I liked your post James. Thanks. When it comes to the redifining of self, we have similar views. And actually, I don't consider a change in the definition of 'self' an intent of my practice (which obviously only has vague tinges of Zen's), more a result, so it is only interesting to me intellectually the paradox of my insistence on a self, but my inability to find it.
But I wanted to add in, that there are many texts (inside and outside the Zen tradition) that talk about the concept moving away from your idea: "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)" and towards the more comforting "net of jewels" or "moon in a dewdrop" idea. This I interpret as meaning this moment/perspective/Being captures perfectly the whole thing -- a 'mode' of the whole, or 'linear combination of all possible quantum states', or 'eigenvalue of a whole matrix' -- in such a way that EVERY term of the mind/universe wraps up into and is completely expressed by this Mode/instant/being -- and yet it isn't the ONLY expression (lest we end up too indistinguishable from solipsism for my tastes). In this way one never has to feel outside the whole, or incomplete, as though we get a single view through the complex many. Obviously words fail here, and lacking the 'feeling' of this experience, I'm just quoting others who have a peculiarly consistent message. Might turn out their full of sh*t -- but with my knowledge of metaphysics, etc., my money's on the moon in a dew drop :) ... (shaking off the fog) anyway, back to work :) lol. Rod Scholl -----Original Message----- From: James Haines [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 8:14 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Zen] Buddhist connundrum #7526 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 Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Yahoo! Groups Links ------------------------ 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/
