Post by jeff on Jun 28, 2013 13:39:58 GMT 1
“All beings arise from the misconception of I and are enveloped with the misconception of mine” – A quote attributed to the Buddha
Regardless of who said it, I find this quote to be most significant and cuts right to the heart of the problem.
Classically, this problem, which causes samsaric existence, is tackled by undermining the way we see the I as inherently existent which in turn undermines the conception of “mine” (without an "I" how could there be a “mine”?).
Occasionally I like to work on it from the other end also. Sometimes I like to think of the things that I assume are mine and really ponder what it means. I always come to the conclusion that there is no “mine” since there is nothing I possess that cannot be taken away. Whether it’s a possession such as my house the stuff inside it or even my body there is absolutely nothing I can think of that cannot be taken away in some manner. Now if they were really mine, I mean inherently, then it would be impossible to remove them from my possession. So they are only mine by convention. Perhaps I have a “legal” right to these things but of course the law is created by humans and even rights of possession can be overridden by higher laws such as “eminent domain”.
Can anyone think of a conventional possession that cannot be taken away?
Regardless of who said it, I find this quote to be most significant and cuts right to the heart of the problem.
Classically, this problem, which causes samsaric existence, is tackled by undermining the way we see the I as inherently existent which in turn undermines the conception of “mine” (without an "I" how could there be a “mine”?).
Occasionally I like to work on it from the other end also. Sometimes I like to think of the things that I assume are mine and really ponder what it means. I always come to the conclusion that there is no “mine” since there is nothing I possess that cannot be taken away. Whether it’s a possession such as my house the stuff inside it or even my body there is absolutely nothing I can think of that cannot be taken away in some manner. Now if they were really mine, I mean inherently, then it would be impossible to remove them from my possession. So they are only mine by convention. Perhaps I have a “legal” right to these things but of course the law is created by humans and even rights of possession can be overridden by higher laws such as “eminent domain”.
Can anyone think of a conventional possession that cannot be taken away?
