The Reflection is Empty…isn’t it?
April 17, 2007
Similar experience to Gregor’s a couple of days ago.
I’m sitting this morning in my hotel room in TN trying to meditate. Sometimes it’s difficult to sit in a hotel, but other times it’s easy. This morning was difficult. I was getting pretty frustrated until I looked up and noticed the reflection of my head in the mirror behind the dresser I was facing. I hadn’t even noticed the mirror, let alone my reflection.
I began contemplating how that reflection was not really me. Even though when I moved, twitched, and contorted my face it followed. I still KNEW that it wasn’t really me. I then moved my attention to: “Is what is being reflected really ME, either?”. Is my concept of myself any more real than the reflection I was seeing? I contemplated this for a few more minutes until I had to get ready for a meeting.
I guess it was a good sit after all….
Here is the hard question?
What is it that is really us? Is there an us?
Or are we just a hodge podge of lots a different sensations, stimuli, and events – - – Is there really any continuity of identity?
Somewhere the Dorje Dradul explains egolessness as having no place to hide out, no more shutting down, no more investing in the suffering of samsara. From this point of view the egoless it seems could retain some semblance of who you are, but that person no longer uses samsara’s suffering to set up a subject object relationship to confirm its own existence. I really have no idea how that person would behave. They might be very natural.