user13375: In this comment it is stated that the Pali Suttas contain the correct method for manifesting direct knowledge of anatta. I agree, but I wonder what Theravada adherents would regard as the precise suttas that definitively explain? In particular, is SN 5.10 included:

“Why do you believe there’s such a thing as a ‘sentient being’?  Māra,
  is this your theory?  This is just a pile of conditions,  you won’t
  find a sentient being here.
When the parts are assembled  we use the word ‘chariot’.  So too, when
  the aggregates are present  ‘sentient being’ is the convention we use.
But it’s only suffering that comes to be,  lasts a while, then
  disappears.  Naught but suffering comes to be,  naught but suffering
  ceases.”

I ask because the Analysis of the Chariot expounded by Chandrakirti is highly praised as one of the best methods for quickly using analysis to confirm that things lack inherent nature. It is said that conducting this analysis in meditation when combined with serenity meditation is the method to achieve the direct knowledge of anatta. Just as the chariot lacks an inherent nature of "chariot" and is merely a convention, just so the person lacks inherent nature and is merely a convention.
So is this a Sutta upon which Theravada agrees as source for the analysis necessary to manifesting direct knowledge of anatta? 
How about the conversation between the Arahant Nagasena and the King?
Are there other Suttas which take precedence? What is the precise method for generating direct knowledge as opposed to mere conceptual or inferential understanding?

user471: A sentient being is not the same as the self. Please see this answer which explains why plants are not sentient beings, unlike animals. "Sentient beings" is the convention used to denote the presence of the five aggregates.
So is this a Sutta upon which Theravada agrees as source for the analysis necessary to manifesting direct knowledge of anatta? Are there other Suttas which take precedence? 
Conversations between Nagasena and the king (Milindapanha) is not part of the Pali Canon. So, it is considered a secondary text.
My favourite sutta on the self is the Vina Sutta (SN 35.205):

"Suppose there were a king or king's minister who had never heard the
  sound of a lute before. He might hear the sound of a lute and say,
  'What, my good men, is that sound — so delightful, so tantalizing, so
  intoxicating, so ravishing, so enthralling?' They would say, 'That,
  sire, is called a lute, whose sound is so delightful, so tantalizing,
  so intoxicating, so ravishing, so enthralling.' Then he would say, 'Go
  & fetch me that lute.' They would fetch the lute and say, 'Here, sire,
  is the lute whose sound is so delightful, so tantalizing, so
  intoxicating, so ravishing, so enthralling.' He would say, 'Enough of
  your lute. Fetch me just the sound.' Then they would say, 'This lute,
  sire, is made of numerous components, a great many components. It's
  through the activity of numerous components that it sounds: that is,
  in dependence on the body, the skin, the neck, the frame, the strings,
  the bridge, and the appropriate human effort. Thus it is that this
  lute — made of numerous components, a great many components — sounds
  through the activity of numerous components.'
"Then the king would split the lute into ten pieces, a hundred pieces.
  Having split the lute into ten pieces, a hundred pieces, he would
  shave it to splinters. Having shaved it to splinters, he would burn it
  in a fire. Having burned it in a fire, he would reduce it to ashes.
  Having reduced it to ashes, he would winnow it before a high wind or
  let it be washed away by a swift-flowing stream. He would then say, 'A
  sorry thing, this lute — whatever a lute may be — by which people have
  been so thoroughly tricked & deceived.'
"In the same way, a monk investigates form, however far form may go.
  He investigates feeling... perception... fabrications...
  consciousness, however far consciousness may go. As he is
  investigating form... feeling... perception... fabrications...
  consciousness, however far consciousness may go, any thoughts of 'me'
  or 'mine' or 'I am' do not occur to him."

