To know oneself

Maybe this isn't the right platform for this kind of talk, I don't know if anyone is really too interested in all this. But it doesn't matter, I enjoy writing.

I don't think the majority of us really understand the significance of knowing ourselves. Maybe we think we do because we know what we like and what we don't like. We have formed an image of ourselves that has been slowly built up from childhood. An image that has been formed through conditioning. We identify ourselves with the kind of food we eat, the country we where born in, a political view, sexual orientation, a religious idea and so on. You could say "it is my choice to identify with this thing because I believe it is right" but what conditioning has lead to this choice and this belief? If all of what we think we know is a result of conditioning, which it is, then it would be absurd to call our beliefs and ideas of this world the truth, or the way it should be, because everyones conditioning is different. We are all conditioned and if you find yourself getting offended by this statement, it is a result of an image you have of yourself being threatened. As long as we have an image about ourselves, that image CAN be threatened and so we hold onto it for security. Hence all the nonsense that is happening in the world right now. Identification is security, at least we think it is.

The problem with belief is it has such a narrowing effect on the mind. It dulls us and prevents us from seeing the bigger picture. We haven't looked deep enough to see how past experience and knowledge has shaped who we think we are. You can read all the books you like or visit all the Gurus in the world, but it will never lead you to the truth. The thing with knowledge is it is always followed by its shadow of ignorance. It is time to come out of this ignorance. To know yourself is to see the illusion behind knowledge and belief. To know yourself is to see the incomplete nature of thought and how thought is never new, it is always based on the passed and so it will always be limited. How can we possible solve a problem with something that is limited? I hope this isn't gibberish. To read it is one thing but to see it for yourself is something totally different.

To go with the theme of this forum I could give an example of how our lack of understanding of ourselves has let to this addiction. First of all we have identified ourselves as porn addicts. With this identification we say "I must get rid of this habit" and so we struggle with ourselves to become something different from what we are now. There is a thought in the mind that likes porn because it has remembered the experience of porn in the past. Then there is a thought that doesn't like porn because the knowledge of its harmful effects is also running through the mind. So thought has become divided and in this division there is a conflict, thought is in battle with itself. This is not a philosophy or an idea, you can see it for yourself. Maybe we can run away from it for a while, take a cold shower, go for a walk, anything that takes the mind away from the thought and sensation it creates. But we can never come to understand what we are running away from. Sooner or later it will catch up with us and when it does, it leaves us in deep despair because again we have created an image of who we should be and the cycle continues. To know oneself is to see this divide in the mind, to see the polar opposites of knowledge getting in the way of the fact itself. The fact being the craving, which is thought, which is knowledge, which is the past. So how can we change a habit without this division in the mind and all the sorrow that comes with the inevitable failure? You begin by being aware. Awareness is the greatest agent for change because in awareness there is no judgment, no identity, no past. It is simply looking at the problem objectively. To be aware of such a thing takes a lot of attention but if you care full enough not to include the past in the awareness then you will find that the mind is no longer in a state of contradiction. It is just looking and the looking is the action that ends all other action. The craving passes away as it always does and the mind is at peace because no energy has been waisted in contradiction.

This probable sounds quite difficult, but it is no more difficult than struggling and fighting something you don't even understand. I see it so often on this forum "we must fight this addiction" If you want to punch yourself in the face through fighting then go for it, because to fight the addiction is to fight yourself, they are not separate. Anyway its a long read but I hope it has shed some light onto what is happening in your mind. This is not a belief. You really can see it for yourself.

Know thyself

 

Why is it that addiction turns us all into philosophers?

The Buddha has a teaching called "Not Self". In essence, he encouraged his students to see their bodies and minds as impermanent things beyond their control. On the one hand, you've got enough control over those things to read these words and type out a response, but on the other hand you can't stop your body from growing old or your mind from changing. Since you don't have complete control over your body and mind you can't rightly call them your self. He then goes on to encourage his students to examine how they create their sense of themselves so they can see self-making as a process they can master. Once the process of self-making is understood to the point of mastery, it can be abandoned altogether.

People that have legitimately accomplished this feat are said to be awakened. At that point, not only do they know themselves, they no longer need to entertain questions about the self and its nature.

 

I know right

Yes the buddha founded a meditation technique called Vipassana which allows people to understand the temporary nature of their minds and bodies. By doing this we can learn to detach ourselves from craving and so come out of suffering. Technically the body isn't the self, but while we are living in the body we are reacting blindly to its impulses because of ignorance. He taught that to come out of ignorance we need to understand what is happening inside from moment to moment and see the reality of it as it is. To know thyself and come out of ignorance. I didn't want to mention the buddha in the first post because it can be a turn off for some people. This isn't about believing something because the buddha said so, It's about looking inwards and seeing the truth for your yourself. A universal truth, not really a philosophy.

 

That's part of the appeal of Buddhism. He discovered a path that was already there and then showed people how to walk it. If he had never lived his life, everything he taught would still be true. What he had to say was true because it is true, not because he said so.

 

The thing is, I cant just be a hypocrite and tell people to question their beliefs if I don't question this too. Maybe it is also just another illusion that I have failed to see through. But if we are observing facts rather than ideas and the result is freedom from suffering then this must be the path for humanity. It just seems so logical to turn inwards for the answers, then to blindly follow some silly god that no one has ever seen. Pay some money to a priest who paints you saved and said you must embrace suffering. It's all just so silly. If I can be allowed an opinion, this planet is half asleep. We are living in a dream. The past is following us in our minds like a stone tied to the ankles and it probably wont be long until it destroys us. It's a tragedy, but maybe it is meant to be. I am in no way free from this illusion we call a way of life, but I am aware of the illusion and that is the first step. I don't think I can be of any help on this platform. People want the easy way out, so advice like this is far too scary and too much work. "I'll get to 90 days and then I will be happy" If people would rather fight and struggle their way to some suppressed state of existence then I guess thats their choice, but there is a better way and I can only hope that people wake up to it.

 

Welcome to reality

 

I hear what you are saying, though I tend to frame the situation differently. We are all getting the results of a kamma, past and present. For some people that means belief in god, for others it means atheism, for me it means practicing Buddhism. Practicing poorly I should say . There isn't much of anything anyone person can do for another, other than point them in the right direction. That and honestly discuss what direction is actually right. Letting go of god was easy for me. Letting go a secularism has been a lot more difficult. I keep the precepts, I practice meditation, and I study the Dhamma. That is enough to keep me confident that I am heading in the right direction, no matter how haltingly I may be walking.

 

Kamma is very real. Cause and effect, action and reaction all within the boundary of mathematical precision. I am not a part of anything, not even Buddhism. I practice Vipassana meditation which is a Buddhist technique but I don't belong to it. For me it is a noble path of truth and on the path Dhamma comes about naturally. It is not easy practicing this level of awareness and living a normal life, so keep walking the path my friend. There will be no more ignorance for those who are willing to look.