Clarification about the 'Self'

All forms of Buddhism teach that all dharma or phenomena have 3 universal characteristics :

All phenomena are Impermanent	The teaching of ANICCA
All phenomena are Unsatisfactory	The teaching of DUKKHA
All phenomena are Not-Self	The teaching of ANATTA

The teachings of Anicca and Dukkha are common to all religious or philosopHical traditions, but the teaching of Anatta is unique to Buddhism.

According to Anatta there is nothing that can be identified as 'self', all the things that we take to be ourself, to be I and mine, are really 'not-self'.

Buddhism holds that these notions are deceptive delusions that lead us into conflicts and suffering. To stop this suffering we have to realize the nature of all phenomena. This is achieved by intellectual understanding and through insight.

Because almost all of our thoughts and activities are centred around the idea of "I", "mine" and "myself" Anatta is the deepest and the most difficult of the 3 characteristics to realize. To grasp its exact meaning we have to clarify what it actually does and does not deny. 'Anatta' meaning literally 'not-self', what really is this 'self' denied by it ?

The word "self" can be used in three senses :

• (a) A reflexive sense, as when when we speak of "myself", "yourself", "oneself". (French “moi-meme”, “toi-meme”, “soi-meme”). Buddhism accepts such use of the word "Self". You have to train yourself, one must purify oneself, you have to make the effort yourself and so on.

• (b) "Self” as one's own person, the compound of body and mind or psycho-physical personality. Here the word 'self' is used to refer easily and economically to what really is a complex process. Buddhism accepts such use of the word "Self".

• (c) A substantial and lasting ego entity, core of the compound of body and mind. This idea of a "Self" is categorically rejected by the teaching of Anatta, for it is this assumption that draws us into suffering.

Habit : the Genesis of Identity

My 2 puppies Itto & Tomoe are charming, smart and very destructive. It is important to keep them busy unless they do stupid things. People are also like this. I try to keep them busy by teaching them different things : walk beside me, stop, sit... etc... I have trained dogs before. Border Collies are smart and easy to train, they want to learn and they want to please.

However, I quickly realized that you cannot train 2 puppies at the same time. It just does not work, and I believe I know why.

Actually, dogs do not really know their names. Nothing happens in Itto's head that tells him he “IS” Itto. Itto does not think “I am Itto”; he has no concept of Identity. 

However, a particular dog will understand a command preceded by his name. But, if other dogs are around and if you do not call the dog's name before giving the command, the dog won't understand.

There is no point trying to teach Itto or Tomoe to answer the command « Sit ». It can be done, but there is no point doing it. You can individually teach each dog to sit. But when both dogs are together and you ask Itto to sit and Tomoe does not sit, she will realize that she does not have to follow the command « sit ». She will get confused, and later will not follow your commands. You will get frustrated, think she is stupid, but really and truly, it is not the dog's fault, it's yours !

So it is necessary to teach each dog separately "Tomoe, sit" and "Itto, sit", This applies to any command: "Itto, come"; "Tomoe, Stay"... Once the dog understands which command applies to him or her, it become possible to have them work together. You can ask one dog to come while the other stays put. That is how shepherd use several dogs to handle their flocks. They always give personalized commands to their dogs.

Itto does not know his name. However, he knows he should sit when he hears "Itto, sit" . This is true of many commands : "Itto, Come" ; "Itto, Walk", etc...

Little by little, Itto realizes that when he hears the sound "Itto" he will  be asked to do something specific. So every time he hears this "Itto", he lifts his ears and focus.

THIS is why we can say the dog knows his name.

Knowing his name is nothing but the ability to react to a sound; the result of a conditioning. This ability is voluntary at the beginning (The trainer triggers it in various ways, this is what dog training is about) and little by little it becomes involuntary: the dog reacts without having to pay attention. We say that the dog knows his name, and who he is, but it is just a pattern of acquired behavior, an habit.

Likewise our personality – our Ego - is the result of such an habitual and cultural conditioning: an acquired behaviour. And this conditioning is so powerful that from an early age we come to believe that this personality is an actual entity, a "Real Thing", and we totally identify to it.

Human mind has a hard time perceiving and conceiving of an ever-changing reality. It loves to imagine immutable things and sort them in categories. 


We call this construct Ego, Soul or Atman.

And we imagine it has a transcendental and eternal nature because we cannot conceive it is just a convention of language for an acquired behaviour.

And this is one of the roots of suffering...

Anatma

The following is clearer than anything I have ever heard.

The term anatman is usually translated as "non-soul", but in reality atman is here synonymous with a personality, an ego, a self, an individual, a living being, a conscious agent, etc.

The underlying idea is that, whatsoever be designated by all these names, it is not a real and ultimate fact, it is a mere name for a multitude of interconnected facts, which Buddhist philosophy is attempting to analyse by reducing them to real elements (dharma). Thus "soullessness" (nairatmya) is but the negative expression, indeed a synonym, for the existence of ultimate realities (dharmata).

