The Question of Identity When the Buddha confronted the question of identity on the night of his enlightenment, he came to the radical discovery that we do not exist as separate beings. He saw into the human tendency to identify with a limited sense of existence and discovered that this belief in an individual small self is a root illusion that causes suffering and removes us from the freedom and mystery of life. He described this as interdependent arising, the cyclical process of consciousness creating identity by entering form, responding to contact of the senses, then attaching to certain forms, feelings, desires, images, and actions to create a sense of self. In teaching, the Buddha never spoke of humans as persons existing in some fixed or static way. Instead, he described us as a collection of five changing processes: the processes of the physical body, of feelings, of perceptions, of responses, and of the flow of consciousness that experiences them all. Our sense of self arises whenever we grasp at or identify with these patterns. The process of identification, of selecting patters to call "I," me," "myself," is subtle and usually hidden from our awareness. --Jack Kornfeld #Anatta #Anicca (fb)

The warrior’s discipline is unwavering and all-pervasive. Therefore, it is like the sun. The light of the sun shines wherever the sun rises. The sun does not decide to shine on one piece of land and neglect another. The sunshine is all-pervasive. Similarly, the warrior’s discipline is not selective. The warrior never neglects his discipline or forgets it. His awareness and sensitivity are constantly extended. Even if a situation is very demanding or difficult, the warrior never gives up. He always conducts himself well, with gentleness and warmth, to begin with, and he always maintains his loyalty to sentient beings who are trapped in the setting-sun world. The warrior’s duty is to generate warmth and compassion for others. He does this with a complete absence of laziness. His discipline and dedication are unwavering. - Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, "Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior" #tsültrim #Karuna (fb)