[Buddha-l] mind wandering

[Dan Lusthaus]

> On 11/13/2010 8:09 AM, Dan Lusthaus wrote:
>> All life is duhkha because you imagine you have a self which is only
>> imaginary (atma-drsti).
> Most folks I know don't actually imagine a self, imaginary or otherwise
> (of course, you can call them ignorant or in 'da Nile, if you wish).
> Buddhists imagine that we all imagine a self, and then sell us the
> antidote.
>> Read Buddha.
> Read Real People, Not Dogma.
> Jamie

Hi Jamie,
I guess your self is not imaginary, or what are you suggesting? Or is that 
YOUR view (no self at play in such ownership)? Buddhist do sell a lot of 
snake oil, but one needs no dogma to see atma-drsti everywhere amongst Real 
(self) People and its consequences.

Duhkha (dis-ease = angst) has a cause. One realizes that, deep down, the 
self that one presumes turns out not to be there, and one feels discomfort, 
dis-ease, trying to fill the gap with acquisition, strategies of compelling 
compliance and reassurance, of belonging to an identity larger than 
oneself -- or all of the above. Since none of those efforts manufactures an 
actual self, Duhkha is only suppressed, not eliminated.

Shall we discuss confirming this with psychology, sociology, politics, 
economics, religious identity, shopping sprees...  or just numb it with 
chemical desensitizers?

Dan