On Mon, 7 Mar 2005, Alex Bunard wrote: > Denial of self is one of the cornerstones of the > Buddhist practice. However, this practice can seem > unintelligible, since this denial of self presupposes > the existence of self whose existence is being denied.
Hello, Alex! Perhaps the problem lies in how you've stated things (denial of self). I don't think it's really a question of *denial* of *self*. Everyone is going to be around as an individual and have an ego--which can be seen nicely by looking at the posts on this list--no matter how "enlightened" they become. I'd say it's more a question of (gradually) exchanging a mistaken view of oneself for a more realistic one: One moves from thinking of oneself as a sort of separate and possibly immortal whole to discovering that in fact one is simply a very changeable and inconsistent part of the larger whole of humanity/environment/history (or, looked at another way, they are a part of oneself). It's exchanging a very rigid and inflexible view of self for a more flexible and porous one (that will allow one to live more easily and helpfully in the world), at least in my limited experience. It dawns on me, by the way, that you (Alex) might want to get in touch with a Tibetan monk, particularly one trained in the Gulagpa tradition which places great emphasis on the Prashangika Madhyamaka (I think it is, something Sanskrit in any event) view of self so heavily influenced by the thinking of Nagarjuna. Tibetan monks seem quite at home discussing and debating the fine points of philosophy which underly Buddhist thought while Zen priests (and practitioners) seem (to my mind, at least) to find this sort of intellectual nit-picking a distraction from the real work we all need to do in the practice of zazen and mindful living (which is where we encounter our self, if we've got our eyes open wide enough to see it in action). James ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater? Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good! http://us.click.yahoo.com/WwRTUD/SOnJAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
