[Buddha-l] What is direct experience?

[lemmett at talk21.com]

> Well you see, every knowledge is a representation, and
> therefore 
> conceptual. A thing is a combination of name and form in
> Buddhist terms, 
> so it is a representation, a product of the imagination.
> Name and form 
> are totally different entities that cannot come together by
> themselves. 

Er, thanks for the reply but I don't understand your last sentence...

> bare your arm and give yourself a good PINCH.
> whatever you SAY it "is" or about it, is NOT it.

Sure.

> the denial of the self... can also be taken normatively,
> as you imply, as a stimulant for altruism and unbiased moral reasoning. I
> think both fail a methods to handle the world and to act well. A sense of
> self is useful (to empathize, for instance) and in some moral situation,
> like in a life threatening situation of self defense, beit in the street or
> as a life threatening pregnancy ex utero, altruism is not an option.

You seem to think that a sense of self can be retained while denying the self in some other sense; but again, it's not clear why you think that any denial I am involved in involves removing the sense of self or a lack of empathy.