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.Altogether how many? How can you reconcile them all? How do you put them into one self-image? Or is there such a thing as only one self-image? Then who is this Ôbig selfÕ? Have you met someone who has the same and constant self-image no matter who theyÕre with and where they are, and in any situation or circumstance?When people start to label you, do you start to believe the labels and live according to what they say of you? How much of their perception of you is right and how much is wrong, erroneous, or distorted? How much of what you see in others is wrong, erroneous, and distorted too?Have you noticed that a number of people who hate evil are likely to be very evil themselves? Why? I have seen many who only watch out for the evil in others but not in themselves.Their own evil, they run away from it.Would it be true to say that by denouncing others they feel superior to those they deem evil and thus the feeling of superiority gives them the false sense that they are not evil at all?A liar can do anything.Do you agree with this statement? How do you feel when a person lies to you? What do you think truth is? When a person trans-gresses truth, what is he/she losing? What does one get if one lives a life of lies and self-deception? Can a person grow and develop mentally and psychologically if he/she does not live a life of truth? What will one achieve if one remains at an infantile stage Ñ emotionally, psychologically, mentally? Is there any real lasting joy and satisfaction in staying at such a stage?How are you going to deal with a person with two very distinct and extreme personalities? One persona is kind and caring; the other is cold, callous, manipulative, selfish, inconsiderate, unthinking, unreasonable, uncontrollable, unrestrained, and destructive.Have you met such people before? I have seen a few and I didnÕt know how to deal with them.Words are very vague in meaning and communication.Many things canÕt be communicated using words.In many cases people just use words to impress, but the truth is far from the words themselves.How to know oneself thoroughly? If one does not know oneself, can one know others and expect others to know us?Have you pondered and asked yourself why you do certain things, and with what motivation, or do you just do things because there is a string pulling you to do them, without ever considering whether they are wholesome or unwhole-some, harmful or beneficial? Are you controlled by old habits and itches rather than having control over such habits and familiar ways, which are not beneficial or conducive to happiness.Is there such a thing as a fixed personality? Thus, is there such a thing as a leopard which canÕt change its spots, or can you turn a black crow into a white dove? Are human beings so weak that they wonÕt and canÕt change for the better but have to be slaves to their old habits and ways? If there is no change, there is stagnancy.What is forgiveness to you? Do you forgive yourself and others?How much injustice has been done to you? How much injustice have you done to others?Do you think itÕs worthwhile to rectify your shortcomings and weaknesses, or would you prefer to stay so attached to your old self-images; that it hurts the ego too much if you change? Can you see the benefit of letting go of self-images and the ego which causes so much unhappiness to oneself and others?What is loving-kindness? How to transform it into action in our daily lives?At the end of each day is there a reflection of what one has done, both wholesome and unwholesome? Is there a resolve to avoid further unwholesomeness?Or you just donÕt give a damn and you never think of it in terms of retribution?If you are uneasy with the shadow side, you avoid it and run away from it.Have you noticed that your shadow never leaves you if there is a light around?It always follows you.How come light itself is not shadow or dark? How far can you run away from your own shadow? Have you ever given a thought to this shadow Ñ something that you donÕt know but perhaps have a very skimpy, superficial glimpse of but itÕs too painful and fearful to delve into it? How can you solve problems and mysteries if you refuse to acknowledge what it is? Are you courageous enough to call them by their right names and expose them and then walk away from them?Always be very alert.If it is something that you refuse to acknowledge and deny, and you stay away from (fear arises first), this is actually the time when you really need to look at them.They are always in the unconscious and can arise at any time.Do you dare to confront them? Have you noticed that in the beginning it can be very difficult to start something, but after a few tries it gets easier and easier.Like mindfulness practice, in the beginning it is difficult because the mind is attached to old and heedless ways Ñ always careless.But if you keep on persisting, you will see that mindfulness comes quite naturally.Practice makes perfect.DonÕt you think?How do you see kamma working in your life? Does it work like a boomerang?What is suffering to you? How many people have you subjected to suffering?Do you have any past involvement with harmful substances that have caused immense suffering to others? Will you, for the sake of self-gain, do something that will subject others to much unhappiness and suffering, and do it with ample excuses and justifications? If there is no guilt involved, is there a need to justify?What is the meaning of life to you? What does life want from you? Why do you think you are here in this existence called life? Do you think it is such a precious opportunity to be born as a human being rather than as an animal or other lower forms of beings?When you do things, do you do it on impulse or do you make decisions after considering the consequences first? Have you noticed how we are often required to make decisions in life? What are the criteria you have in mind when you make a decision?Everyone wants kindness, understanding, love, and compassion from others.How much are we willing to give the same to others?If you had only one month to live, what would you do in that month?What meaning and significance does death have for you? Can life be meaningful and complete without suffering and death?How much have you learnt from suffering Ñ your own and from others?Do you dream nightly? Can you remember them? What sort of things do you usually dream about? Can you see how the conscious mind affects the unconscious mind in dreams?Chapter 6: Value and PhilosophyÒMan everywhere and at all times, whoever he may be, has preferred to act as he chose and not in the least as his reason, advantage dictated.Ó ThatÕs what Dostoevsky said in his Notes from Underground.What do you say?My friend, Henry David Thoreau, said: ÒA saner man would have found himself often enough in formal opposition to what are deemed the most sacred laws of society, through obedience to yet more sacred laws, and so have tested his resolution without going out of his way.ÓAs for me, IÕm getting tired of being in conflict.I want to live my life very peacefully.I want to find a way to live, without agreeing with the crazy world and without being in conflict with the world either.Let the world go its own crazy way.IÕll stand aside.If I take anything for granted I cannot be called an earnest seeker of truth, even though it is something the Buddha himself said.I cannot believe something just out of respect for him (and I have the highest respect for him).I want to know for myself.Another thing IÕve learnt is to communicate with myself.The only person with whom I can communicate with really, really well is myself.ItÕs not so easy [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]