[Buddha-l] Western Buddhism

[curt]

Joy Vriens wrote:
> Richard,
>   
>> Seeing the source of one's strength as outside oneself strikes me as 
>> immature thinking. Mature practice consists in seeing that all of one's 
>> strength comes from within,
>>     
>
> I wonder what the Buddha would think about that? He did tell us to be islands unto ourselves, but he wasn't very specific about an "inside oneself" and a "within". Not that I have a problem with that, but I do have a problem knowing what is inside and what outside.  
>   

The Buddha did, of course, mention something about there being no self 
in the first place, however. And if there is no self then there is no 
"other".

Curt