' Experiences and No Self '...

Our path is usually entertained by seeking to have and then acquiring various experiences and insights that seem to inspire and propel our on-going "enlightenment project". All "spiritual" experiences are being collected by the egoic mind for its own enjoyment and edification.

The real path begins and ends when that seeking self suddenly vanishes. All the wonderful insights and ecstatic experiences it collected are completely lost and are seen to have no value whatsoever.

It's known then that all notions of higher and more subtle levels of insights and realizations were all just more "magical thinking" regarding a "higher" dimension of "me".

The problem with even Dzogchen is that it offers the highest benefits for the egoic self; an escape from physical death and suffering, the realization of total clarity and magical powers, and the attainment of a permanent "body of light", all apparently promised through no effort at all! The egoic mind couldn't have found a better path!

The egoic selfing tries to become the perfect awareness of rigpa, the original Buddha Mind. It gets glimpses of certain states that make it seem that it's right on track for the final achievement. However, it's actually only reinforcing its own self-delusion.

On the other hand, the real liberation is when the egoic mind and self ceases being generated. It vanishes along with all its problems. No one remains to realize or stabilize "rigpa". Rigpa is
it's own emptiness, not a state or achievement for a "someone".

I am not aware of any practices or conscious insights, not even "resting in non-meditation", that can facilitate this sudden cessation of the egoic mind and self. That's because all practices and insights are only for the benefit of the "me". They actually energize and further reify the "me".

I don't think most lamas and teachers understand this.

The cessation of the illusion of being an individual self, a "me", occurs at the level of subconscious mental activity. It's the same subconscious processing that generates who you seem to be in a dream at night.

The self is the sum total of all conditioning regarding identity. It's the "tip of the iceberg" that peeks out into consciousness, just barely above the deep waters of the subconscious.

By simply exposing this information to the subconscious mind, it can suddenly cease the selfing activity. It's like downloading a virus into a computer's software that shuts down particular programs automatically.

I have included below, a batch of really good videos that can cause a shift in the egoic selfing mechanisms.

Immediately below are two good quotes from a Tibetan Dzogchen teacher, Anam Thubten, from his book: "No Self, No Problem".

Let's use this thread to only pose questions and answers that could be helpful for future readers.

Liberation is not for yourself, it's from the self that is seeking liberation.

Anam Thubten wrote:

"Look. Who is searching for enlightenment? If we bring about awareness in our mind right now, we see that it is the same “I” who searches for everything. Who is searching for fame? Who is searching for pleasure? Who is searching for a way to arrive at the truth? It is the same “I.” The “I” who is searching for enlightenment is the same “I.” This “I” is sometimes very holy and sometimes extremely nasty. You see, this “I” has a big closet filled with all kinds of masks. There are masks of being holy and masks of being quite sinister. The “I” who wants to wring somebody’s neck is the same “I” who is searching for enlightenment. You see, it’s all the business of “I.” There is no good “I.” There is no bad “I.” There is only one “I” and it’s called the ego. Ego is a mental construct, a fabrication. It has nothing to do with who we really are. The very heart of the matter is that all of our problems, of course, are the creation of this “I.”

"Trying to acquire enlightenment from the outside, from a very impressive teacher or from an exotic practice, is also an illusion. These are simply other ways ego uses to sustain its illusory reality." Anam Thubten

One of the videos is a really interesting conversation between Chogyam Trungpa and Krishnamurti.


-Jackson Peterson: Experiences and No Self