Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha)
Teaches that what we call "self" is made of passing elements, with no permanent self (anatta). His exact dates are debated.
Life
Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha ('the Awakened'), lived in northeastern India and was born in the region of Lumbini (now in Nepal); his exact dates are debated (most often placed in the 5th century BCE). He taught the path to the end of suffering: the four noble truths, the impermanence of everything compounded, and the absence of a permanent self. He wrote nothing; his teachings were first passed on orally and then fixed in collections such as the Pali canon.
In his own words
« For hatreds are never appeased by hatred in this world; they are appeased by non-hatred: this is an eternal law. »
Na hi verena verāni, sammantīdha kudācanaṁ; Averena ca sammanti, esa dhammo sanantano.
« 'All things are not-self': when one sees this with wisdom, one grows disillusioned with suffering; this is the path to purity. »
“Sabbe dhammā anattā”ti, yadā paññāya passati; Atha nibbindati dukkhe, esa maggo visuddhiyā.
« One is indeed the lord of oneself, for who else would be one's lord? By means of a well-tamed self, one gains a lord that is rare indeed. »
Attā hi attano nātho, ko hi nātho paro siyā; Attanā hi sudantena, nāthaṁ labhati dullabhaṁ.
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceThe early teachings reject a creator god as an answer to suffering; liberation comes from one's own effort, not from a god.
Brahmajala Sutta, Digha Nikaya 1 (Pali Canon)
Do not accept a teaching on tradition or authority: test it in your own experience.
Kalama Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya 3.65 (Pali Canon)
He rejects both strict fate and pure chance: acts have consequences (karma), yet one can choose to change one's course.
Anguttara Nikaya 3.61 (Pali Canon)
The Eightfold Path trains right conduct, speech and mind as habits of character; how to classify this ethics is debated.
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya 56.11 (Pali Canon)