From “I AM” to non-duality, no-self, emptiness and spontaneous perfection
About this library
This blog is about spiritual awakening, maps and stages, the blinding effects of our strong momentum/conditioning (karmic propensities), view, realization, experience, etc. If you're new here, I recommend going through the 'Must Reads' articles (see sidebar). For discussions you are welcome to join the Awakening to Reality Facebook group
Key terms — I AM, non-duality, anatta, emptiness and spontaneous perfection
As used on this site, following John Tan’s (Thusness’s) Seven Stages. These terms are not necessarily used in the same way by other traditions.
I AM (Stage 1)
The direct realization of “this pure sense of existence”: not the body, not thought, “just Existence itself”. On AtR this is an important first realization, not the end of the path.
Non-duality (Stage 4)
The dissolution of the split between perceiver and perceived: Presence is found as all appearances. At this stage the non-dual experience is still “very much ‘Brahman’ rather than ‘Sunyata’”, the sense that “All is Mind”, one Reality.
Anatta (No-Self) (Stage 5)
Seeing through the background itself, that “the mirror is nothing more than an arising thought”. There is no one behind thoughts, never was: “What exists is a stream, action or karma.” As John Tan puts it, “Anatta is a seal, not a stage”. See posts on anatta.
Emptiness (Stage 6)
Not only the self: “even the aggregates are empty”. Every experience is “vividly present yet completely un-locatable”; “Emptiness is the ‘nature’ of all experiences.” See posts on emptiness.
Spontaneous perfection (Stage 7)
The realization that what is sought has always been the case: “Awareness has always been non-dual”, “Appearances have always been Non-arising”, and “All phenomena are ‘interconnected’ and by nature Maha.” Practice therefore shifts from ‘concentrative’ to ‘effortless’: what is really needed is “simply to experience whatever arises openly and unreservedly”, and “the ground and the path of practice become indistinguishable”. In John Tan’s words: “Spontaneously present, naturally perfected!” Yet this “does not denote the end of practice”. See On Anatta, Emptiness … and Spontaneous Perfection.
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Feedback:"The shortened AtR guide is very good. It should lead one to anatta (the experiential realization of no-self) if they really go and read. Concise and direct." – Yin Ling
Download links: PDF ·
EPUB
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This is the original 1300+ page document on which the practice and abridged guides are based.
"I also want to say, actually the main ATR document >1200 pages helped me the most with insight... ...I did [read] it twice 😂 it was so helpful and these Mahamudra books supported ATR insights. Just thought to share." – Yin Ling
"To be honest, the document is ok [in length], because it’s by insight level. Each insight is like 100 plus pages except anatta [was] exceptionally long [if] I remember lol. If someone read and contemplate at the same time it’s good because the same point will repeat again and again like in the nikayas [traditional Buddhist scriptures in the Pali canon] and insight should arise by the end of it imo.", "A 1000 plus pages ebook written by a serious practitioner Soh Wei Yu that took me a month to read each time and I am so grateful for it. It’s a huge undertaking and I have benefitted from it more that I can ever imagine. Please read patiently." – Yin Ling
The guide covers built-in accessibility options, dedicated PDF text-to-speech apps, continuous and background playback, jumping to the place you want to hear, natural AI voices, and what to do with scanned PDFs that need OCR.
I’m happy to share John Tan’s new website. Many readers of Awakening to Reality will know John as Thusness / PasserBy, the author of Seven Stages of Enlightenment and On Anatta (No-Self), Emptiness, Maha and Ordinariness, and Spontaneous Perfection.
The new site brings together his books, articles and narrated videos, with a particular focus on post-anatta insights—the deepening of emptiness and dependent arising. Its opening page, After Anatta, connects these explorations to phases 5–7 of the seven phases of insight. The written materials and videos are free to read, watch and share, and the site also provides read-aloud listening.
For the fuller picture, read these two articles first
If you are new to Awakening to Reality, my recommendation is to begin with these two foundational articles, in this order, before exploring John’s new website:
Together, these give the context for understanding where the new collection fits. John’s website goes deeply into what unfolds with and beyond anatta; reading the earlier articles first helps place that material within the wider journey.
This is a reading recommendation, not an attainment requirement. You do not need to have already realised anatta before visiting the site. The point is to approach the later explorations with the broader picture in view.
Why this collection matters
One of the important themes of John’s After Anatta introduction is that insight, experience and view do not necessarily mature together. He describes how anatta had dawned, yet habitual ways of understanding experience still needed further examination. Seeing through a separate observer does not, by itself, settle every assumption about the reality of mind, phenomena, time or causality.
The new material takes up these questions in depth. How does the understanding of no-self deepen into the emptiness of phenomena? What does dependent designation mean in lived experience? How can continuity, responsibility and everyday functioning be understood without positing an independently existing carrier underneath them?
For readers familiar with the foundational AtR articles, this collection offers a way to follow those questions through sustained explanations, experiential reflections and close engagement with Madhyamaka. I recommend reading slowly, returning to the earlier articles where useful, and bringing the inquiry back to experience.
What you will find: the books
The library currently brings together the following five works. They approach related questions from different directions, so you can move between them as your inquiry develops.
The extended argument: an examination of the assumption that anything can exist from its own side, and its implications for mind, perception, causality and continuity.
The experiential companion: how the understanding develops from anatta into a more thorough understanding of emptiness, including the relationship between view, insight and experience.
A chapter-by-chapter presentation of Nāgārjuna’s Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way, with Sanskrit, an English translation, explanations and diagrams. It provides textual context for arguments discussed throughout the collection.
A shorter route through the inquiry into the observer and the nature of presence, extending into discussions of Madhyamaka and Dzogchen, including the expression “beyond cause and effect.”
An introduction to the logic of dependency through eight steps, followed by its application to questions about mind, time, rebirth and other topics. This material forms the site’s After Anatta starting page and links into the fuller discussions in the books.
Where I suggest beginning
After the two foundational AtR articles above, open John’s guide to reading the books. It explains how the works relate and offers different routes for readers interested in experience, reasoning or the source texts.
For the transition itself: begin with The Transition from Anatta to Emptiness, especially if your interest is how view and experiential insight develop together.
If you prefer listening, the chapters offer a read-aloud option. The Watch section gathers narrated videos with drawings, providing another way to approach the material and revisit it after reading.
The site also includes Ask the Books, where Claude answers questions using the collection and links to the chapters it draws on. This is an AI reading aid, rather than a direct conversation with John. Follow the chapter links and read the passages in context. The site notes that this feature uses your own Claude allowance and asks for permission on first use.
John Tan · Thusness / PasserBy
Continue exploring
My hope is that readers will study the foundational articles alongside these newer explorations, giving both the experiential unfolding and the deepening of view the attention they deserve.
Introduction and reading recommendations by Soh Wei Yu · October 2026. Book descriptions and site features are based on John’s reading guide, library and After Anatta introduction, checked on 27 October 2026.
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