- 自
- (sa) sva, (sa) svayam; the self, one' s own, personal; of itself, naturally, of course; also, from (i. e. from the self as central). 自 is used as the opposite of 他 another, other's, etc., e. g. 自力 (in) one's own strength as contrasted with 他力 the strength of another, especially in the power to save of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. It is also used in the sense of (sa) ātman 阿怛摩 the self, or the soul.
Chinese Buddhist terms dictionary (Chinese-English). William Edward Soothil and Lewis Hodous. 2006.