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Awakening:
No "Me" or "I"
No "Me" or "I"
Awakening is not about always feeling good, or fully understanding "reality": it is about no longer resisting what is happening. Once we let go of believing or expecting that there is a “me” of some sort, suffering can finally end. It is easy to get hung up on labels like “enlightenment”, “nirvana”, or even “awakening”, as if it is a particular thing or “state”. Whatever you call it, though, awakening is much more straightforward than you might think. We don’t need to go anywhere, or experience anything else other than what is happening right now. To find out more about awakening, please click here.
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What to Look For:
The Fetters
The Fetters
There are many things that we assume comprise “me”: what we identify with, and in fact identify as. These include the assumption that there is a separate “self” who is in control, as well as the apparent existence of a reactive aspect that makes us push and pull at everything to be in control. The Buddhist tradition provides a list called “the fetters”, cumulative layers of assumptions and beliefs about “me” that cloud what is (and isn’t) happening right now. Once those clouds of assumption and belief are gone, awakening is simply “what’s left”. For more information on the fetters, click here.
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Looking in Simple,
Everyday Experience
Everyday Experience
Is there a “me”, or someone that is in control of life? Is there something “in here” that makes it necessary to react in unhelpful ways? Or, do we simply assume that there is? Using what is called the “direct pointing” method, we simply look in our everyday experience for what we assume is there. Simply and directly seeing this way can be used by anyone, regardless of spiritual orientation or affiliation. Offered here are practical perspectives and suggestions from personal experiences and from several years of helping others see through the fetters. Please click here to read more about how to look.
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