Followings are the main points from an article by Thich Nhat Hanh. The original article is lengthy so I just post the main points.
The Essence of the Buddha's Teaching (2):
Non-Self
Deep insight into the truth of impermanence leads to the insight of non-self. Non-self (Anatman / Anatta) is the 2nd mark of an authentic Buddhist teaching.
Non-self is something miraculous. Whe we look deeply at a flower, we see all the non-flower elements there, such as earth, sun, minerals, gardener, and so on. If we look deeply enough, we will see that the whole cosmos has come together to manifest as this miracle. The flower is full of all the elements of the cosmos - time, space, the sun, rain, even your consciousness - everything. But the flower is empty of one thing. It is full of all things, but it is empty of one thing : a separate existence. It is empty of any separate entity called self.
We are like the flower. If you look deeply into yourself, you will see that you possess everything. If you practice deep looking, you will discover this truth, the mystery of interbieng : the one contains all.
You already are everything you are seeking. Do not try to become something else. The flower does not try to become the sun; it already is the sun. When you achieve this insight, you stop suffering. We suffer because we want to deny ourselves. We want to become something else, and so we never stop running.
You are a manifestation. You are impermanent. Yet you are full of all the elements of the cosmos. You are a miracle. You are already what you are seeking to become. When you have this insight, you can stop. Stopping is peace. Stopping is happiness. Buddhist meditation consists of stopping and looking deeply, samatha and vipassana. Deep looking helps you to stop, and stopping helps you to look deeply. Those 2 help each other. In order to look, you have to stop, and when you are looking deeply, you are stopping.
The Essence of the Buddha's Teaching (2):
Non-Self
Deep insight into the truth of impermanence leads to the insight of non-self. Non-self (Anatman / Anatta) is the 2nd mark of an authentic Buddhist teaching.
Non-self is something miraculous. Whe we look deeply at a flower, we see all the non-flower elements there, such as earth, sun, minerals, gardener, and so on. If we look deeply enough, we will see that the whole cosmos has come together to manifest as this miracle. The flower is full of all the elements of the cosmos - time, space, the sun, rain, even your consciousness - everything. But the flower is empty of one thing. It is full of all things, but it is empty of one thing : a separate existence. It is empty of any separate entity called self.
We are like the flower. If you look deeply into yourself, you will see that you possess everything. If you practice deep looking, you will discover this truth, the mystery of interbieng : the one contains all.
You already are everything you are seeking. Do not try to become something else. The flower does not try to become the sun; it already is the sun. When you achieve this insight, you stop suffering. We suffer because we want to deny ourselves. We want to become something else, and so we never stop running.
You are a manifestation. You are impermanent. Yet you are full of all the elements of the cosmos. You are a miracle. You are already what you are seeking to become. When you have this insight, you can stop. Stopping is peace. Stopping is happiness. Buddhist meditation consists of stopping and looking deeply, samatha and vipassana. Deep looking helps you to stop, and stopping helps you to look deeply. Those 2 help each other. In order to look, you have to stop, and when you are looking deeply, you are stopping.
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