Cease your False Self and your True Self lives!

last SG · 2005-10-17T09:33:12+00:00

http://www.humanbliss.com.sg/ques_ans.htm - First article Q: Could Shi Fu please give us a discourse on what is True Self? A: True Self is the opposite...

An Eternal Now SG

Received this message from our moderator Namelessness,

No. I don't agree with what longchen had said about the soul. The soul is
not the higher self. On the contrary, it's the concealed self.

It works like a filter through which the light of our pure awareness
projects to form what we are now. And the originator of our thoughts is not
the soul. Thoughts are the manifestation of our pure awareness through the
filtering of soul. So the soul can be called the designer of thoughts.

And the purpose of practicing is to eliminate the adverse effects of the
soul (almost 99.99% of it), and transform it to great wisdom.

And yes, the purpose of our existence is stored in the soul, if there is
one. And it is not hard to discover it if one is in deep An-Shiang.

We should be able to feel our soul every moment because that's how it
controls us and determines who we are and how we think. But I won't called
it the soul. It's somewhat misleading. In Buddhism, we call it shi.
Btw, to my understanding only, the higher self is the true self, he is a/the
Buddha.

An Eternal Now SG

Shi means 'consciousness'.

He probably meant 7th consciousness, which is conventionally called 'the Soul'.

Or the 8th consciousness, a.k.a 'the Storehouse Consciousness'

An Eternal Now SG

There is a point which I would like to make because I think it is quite important on cultivation. I am reminded of this because I heard a passage from a dharma talk by my dharma teacher on casette about dualistic defilements yesterday.

All things - good or bad, beautiful or ugly - should be treated as void. Even in time of disputes and quarrels we should treat our intimates and our enemies alike and never think of retaliation.

Good Friends, to keep our mind free from defilement under all circumstances is called 'No Thought'.

Good Friends, what is that should be 'No'? What is that should be 'Thought'? 'No' means to have no dualistic and all defiling conceptions. 'Thought' means to fix our mind on the true nature of Tathata, for Tathata is the quintessence of thought, and thought is the result of the activity of Tathata.

No Defilement is very important for practise. And sometimes defilements are very subtle - you do not realise it because the things you depend on is still there. For example, you have become attached to your kind of lifestyle. Then when someone asks you to live in the jungles, you hated it. That is also defilements.

Therefore we should constantly be mindful of mind, speech, action, not slacking it in any way of giving in to sentient thoughts. And the only way is to be Aware. [not suppression]

An Eternal Now SG

From our moderator _wanderer_,

hmm well, pple at different stages of the path will experience the "self" differently. even the method differs, be it mindful effort, suppression, non-suppression... the danger lies in when we hold on rigidly to a certain concept of soul/self, or to a certain practice method, that will be more dangerous. but this stuckness is inevitable and it's also part of the path. Smile

one can't understand "true self" through listening, discussing and contemplating. one can't understand through reading and quoting texts. one also can't understand thru comparing between meditative experiences and what books have said. hmm in fact, nothing effortful (or for that matter, "effortfully" effortless ways) can bring us to it.

however, having said that, listening, discussing, contemplating, comparison and meditation are still impt elements along the path. and without them, we wouldn't even have the fuel to begin the goalless journey.

Smile continue to seek, and may the minds of all seekers mature quickly and meet with their most impt teachers who will point them to enlightenment.

longchen SG

I think I agree mostly with what Namelessness write.

I totally agree that the thoughts' original source is pure awareness... but it passes through 'the soul'.

The main different is that Namelessness sees 'the soul' as a filter. I see 'the soul' as a reflection of pure awareness. My understanding is that essentially pure awareness is everything... So if it is everything... there cannot be a filter... because the filter must be separated from it, in order to counter pure awareness. Rather 'soul' has be a manifestation of pure awareness. If it is a manifestation... it must reflect pure awareness's qualities... because Pure awareness is all there is.

