I never suggested an atomic self. We are constantly flowing and changing. Our self, our beingness, is beneath all of the labels and attachments we find arise in daily life. Some schools of Buddhist thought reject the atomic view of self and reject all notion of self. This is a mistake. We cannot point to a single specific collection of water droplets, but it is foolish to then conclude there is no river. “I am an illusion” is self-contradictory.