Is the self eternal, or non-existent?Why are there such vastly contrasting views on such a fundamental aspect?It just seems like, really, we know nothing. And this shit is all just made up.What is the point of living? Why are we here? Where are we going? Why is the universe so vast and empty? Why do we die?
cheer up. enjoy it.
>It just seems like, really, we know nothing. And this shit is all just made up.>seems like>seemsthere you go
>>42658954>He thinks he is living and this is a realityThat's a little too much over confidence from you pal. You need to cut back.
>>42658954the self is eternal, with no beginning or end. anyone who says otherwise is a faggot
>>42658954the buddhist path to liberation is about achieving the eternal state. if all things are impermenent and our suffering is due to attachment to impermenent things and their inevitable loss AND there is the noble 8 fold path leading to the cessation of suffering, it logically implies permanencethe "emptiness" of buddhism is the "God" of theistic religions. the theist made the mistake of personifying/anthropomoprhizing it, which is false. however, using buddhist lingo, it is a skillful means for the purpose of relating with it.emptiness, non-duality, ineffibility are far correcter.the "self" is eternal. but not your "self", as that does not exist, the self that exists and is eternal, is emptiness (i.e. God).you are welcome! dont get sucked into fundamentalist buddhists mental gymnastics trying to reject this. love God, know its your truest inner self, there is nothing else.. this is the basis for liberation, otherwise there would be no such thing. seek mystical union with God (jhana 8, complete dissolution, "fana", cessation/annihilation... nirvana).this is a paradox.. cuz the seeker is the sought after. this constitutes the divine play, lila!
>>42658954No-self is skillful means and the Dharma directly transmitted by the Patriarchs is to see the Atman as the Tathagatagharba. This is what reincarnates. It's also (in my view) the Jungian subconscious. That's because the Alayavijnana (store-house consciousness) is the Buddha-Nature (Lankavatara Sutra). This seems logically solid but I don't know how far we will get seeing Atman as the Jungian Subconscious. Lacan says the Psyche is organized like a language so the Tathagatagharba is basically the Void you build all your Ancestral conceptual base upon.
>>42660020>preacher mistakes "is there a self?" with "preach buddhist dogma at us"
It's all death cults vs sex/life cults from the top down my guy.
>>42658954>Is the self eternal, or non-existent?neither. the self (ego) is temporary, subjective, arbitrary and illusory. but it is all that makes us who we are. to let go of it fully would be to let go of consciousness fully.>Why are there such vastly contrasting views on such a fundamental aspect?no need to concern yourself with other people's views, only seek the truth.>we know nothing.knowledge is temporary, subjective, arbitrary and illusory. yet knowledge can only exist this way, full 100% knowledge is impossible.>And this shit is all just made up.made up in our minds, which are temporary, subjective, arbitrary and illusory; again, minds can only exist this way.>What is the point of living?there is no reason to live or die beyond the ones that are temporarily, subjectively, arbitrarily and obscurely within you.>Why are we here?because consciousness has emerged once; therefore it shall emerge again.>Where are we going?where-ever your gut-brain calls you towards.>Why is the universe so vast and emptyto you? if you perceive everything as meaningless, then you must perceive meaninglessness itself as meaningless in order to be logically consistent. if there's no reason to do anything, there's no reason to not do anything; if there's no reason to think, there's no reason not to think; if there's no reason to feel, there's no reason not to feel.>Why do we die?because it's how this temporary, subjective, arbitrary and illusory universe works. nothing has to be any given way, it just so happens to be the way it currently is. you can never know if something absolutely must be any given way. therefore rectify whatever your gut-brain calls you to rectify, even when going against all perceived certainties of impossibilities.
>>42658954Earth is a prison, complete with separation by tribal identity, family visits(aliens who check up on us once in a while), drop off locations (Pacific ocean, around point nemo), watch towers (mountain tops out of reach of climbers and off limits) administration(the moon), guards(NASA and other world space agencies), a wall (Van Allen radiation belt) and prison uniforms (homo sapien bodies).
the self is eternal and existent, read boran kammatthana.
>>42661118>to let go of it fully would be to let go of consciousness fully.How does one do this?
>>42662453you don't. ego death is physical death, and because of the re-emergence of consciousness you won't ever stay dead. nirvana is impossible, but immortality through ascendant flesh may be possible.
>>42661118>neither. the self (ego) is temporary, subjective, arbitrary and illusory.That's not a "neither" answer. That is very solidly "non-existent."
>>42663135Well, I'm glad you gave proof for why existence is hell and a prison, since there is no escape.
>>42658954The self is eternal. I think you know that deep down. I'm sure we all do. Anyone who says anything different is mentally retarded and a liar.
>>42658954You're here to learn and help others learn by being a good person amidst all the freewill we have to do otherwise. We're born with spiritual amnesia though so most people forget why they're here and end up falling astray or being led astray by their own worldly desires and the pleasures of the material world.
