Tom thank you for sharing these thoughts - which of course have prompted thoughts of my own. Seems to me that it’s the functioning of the body-mind that leads us to the notion of a separate self, and somewhere along the evolutionary route we seem to have separated ourselves from what we’re calling not-self. It’s almost as if looking in a mirror, we take the reflected image to be our true selves. To me not-self is the underlying essence of it all, the ground we share with everything & everyone. I realize this sounds simple, but perhaps its simplicity is what confuses us. I wonder if we focus on our separateness as some kind of justification for being here. Anyway, those are some morning thoughts.
As always, Carol, your comments are so deeply thoughtful and so rich in imagery, as befits your poetic talents! I really like your observation that "we take the reflected image [in the mirror] to be our true selves". Such a profound way of capturing the duality that the notion of not-self is inviting us to transcend.
Excellent. I like your ethical approach to no-self. One monk I have regular contact with says Anatta /no-self is the most difficult idea for most Buddhists to grasp.
Tom thank you for sharing these thoughts - which of course have prompted thoughts of my own. Seems to me that it’s the functioning of the body-mind that leads us to the notion of a separate self, and somewhere along the evolutionary route we seem to have separated ourselves from what we’re calling not-self. It’s almost as if looking in a mirror, we take the reflected image to be our true selves. To me not-self is the underlying essence of it all, the ground we share with everything & everyone. I realize this sounds simple, but perhaps its simplicity is what confuses us. I wonder if we focus on our separateness as some kind of justification for being here. Anyway, those are some morning thoughts.
As always, Carol, your comments are so deeply thoughtful and so rich in imagery, as befits your poetic talents! I really like your observation that "we take the reflected image [in the mirror] to be our true selves". Such a profound way of capturing the duality that the notion of not-self is inviting us to transcend.
Excellent. I like your ethical approach to no-self. One monk I have regular contact with says Anatta /no-self is the most difficult idea for most Buddhists to grasp.
Always good to hear from you, Eric! It's encouraging to know that I'm in such good company in my struggle to understand not-self. Thanks ... Tom