Is Buddhism right?

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Thinking we are selfless dosn’t make it any eaiser. There must be motive and power.
Maybe pigs should think they can fly.
 
Robert Sock, I think you’re gravely mistaken about the “self.”
Robert_Sock said:
The self is an individual person as the object of his or her own reflective consciousness. Based on this definition, all one needs to do is disrupt the the “reflective consciousness” in order to destroy the “self.” Try it! All that’s left is consciousness with no sense of self!
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So, when Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourSELF” … what in the heck did he mean by that? Are we suppose to love our neighbor as much as we love something that doesn’t exist? Or are we morally obligated to reflect on our individual person (so as to create “the self”) so that we can then love our neighbor as something that DOES exist then? This is kind of important.
Robert_Sock said:
Self-control is a meaningless psychological construct without a self. Again, all that’s left after putting the self to sleep is consciousness. One may be able to control consciousness and one’s behavior, but that’s not self-control.
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Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Is the Holy Spirit giving us a gift whose very existence relies on a fallacious psychological construct?

Also, how can one control one’s own behavior if one is not permitted to think about one’s own existence? I don’t get what that even means.
 
Areopagite said:
Robert Sock, I think you’re gravely mistaken about the “self.”

So, when Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourSELF” … what in the heck did he mean by that? Are we suppose to love our neighbor as much as we love something that doesn’t exist? Or are we morally obligated to reflect on our individual person (so as to create “the self”) so that we can then love our neighbor as something that DOES exist then? This is kind of important.

Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Is the Holy Spirit giving us a gift whose very existence relies on a fallacious psychological construct?

Also, how can one control one’s own behavior if one is not permitted to think about one’s own existence? I don’t get what that even means.
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The “self” is a common term that people have come to use very loosely in our vocabulary. For example, terms like “yourself” and self-control are commonplace in a society which greatly promotes self over selflessness. While the “self” does exist for most, it’s perfectly possible to become selfless. Self-awareness is also different from awareness of consciousness. It’s perfectly possible for a selfless person to experience such concepts as behavioral control, esteem and awareness.

Can one be aware of having an existence while being in a state of pure selflessness? I think so. Certainly we can see that others have a separate body from us and infer that they have a different mind, but the key point as far as selflessness is concerned is that inner reflective consciousness is disrupted to where all that remains is awareness of consciousness with all its variants.

Selflessness is not an all or nothing thing, but a construct that is based on a continuum. Even those who are selfless can experience some reflective consciousness from time to time, and thus have some sense of self.

It may also be of interest that that the Jewish people believe that Israel has a single common soul that is made up of each individual soul. In other words, there is a certain sense of selflessness built into the Jewish culture. In addition, the Cabala teaches the virtue of selflessness!
 
tonyrey said:
What are the spiritual antecedents?
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The dwelling of the Holy Spirit for one. The working of Satan for another. I would guess that it’s everything we experience that is spiritual.

BTW: I’m a little fuzzy on whether the mind is simply a manifestation of the brain. I tend to believe that the brain can be affected by spirits, and thus I would contend that the mind is simply a byproduct of the (spiritual) brain.
 
Robert_Sock said:
The dwelling of the Holy Spirit for one. The working of Satan for another. I would guess that it’s everything we experience that is spiritual.

BTW: I’m a little fuzzy on whether the mind is simply a manifestation of the brain. I tend to believe that the brain can be affected by spirits, and thus I would contend that the mind is simply a byproduct of the (spiritual) brain.
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It would seem that the mind is more than a manifestation of the brain because St Paul asks “Who has known the mind of God?” Since we are made in His image and likeness it is our mind rather than our body that gives some idea of His nature. Our mind is certainly intangible and associated with consciousness, rationality and free will. It is a philosophical concept which corresponds to the theological concept of the soul but without its spiritual implications - although, to add to the confusion, God is sometimes described as the Supreme Mind!

One thing is certain. Unless there is a self there cannot be self-control… 🙂
 
tonyrey said:
It would seem that the mind is more than a manifestation of the brain because St Paul asks “Who has known the mind of God?” Since we are made in His image and likeness it is our mind rather than our body that gives some idea of His nature. Our mind is certainly intangible and associated with consciousness, rationality and free will. It is a philosophical concept which corresponds to the theological concept of the soul but without its spiritual implications - although, to add to the confusion, God is sometimes described as the Supreme Mind!

One thing is certain. Unless there is a self there cannot be self-control… 🙂
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Again, from my perspective, a selfless person experiences control, not self-control.

Do you believe that a person can become selfless, that is, the death of self?
 
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