Thusness posted in Dharma Connection:

I was reading Catherine’s post about her friend in emptiness group, I felt deeply sorry to hear about the story…pls help to send some metta to her friend…
https://www.facebook.com/groups/emptinesses/permalink/579123518861690/

………..

Catherine Noyce: Over the course of the last few weeks I asked my friend a question "If you, as you are now, could go back in time and give the 'you' of ten years ago some advice, what would it be" This is what he/she came up with:

Be kinder
Look after your body
Deal with difficult or latent problems - don't ignore them or stuff them down or they will come back to bite you..

………..

I think there are valuable lessons we can learn from the story…and is somehow related to this thread.

“There is no self, self is just a thought.”

I do not deny that it is an insight that helps to relief and release thoughts from engaging too much in their own stories but this is not seeing through and overcoming self/Self in the dharma sense…(imo)

“There is no self, self is this intricate web of dependent arising with ignorance as the cause.”

This is dharma for it expounds dependent origination of Kleshas (afflictions: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleshas_%28Buddhism%29) – the very heart of Buddhism.

Because this web is intricate, powerful, difficult to see and difficult to understand, overcoming self/Self in dharma is no small matter as in simply resting in clarity.

We all want to have simplicity, to take the quickest and most direct path towards liberation but sincerely how many have overcome one’s kleshas that never fail to manifest in all levels of our lives – in all events and situations, in waking, dreaming and sleeping, in bardo, in reading even this fb (facebook), in conversations…where and when does this habitual tendency not manifest…

Therefore although it is not advisable to over intellectualized it is also not wise to over simplify matters. There is no clarity of self/Self if one does not see with clarity this web of DO (dependent origination) of Kleshas, for self/Self is none other than this intricate web.

The OP written by Kyle imo is not an over intellectualization, what written is a very sincere and pain staking process of investigation into the nature of self/Self. It requires realization of anatta, strong concentration and deep insight into the action chain that is not easy to penetrate – which is the dependent origination of Kleshas -- the heart of Buddhism.

Thanks again Kyle for sharing.
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