as it were, at the center. From there, we can take the next step and more easily see that our selves are, in fact, nowhere.
What comes next, Goldstein says, quoting Tibetan meditation master Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, is spontaneous and effortless compassion. In this way, selflessness in Buddhist terms, or the absence of self, also means selflessness as we might use it in everyday terms: kind, giving, and open-hearted.
This week’s Three Teachings helps us consider the key Buddhist concept of nonself and how it’s so connected to compassion. | 
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