I, my, mine; the ego, the master of the body, compared to the ruler of a country. Composed of the fiveskandhas and hence not a permanent entity. It is used forātman, the self, personality. Buddhism takes as a fundamental dogma 無我, i.e. no 常我, no permanent ego, only recognizing a temporal or functional ego. The erroneous idea of a permanent self continued in reincarnation is the source of all illusion. But theNirvana Sutradefinitely asserts a permanent ego in the transcendental world, above the range of reincarnation; and the trend of Mahāyāna supports such permanence; v. 常我樂淨.