Thursday, January 19, 2012

No self

I am not religious. Religions and religious sects create artificial divisions between us, I believe - war, suicide bombers, oppression of women and children, sharia laws, cast system. All religions create and disseminate superstition, bigotry, hypocrisy and lies.

I am not political. I am not a member of any political party or political organization. I vote, but I don’t vote for someone or something. I vote to do what I can to prevent the right-wingers and the fascists, to gain too much power. Because I vote against the right- wingers others label me leftist, but I’m not a leftist. I don’t label myself.

I am not a supporter of any sports team and I have no particular style of clothing.

I don’t belong to any particular sub group. I am not a hippie relic, not a non-dualist, not a careerist. I am not a wino, not a pot smoker not a body builder…

However, I am not nothing. I am not indifferent. I have opinions, values and preferences. I don’t like cruelty, inequality and hypocrisy, for example.

The idea that awakening implies a loss of the sense of being someone with plans, values and beliefs is wrong, I believe.

If I, who has an ego, am a permanent and eternal entity or a constantly changing stream, is not an important question, as I see it. To brood over this leads nowhere. It is much more important, I think, that we raise awareness about our values.

Which are your true values that guide your actions, which values ought to guide your actions, and which values is just wishful thinking?

Do you buy cheap meat from factory farms because you don’t care how animals are treated? Is there nothing but selfishness in our true nature? Is it wrong to exploit other people in order to get rich and successful? Is it good to know as much as possible about what is going on in the world or is it better to turn off the news reports?