Using a musical instrument you can play nice music. But if you break it down to its constituent parts, you cannot find music. Music cannot be isolated from the musical instrument. Similarly, the self arises from the inter-working of the five aggregates. You cannot isolate the self from the five aggregates.
Perhaps, you can look at it in this way: The musical instrument is the sentient being. The music coming out of the musical instrument is the self. The musical instrument is composed of various parts which are analogous to the five aggregates. When these parts work together, they make music. The way they work together is dependent origination.
I think the dependent origination of the Pali Suttas are more complex than a mere assembly of parts. It describes a far more complex interaction. The Buddha stated that if you understand dependent origination, you understand the Dhamma in MN 28.
The Upanisa Sutta (SN 12.23) describes dependent origination and also the path to understanding it using the water flow allegory - this is more like a chain of processes where each link in the chain depends on each other - it's not an assembly of parts:

"Just as when the gods pour rain in heavy drops & crash thunder on the
  upper mountains: The water, flowing down along the slopes, fills the
  mountain clefts & rifts & gullies. When the mountain clefts & rifts &
  gullies are full, they fill the little ponds. When the little ponds
  are full, they fill the big lakes. When the big lakes are full, they
  fill the little rivers. When the little rivers are full, they fill the
  big rivers. When the big rivers are full, they fill the great ocean.
  In the same way:
"Fabrications have ignorance as their prerequisite, consciousness has
  fabrications as its prerequisite, name-&-form has consciousness as
  their prerequisite, the six sense media have name-&-form as their
  prerequisite, contact has the six sense media as its prerequisite,
  feeling has contact as its prerequisite, craving has feeling as its
  prerequisite, clinging has craving as its prerequisite, becoming has
  clinging as its prerequisite, birth has becoming as its prerequisite,
  stress & suffering have birth as their prerequisite
Conviction has stress & suffering as its prerequisite.
  Joy has conviction as its
  prerequisite, rapture has joy as its prerequisite, serenity has
  rapture as its prerequisite, pleasure has serenity as its
  prerequisite, concentration has pleasure as its prerequisite,
  knowledge & vision of things as they actually are present has
  concentration as its prerequisite, disenchantment has knowledge &
  vision of things as they actually are present as its prerequisite,
  dispassion has disenchantment as its prerequisite, release has
  dispassion as its prerequisite, knowledge of ending has release as its
  prerequisite."

Another description of the dependent origination based on the allegory of reeds leaning on each other from the Sheaves of Reeds Sutta (SN 12.67) - this is also not an assembly of parts:

"Very well then, Kotthita my friend, I will give you an analogy; for
  there are cases where it is through the use of an analogy that
  intelligent people can understand the meaning of what is being said.
  It is as if two sheaves of reeds were to stand leaning against one
  another. In the same way, from name-&-form as a requisite condition
  comes consciousness, from consciousness as a requisite condition comes
  name-&-form. From name & form as a requisite condition come the six
  sense media. From the six sense media as a requisite condition comes
  contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From
  feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a
  requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From
  clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From
  becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth as a
  requisite condition, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain,
  distress, & despair come into play. Such is the origination of this
  entire mass of suffering & stress.
"If one were to pull away one of those sheaves of reeds, the other
  would fall; if one were to pull away the other, the first one would
  fall. In the same way, from the cessation of name-&-form comes the
  cessation of consciousness, from the cessation of consciousness comes
  the cessation of name-&-form. From the cessation of name-&-form comes
  the cessation of the six sense media. From the cessation of the six
  sense media comes the cessation of contact. From the cessation of
  contact comes the cessation of feeling. From the cessation of feeling
  comes the cessation of craving. From the cessation of craving comes
  the cessation of clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of
  clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the
  cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the cessation
  of birth, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, &
  despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of
  suffering & stress."

