Self and No-Self in Meditation

Hello, my name is Michelle, and welcome to episode 12 on Sellf and No-Self in Meditation.

So you may be able to hear that I have the flu, I have a cold, and so my voice is somewhat dull and strained.

So let's see if I can get through this teaching. That's about understanding our conditioned, constructed, individual self, and also understanding our deeper, interconnected, collective, true nature, or called true self in Western psychology.

And my hope is that we can learn to understand both concepts, so that we can be more able to both accept each and let go of each of them in a non-jelistic middle way. Let's start with a five-minute meditation.

Finding a place to sit comfortably, where you won't be disturbed. Becoming aware of your breathing.

And don't worry if you lose contact with your awareness of your breathing, and instead get caught in thinking. Because that's natural when one is beginning to meditate. And you need to learn how to relax and still your mind first.

And then it will just become an automatic habit. So for now, allowing your physical stillness to relax and still your mind.

So we start by making a gentle effort to be present and aware.

And as we relax, the mind naturally settles and becomes more still and clear. So, coming back to the episode. Feeling a bit more relaxed, present and aware. I'd like to start this teaching by sharing my intention for this episode on Sellf and No-Self in Meditation. The intention is to offer a balanced and realistic approach to understanding both Sellf and No-Self in meditation practice. And my intention for the whole Nature of Meditation podcast.

Is to transmit wholesome, peaceful energy, and true meditation teachings.

As best I can at the specific time, place and condition, I find myself in at the time of making an episode.

Just to add, I also receive Meditation, Mentoring and Supervision from experienced Chan masters and Dharma teachers. And their guidance and support are invaluable in creating this podcast.

So to aid clarity and understanding, I'm separating this episode into three main sections or parts. In the first part, I'll present.

I'll present the widely accepted academic understanding of the individual self, the ego. I, me, mine, in Buddhist teachings.

“In the second part, I'll present the widely accepted academic understanding of no-self in Buddhist teachings.

And in the third middle way, I attempt to bring equanimity and compassion to our understanding of both the individual self and the interconnected collective no-self.

Because they are not separate from each other and cannot be separate from each other.

And separating the two understandings is a kind of adversarial, unkind act of division.

Individual Self
So, I'm presenting the theory of the individual self, the ego, first. And then I'm presenting the theory of No-Self, the interconnected collective No-Self in Buddhism, referred to as the true self in Western psychology, in transpersonal psychology, which is the technical term for spiritual psychology.

And I'm presenting both theories, so as not to get caught in either of them, or use either theory as an ego apparatus.

So again, the intention is to be compassionate, and keep the heart and mind open to what is truly present. To keep the heart and mind open to reality as it truly is.