There are many mysteries in life. Throughout the ages, people have been asking: Who am I? where i was from? Where am I going? This is the eternal confusion of mankind and the ultimate problem that everyone can't escape. Because what we care about and care about most is this "me". Our whole life is basically self-centered. But have we ever thought: what on earth represents me? Just this body? Is it just this five-body body that can talk, move, cry and laugh?
The reason why people are afraid of death is that they regard this body as me, and think that physical corruption means the destruction of "me". In fact, the color body is only a precarious fragment in the process of life continuation, a constantly changing form, and it does not represent the real "I". From the philosophical definition, "I" represents the essence of life, which is eternal and inseparable. But the body is only composed of many elements, which are in metabolism and in development and change. In today's era of advanced medicine, many parts of the body can be replaced and assembled, and even artificial substitutes can be used. How can there be a unique and unchanging "I"? If we understand the principle, we will not care so much about our bodies and be less afraid of death.
physically, the existence of "I" is also reflected in two aspects: one is the concept, and the other is the mentality. We live in the same world, but at the same time we live in our own world and our own emotions. Many times, I will be influenced by these joys and sorrows, and I can't help myself. Why are we dominated by it? The reason is that these emotions are mistaken for "I"-"I like it, I hate it", so I will care and persist, and then I will constantly project my spiritual energy into it and constantly strengthen these emotions. In the end, the sovereignty was handed over, and some emotions affected us for a long time. In life, some people pursue love all their lives, while others are driven by hatred all their lives. In fact, many emotions are just malignant tumors in the heart, just the bad development of life. Although it grows in our hearts, it does not belong to "me". If we can observe with wisdom and realize that these emotions are just floating images in our hearts, we will not fall headlong into them and become manipulated puppets.
This requires self-examination and a clear understanding of the harm that "self-attachment" brings to life. In fact, all troubles are caused by "self-persistence". Any kind of thing, as long as it is labeled as self, will be lethal to us, will make people love, hate, miss and sleep. Once the label of self is removed, its change will not have any influence on us. In this world, many earth-shattering things happen every day, but what really makes us move is not necessarily one in ten thousand. Many times, we just sigh with emotion and quickly forget it. Why? It's because we don't really relate ourselves to those things, and we don't have "ego" about it.
"I hold" is also the root of all disputes between right and wrong in the world, and it is the reason why we contradict each other and are difficult to be harmonious with others. In life, a person's self-awareness is too strong, and people who are centered on "I" everywhere will definitely not have harmonious interpersonal relationships. On the contrary, those who downplay themselves and think of others everywhere are not only popular with the public, but also comfortable themselves. Because they don't have to be afraid that my interests will be damaged and my self-esteem will be frustrated. Stay away from this "I" who is everywhere, and stay away from the troubles that go hand in hand with "I".
From the Buddhist point of view, "self" is the biggest misunderstanding of love, and it is the wrong setting that we have because we don't know the truth of life. Neither body nor emotion has an eternal connotation and cannot represent the so-called "I". Therefore, Buddhism put forward the idea of "no self". This is also the Buddha's greatest contribution to all beings. Perhaps many people will find it puzzling and even afraid of it: if there is "no self", what will this talk and move now? Where will it disappear? In fact, what "no self" denies is only the illusion imposed on "I", not the phenomenon itself.
There is a saying in Zen Buddhism: "What was the true face of Yi Nian before his death?" We are in endless thoughts every day, in the conscious activities of one thought after another. What is the state of life before these thoughts are born? Go back to the new moon: before I came to this world, in what state did I exist? The so-called "what were parents before they died" is another important topic of Zen Buddhism. Zen practice, it is through such a pursuit, will cover up the inner layer by layer, and gradually disintegrate the existing wrong settings.
