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"What am I?"
Am I a misunderstanding?
A die has many faces
A die has many faces
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[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The sincere practitioner Avalokitesvara
while intently practicing the Perfection of Wisdom Meditation
perceived that all of the five phenomenal aggregates are empty of inherent existence
and was thereby saved from all suffering and distress. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]He told Shariputra:
Form does not differ from emptiness,
emptiness does not differ from form.
That which is form is emptiness,
that which is emptiness is form. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The same is true of feelings,
perceptions, impulses, and consciousness. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Shariputra,
all perceived phenomena are marked with emptiness.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]They do not appear or disappear,
they are neither tainted nor pure,
nor do they increase or decrease. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling,
no perception, no impulse, and no consciousness. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]There is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind;
no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch,
no object of mind,
no mind to perceive,
and so forth[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]until it is clear that there is no realm of mental consciousness. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]There is no ignorance nor extinction of ignorance,
and so forth until no old age and death
and also no extinction of these phenomena. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]There is no suffering, no origination,
no stopping, no path, no cognition,
nor is there attainment, because there is nothing to attain. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If the sincere practitioner depends on the Perfection of Wisdom Meditation,
and the mind is not a hindrance,
without any hindrance no fears exist.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Far apart from every incorrect view one dwells in the final state of seeing clearly. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]In the innumerable worlds and dimensions
all sincere practitioners depend on the Perfection of Wisdom Meditation
and thereby attain the final state of seeing clearly. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Therefore know that the Mantra of the Perfection of Wisdom
is the great transcendent mantra,
the great clarifying mantra,
the ultimate mantra,
the supreme mantra
which is able to relieve all suffering,
is perfectly clear,[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]and is beyond any mistaken perception. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
So proclaim the Mantra of the Perfection of Wisdom.
Proclaim the mantra which says: [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha. [/FONT]
“[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Gone Beyond, gone beyond, gone completely beyond, gone to the other shore. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Clarity. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So it is.”[/FONT]
I answer your question with a question:
Why are you asking?
"Who's asking?"
....DAMN! everyone took all the good one-line esoteric answers before me (that fit the situation)
And you are, whoever you think you are. YOU are the master of your own self... Not even Gods have dominion over you. If you think you are a misunderstanding... then that is what you are.
To yourself at least... and generally that is what matters most to yourself, and that is yourself. so if you and yourself and getting along with yourself then yourself and you can have a goo- *head explodes*
A noble Wise man
^This.
word.
Hey there, The Found! Good to see you, whoever you are, my friend!
The question IS worth asking, when you have yet to stop making an "I".
No, not even then.
So you are saying that one should not try to understand what suffering is and what causes it? Gonna have to disagree.
No, and I'm not sure where you're getting that idea since that wasn't the question asked in the OP.
The question "What am I" is equivalent to asking "What is suffering" since identifying yourself like this is what makes suffering. To know what this "I" is, is to know what suffering is. You disagree?
No, I don't think they're equivalent, and neither did the Buddha it seems. I think Thanissaro makes a good case for why in the link I provided above, but the short of it is, the question "What am I?" isn't conducive to liberation. This is precisely why the Buddha refused to directly answer whether or not there is a self (SN 44.10), stating that he didn't see "any such supporting (argument) for views [of self] from the reliance on which there would not arise sorrow and lamentation, pain, grief and despair" (MN 22).
Instead, the Buddha focuses on events in and of themselves, as they are experienced, bypassing the question of self altogether. More importantly, he explicitly says, "Who suffers," isn't a valid question, suggesting the alternative, "From what as a requisite condition comes suffering" (SN 12.35) in an effort to re-frame these questions in a way that is conducive to liberation — i.e., in terms of dependent co-arising — which avoids the question of 'who' or 'what' suffers.
The Buddha said there were three types of questions- those that should be answered with a yes/no, ones that should be answered analytically, and ones that should be put aside. The question of is there self, no self, emptiness of self, etc. was one to be put aside.
Is "What am I?" a worthy question? For some Buddhists, it's the only question worth trying to answer.
"What is Zen?" by Zen Master Seung Sahn, founder of Kwan Um school of Zen:
Zen is very simple... What are you?
In this whole world everyone searches for happiness outside, but nobody understands their true self inside.
Everybody says, "I" -- "I want this, I am like that..." But nobody understands this "I." Before you were born, where did your I come from? When you die, where will your I go? If you sincerely ask, "what am I?" sooner or later you will run into a wall where all thinking is cut off. We call this "don't know."
Zen is keeping this "don't know" mind always and everywhere.
lying down, speaking, being
silent, moving, being still.
At all times, in all places, without
interruption -- what is this?
One mind is infinite kalpas.
Finally, your don't-know mind will become clear. Then you can see the sky, only blue. You can see the tree, only green. Your mind is like a clear mirror. Red comes, the mirror is red; white comes the mirror is white. A hungry person comes, you can give him food; a thirsty person comes, you can give her something to drink. There is no desire for myself, only for all beings. That mind is already enlightenment, what we call Great Love, Great Compassion, the Great Bodhisattva Way. It's very simple, not difficult! So Buddha said that all beings have Buddha-nature (enlightenment nature). But Zen Master Joju said that a dog has no Buddha-nature. Which one is right? Which one is wrong? If you find that, you find the true way.
Close, there are actually four types of questions: those that deserve a categorical (straight yes or no) answer; those that deserve an analytical answer, defining and qualifying the terms of the question; those that deserve a counter-question, putting the ball back in the questioner's court; and those that deserve to be put aside (No-self or Not-self?).
I rethought that a few hours ago but I didn't think to change it. Thanks for the fix, though
No problem. Not bad just quoting from memory, though. You pretty much nailed them all.
Why thanks. I do appreciate that link. I have seen it once before as well, I believe.