From: Chris Koeritz Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 15:47:37 +0000 (-0400) Subject: new fortune. X-Git-Tag: 2.140.90~958 X-Git-Url: https://feistymeow.org/gitweb/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=0440f1192c88da971402ef893c953b167e0b171b;p=feisty_meow.git new fortune. --- diff --git a/database/fortunes.dat b/database/fortunes.dat index 8fd1c4ac..d7235d95 100644 --- a/database/fortunes.dat +++ b/database/fortunes.dat @@ -39407,3 +39407,21 @@ through the rain falling on the ground without conceptual thought. virtue through the rainfall of Dharma without conceptual thought. -- Gampopa, from "The Jewel Ornament of Liberation: The Wish-fulfilling Gem of the Noble Teachings" +~ + Psychologists tell us that a strong sense of self is essential to be +psychologically healthy. But it seems Buddhism says there is no self. How +can we reconcile these two views? + When psychologists speak of a sense of "self" they are referring to the +feeling that oneself is an efficacious person, someone who is self-confident +and can act in the world. Buddhists agree that such a sense of self is both +realistic and necessary. However, the sense of self that Buddhism says is +unrealistic is that of a very solid, unchanging, independent "I." Such a +self never has and never will exist. To understand this is to realize +emptiness. + Strange though it may sound, someone may have a psychologically weak sense +of self that in Buddhist parlance would be considered strong self-grasping. +For example, a person with poor self-esteem may focus a lot on himself and +have a strong feeling of the existence of an independent self that is +inferior, unlovable, and a failure. From a Buddhist viewpoint, such an +independent self does not exist, although a conventional self does. + --Thubten Chodron, "Buddhism for Beginners"