![]() However, the total liberation state concept in Buddhism is complex ( Tsong-Kha-Pa, 2000) and transcends psychology. This process leads to nirvana or the state of nonself, a state of total liberation ( Tsong-Kha-Pa, 2000 Shonin et al., 2014). In contrast to the concept of the self, the eternal goal of Buddhists is nirvana ( Dalai Lama, 2005), a state of nonself that involves a process of renouncing worldly things, particularly those for which attractiveness springs from egoism and desires, while maintaining or elevating the self, or atama-graha ( Hwang and Chang, 2009 MacKenzie, 2010). Clinging to or being obsessed with the delusional self is the major cause of suffering ( Dalai Lama, 1995a). Buddhism holds that personal identity is delusional ( Giles, 1993), that each of us is a self that turns out to not actually exist ( Dalai Lama, 1995b, 2005). The Buddha's teachings are aimed at attaining an authentic, durable happiness by cultivating a transition from the self state to the nonself state ( Dalai Lama, 1995a, 2005). ![]() The ultimate aim of these schools is to overcome the pain and emotional disturbances caused by life's difficulties, challenges, and stressors ( Shiah and Yit, 2012). Buddhism is commonly defined as including Southeast Asian Theravada Buddhism, East Asian Mahayana Buddhism, Indo-Tibetan Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism ( Wallace and Shapiro, 2006 Shonin et al., 2014). In the East, for more than 2500 years Buddhists have adopted a distinctive approach to the concept of the self ( Kelly, 2008). Protestantism is considered to be the denomination most strongly related to American culture and, more specifically, to the American individualistic view of self ( Oyserman et al., 2002 Cohen and Hill, 2007). The origin of the concept of the individualistic view of self can be traced to early Christianity. Thus, psychology has found an important role for the “self” in an abundance of subject-hyphen- predicate relations ( Klein, 2014) (e.g., self-affirmation, self-awareness, self-comparison, self-concept, self-consistent, self-control, self-efficacy, self-esteem, self-determination, self-fulfillment, self-handicapping, self-image, self-identity, self-perception, self-regulation, self-reference). ![]() There are numerous formulations of the self in Western psychology, and many of these are constructed on the basis of their being a definite “I” entity ( Shonin et al., 2014). Traditionally, Western psychology has attempted to understand the psychological functioning of the self from an individualistic perspective ( Triandis and Gelfand, 1998 Triandis, 2001), emphasizing the need to satisfy, maintain and strengthen the self ( Greenberg et al., 1990 Burke et al., 2010). An examination of possible clinical applications and theoretical directions for future research in nonself psychology are provided. The NT offers possible answers that might lead to a more comprehensive understanding of human beings and the deeper meaning of life, toward the ultimate goal of a well-functioning self. ![]() In addition, the NT provides a comprehensive framework to account for nonself-plus-compassion-related activities or experiences such as altruism, mindfulness, mediation, mysterious/peak experiences, elimination of death anxiety and moral conduct. These three ways have the goal of seeing through and overcoming the illusion of the self to achieve a deep transformation integrally connected to the experience of eliminating the sense of self and its psychological structures. In contrast, a nonself approach involves execution of the self-cultivation principle, which involves three ways: giving up desires, displaying compassion, practicing meditation and seeking understanding Buddhist wisdom. The ego engages in psychological activities to strengthen the self, applying the hedonic principle of seeking desire-driven pleasure. The ego and nonself aspects of psychological self-functioning and their underlying processes are compared, drawing on the four concepts of the MMS: biology, ideal person, knowledge/wisdom and action. Given that the nonself is considered a well-functioning self, the MMS is suitable for constructing the NT. The end goal of the self is to attain authentic and durable happiness. The universal Mandala Model of Self (MMS) was developed to describe the well-functioning self in various cultures. The purpose of this paper is to present the Nonself Theory (NT). Contrary to this and based on Buddhism, a nonself-cultivating process aims to minimize or extinguish the self and avoid desires, leading to egolessness or selflessness. The maintenance/strength of self is a very core concept in Western psychology and is particularly relevant to egoism, a process that draws on the hedonic principle in pursuit of desires. Graduate Institute of Counseling Psychology and Rehabilitation Counseling, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
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