No man ever steps in the same river twice
for it's not the same river and he's not the same man
Heraclitus
for it's not the same river and he's not the same man
Heraclitus
Dharmadanza practice may help you experience a direct realisation of non-self, that is, the non-existence of a solid, permanent, unchanging self. This does not mean that you don´t exist. The self you call "me", the "conventionally existing self", exists - just not as a fixed and findable entity.
"Because we all experience what seems like a voice talking in our heads, we imagine that we exist as an autonomous, self-established entity, “me,” the speaker of our thoughts, findable somewhere in our brain or mind. But this does not correspond to reality; there is no such thing established as some findable entity inside our heads." ~ Berzin (Source)
People often identify with their bodies, their thoughts, their feelings, their emotions.
But what is the self?
The Buddha taught that each moment of our lived-experience (vivencia) is made up of many variables. He called these the five aggregates and explained that neither body, nor feeling, nor perception, nor volition, nor awareness is the self. If that was the case, you would be able to control them at will. In addition, they are all inconstant and consequently stressful, and it is not fit to regard what is subject to continuous change as mine or as my self.
According to the Buddha,
In this way one breaks the spell and attains a sense of liberation. Through not-clinging to any of the five aggregates one is totally released from all that flows out from passionate clinging. Although the five aggregates may give rise to a sense of personality, they are impermanent and transitory, which gives rise to suffering when we grasp and identify them as "me, myself and I".
Like Alan Watts once said, “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” This is one of the Dharmadanza´s invitations, to celebrate the continuous dynamic flow of life and join the dance of impermanence. Developing a healthy sense of non-clinging does not mean to give up on the joys of life. Much to the contrary, it liberates us to fully embrace the continuous flow of sensory and emotional experience that arises as we encounter and taste the rawness of life in its many flavours.
"Because we all experience what seems like a voice talking in our heads, we imagine that we exist as an autonomous, self-established entity, “me,” the speaker of our thoughts, findable somewhere in our brain or mind. But this does not correspond to reality; there is no such thing established as some findable entity inside our heads." ~ Berzin (Source)
People often identify with their bodies, their thoughts, their feelings, their emotions.
But what is the self?
- The physical body and its parts? The sensory organs, the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, etc.?
- The ever-changing feelings of happiness or unhappiness in all their nuances?
- Is the self what you are perceiving in the present moment? Your capacity to distinguish "this from that"? For example, to distinguish someone's face from everything else in your field of vision?
- Is the self the volitional choices or decisions affecting your experience e.g. emotions, attention, interest and habits?
- Is the self the awareness of what you see, hear, smell, taste and physically sense? The capacity to cognize (i.e. to know a sight as a sight, a sounds as a sound, etc.)?
The Buddha taught that each moment of our lived-experience (vivencia) is made up of many variables. He called these the five aggregates and explained that neither body, nor feeling, nor perception, nor volition, nor awareness is the self. If that was the case, you would be able to control them at will. In addition, they are all inconstant and consequently stressful, and it is not fit to regard what is subject to continuous change as mine or as my self.
According to the Buddha,
- the body is to be seen as it actually is; as not mine, not my self, not what I am
- any feeling is to be seen as it actually is; as not mine, not my self, not what I am
- any perception is to be seen as it actually is; as not mine, not my self, not what I am
- any fabrication and consciousness is to be seen as not mine, not my self, not what I am
In this way one breaks the spell and attains a sense of liberation. Through not-clinging to any of the five aggregates one is totally released from all that flows out from passionate clinging. Although the five aggregates may give rise to a sense of personality, they are impermanent and transitory, which gives rise to suffering when we grasp and identify them as "me, myself and I".
Like Alan Watts once said, “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” This is one of the Dharmadanza´s invitations, to celebrate the continuous dynamic flow of life and join the dance of impermanence. Developing a healthy sense of non-clinging does not mean to give up on the joys of life. Much to the contrary, it liberates us to fully embrace the continuous flow of sensory and emotional experience that arises as we encounter and taste the rawness of life in its many flavours.
Source: Anatta-Lakkhana Sutta, The Discourse on the Not-Self Characteristic