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Action without actor: three keys to freedom
Jean-Paul Sartre affirms that “man is the sum of his actions,” but in Buddhism, there is only action, not an actor: rain falls because it is rain, the wind blows because it is wind. This vision leads to the doctrine of non-self: the belief that there is a separate “I” gives rise to suffering. By looking deeply into everything that manifests (clouds, body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, consciousness), we discover that nothing is born, nothing dies; everything is an impermanent process, a flow without a fixed entity.
To open the door to the ultimate truth (non-self, no birth, no death) and to free ourselves from the fear of life and death, the Buddha offers practical instruments:
- mindful breathing (smṛti)
- deep looking (vipassanā)
- concentration on impermanence (samādhi)
Supported by deep insight or prajñā, these three factors allow us to choose each thought, word, and action, to live each moment deeply, and to touch freedom, joy, and inner transformation.