If There’s No Self….
I’m back from the CDL (Community Dharma Leader) training retreat…which was terrific, by the way…and am almost caught up with all the laundry, grocery shopping, emails, housekeeping, etc. that’s always a part of coming home from a trip — including starting to dive into some of dharmaseed talks I’ve missed while I was gone.
One of which is an especially terrific Q&A discussion with Joseph Goldstein from the 3-month retreat that’s in session right now at IMS (Insight Meditation Society). It starts with a question about what it means to take refuge, which prompts Joseph to talk quite inspiringly about the reality of enlightenment here and now, and then there’s another question from which he takes off into a great little riff on what he calls “the myth of intimacy” and then someone asks about the teaching of non-self as it relates to karma and reincarnation (“can you speak on who owns the karma?”).
Joseph begins his reply with: “Just so you know, I think the most frequently asked preface to a question is: If there’s no self, then…” Which prompts him to go into one of the most helpful explorations of the teaching of non-self I’ve heard in a very long time. And it just keeps getting better from there.
You can listen to the talk by clicking here. (His answer to the question about non-self starts at about the 20-minute mark.)
May wisdom arise in the pattern of an unfolding life…that’s called “you”.