Pure awareness is not good and wise... IT JUST IS. and thus good, bad, moral, whatever has no meaning for it. Pure awareness is everything and therefore cannot exclude anything... it is wise, ignorance and ALL.

Just a sharing... nothing personal and i have a great respect for Namelessness.

longchen SG

Imagine this...

All that is (omnipresent Oneness) as a vast interconnected machinery. All That Is is perfect... because it is complete/whole. Emptiness is not empty but full.....but our individual minds cannot conceive the fullness.

The individual parts within this machinery, when viewed separately... seems incomplete. Let consider the individual parts as individual 'selves' . Individual selves when they focus on themselves and believe themselves as separated, will be seen as 'incomplete and dysfunctional'. If the individual part sees others as individual parts... they will only see incompleteness and perhaps mistakes...This is because... the individuals cannot see the Perfection(of 'It is because It is') of the totality. In the totality, all is good ( 'all is good' is not a dualistic good/bad..but an acceptance of 'is it because it is...what is') ... However, seem as separated parts ... things seems problematic.

The individual parts can be liken to 'the souls' that formulate the thoughts... forming the personality of individual selves. From my understanding, these personality selves changes all the time... from one incarnation to another... the personality may not be the same...

sinweiy SG

agreed on the individual parts and whole part. like the lip entity forgive the teeth entity when it accidentally bite it. as both are one whole human entity, so to speak in a smaller perspective.

Quantum Metaphysics also have this concept:
http://www.quantum-metaphysics.com/essay.htm

It is useful to introduce the following two definitions:

a.) A "source-entity" is a whole at any dimensional order to which a part belongs, regardless how many orders are in between. A source-entity is like any ancestor, no matter how many generations ago.

b.) A "sub-entity" is any part that belongs to a source-entity, regardless how many orders are in between, like a descendant from any ancestor, no matter how many generations ago.

this is also according with Hua Yen Sutra.

/\

surfer188 SG

Six senses are tools but empty of value. They are tools like keys to open door to "real".

Yes thoughts cannot be stop by thougths.

I feels the sex senses, thoughts, life .... are flows of entities. Consistantly flowing, draging (So call "Gu Hai")

thru these tools, realisations of non-self arises, thru non-self arises understand of truth arisies, ....

longchen SG

Hi Sinweiy,

Thanks for the essay on quantum metaphysic.

It is very very interesting! and shows that science is converging into matters that are previously considered spiritual. Very Happy

According to other mystics that I am conversing with, there might be 12 dimensions/plane of consciousness that forms our reality. However, Reality is in the here and the now... and we need not climb up all the way in the dimension/planes of consciousness.

An Eternal Now SG

Yes I have also heard previously that Buddhism's model (and maybe other mystical traditions too) is similar to the findings on Quantum Physics.

Planes of consciousness? Not sure what you mean, but I know there are 8 Jhanas. Each person's path is different according to their practises, but for me, my master transmit the dharma of sudden transcendence, which means transcending the three worlds instantaneously. That means it is without the need of going through different jhanas. However, unfortunately not many have the high capacity to awaken to that dharma... I heard there are quite many people of higher capacity, just by receiving the transmission from my master or my dharma teacher, and receiving their blessings, they receive a sudden awakening.

An Eternal Now SG

There is a very interesting dhamma talk by Ajahn Brahamvamso.

http://media.bswa.org/audio/mp3/Brahmavamso_2001_10_19.mp3

It's called Buddhism & Science. Ajahn Brahmavamso used to say, "Buddhism is the ONLY True Science." Smile

Ajahn Brahmavamso used to b a scientist/quantum physicist (i think) before renouncing. You can hear it from the talk itself.

An Eternal Now SG

Albert Einstein, the world's well known scientist, is also very supportive of Buddhism.

pls read the recent posting of quotes by albert einstein: http://buddhism.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=122948&page=2

Einstein's relationship with quantum physics was quite remarkable. He was the first, even before Max Planck, the discoverer of the quantum, to say that quantum theory was revolutionary. His idea of light quanta was a landmark break with the classical understanding of physics. In 1909, Einstein presented his first paper to a gathering of physicists and told them that they must find some way to understand waves and particles together.

