Steven Coyle wrote:An illusion is simply that: a false view of something. "the self is an illusion" is an invitation to further philosophic inquiry (i.e. "What is the self?")
Yes, well, the self is a tricky thing to understand. I don't fully understand it. I don't think that plain philosophising can fully explain it either though. And to say that the self is an "illusion" is in my opinion just plain contrary to the facts: in every waking moment I experience my self - it's the most real thing that I know. The world around me might be some kind of simulation and I can doubt that all that I want, but as to my own existence - it's undoubtable.
Steven Coyle wrote:S: By dismantling what the ego-self is, it is often easier to realize the truth that things lack inherent existence. In doing this, one may be able to experience samadhi, which can lead to kensho (enlightenment).
L: So what exactly does this realisation feel like? Have you had it? Do you experience the world differently or merely cognise it differently?
"What does this realization feel like..."
Tranquil light.
Yep.
Can you separate experience and cognition?
Hmm, so you had a "realisation" that things (including the self) lack inherent existence. How do you know that this realisation was not in fact a delusional experience? How do you know that viewing the world from this perspective is actually the correct way to view things? How do you know that it's not even more correct to view things as essentially separate but reacting, responding and communicating with one another?
As for separating experience and cognition - sure you can separate them, roughly. Experience is largely feeling-based and revolves around sensory stimulation. Cognition is largely thought-based and revolves around processing experiences or abstract concepts.
S: [O]ne's environment and mind will merge, one's subjectivity and objectivity will become one.
L: I've never experienced anything close to this and if I did, I'd tend to believe that someone had slipped a little something in my drink. I'm not even really sure what it means - in what way can I said to be possessed of "objectivity" anyway? Aren't I by definition a purely subjective consciousness?
S: Your subjectivity (which is all you are possessed of) becomes objective.
You'll have to explain in some better detail what you mean by this. I have no idea how I (an inherently subjective perspective) can ever be considered to have a wholly objective perspective, except in the sense that I can gather a whole load of factual data and consider the world from the perspective of that factual data.
Steven Coyle wrote:If you're still interested, I'd encourage you to read through any of the spiritual texts on Kevin or David's sites - the wisdom of the past may spark something.
I've read through WOTI and some of the stuff on David's site about Hakuin, but not much else, and I'm not really motivated to hunt down anything further.