What is the precise method for generating direct knowledge as opposed to mere conceptual or inferential understanding?
From the Kimsuka Sutta (SN 35.204):

"Suppose, monk, that there were a royal frontier fortress with strong
  walls & ramparts and six gates. In it would be a wise, experienced,
  intelligent gatekeeper to keep out those he didn't know and to let in
  those he did. A swift pair of messengers, coming from the east, would
  say to the gatekeeper, 'Where, my good man, is the commander of this
  fortress?' He would say, 'There he is, sirs, sitting in the central
  square.' The swift pair of messengers, delivering their accurate
  report to the commander of the fortress, would then go back by the
  route by which they had come. Then a swift pair of messengers, coming
  from the west... the north... the south, would say to the gatekeeper,
  'Where, my good man, is the commander of this fortress?' He would say,
  'There he is, sirs, sitting in the central square.' The swift pair of
  messengers, delivering their accurate report to the commander of the
  fortress, would then go back by the route by which they had come.
"I have given you this simile, monk, to convey a message. The message
  is this: The fortress stands for this body — composed of four
  elements, born of mother & father, nourished with rice & barley gruel,
  subject to constant rubbing & abrasion, to breaking & falling apart.
  The six gates stand for the six internal sense media. The gatekeeper
  stands for mindfulness. The swift pair of messengers stands for
  tranquillity (samatha) and insight (vipassana). The commander of the
  fortress stands for consciousness. The central square stands for the
  four great elements: the earth-property, the liquid-property, the
  fire-property, & the wind-property. The accurate report stands for
  Unbinding (nibbana). The route by which they had come stands for the
  noble eightfold path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right
  action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right
  concentration."

I think the above quote should be self-explanatory. Also, please see the Upanisa Sutta quote above, which I quote again below:

Conviction has stress & suffering as its prerequisite. Joy has
  conviction as its prerequisite, rapture has joy as its prerequisite,
  serenity has rapture as its prerequisite, pleasure has serenity as its
  prerequisite, concentration has pleasure as its prerequisite,
  knowledge & vision of things as they actually are present has
  concentration as its prerequisite, disenchantment has knowledge &
  vision of things as they actually are present as its prerequisite,
  dispassion has disenchantment as its prerequisite, release has
  dispassion as its prerequisite, knowledge of ending has release as its
  prerequisite."


user13972: Well the goal of the practice is not the direct knowledge of anatta. That already does not bode well. The goal of the practice for the puthujjana is the nibbidā, which is the disenchantment, the viraga, the dispassion, and the nibbana which is the cessation of dukkha.
The disciple must always have sati, which is having in mano and ideally in the citta the teaching and if there is only one paragraph to remember is the famous sequence that what is annica is dukkha, what is dukkha is anatta, what is anatta is worthy of disappointment and once there is disappointment or dispassion there is the cessation of dukkha and its knowledge. The few puthujjanas who are obsessed with atta and anatta and atman do not talk about the end of the sequence. Their usual sequence is what is anicca is dukkha, what is dukkha is anatta and they stop here. Just like The Anatta-lakkhana Sutta
where the conclusion is 

"O monks, the well-instructed noble disciple, seeing thus, gets wearied of form, gets wearied of feeling, gets wearied of perception, gets wearied of mental formations, gets wearied of consciousness. Being wearied he becomes passion-free. In his freedom from passion, he is emancipated. Being emancipated, there is the knowledge that he is emancipated. He knows: 'birth is exhausted, lived is the holy life, what had to be done is done, there is nothing more of this becoming.'"

And the usual way to go beyond understanding annica, which is called  Aniccānupassī, is precisely the method of the anapanasati sutta.
The beginning is the usual rise of samadhi for the citta and calming all the Shankaras that are still here. Just like for the jahnas. This is as far as a puthujana go without the teaching.
Of course, for the good puthujjanas, they want to go beyond the usual samadhi and want to stop being puthujjanas. Once the citta has samadhi or is in samadhi, then it is time to  Aniccānupassī, which again means "deeply see impermanence" so it is the vipassana that so many puthujjanas crave and manage to claim they got and do.
Now the sutta does not talk about dukkha and anatta of the sequence, since that's not really the goal, and jump form the annica to the goal, which is the  Virāgānupassī, meaning the dispassion, and  paṭinissaga, which is the "rejection of the things" and that's nibanna.
So again, the disciple begins with sati, but of course sati is not really an action. What is done for and with the rise of sati and the development of sati is the anapanasati or the Satipatṭhāna.
THe easiest way to have sati is the be around good people and to avoid bad people. The good people are the kalyāṇamitta who are the good friends meaning they show sagacity for the dhamma and  do not cause drama over material things and rules, conventions and norms.

