non-self
Noun
Meaning
non-self (countable and uncountable, plural non-selfs or non-selves)
Alternative form of nonself
Synonyms
Examples
Ignorance is the failure to discriminate between the permanent and the impermanent, the pure and the impure, bliss and suffering, the Self and the non-Self.
Self, person, living being, and life span are four notions that prevent us from seeing reality. Life is one. We do not need to slice it into pieces and call this or that piece a "self." What we call a self is made only of non-self elements.
True self is non-self, the awareness that the self is made only of non-self elements. There's no separation between self and other, and everything is interconnected. Once you are aware of that you are no longer caught in the idea that you are a separate entity.
T cells recognize a "non-self" target, such as a pathogen, only after antigens (small fragments of the pathogen) have been processed and presented in combination with a "self" receptor called a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule.
Here, the immune system fails to properly distinguish between self and non-self, and attacks part of the body.
Homomorphic flowers may employ a biochemical (physiological) mechanism called self-incompatibility to discriminate between self and non-self pollen grains.