Within the Sanlun understanding, what is ordinarily called “self” is treated as a mere conventional designation, a name given to the ever-shifting stream of the five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. There is no permanent, independent subject standing behind these aggregates; personal identity functions pragmatically in daily life yet lacks any inherent essence. In this sense, the self is neither affirmed as a real, enduring entity nor dismissed as sheer nothingness. It is dependently arisen, empty of its own nature, and only “exists” as a useful way of speaking within the realm of conventional truth.

Sanlun thought extends this insight beyond the person to all phenomena, insisting on the non-self of dharmas as well. Mental and physical factors themselves are empty, devoid of intrinsic nature, and arise only through dependent origination. Thus, not only the idea of a substantial self but also any notion of fixed, inherently existing things is undermined. Emptiness here does not mean annihilation; it signals that all things, including the self, are free of any solid core that could be grasped.

From this perspective, both “self” and “non-self” are seen as conceptual constructions that can become objects of attachment. To cling to the view that a real, permanent self exists is one extreme; to cling just as tightly to the idea of a definitively established non-self is another. Sanlun employs the doctrine of the two truths and the Middle Way to dissolve these opposites, showing that ultimate truth is not found in any rigid position about existence or non-existence. The self is thus said to be neither truly existent nor truly non-existent, but empty and dependently designated.

Sanlun masters emphasize that liberation lies in releasing all fixed views about personal identity, rather than in substituting one dogmatic stance for another. When the mind no longer grasps at “self exists” or “self does not exist,” it begins to see that both self and non-self are empty of inherent reality. In that insight, the dualistic tension between self and its negation relaxes, and wisdom can arise that is aligned with the emptiness of all dharmas, including every notion of who or what one is.