Know yourself-this is the fundamental concern of Buddhism and the highest famous saying of western philosophy. Only by thoroughly understanding the truth of life can we grasp the rudder of progress and become the real masters of life. Otherwise, it can only be the slave of this color body or emotion, rushing for his food and clothing, and exhausting his life for his emotions. What is even sadder is that many people not only work in vain, but also make bad karma from it, so that the future will continue to sink and suffer.
upload date: June 5, 212
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release date: December 21
the root of all persistence is self-persistence, that is, persistence in having a self. Because I insist, I have the opposition between myself and others, which brings new pain. In life, we can find that those who care about themselves especially often have a lot of troubles; On the contrary, selfless people are more likely to be happy and comfortable.
what is "I"? It's just a feeling. For example, there is no difference between you and me in a book. But after we buy this book, we will attach the label "I" to it. Once this feeling is established, the damage or loss of this book will affect us. Before that, no matter what happens to it, it won't hurt us.
if we go to buy a house, it doesn't matter what happens to the house before we buy it, because it hasn't happened to us yet. After buying it, any change in it will affect our hearts. This kind of sadness is caused by those additional "I" feelings.
why do we worry about these trifles instead of other more important things? There are many disasters in the world every day, and many people suffer setbacks or die, but we just sigh, and we won't have much personal feelings, and we won't be sleepless. This is because the label "I" has not been attached to it. Once I am involved in something that happens, I feel different immediately.
If I was the one who suffered setbacks and my relatives died, an ordinary human tragedy would suddenly become a top priority. Yes, in our world, what is more serious than "I" being hurt? When an irrelevant person dies, it is not surprising that we feel that everyone dies; But when our relatives or ourselves face death, we will not be so calm, either complaining about the injustice of heaven or lamenting our own misfortune.
It can be seen that all troubles revolve around "me". We regard the thoughts and ideas that originated as "I" and all kinds of things that are not mine as "I". If it is not influenced by this illusion, how can those thoughts that come and go take root in our hearts and hurt us? Without the interference of "I", the impermanence of the world is an objective law that we can accept, just as we can accept the change of seasons and the withering of vegetation.
So, the color body should always belong to me, right? In fact, the color body is also the product of karma, which is composed of material and spiritual aspects. The former is the genetic gene of parents, and the latter is the Arya knowledge with infinite seeds, in which there is no "I" attribute. When Alaye first reincarnated, he thought of his parents' genes as me, giving him a feeling of "I", and it was hard to give up from now on. Because the persistence time is too long, it has a great influence on us.
In fact, the color body is always in the process of metabolism from growth to aging. Nowadays, medicine is more developed to replace human organs and "I" assembly parts. Among them, which part is the fixed "I"? As for our ideas, they are constantly changing throughout our lives. Youth is different from middle age, and middle age is different from old age. And feelings are even more impermanent, relatives may turn against each other, and enemies may shake hands. On the big stage of the world, such a plot is always staged.
things inside are still like this, not to mention things outside the body such as cars and houses. All these, we only have the temporary right to use, and we can't represent ourselves. An ownerless object, just because it is attached with the feeling of "I", has become a weapon that can hurt us. The more we care about it, the greater the lethality.
those who love money like life, once they lose their property, they will be devastated and even lose the courage to live. The root cause of pain is not money itself, but people's persistence in money.
Every time we do something, we will also get involved in it. If we succeed, we will feel that "I am very successful and have a lot of face"; Failure, I feel "I am a failure and I have been frustrated many times". In fact, career can't represent ourselves. If the two are integrated, will I be lost when my career is lost? The same is true for feelings and families. Everyone cares about different objects, and the focus of troubles is different. Because the power of feeling is also originated and depends on our cultivation.
It can be seen that "ego" is just a bluff shell company with no actual content. Ordinary people, due to ignorance, give everything they have the illusion of "I" and then cling to it. In fact, everything that is regarded as "I" comes from our setting rather than the fact itself. Self-attachment is the root of life and death, and only by abandoning it fundamentally can we transcend the three realms and samsara. Otherwise, learning Buddhism is just scratching one's boots, or enriching one's spare time, which has no real power to improve life.
Our hearts are as empty and vast as emptiness, and that is the truth of our hearts. Emotion is just a cloud floating in the void, and it is the scum accumulated in the process of life continuation. However, ordinary people are always entangled in the clouds because they can't see the truth clearly, and regard it as vanity and the essence of the heart. The world is as big as our hearts. Although we live under the same sky, the world in everyone's heart is like heaven and earth. If we can break through the ego and give up our attachment to this cloud, ordinary people's hearts will lose their foothold, and the clouds that cover the void will be dispelled, so that life can be restored to its true colors.