The post titled Not Mine, Not I, Not My Self is now up on Buddhism for All. Angela from the Buddhism.net team reflected on it, and invites you to do so too.
๐ Angela’s Reflections:
The five metaphors that Buddha used to represent the five aggregatesย are amazing: foam (for physical form), water bubbles (for sensations), mirage (for perception), banana stem (for volitional formations), and a magician’s illusion (for consciousness). Why amazing? Amazingly void, hollow and insubstantial. We cannot deny that these things exist. Well, they appear. Foam, water bubbles, mirages, banana stems, and a magician’s illusion appear. But when we try to capture, substantiate, solidify, grasp, or keep them in our pocket and own them, what happens?
Can you grasp space? Can you grasp the reflection in the mirror? Can you grasp the reflection of the moon in water? Can you grasp your dream experience? Think about it.ย
๐ฑ Journal Reflection Prompts for You:
- ๐ Recall a vivid dream, including your emotions, and what you experienced (i.e., saw, heard, smelled, tasted, felt and thought) in the dream. In your dream, did the environment, dream story and dream objects seem real? Did your dream self seem real? They appeared. But do they exist, per se?
- ๐ Now shift your focus to any object in the room you are in. Does it appear? Can you touch and feel it? We do not deny that objects appear and we can interact with them through our senses. But does that object exist, per se? What does exist, even mean?
- ๐ Apply the 5 metaphors Buddha gave to examine your self. Would foam, water bubbles, mirage, banana stem, and a magician’s illusion describe your self, or the 5 aggregates of form, sensations, perception, volitional formations and consciousness?
- ๐ What is the significance, or “so what?” of these teachings to you? Why should you even care?
Featured image, photograph of reflection of sky in the mirror. Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/4YxXWYW7JqQ
