3 ms·

Can you say a bit more about the illusion part?

by pbz 11y ago

kordless 11y ago
Buhddha showed we are all the same, at a certain level. One big pot of consciousness, if you will. Being disciplined at presence allows for the insight of this truth. And it's repeatable by others thorough practice of certain meditaion techniques. The illusion becomes an ovious point of dissonance at that point, thus the illusion of 'self'.
hosh 11y ago
Some of the leading neuroscience is showing that what you conceive as the sense of self is something created by the brain. It does not exist the way you think it does. That's not the illusion I was talking about though. It's one thing to read about that, but it's quite another to directly experience this. Like @kordless said, this is a repeatable process where you can see this for yourself. (And there's a great book written by a neuroscientist who also practices mindful meditation, and wrote about these two perspectives). This is also not limited to the Buddhist tradition, though the sutrayana Buddhist teaches this as the primary thing and speaks the loudest about it. (There are ... realms, let's just say, beyond no-self and emptiness).
HenryTheHorse 11y ago
Disclaimer: I'm not a Buddhist teacher. Just a practitioner for more than 10 years and have read some of the texts. For best results, talk to a real teacher. The illusion of self is a big deal in Buddhism and it can be confusing and daunting at first, but the concept behind it is really not that difficult to grasp. (Putting it into practice is a different challenge!) One analogy I like to use is that of an automobile. The individual parts - the engine, the wheels, the chassis, the steering wheel, the gears etc - are all necessary, but individually, none of them are the car themselves. No one would look at a seat and say "that's a nice car!" Yet, we do just that in our daily lives. We experience anxiety and fear and say "that's ME!". We go through several bodily experiences as "I, me, mine". (Which is NOT the same as saying this body is not you. Think of the car analogy. The tears are happening to you, but the tears are NOT YOU.) Therefore, in all Buddhist traditions, we are taught to view all experiences as fundamentally lacking any self. This body, this experience, this thought, this taste/smell/touch, nothing has the self. Those are all beautiful but empty experiences. Hope this answered your "illusion of self" question at least partly.

Can you say a bit more about the illusion part?

by pbz 11y ago

Can you say a bit more about the illusion part?

Buhddha showed we are all the same, at a certain level. One big pot of consciousness, if you will. Being disciplined at presence allows for the insight of this truth. And it's repeatable by others thorough practice of certain meditaion techniques. The illusion becomes an ovious point of dissonance at that point, thus the illusion of 'self'.

hosh 11y ago

Some of the leading neuroscience is showing that what you conceive as the sense of self is something created by the brain. It does not exist the way you think it does. That's not the illusion I was talking about though. It's one thing to read about that, but it's quite another to directly experience this. Like @kordless said, this is a repeatable process where you can see this for yourself. (And there's a great book written by a neuroscientist who also practices mindful meditation, and wrote about these two perspectives). This is also not limited to the Buddhist tradition, though the sutrayana Buddhist teaches this as the primary thing and speaks the loudest about it. (There are ... realms, let's just say, beyond no-self and emptiness).

HenryTheHorse 11y ago

Disclaimer: I'm not a Buddhist teacher. Just a practitioner for more than 10 years and have read some of the texts. For best results, talk to a real teacher. The illusion of self is a big deal in Buddhism and it can be confusing and daunting at first, but the concept behind it is really not that difficult to grasp. (Putting it into practice is a different challenge!) One analogy I like to use is that of an automobile. The individual parts - the engine, the wheels, the chassis, the steering wheel, the gears etc - are all necessary, but individually, none of them are the car themselves. No one would look at a seat and say "that's a nice car!" Yet, we do just that in our daily lives. We experience anxiety and fear and say "that's ME!". We go through several bodily experiences as "I, me, mine". (Which is NOT the same as saying this body is not you. Think of the car analogy. The tears are happening to you, but the tears are NOT YOU.) Therefore, in all Buddhist traditions, we are taught to view all experiences as fundamentally lacking any self. This body, this experience, this thought, this taste/smell/touch, nothing has the self. Those are all beautiful but empty experiences. Hope this answered your "illusion of self" question at least partly.