There is no self but there is the cycle or rebirth, there is inter-continuation and the nature of all inter-continuation is inter being
Tenant 32 for Plum Village/Deer Park Monastery- as taught by Thich Nhat Hanh
Tathagata is a term used in Buddhism to refer to 'no identity' or 'no-self'. There is no self. Do you believe that or are you still caught up in Descartes axiom that " I think therefore I am"?
In this amazing dharma talk from Thay Phap Luu of Deer Park Monastery, the idea of no-self is discussed based on Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings and the above tenant 32. In reflection on this tenant we are asked not to argue or debate the idea of there being a no self but of concentrating on it by understanding the impermanent nature of the five skandhas (form/body, feelings, perceptions [of solidity, concepts,place and ownership,time,andSelf], mental formations[thoughts,emotions,moods,and mind state], and consciousness). Please note that in yogic philosophy consciousness is eternal, not impermanent.
Concentrating on the Impermanent, Ever Changing Nature of Things
Concentrating on the ever changing nature of these skandhas can help us realize that we are not a permanent self. A permanent self is just an idea we have and we do not need to be on hyper alert all the time to protect this idea, like so many of us are. In fact, our identification with self and its story as perpetuated by the five skandhas , as I mentioned many time before, obscures the reality of what is in this present moment. Infact, in direct contrast to Descartes' "I think therefore I am," a Buddhist would say, " I think therefore I am not really here."
Questioning Descartes' Assertion: "I think therefore I am."
Though thinking is simply a part of one of the five skandhas and all skandhas are impermanent ...coming and going, ever changing...part of the never ending cycle of rebirth, Thay Pap Luu focuses a lot on the impermanent nature of thinking and perception to help us to see that we are no-self. He questions Descartes' assertion and wonders how the conclusion of "I am" can be drawn simply from the fact that thinking is taking place and we are observing it. Thinking he says is a process just like raining is. Just because it is raining, does there have to be a rainer? It is our perception that creates the Rainer (the cloud)...the Rainer is just a mental concept or construct. It isn't real. And like all things it is ever changing. This "Rainer" is also going through several transformations from the fluffy white cloud we see in the sky, to the rain it produces, to the water in the river that flows to the water in the ocean, which gets evaporated and becomes the mist that goes back into the cloud and once again the cloud. There really was no "cloud", no "rainer"...just this ever changing process.
Is the self a thinker? Does there have to be a Thinker?
Thinking is real...we can observe thinking taking place; it is a process; but just because there is thinking does there have to be a thinker? The "thinker" is this idea of a me or self who thinks...this perception, this belief there is a "self" doing the thinking when really there is just the process of thinking ever changing, impermanent thoughts. It gives us the false perception of solidity and permanence. Who is this so called thinker of these thoughts, the maker of these perceptions? The body? Just like the cloud is a process, forever changing, every minute we are in a new body. The body is constantly going through the process of rebirth. You are not in the same body now that you were in forty years ago, nor are you in the same body you were in forty minutes ago. There is a profound saying that applies here. "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man." ( Heraclitis). So the body cannot be self, can it?
Perceptions, feelings, mental formations, can not be self either, can they? Now the question of consciousness being Self is a little murky for me in this perspective. The Buddhists teach that consciousness too is ever changing and impermanent, so therefore there is no self while the yogis teach that Self is eternal consciousness bliss. For that reason, I will not embrace the concentration on the skandha of consciousness here. Though I do equate, in my mind, the inter-continuation from the tenant with consciousness.
Clinging to the Story of "me"
I like to think of it this way. The (little) self is the idea of me we adhere to and seek to defend and protect throughout our lives. It is a perception, a concept, a thought. It is what we might call our personality. It is not who we are. And this idea of self and its story gets in the way of who we are and in the way of us experiencing reality for what it is right here and right now. We are too stuck in our heads trying to figure out how to protect and keep this thing alive, filled with stress, anxiety, and worry, taht we seldom settle down into life to experience it completely and fully for what it is. As self, I see other and I do not see the interconnection between me and the other, I do not see the inter-continuity of life. I miss out on so much. Thay Phap Luu reminds us that sticking to the story of self and what should be for self restricts so much of what we could potentially experience if we were free of it, if we would simply flow with life.
Letting go of the story of "me", of self is what will free us.
When we are able to reflect on and see the ever changing and inter-continuity of nature, of all forms and see ourselves as a part of that nature rather than the observer of it ( again...this interferes a bit with my yogic understanding of things) we will will feel deep calm, deep ease, deep peace and joy, according to this teaching.
We need to let go of this "me" and its story in order to embrace what is. Instead of focusing on our perceptions, our thinking, our reactivity...we can change our focus to something as simple as breath or body sensation. We can feel the feelings as they arise and observe the thoughts as they pass by like driftwood floating on the river of our minds. We do not have to follow them or get all caught up in them. We can simply be.
Hmmm! That was my study practice for the day. So grateful for all these amazing teachers I have the honor of listening to.
All is well.
Joseph Goldstein (2013) Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening. Boulder: Sounds True (Pages 169-202)
Thay Phap Luu/ Deer Park Monastery (2023) (Class #32), The Concentration of No-Self https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxsmVc2Adyg&t=4178s
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