Selfishness …Our 'Selfish' Nature
Shoshin
No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran
Not many people like to think of them selves as being selfish....
Where do ‘all’ our so-called issues stem from…Looking closely through internal observation, one will find the root of all our woes stem from our self-ish nature…. Ones Desires & Aversions
So how important do you think "Anatta" is in the scheme of things? (That is Dharma practice, ie, studying the suttas and spending time on the cushion )
"The ancient Indian word for self or essence is attā (Pāli) or ātman (Sanskrit), and is often thought to be an eternal substance that persists despite death. Hence the term anatta is often interpreted as referring to the denial of a self or essence. Anatta is used in the early Buddhist texts as a strategy to view the perception of self as conditioned processes (or even an action) instead of seeing it as an entity or an essence.
Taken together with the perceptions of anicca "impermanence" and dukkha "imperfection", anatta is the last of the three marks of existence, which, when grasped strategically, leads to dispassion (nibbida). Dispassion then causes the mind to naturally tend to the deathless, and this is called release (vimutti).[2]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatta
"Buddhism does not totally deny the existence of a personality in an empirical sense. It only attempts to show that it does not exist in an ultimate sense. The Buddhist philosophical term for an individual is santana, i.e., a flux or a continuity. It includes the mental and physical elements as well. The kammic force of each individual binds the elements together. This uninterrupted flux or continuity of psycho-physical phenomenon, which is conditioned by kamma, and not limited only to the present life, but having its source in the beginningless past and its continuation in the future — is the Buddhist substitute for the permanent ego or the immortal soul of other religions."
http://www.buddhanet.net/nutshell09.htm
Comments
Addressing issues of selfishness is my resolution for the year. Particularly with my time.
Meditation helps a lot, for me. Studying not as much, but it's never worked for me. I can study if I have to, but I do not retain information long-term that way, it's just not the best method of learning for me. I have a great memory and can memorize and recite stuff, but it does little to help me gain understanding. I can still recite the entire Gettysburg Address after having to memorize it in 7th grade, however I couldn't then, and still cannot now, tell you that I completely grasp the concept behind it because I just don't care, lol. So I guess the key for me is, it has to have meaning in my life that I can actively apply for it to be important enough for me to study and learn. Something like Lojong is ideal for me, because they are fairly brief but with a lot of meaning and practical application. I am a very kinesthetic type of learner. If I can't "do" anything with the info it is in one ear and out the other.
It's just happened again,,, I hadn't finished the OP when it (with a mind of its own) posted itself...Weird....But not to worry
I wonder if they are posting when the draft is saved instead of when you actually select to post it?
This time a box appeared similar to the one that appears when I click on the sign in, it was as if something was loading....Weird....I know @Dakini had a similar thing happen, I was just wondering if it has something to do with my laptop ....Still I guess I could do the drafts in Word then cut and paste when ready....
I guess that's what Buddhism is all about ie, Mind Training it would seem the Tibetan teachers are masters in Lojong....
You know me and rocking the boat, I'd say we are all extremely selfish creatures. All of us inherently have this tendency because of our beliefs on this separate self.
Always looking for a more or better future for ourselves. Even spiritual practice is a kind of materialism. We do it for the benefit of ourselves.
I guess that's why humans are so damn good at taking over. Opposable thumbs, highly intelligent brains that even create this sense of an "I" wow
Yes, I guess our selfishness is somewhat extreme .....
I think some of it is rooted biologically, too. The desire to stay alive ourselves no matter what. Obviously most of us don't live our lives that way anymore, but as far as genes go, old habits die hard.
At what point does being unselfish become a problem? Or doesn't it? At what point do we become like Shel Silverstein's Giving Tree? Obviously, there has to be a balance but it seems a degree of "selfishness" is required for most people to care for themselves rather than give of themselves to others continuously. And then you have the argument that we need to take care of ourselves before we can take care of others, that's a level of selfishness, too.
Tis said a Bodhisattva needs just enough self-ishness to stay in the game of Samsara to be of benefit to all sentient beings.... Well something along those lines.... Walking the middle way along the path
Wherever there is space, five elements pervade,
Wherever the five elements, the homes of living beings,
Wherever living beings, karma and defilements,
Wherever is defilement, my compassion also.
Wherever is the need of beings, there I am to help them.
~ Yeshe Tsogyal
Thanks dude. What a gal!
Beautiful
I have not read 'The Selfish Gene' but Richard Dawkins might have called it 'The Immortal Gene'. The book examines in part the biological nature of altruism.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Selfish_Gene
I would suggest that our evolutionary biological nature is a far better model of our nature than primitive, ancient, superstitious Buddhist karmic reincarnation stories or creation mythologies.
The emergence of 'ultra-altruism', exemplified in the Boddhisattva ideal and in Abrahamic religious models (and others) is however a relevant potential ... and in our and everyones best interests ...
(@Linc could look to this thread too. see above for Shoshin's post....)
This question requires some introspection and as much as I've grown and experienced, as much as I know about the false dichotomy between self and other, I am still as selfish as I was before I stumbled onto Buddhism a quarter century ago.
What has changed is my view of the individual self. I don't know if I can logically see an altruistic act if there is no difference between helping our individual self and another except for the perception of separation.
When I help another, I know that I am also helping myself as any gain is my gain and any loss is my loss.
Some say we must extinguish the individual self but that only confirms it's solidity. To deny the world is to be stained by the world and so I think the individual self is a tool of exploration. Not like it was "meant to be" any more than a rock was meant to be a hammer but a tool for the using none the less.
It's why Buddha kept expressing the dharma after awakening instead of recycling himself back into the cosmos and how the bodhisattva continues to help today.
if i can i help others
if i can not i think it is others kamma vipaka that i am not in a position to help them or they are not in a position to get my help
because my thinking pattern has change to these two ways it helps me to have a contented position most of the time
it was not like that before
earlier i felt sorry for myself and for others whenever i found a position that some one needed something and i could not provide it, (either a service or commodity or finance)
even though one can think 'i am selfish now' than before, this selfishness is worth in the sense of 'my own benefit'