Contradiction or Hidden Meaning? The Pali Canon Suttas that do not deny the Existence of «the Soul»

The thesis of non-existence of soul, known as anatman (Sanskr.) or anatta (Pali) is believed to have been adduced by the Buddha Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. The Second Discourse, where this thesis is discussed, can be considered as a revolution in the history of thought: before and after Buddha, all the religious teachers emphasized the existence of unchangeable soul. The article analyzes the texts of the suttas (sutta – Pali; sutra – Sanskr.) which are are located in the same Canon (Tipitaka or Pali Canon; Tripitaka – Sanskr.) as The Second Discourse. But we cannot see a strict or simple denial of the soul-existence in those texts: the discussed suttas contradict The Second Discourse and many of canonical and scholar sources. Basing on the mentioned texts one can conclude that «Self» (atman, or self existent soul) was not typically denied by the founder of Buddhism. The article concludes that the concept of non-Self is not just a rule set in stone, not a dogma, but a methodological point to reach other religious goals. This conclusion dismantles the problem of ambiguity of the non-Self concept in the Pali Canon.