To what extent is the doctrine of Anatta essential to the Buddhist understanding of the human condition?

The teaching of 'no self' is not just an interesting piece of Buddhist philosophy, but a vital necessity for Buddhist salvation. It is the belief in ourselves as separate selves that leads us to wrongly distinguish between one another. It makes us seek our own good rather than other peoples. This is all ignorance of the true nature of existence. Complete loss of this delusion of 'self' is equivalent to enlightenment. This teaching of 'no …

…twenty-first century people are always chasing after happiness in all the wrong places. Everything is Anicca (impermanent), which also applies to the 'self'. People should not seek satisfaction by having the 'perfect' lifestyle, looks, or image. It's true that it can be dangerous to get obsessed with such things. According to Buddhism, peace of mind and heart comes not from trying to satisfy the 'self' but from seeing that the 'self' is just an illusion.