user10100: The outsider ordinary people of Buddhism don't have anattā-understanding in any mind-moment. They never know, so they never do anything follow to it.
The buddhist ordinary people, the practitioners, have a conceptual anattā-understanding in some mind-moments, but it still being a concept. So, they do something follow to it sometime, but sometime they forget, not be mindful on, it and do some improper things, too.
The sotāpanna have the perfect anattā-understanding in every mind-moments, so they  do everything follow to it.
If you understand like that, every sutta are the answer for your question.
And the reference sutta is the end of Sutta. Ma. Mū. Alagaddūpamasuttaṃ:

"In the Dhamma thus well-proclaimed by me — clear, open, evident, stripped of rags — those monks who have abandoned the three fetters, are all stream-winners, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening. This is how the Dhamma well-proclaimed by me is clear, open, evident, stripped of rags.
...
"In the Dhamma thus well-proclaimed by me — clear, open, evident, stripped of rags — those monks who have a [sufficient] measure of conviction in me, a [sufficient] measure of love for me, are all headed for heaven. This is how the Dhamma well-proclaimed by me is clear, open, evident, stripped of rags."

What you did, is what you take. If you still understand anatta as a concept, then your fetters still going on. So, the effect is not the same as sotāpanna, who does every moments of his life by anattā-understanding.

user2282: There's no cutting corners nor shortcuts in Theravada. SN 5.10 speaks the truth. But to actually attain direct knowledge to this truth as opposed to mere conceptual understanding, one has to perfect the Gradual trainings of Sila-Samadhi-Panna, which Ven. Bodhi did a great job of explaining in his "Noble Eightfold Path". And to each aspect of the gradual trainings, there are many different suttas one'd need to read, study, contemplate, and put into practice (ie: for Sila: AN 8.39-43, 3.70, Sn 2.4, SN 3.5; for Samadhi: Anapanasati Sutta, Satipatthana Sutta; for Panna: MN 43, AN 8.2, AN 3.73, AN 7.6, and many more as detailed in Ven. Bodhi's "In the Buddha's Words"). There're no shortage of teachers in the world who can eloquently speak at great length about all the ins and outs of anatta/shunyata and stuff. But when facing some young voluptuous beautiful women, some title, some power, some cash, etc. then the number start dropping like flies! Why? Because they're the experts of Anatta who fail the basics of Sila-Samadhi-Panna.

13375: <p>In <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/28781/mahayana-view-on-why-theravadas-anatta-is-insufficient-to-uproot-ignorance#comment48519_28783">this comment</a> it is stated that the Pali Suttas contain the correct method for manifesting direct knowledge of anatta. I agree, but I wonder what Theravada adherents would regard as the precise suttas that definitively explain? In particular, is SN 5.10 included:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>“Why do you believe there’s such a thing as a ‘sentient being’?  Māra,
  is this your theory?  This is just a pile of conditions,  you won’t
  find a sentient being here.</p>
  
  <p><strong>When the parts are assembled  we use the word ‘chariot’.  So too, when
  the aggregates are present  ‘sentient being’ is the convention we use.</strong></p>
  
  <p>But it’s only suffering that comes to be,  lasts a while, then
  disappears.  Naught but suffering comes to be,  naught but suffering
  ceases.”</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I ask because the Analysis of the Chariot expounded by Chandrakirti is highly praised as one of the best methods for quickly using analysis to confirm that things lack inherent nature. It is said that conducting this analysis in meditation when combined with serenity meditation is the method to achieve the direct knowledge of anatta. Just as the chariot lacks an inherent nature of "chariot" and is merely a convention, just so the person lacks inherent nature and is merely a convention.</p>