-----------

This remarkable book contains over 120 sayings from the founders of modern physics paired with parallel sayings from the seminal works of Buddhist, Hindu and Taoist contemplatives. Einstein and Buddha is a fascinating collection of quotes that challenges us to think deeper about the relationship between modern physics and mystical insight. Although these two ways of understanding and investigating reality have significant differences, the parallels suggest that they share a mysterious and profound connection.

longchen SG

Hi Eternal Now,

I think the planes of consciousness roughly equates to the Jhana... perhaps there are some differences. Different traditional have different ways of differentiating... some Western mystical tradition even say that within a plane there are 12 subplanes... making up 144 levels.

As for sudden awakening, I think it is possible... Your master must be very capable in order to do that. I also think that the awakening need not go through the Jhana... When I first expereince pure awareness... I did not pass through all the Jhanas... This had been puzzling for me... because I previously thought it must be 'above' all the jhanas. Now, I know... it is there all-along in the here and now.

Actually, to say 'in the here and now'... is not exactly accurate. But, I can't think of a better way to describe. The fact is, there is no past and no future, past and future are memories and thoughts. Each moment is a Now... only thoughts give the impression of time.

An Eternal Now SG

Originally posted by longchen:
[b]

Hi Eternal Now,

I think the planes of consciousness roughly equates to the Jhana... perhaps there are some differences. Different traditional have different ways of differentiating... some Western mystical tradition even say that within a plane there are 12 subplanes... making up 144 levels.

As for sudden awakening, I think it is possible... Your master must be very capable in order to do that. I also think that the awakening need not go through the Jhana... When I first expereince pure awareness... I did not pass through all the Jhanas... This had been puzzling for me... because I previously thought it must be 'above' all the jhanas. Now, I know... it is there all-along in the here and now.

Actually, to say 'in the here and now'... is not exactly accurate. But, I can't think of a better way to describe. The fact is, there is no past and no future, past and future are memories and thoughts. Each moment is a Now... only thoughts give the impression of time.

This one, from Diamond Sutra, should be more accurate Wink :

Subhuti, it is impossible to retain past mind, impossible to hold on to present mind, and impossible to grasp future mind for in none of its activities does the mind have substance or existence.

Even Present Mind is ungraspable. Grasping an image of the Present, it becomes the 'past'.

An Eternal Now SG

Six sense doors are dangerous because it is also a door for the Maras to enter! Guard it well with Mindfulness Wink But yes, six senses are also important. Some people achieve very high jhana - formless jhana. After death their consciousness is absorbed in jhana - e.g infinite space, infinite consciousness, etc. Their jhana may last billions of years, bu they have no chance of attaining enlightenment - because no enlightened teacher could speak the dharma to them (they don't have body, they don't have six senses).

longchen SG

Thanks Very Happy

Thusness SG

Hi longchen,

It is ungraspable not because the Ultimate Object cannot be the subject of observation; but rather there is really no such ultimate object hiding behind anywhere. A someone inside somewhere is from the very beginning a mistake. True authenticity comes when we realized that any form of centricity is illusionary.
To experience the Pure Presence of Isness, I AMness must completely dissolve. The Pure Presence you experienced is non-local and has no-center. It becomes an I AM due to linear mode of analysis. If you have time do explore into insight meditation and the essence of Emptiness Wink

Regards,
Thusness

longchen SG

Hi Thusness,

OK. Will do so.

I have a question that hopefully you can answer... if I Amness completely dissolves won't we have difficulty relating to normal society?

BTW, nice to hear from you again. Smile

Regards.

An Eternal Now SG

Hi Thusness, long time no see! Welcome back! Laughing

Thusness SG

Hi Eternal Now,

I am equally glad to see u again. You are as active as before. Smile I told you that I will be away for some time and will be away again. Pretty much to cope.

Do take good care of yourself.

Regards,

Thusness.

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