Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
No abiding self - (is this not a reason to enjoy life, live it up, do what you wanna do,have fun etc
zenmyste
Veteran
I believe there are two ways to look at 'no self'
1.
When i first realized that nothing lasts (including MYSELF) and that there is nothing that is MINE' , I understood the reasons not to 'desire' or crave, or to 'label things as MINE' or even dwell too much if i lost something or if a loved one died (even when my grandpa died, i accepted it well)
I completely understood that there is No abiding self..
HOWEVER;
One day i will not be here........ And thats when it hit me; thats when i realized and kept repeating it to myself "one day i am not going to be here"
so why not do the best i can do, achieve what i can whilst i am here, look my very best, drink, eat, have a great time, want holidays, save for holidays, book holidays, see the world, crave things, desire more, work hard for them , GET THEM, show them off, be proud of myself , etc etc... The list goes on...
I believe i am only here once! (I might be wrong but i also could be right) and chances are, (realistically) i am right and we are only here once!
So perhaps understanding NO SELF is an inspiration to enjoy life, and not take 'spiritual pactice' so serious...
?
1.
When i first realized that nothing lasts (including MYSELF) and that there is nothing that is MINE' , I understood the reasons not to 'desire' or crave, or to 'label things as MINE' or even dwell too much if i lost something or if a loved one died (even when my grandpa died, i accepted it well)
I completely understood that there is No abiding self..
HOWEVER;
One day i will not be here........ And thats when it hit me; thats when i realized and kept repeating it to myself "one day i am not going to be here"
so why not do the best i can do, achieve what i can whilst i am here, look my very best, drink, eat, have a great time, want holidays, save for holidays, book holidays, see the world, crave things, desire more, work hard for them , GET THEM, show them off, be proud of myself , etc etc... The list goes on...
I believe i am only here once! (I might be wrong but i also could be right) and chances are, (realistically) i am right and we are only here once!
So perhaps understanding NO SELF is an inspiration to enjoy life, and not take 'spiritual pactice' so serious...
?
0
Comments
Wow! the hedenistic path verses the 4NT, 8FP and D.O.?
You wouldn't want to experience ALL life has to offer, because a lot of it isn't pretty! Much of it is suffering. So from a Dharma perspective, you'd want to avoid that, and practice the best method available for avoiding suffering.
Not to mention that this precious life isn't really all about you . It's about all of us. If you know there's suffering going on in the world, wouldn't you want to dedicate the one life you have to helping make the world a better place for everyone?
Do this exercise: imagine yourself on your deathbed. You can feel life slowly ebbing from your body. You're getting weaker. You're alone with your thoughts, and you're reviewing your life. How do you feel, having realized you spent your life in self-gratification? 80 years spent getting an education, establishing a career, chasing after pleasures, oblivious to people who turned to you for help? And maybe you raised a family of kids who went on to live similar lives? Partying in college, getting generic jobs, spending their money on nice cars and vacations?
Now visualize the same scenario, but in your life review, you see that you created a charity to help orphans or the handicapped, you reached out to friends of your kids who were from troubled backgrounds, and gave them guidance and emotional support, and a safe place to stay when they needed it, and you raised your kids to dedicate themselves to helping others. One of your kids volunteered for the Peace Corps, then went on to create their own non-profit aimed at carrying out community development projects in poor countries, and another became a doctor who devotes a month each year to providing free medical care to uninsured Americans.
How do you feel about yourself after Life Review 1 and after Life Review 2? How do you want to spend your life now, after doing this exercise?
One could still agree with the 4 truths because lets face it, the 4 truths are FACT!
The 8 fold path is just a common sense moral kind-of-guide (if you ask me)
Aswell as the 5 precepts..
I dont believe the 8 fold path will bring someone 'happiness' (or enlightenment)
Happiness is an 'inside' job, its something you 'think' , know and 'understand' .. not necessarily something you DO)
So my point is; if one 'understood' the way, truth or tao or god (whatever you wanna call it) then he could do anything he wanted! (In regards to how he lives his life and being happy) because he would still understand in his mind what he has to understand!
Until right view the 8FP is just a good guideline to live by but without right view it is just the eightfold path and not the 'noble' eightfold path.
" (including MYSELF) " and "one day I will not be here" are incorrect in that it assumes that you are here now. What's this "myself" or "I" you are referring to? It may seem obvious that it refers to some sort of being in there which is you, but that's what the Buddha wanted us to see beyond. It's not just that we'll die, it's that we in a sense never existed. There is no "you" right now. If you see it you won't think like you are only here once. Also, it will drive towards more spiritual practice rather than the other way around.
What's the practical advise in this? Don't think about it too much - our thinking capacity goes to a certain level and then becomes an obstruction in progressing the path.
Wish you the best,
Sabre
but
if there is a bit, a vee bit of 'craving'
whether you believe it or not
whether you like it or not
you will be born again
have no doubt
One could still agree with the 4 truths because lets face it, the 4 truths are FACT!
The 8 fold path is just a common sense moral kind-of-guide (if you ask me)
The 8 fold path IS a part of the 4 noble truths, so, you can't really remove the path as a kind-of-moral-guide if it is FACT, being the answer to the other 3 truths?
You have asked several very searching questions in the past few days. I hope you find the answers you are seeking. I personally believe that one can still enjoy life, having parties, eating nice dinners, and so on and still practice the truths and the path. Practicing Buddhism doesn't mean giving up all enjoyments of life. It means to stop living for them.
Please also consider what the Buddha said in the Kalama Sutta as follows:
Mmmmmm, I wondered why the Buddha did not go back to his old self after he became enlightened? Perhaps he found a way to not grow old, get sick and die ie. deathless.