Peter Harvey 
The Selfless Mind [EPUB ebook] 
Personality, Consciousness and Nirvana in Early Buddhism

This careful analysis of early Buddhist thought opens out a perspective in which no permanent Self is accepted, but a rich analysis of changing and potent mental processes is developed. It explores issues relating to the not-Self teaching: self-development, moral responsibility, the between-lives period, and the »undetermined questions» on the world, on the »life principle» and on the liberated one after death. It examines the »person» as a flowing continuity centred on consciousness or discernment (vinnana) configured in changing minds-sets (cittas). The resting state of this is seen as »brightly shining» — like the »Buddha nature» of Mahayana thought — so as to represent the potential for Nirvana. Nirvana is then shown to be a state in which consciousness transcends all objects, and thus participates in a timeless, unconditioned realm.