What does the Buddhist teaching of no-self mean?

The Buddhist teaching of no-self, or anatman, asserts that there is no permanent, unchanging soul or metaphysical substance within a human being. While the Buddha acknowledged the self as a practical subject of moral action, he rejected the idea of an enduring ego or atman.12

Instead, human existence is viewed as a continuous process of change, composed of five shifting aggregates (khandhas):
* Physical forms (rupa)1
* Feelings or sensations (vedana)1
* Ideations (sanna)1
* Mental formations (sankhara)1
* Consciousness (vinnana)1

Because these components are constantly in flux, identifying with them as a "true self" is considered a delusion. This doctrine is one of the three fundamental characteristics of existence, alongside anicca (impermanence) and dukkha (suffering). Understanding this absence of essence is essential to achieving "right understanding" and liberation from the cycle of suffering. In Mahayana traditions, this concept is further extended to all things as shunyata, or emptiness.123