<p>So is this a Sutta upon which Theravada agrees as source for the analysis necessary to manifesting direct knowledge of anatta? </p>

<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/mil3.1.1/en/tw_rhysdavids" rel="nofollow noreferrer">How about the conversation between the Arahant Nagasena and the King?</a></p>

<p>Are there other Suttas which take precedence? What is the precise method for generating direct knowledge as opposed to mere conceptual or inferential understanding?</p>
 471: <p>A sentient being is not the same as the self. Please see <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/8984/471">this answer</a> which explains why plants are not sentient beings, unlike animals. "Sentient beings" is the convention used to denote the presence of the five aggregates.</p>

<p><em>So is this a Sutta upon which Theravada agrees as source for the analysis necessary to manifesting direct knowledge of anatta? Are there other Suttas which take precedence?</em> </p>

<p>Conversations between Nagasena and the king (Milindapanha) is not part of the Pali Canon. So, it is considered a secondary text.</p>

<p>My favourite sutta on the self is the <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.205.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Vina Sutta (SN 35.205)</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"Suppose there were a king or king's minister who had never heard the
  sound of a lute before. He might hear the sound of a lute and say,
  'What, my good men, is that sound — so delightful, so tantalizing, so
  intoxicating, so ravishing, so enthralling?' They would say, 'That,
  sire, is called a lute, whose sound is so delightful, so tantalizing,
  so intoxicating, so ravishing, so enthralling.' Then he would say, 'Go
  &amp; fetch me that lute.' They would fetch the lute and say, 'Here, sire,
  is the lute whose sound is so delightful, so tantalizing, so
  intoxicating, so ravishing, so enthralling.' He would say, 'Enough of
  your lute. Fetch me just the sound.' Then they would say, 'This lute,
  sire, is made of numerous components, a great many components. It's
  through the activity of numerous components that it sounds: that is,
  in dependence on the body, the skin, the neck, the frame, the strings,
  the bridge, and the appropriate human effort. Thus it is that this
  lute — made of numerous components, a great many components — sounds
  through the activity of numerous components.'</p>
  
  <p>"Then the king would split the lute into ten pieces, a hundred pieces.
  Having split the lute into ten pieces, a hundred pieces, he would
  shave it to splinters. Having shaved it to splinters, he would burn it
  in a fire. Having burned it in a fire, he would reduce it to ashes.
  Having reduced it to ashes, he would winnow it before a high wind or
  let it be washed away by a swift-flowing stream. He would then say, 'A
  sorry thing, this lute — whatever a lute may be — by which people have
  been so thoroughly tricked &amp; deceived.'</p>
  
  <p>"In the same way, a monk investigates form, however far form may go.
  He investigates feeling... perception... fabrications...
  consciousness, however far consciousness may go. As he is
  investigating form... feeling... perception... fabrications...
  consciousness, however far consciousness may go, any thoughts of 'me'
  or 'mine' or 'I am' do not occur to him."</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Using a musical instrument you can play nice music. But if you break it down to its constituent parts, you cannot find music. Music cannot be isolated from the musical instrument. Similarly, the self arises from the inter-working of the five aggregates. You cannot isolate the self from the five aggregates.</p>

<p>Perhaps, you can look at it in this way: The musical instrument is the sentient being. The music coming out of the musical instrument is the self. The musical instrument is composed of various parts which are analogous to the five aggregates. When these parts work together, they make music. The way they work together is dependent origination.</p>

<p><strong>I think the <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/48/471">dependent origination</a> of the Pali Suttas are more complex than a mere assembly of parts. It describes a far more complex interaction.</strong> The Buddha stated that if you understand dependent origination, you understand the Dhamma in <a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn28/en/bodhi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN 28</a>.</p>

