Self is just a view composed on a set of activities. In awakening, this view disappears but not the background on which it was created. The person still exists, eats, talks, laughs... There is a self for those who project it upon him. Like Bodhidharma said "Buddha is an idle person", and still there is a person that has name, address, bills to pay... It is ridiculous to think that on awakening everything that constituted a person, collapses. It is not the "self" which is awakened, neither is it destroyed on awakening.conebeckham wrote:If one is the "Buddha," there is no self, and thus, no "inappropriate behavior."
That was a quote from Bodhidharma. You criticized him. That fine, but I will not try to defend him.Karma Dondrup Tashi wrote:Which is the view.oushi wrote:"Regardless of what we do, our karma has no hold on us."
So if we are all already enlightened go stick a fork in your hand and let us know how your view is going.
“In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is.”
― Yogi Berra
Sorry but learning to identify the view-addicts is Nagarjuna 101.
Heard of "emptiness sickness"? Heard of "spiritual materialism"?
If we have the view without stabilizing it in practice we are just getting off on samadhi-w*nking.
Are you stabilized in the view 24/7? I mean really? You don't crave anything, ever? You are not attached to anything, ever? You can say with all honestly that you are completely free of all deluded experience, always, forever?
Be honest.
What you don't seem to get is that practice itself can be an ego-pit. You're just pumping up your ego with Mahayana-vitamins.
It's like how American Protestantism has degenerated Christianity into the happy-clappy-going-to-heaven-club? Heard of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "cheap grace"? Same syndrome in all religions.
To answer your question, "Self" is not the Buddha, not the one who stands behind that "we" in the quote. It is better to leave "self" alone, as it is just a karmic entity shaped by conditions. It seem that you are looking for some kind of awakened "I" that can pass fork test without blinking an eye... some kind of a saint. Here, have a look on this:
And a quote from a contemporary master which name I do not remember: "There is Buddha for those who do not know what he is really, there is no Buddha for those who knows what he is really"Bodhidharma wrote:A Buddha doesn't observe precepts. A Buddha doesn't do good or evil. A Buddha isn't energetic or lazy. A Buddha is someone who does nothing, someone who can’t even focus his mind on a Buddha. A Buddha isn't a Buddha. Don’t think about Buddhas.