Buddhism never denied the existence of a personality, or a soul, in the empirical sense, it only maintained that it was no ultimate reality (not a dharma). The Buddhist term for an individual, a term which is intended to suggest the difference between the Buddhist view and other theories, is santana, i.e. a "stream ", viz. of interconnected facts.

It includes the mental elements and the physical ones as well, the elements of one's own body and the external objects, as far as they constitute the experience of a given personality. The representatives of eighteen classes (dhatu) of elements combine together to produce this interconnected stream.

There is a special force, called prapti, which holds these elements combined. It operates only within the limits of a single stream and not beyond. This stream of elements kept together, and not limited to present life, but having its roots in past existences and its continuation in future ones - is the Buddhist counterpart of the Soul or the Self of other systems.

From Theodore Stcherbatsky in 'The Central Conception of Buddhism and the Meaning of the Word "Dharma".'

 

Heaven and Hell

Mugen and I often have meaningful conversations at red lights, and may not see that it turned to green. Not long ago on my way to Karate, I had stopped at a red light. The light must have been green for 3 seconds, and some idiot behind me honked. 

That pissed me off !  I really felt like getting off my car to go punch the moron in the face.

Now what is amazing is the speed at which this happens. It is unreal ! In a matter of a few milliseconds, you switch from Dr. Jekyll to Mr Hide. (I've heard that some women have the ability to do that even faster, but this is a different story...).

No seriously, it is hard to believe, It is so fast, no conscious ego involved. Pure, Row Anger Flaring. 5 skandhas at work.

• Form : the honking,
• Sensation: the sound hits the eardrum;
• Consciousness : awareness of the sound;
• Perception : someone is not happy,
• Mental formation - pure, row anger.

Later on the Ego becomes involved. Anger needs to be resolved - it really is not good for the body : high blood pressure, adrenaline overflows, stomach acidity...

• Either give up to Anger and blindly act upon it : Go punch the moron's face, or just wait 5 more seconds before starting the car; (You're an ass, I can be a bigger ass), or 

• Try to deflate Anger through reasoning : "Look, you are not going to do this, you have other things to do, you are already late for class, and moreover this guy could have a gun... and then it is not the Zen thing to do, after all, he might be distraught because his child is sick, or he just learned his wife is having an affair (too bad, he is a moron anyway...)

So here actually,  Ego is not always the bad guy. It can be a good concept, a good trick contributing to the survival of this creature and to the harmony of society. Ego has - in theory - the power to chose between blind action only triggered by emotion ("emotion" from ex-motion : out of it comes motion - or action), or to consider the consequences of various possible actions in response to a situation and accordingly chose a wiser course of action...

Great danger comes when the ego is not even involved and action is carried out without any rationalization, just on a whim.

Actually, the ability to properly act under such condition was considered positive by samurai, and is very likely the goal of training of modern elite soldiers. This is what Heijoshin is about. Instinctively knowing what to do in any situation. (read the Hagakure) 

It is not, however, a simple thing to do. To get to that point request years of practice. Needless to say, I am not there yet. I wish I would not have these bouts of anger (rage?), and I am thankful I am able to control them.

I'll keep training. 

Long ago in Japan, a samurai, retainer from a clan well known for their fierce (cocky...) attitude, went to visit Zen Master Hakuin. The Samurai was a big, proud man, used to getting whatever he wanted.

"Hakuin!" shouted the Samurai at the temple door, "I want a word with you right now!"

Master Hakuin rose from his cushion. He took his sweet time to stretch his legs before turning toward his visitor. The large figure of the impatient Samurai blocked the temple entrance.

"Well, monk," grunted the samurai, " They say you are a wise man ! If that is so, tell me about Heaven and Hell!"

Hakuin looked carefully at the fierce-looking Samurai and finally replied, " Did you disrupt my meditation to ask something every fool knows about? You immature fool! What kind of a second class soldier are you ? Look at yourself !You are so unkempt. Your hands and feet are dirty. Your hair is uncombed, you stink, and above all your sword - did you steal it from a kid - is rusty and so obviously neglected that it would not even slice a cucumber ! You are ugly and your mother dresses you funny. And you dare ask me about Heaven and Hell? Leave this temple right now, and never come back again!"

The Samurai was furious! No one had ever dared to speak to him that rudely. In a flash he drew his sword and raised it high above his head. "You filthy monk will die for those words!" he roared.

Hakuin quietly looked up and told him: 

"THIS is what Hell feels like..."

The samurai instantly froze, his sword in mid-air, realizing that Hakuin had risked his own life to teach him. He lowered his sword and deeply bowed to Hakuin. 

"And THIS is what Heaven feels like..." said Hakuin...