<p>The <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.023.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Upanisa Sutta (SN 12.23)</a> describes dependent origination and also the path to understanding it using the water flow allegory - this is more like a chain of processes where each link in the chain depends on each other - it's not an assembly of parts:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"Just as when the gods pour rain in heavy drops &amp; crash thunder on the
  upper mountains: The water, flowing down along the slopes, fills the
  mountain clefts &amp; rifts &amp; gullies. When the mountain clefts &amp; rifts &amp;
  gullies are full, they fill the little ponds. When the little ponds
  are full, they fill the big lakes. When the big lakes are full, they
  fill the little rivers. When the little rivers are full, they fill the
  big rivers. When the big rivers are full, they fill the great ocean.
  In the same way:</p>
  
  <p>"Fabrications have ignorance as their prerequisite, consciousness has
  fabrications as its prerequisite, name-&amp;-form has consciousness as
  their prerequisite, the six sense media have name-&amp;-form as their
  prerequisite, contact has the six sense media as its prerequisite,
  feeling has contact as its prerequisite, craving has feeling as its
  prerequisite, clinging has craving as its prerequisite, becoming has
  clinging as its prerequisite, birth has becoming as its prerequisite,
  stress &amp; suffering have birth as their prerequisite</p>
  
  <p>Conviction has stress &amp; suffering as its prerequisite.
  Joy has conviction as its
  prerequisite, rapture has joy as its prerequisite, serenity has
  rapture as its prerequisite, pleasure has serenity as its
  prerequisite, concentration has pleasure as its prerequisite,
  knowledge &amp; vision of things as they actually are present has
  concentration as its prerequisite, disenchantment has knowledge &amp;
  vision of things as they actually are present as its prerequisite,
  dispassion has disenchantment as its prerequisite, release has
  dispassion as its prerequisite, knowledge of ending has release as its
  prerequisite."</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Another description of the dependent origination based on the allegory of reeds leaning on each other from the <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.067.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sheaves of Reeds Sutta (SN 12.67)</a> - this is also not an assembly of parts:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"Very well then, Kotthita my friend, I will give you an analogy; for
  there are cases where it is through the use of an analogy that
  intelligent people can understand the meaning of what is being said.
  It is as if two sheaves of reeds were to stand leaning against one
  another. In the same way, from name-&amp;-form as a requisite condition
  comes consciousness, from consciousness as a requisite condition comes
  name-&amp;-form. From name &amp; form as a requisite condition come the six
  sense media. From the six sense media as a requisite condition comes
  contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From
  feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a
  requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From
  clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From
  becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth as a
  requisite condition, then aging &amp; death, sorrow, lamentation, pain,
  distress, &amp; despair come into play. Such is the origination of this
  entire mass of suffering &amp; stress.</p>
  
  <p>"If one were to pull away one of those sheaves of reeds, the other
  would fall; if one were to pull away the other, the first one would
  fall. In the same way, from the cessation of name-&amp;-form comes the
  cessation of consciousness, from the cessation of consciousness comes
  the cessation of name-&amp;-form. From the cessation of name-&amp;-form comes
  the cessation of the six sense media. From the cessation of the six
  sense media comes the cessation of contact. From the cessation of
  contact comes the cessation of feeling. From the cessation of feeling
  comes the cessation of craving. From the cessation of craving comes
  the cessation of clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of
  clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the
  cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the cessation
  of birth, then aging &amp; death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, &amp;
  despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of
  suffering &amp; stress."</p>
</blockquote>

<p><em>What is the precise method for generating direct knowledge as opposed to mere conceptual or inferential understanding?</em></p>

