THE NOTION OF SELF
Master Jun Hong Lu: The “Notion of Self” is when you make yourself a priority where you always go, “This is what I think…” “This is what I believe, etc”. Everything revolves around the word “I”. This is a typical case I often come across when I answer questions from the audience. Each time, there will be a chain of “I” for example, “I am like this…This is how I am; I think this is how it should be…I saw this…” All of these are one’s “Notion of Self”.
We have to understand that the “I” in this world is a “False Self”. It is not real. If we get attached to the notion of self we are a pitiful being. We will be consumed by this notion “I” and we will never be able to detach from it.
In fact, all suffering stems from one’s notion of self. Do you have any idea why it is difficult for animals to be reborn to the upper realm? It’s because they are attached to the notion of “itself”, that is, the attachment to their form of “self”.
Therefore, you must let go of this sense of the self. It is only through letting go of it can we truly blend into the society. You say, “I won’t get angry. I know if I get angry, upset, unhappy or start to give rise to hatred, it is this notion of self that’s acting up. If I can give up the “self” I will not be angry nor sad.”
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Buddhism In Plain Terms, Volume 1 Chapter 20
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