[Buddha-l] What is direct experience?

[lemmett at talk21.com]

> Suppose we couple this ontological awareness to what
> Collins in his
> aforementioned book would call 'a taboo on the self.' 
> Can direct knowledge
> then be called knowledge attained through  'deselved'
> perception?
> 
> Stefan

Well for what it's worth I don't know. I can understand that might not be helpful to cherish or hate the I, or to selfishly desire things.

And thinking things through in terms of some Brahmanical self that does not exist looks like it could be damaging in the same way as any myth but if there is a conventional self why would concepts that take that into account be incorrigible? I would expect a taboo on the self to lead to e.g. confusion by way of not trusting our own experiences before the (potentially less sincere) reports of others. Or inversely to miss the relative authority of someone else's advice. These examples would be less relevant in non rational endeavor, like karate.

I would be interested in any reply.