<p>From the <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.204.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Kimsuka Sutta (SN 35.204)</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"Suppose, monk, that there were a royal frontier fortress with strong
  walls &amp; ramparts and six gates. In it would be a wise, experienced,
  intelligent gatekeeper to keep out those he didn't know and to let in
  those he did. A swift pair of messengers, coming from the east, would
  say to the gatekeeper, 'Where, my good man, is the commander of this
  fortress?' He would say, 'There he is, sirs, sitting in the central
  square.' The swift pair of messengers, delivering their accurate
  report to the commander of the fortress, would then go back by the
  route by which they had come. Then a swift pair of messengers, coming
  from the west... the north... the south, would say to the gatekeeper,
  'Where, my good man, is the commander of this fortress?' He would say,
  'There he is, sirs, sitting in the central square.' The swift pair of
  messengers, delivering their accurate report to the commander of the
  fortress, would then go back by the route by which they had come.</p>
  
  <p>"I have given you this simile, monk, to convey a message. The message
  is this: The fortress stands for this body — composed of four
  elements, born of mother &amp; father, nourished with rice &amp; barley gruel,
  subject to constant rubbing &amp; abrasion, to breaking &amp; falling apart.
  The six gates stand for the six internal sense media. The gatekeeper
  stands for <strong>mindfulness</strong>. The swift pair of messengers stands for
  <strong>tranquillity (samatha)</strong> and <strong>insight (vipassana)</strong>. The commander of the
  fortress stands for consciousness. The central square stands for the
  four great elements: the earth-property, the liquid-property, the
  fire-property, &amp; the wind-property. The accurate report stands for
  <strong>Unbinding (nibbana)</strong>. The route by which they had come stands for the
  <strong>noble eightfold path</strong>: right view, right resolve, right speech, right
  action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right
  concentration."</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I think the above quote should be self-explanatory. Also, please see the Upanisa Sutta quote above, which I quote again below:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Conviction has stress &amp; suffering as its prerequisite. Joy has
  conviction as its prerequisite, rapture has joy as its prerequisite,
  serenity has rapture as its prerequisite, pleasure has serenity as its
  prerequisite, concentration has pleasure as its prerequisite,
  knowledge &amp; vision of things as they actually are present has
  concentration as its prerequisite, disenchantment has knowledge &amp;
  vision of things as they actually are present as its prerequisite,
  dispassion has disenchantment as its prerequisite, release has
  dispassion as its prerequisite, knowledge of ending has release as its
  prerequisite."</p>
</blockquote>
 13972: <p>Well the goal of the practice is not the direct knowledge of anatta. That already does not bode well. The goal of the practice for the puthujjana is the nibbidā, which is the disenchantment, the viraga, the dispassion, and the nibbana which is the cessation of dukkha.</p>

<p>The disciple must always have sati, which is having in mano and ideally in the citta the teaching and if there is only one paragraph to remember is the famous sequence that what is annica is dukkha, what is dukkha is anatta, what is anatta is worthy of disappointment and once there is disappointment or dispassion there is the cessation of dukkha and its knowledge. The few puthujjanas who are obsessed with atta and anatta and atman do not talk about the end of the sequence. Their usual sequence is what is anicca is dukkha, what is dukkha is anatta and they stop here. Just like <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/mendis/wheel268.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Anatta-lakkhana Sutta</a>
where the conclusion is </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"O monks, the well-instructed noble disciple, seeing thus, gets wearied of form, gets wearied of feeling, gets wearied of perception, gets wearied of mental formations, gets wearied of consciousness. Being wearied he becomes passion-free. In his freedom from passion, he is emancipated. Being emancipated, there is the knowledge that he is emancipated. He knows: 'birth is exhausted, lived is the holy life, what had to be done is done, there is nothing more of this becoming.'"</p>
</blockquote>

<p>And the usual way to go beyond understanding annica, which is called  Aniccānupassī, is precisely the method of the anapanasati sutta.
The beginning is the usual rise of samadhi for the citta and calming all the Shankaras that are still here. Just like for the jahnas. This is as far as a puthujana go without the teaching.</p>

<p>Of course, for the good puthujjanas, they want to go beyond the usual samadhi and want to stop being puthujjanas. Once the citta has samadhi or is in samadhi, then it is time to  Aniccānupassī, which again means "deeply see impermanence" so it is the vipassana that so many puthujjanas crave and manage to claim they got and do.</p>

