Knowing Ourselves And Transcending Ourselves - Advanced Course

We arrive at each moment with a longing for change, release and liberation, and this often translates into changing our circumstances. But a profound change can happen if we see how life is limitless, free and impersonal, and yet become fully aware of how we reconstruct our familiar selves all the time. The self is the operating principle, the primary construction, the dominant filter through which we perceive the world. Yet at the same time, it is transparent and a kaleidoscope. In this class, we will show how we can witness this self in operation, and also how it can drop away and we experience life living itself through us.

The First Noble Truth of the Buddha expresses the potential pain arising from embodiment. Yet if we open our eyes to the truth of our experience at the moment, such as the thoughts that are passing through us right now, everything appears more dynamic and free, and we don't have to take it all personally. In this class, we will explore ways in which we can let go of the need to struggle with what happens, and our automatic reactions and responses. We will see how the truth frees us of the habits, labels, and beliefs about ourselves that we have built over a long time.

Here we will introduce and explain key Buddhist teachings on the way our experiences are not solid but composed of many elements or 'aggregates' which, as the Buddha said, are like bubbles. The usual definitions, labels, self-descriptions, summaries and narratives with which we regard ourselves, can be deconstructed and challenged. In their place, we can experience life beyond the story.

The self arises as a need to control and predict, so as to be protected and happy. Buddhist psychology gives a very clear and insightful teaching on exactly how this happens within our experience, and how trying to control is a quixotic illusion. We explore how the self arises as a response to conditions, and how we can let go and dance with uncontrollable circumstances. With less sense of the self in charge, we witness how things happen by themselves, and choices in life become easier as we are guided by life.

In a traditional image, a person is like a temporary whirlpool in the ocean, that has the illusion that it is separate. What is it that creates that illusion and if we dissolve it, can we find ourselves part of the ocean again, Nirvana? Our awareness knows both formal and formless. We experience ourselves as existence packaged into a person. In that case, as the Buddha said, the self both does and does not exist, depending on the point of view. In this class, we will explore how we can watch the self as it arises and also the still spaces where there is no self or separation.

In normal consciousness we don't see the seer, we see the world from it. Which means duality: two sides to every experience. With a bigger and more inclusive awareness, the observer and the observing will be within and part of the world. As part of everything, the self is like a swarm or a community. It is not definable using normal descriptions. This is why the Buddha said an enlightened person is unfindable. You can't pin them down. In this class, we will explore ways of seeing that go beyond the usual boundaries and descriptions. The 'One Taste', to use a Mahayana phrase, of the unlimited.

Emptiness may not be a helpful Buddhist term as it tends to make it a concept, that is, another thing. Besides, being empty of self means being full of everything else. It is more helpful to explore the signs of being beyond the self, such as the sense that life is looking out of our eyes at itself, or an enduring stillness even within everyday life, or the sense that awareness is unlimited and we merge with everything. One classical quality which we will explore in this class is equanimity, in which we are not disturbable by pleasant and unpleasant occurrences because there is more space within, i.e. less of a self that can be disturbed.

Our actions are usually driven by need and will, and go with constant assessment of success or failure. What does an action feel like coming from Anatta, non-self? If we dive into the moment with mindful awareness, we can discover how actions happen by themselves, how the sense of agency drops away, and how everything occurs more spontaneously. There may be light intentions that direct our way, but very little interest in measuring outcomes. This is the essence of upaya, skilful action, driven by the great compassionate heart and awakened awareness of the Bodhisattva. Our actions become free and easy, without struggle or effort, as we respond to the calls of life.