The Continual Self

 

Man is nothing else but what he purposes, he exists only in so far as he realizes himself, he therefore is nothing else  but the sum of his actions,  nothing else but what his life is. 

Jean-Paul Sartre

On January 11th of this year I added a video entitled, "What Happens When We Die?" It was a response to one of the questions I pulled out from the jar in the exercise I am doing to better assimilate my learning. (An exercise I strongly encourage all of you to do as well.)  I am not sure where the question itself came from...if it was one of the questions asked to me or if it was one I heard asked to others, or if it was on the list of questions I picked up from my searching "Good spiritual questions to ask." Anyway, I gave a very imperfect and vague answer because in truth, I don't "know" what happens when we die. 

Anyway, because I don't listen to the news I was delayed in finding out that Thich Nhat Hanh had passed from a lengthy illness. I was saddened to hear of his passing.  At the same time, however,  I knew from his teachings (which had become such an important part of my life),  to him passing was simply a transition, not a death. I have assimilated that learning into my believing, and perceiving.  The below video was a lovely reminder of his teachings and how they have become a part of me. 

Reverence for the Teacher 

I often speak about not getting caught up in what I refer to as "guru syndrome" and the dangers of feeding the ego of another. I try to focus on what is being taught rather than my reverence for the "teacher".  Still...the teaching often comes to me in the form of a body of another. The teaching "forms"  I am most likely to listen to   are those that display genuine humility , sincerity and a selfless, ego-lessness that is felt in every cell of my body as I listen or read. There are so few of those teachers out there.  Thich Nhat Hanh, however,  was definitely  one. 

Reverence for the Teaching: The Continual Self 

In the video, ironically with the same name as the video with the question my silly "form" attempted to answer, "What Happens When You Die?" Thich Nhat Hanh tells us we don't die.  Sure our forms do but "The Continual Self " that wore the form for a certain amount of years goes on.  This "Continual Self"  is not born and does not die...it just is.  We will get to know this Self when we make the great transition but we don't have to wait until then.  We can seek this Self out now, place our awareness on it rather than all the mental formations and phenomena that get in the way of our knowing it. We can operate from that deeper Continual  Self rather than the little temporary self that takes us away from what is truly important.

By observing Thich Nhat Hanh  as he spoke without hurry or intensity, as he moved: one slow, purposeful step at a time, as he reached for something, as he took a drink of water  and as he smiled...it was easy to see how he was operating from that place of higher Self. He was so truly present in the here and the now and that essence radiated from him.  It touched me deeply and it was his essence, as well as his teaching, that guided this clump of flesh and mind I call "me" and so, so many others  farther onto this path I now find myself on.  I am so grateful. I am seeking the Continual Self in this form I label as mine, greatly because of the teaching and essence that came from his "form". 

Thich Nhat Hanh's was a sum of his actions for he realized who he was and taught others to do the same.  His teachings, just like his essence , will go on and on and on. 

All is well. 

Plum Village (January 22, 2022) what Happens When We Die?/ A Clip from a Dharma Talk by Thich Nhat Hanh, 2014-06-17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xLbZZAjjY8