<p>Now the sutta does not talk about dukkha and anatta of the sequence, since that's not really the goal, and jump form the annica to the goal, which is the  Virāgānupassī, meaning the dispassion, and  paṭinissaga, which is the "rejection of the things" and that's nibanna.</p>

<p>So again, the disciple begins with sati, but of course sati is not really an action. What is done for and with the rise of sati and the development of sati is the anapanasati or the Satipatṭhāna.
THe easiest way to have sati is the be around good people and to avoid bad people. The good people are the kalyāṇamitta who are the good friends meaning they show sagacity for the dhamma and  do not cause drama over material things and rules, conventions and norms.</p>
 10100: <p><strong>The outsider ordinary people of Buddhism</strong> don't have anattā-understanding in any mind-moment. <strong>They never know, so they never do anything follow to it.</strong></p>
<p>The buddhist ordinary people, <strong>the practitioners</strong>, have a conceptual anattā-understanding in some mind-moments, <strong>but it still being a concept.</strong> So, they do something follow to it sometime, but sometime they forget, not be mindful on, it and do some improper things, too.</p>
<p><strong>The sotāpanna</strong> have the <strong>perfect</strong> anattā-understanding in every mind-moments, <strong>so they  do everything follow to it.</strong></p>
<p>If you understand like that, <strong>every sutta are the answer for your question</strong>.</p>
<p>And the reference sutta is the end of Sutta. Ma. Mū. <a href="http://www.84000.org/tipitaka/pitaka_item/pali_read.php?B=12&amp;A=5284&amp;w=%CD%C5%A4%B7%DA%B7%D9%BB&amp;eng=accesstoinsight_than" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Alagaddūpamasuttaṃ</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;In the Dhamma thus well-proclaimed by me — clear, open, evident, stripped of rags — <strong>those monks who have abandoned the three fetters, are all stream-winners, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening.</strong> This is how the Dhamma well-proclaimed by me is clear, open, evident, stripped of rags.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>&quot;In the Dhamma thus well-proclaimed by me — clear, open, evident, stripped of rags — those monks who have a [sufficient] measure of conviction in me, <strong>a [sufficient] measure of love for me, are all headed for heaven.</strong> This is how the Dhamma well-proclaimed by me is clear, open, evident, stripped of rags.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What you did, is what you take. If you still understand anatta as a concept, then your fetters still going on. So, the effect is not the same as sotāpanna, who does every moments of his life by anattā-understanding.</p>
 2282: <p>There's no cutting corners nor shortcuts in Theravada. <a href="https://suttacentral.net/sn5.10/en/bodhi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SN 5.10</a> speaks the truth. But to actually attain direct knowledge to this truth as opposed to mere conceptual understanding, one has to perfect the Gradual trainings of Sila-Samadhi-Panna, which Ven. Bodhi did a great job of explaining in his "<a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/waytoend.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Noble Eightfold Path</a>". And to each aspect of the gradual trainings, there are many different suttas one'd need to read, study, contemplate, and put into practice (ie: for Sila: AN 8.39-43, 3.70, Sn 2.4, SN 3.5; for Samadhi: Anapanasati Sutta, Satipatthana Sutta; for Panna: MN 43, AN 8.2, AN 3.73, AN 7.6, and many more as detailed in Ven. Bodhi's "<a href="https://www.wisdompubs.org/blog/201309/teachings-buddha-buddha%E2%80%99s-words" rel="nofollow noreferrer">In the Buddha's Words</a>"). There're no shortage of teachers in the world who can eloquently speak at great length about all the ins and outs of anatta/shunyata and stuff. But when facing some young voluptuous beautiful women, some title, some power, some cash, etc. then the number start dropping like flies! Why? Because they're the experts of Anatta who fail the basics of Sila-Samadhi-Panna.</p>
