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Anattalakhaṇa Sutta/Vatthu

Taught five days after the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta to the Pañcavaggiya monks, all of whom became Arahants at the conclusion of the discourse (Vin.i.13-14; J.i.82; iv.180; Dpv.i.34; MA.i.390; AA.i.57, 84).

No self is to be found in any of the five khandhas, all of which are impermanent and subject to woe.

The sutta does not deal with the question as to whether the self exists or not; it only shows that the khandhas are not the self.

In the Samyutta Nikāya (iii.66f ) the discourse is called the Pañca Sutta, the five referred to being the Pañcavaggīyā who listened to it.

The story of five hundred monks. The Buddha, knowing their past, advises them to reflect on the “selfishness” of the khandhas (DhA.iii. 406-7).

These monks had devoted themselves to meditation on this topic for 20,000 years in the dispensation of Kassapa Buddha.

Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names • G.P. Malalasekera