Buddha's teaching put
the emphasis on selflessness because even Buddhism is not a special
culture or heritage. It is a part of Indian thought. And so before Buddhism there
must be some similar teaching or some opposite teaching which form a pair of
opposites with Buddhism. As you see in the Upanishads there are many similar
teachings based on selflessness. Why he put the emphasis on
selflessness is because people at that time had great difficulty because of a strong idea of self. -------------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 68-06-28 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC
