No Self?

Anata is not about being a pacifist who takes no action and lets everything happen by itself. Instead, it is about accepting that what goes on in one’s life is not just one’s personal journey, but the dance of the universe along with the sun rising in the morning, a lotus blossoming in water, trees shedding old leaves, a mighty volcano erupting with unforgiving wrath, or the beautiful Northern Lights painting the sky.

Sojong Reminder for 15/10 from Anam Thubten

Dear Dharma Friends,

While driving, the car doesn’t choose where to go; our touch on the steering wheel directs it. Even with driverless cars, someone has to enter the destination into the computer. When we go to the market, there may be many kinds of cheese from which to choose. Sometimes we might already know what to buy, while other times we read the label in order to decide which one to put in our shopping cart. All these choices give us the notion that we’re in absolute charge of our lives. These are simply small examples. There are also paramount choices that we make with the feeling that we are (or should be in control of) our lives, such as where we are going to live or the kind of people we want to invite into our life.

Our human ego is this perception that one is a separate being who is often in an either harmonious, or quite antagonistic relationship with all that occurs. It has deep-seated preferences that create both attachment and fear, which then give rise to internal struggle. It feels that everything that goes on in one’s life is also happening to one’s self and it constantly reacts in the form of liking and disliking. Even if it knows that somewhere life is bigger than one’s will, there is still the desire to be able to call all the shots in this giant cosmos. When reality doesn’t appear the way ego wants, we become unhappy with the way things are.

There is another relationship between oneself and life that can form. It can arise from anata, or no self, which is the most central fulcrum of Buddha’s wisdom. No self is a viewpoint as well as a present moment experience in which one is part of the whole, of life, of the universe. The parents we’re born to, the kind of body we inherit, and the events that are taking shaping right now are part of life or the universe unfolding by itself. It’s not like they happened to "me" as a totally separate being. With this insight, things that happen in life are no longer personal. Then there is this amazing acceptance that helps us maintain our equanimity even in the face of mishaps. This insight happens in our consciousness when it is totally open. It can also be brought about by applying certain contemplative methods.

There is no doubt that we can make many choices that influence outcomes in the future. Anata is not about being a pacifist who takes no action and lets everything happen by itself. Instead, it is about accepting that what goes on in one’s life is not just one’s personal journey, but the dance of the universe along with the sun rising in the morning, a lotus blossoming in water, trees shedding old leaves, a mighty volcano erupting with unforgiving wrath, or the beautiful Northern Lights painting the sky.

During this Sojong, let me invite everyone to take these words and the intention to bring anata wisdom into everyday life. It’s also time to reflect on how we’ve lived during the last 30 days and on our current state of consciousness. Let’s vow to live with more awareness from this moment on.

With palms joined,

Anam Thubten

<阿南渡登仁波切自遠方捎來的叮嚀>

致佛友們，

當我們開車的时候，汽車並不会自行选择要去那里，是我們在握住驾驶盘的手导航著它。即使是自動無人驾驶車，也要有一個人先行把目的地输入電脑里。

當我們到市場去時，那里有各式各樣的乳酪供我們选择。有时候我們己經預先知道該買些什么，更多的时候我們會選擇性的查看品罐上的標簽才决定買與否。這種種的選擇方式讓我們以為我們在生活上有絕對的操縱權。

這都是些比较普遍而小的例子。有更多具有選擇性質的大事情，例如我該住在那里或我該邀请怎麽樣的人走入我的生命裡，皆让我們認為是我們在掌控（或必须去操控）我們的生命。

人類的傲慢在這樣的認知當中會以為人是一個各别的個体，即可以與一切和諧共存，也可以對抗一切所發生的事情。

有一種根深内在的喜好引發了執著和恐惧，随而製造了内心的不安與抗爭。以為一切在生活上所發生的事跟自己系糸相关，而持續以自己喜欢和不喜欢的態度去做出反应。

即便知道生命本身比自己的意愿更大，却依然擁有在這浩瀚的宇宙中掌控所有一切的慾望。當事與原違的时候，我們會對事情的本然感到不閞心。

個人與生命可以擁有另一種關係。它源于anata （梵文 : 無我）, 也就是佛家智慧的核心。無我意謂當下軆悟人只是全部、生命乃至于宇宙的一小部份。

生育我們的父母，我們天生的樣貌形態，以及當下一切事物的形成皆是生命和宇宙自身部份展演。它們並不是只發生在"我"各别的個軆上。以此洞見，我們就不會對生命中發生的一切過于自我中心。然而，在困境中，我們依然擁有一種神奇的包容度去保持平常之心。

如此的洞見只在開放的意識中產生。它也可以用不同的思維觀照法令其升起。

無庸置疑，我們可以為未來的結果做出很多的選擇。無我並不意謂一個不採取行動而只消極等待事情自然發生的人。反之，他以包容之心把個人生命的經歷看作是宇宙随着晨間的朝陽，蓮花在水里的盛放，樹木抖落枯葉，凶残的火山暴發，或是劃破天際的北極光的幻演舞动罷了。

在八关齋戒日期間，譲我以此信裡的字句邀請大家以"無我"的智慧去迎接每一天。于此，也讓我們回顧反思自己在過去三十天里和當下的意識狀態。就此譲我們發心以更深的覺性去活著。

阿南渡登合十