Thanks for posting Ed, and thanks also to Steve for including this aspect in
the discussion.
Rose
--- On Thu, 1/6/11, ED <seacrofter...@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: ED <seacrofter...@yahoo.com>
Subject: [Zen] Re: Mindfulness pt 2
To: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, January 6, 2011, 11:36 PM
The Five Skandhas
The Buddhist doctrine of egolessness seems to be a bit confusing to people. I
think this is because there is some confusion as to what is meant by ego. Ego,
in the Buddhist sense, is quite different from the Freudian ego. The Buddhist
ego is a collection of mental events classified into five categories, called
Skandhas, loosely translated as bundles, or heaps.
If we were to borrow a western expression, we could say that "in the beginning"
things were going along quite well. At some point, however, there was a loss of
confidence in the way things were going. There was a kind of primordial panic
which produced confusion about what was happening. Rather than acknowledging
this loss of confidence, there was an identification with the panic and
confusion. Ego began to form. This is known as the first skandha, the skandha
of form.
After the identification with confusion, ego begins to explore how it feels
about the formation of this experience. If we like the experience, we try to
draw it in. If we dislike it, we try to push it away, or destroy it. If we feel
neutral about it, we just ignore it. The way we feel about the experience is
called the skandha of form; what we try to do about it is known as the skandha
of impulse/perception.
The next stage is to try to identify, or label the experience. If we can put it
into a category, we can manipulate it better. Then we would have a whole bag of
tricks to use on it. This is the skandha of concept.
The final step in the birth of ego, is called the skandha of consciousness. Ego
begins to churn thoughts and emotions around and around. This makes ego feel
solid and real. The churning around and around is called samsara literally, to
whirl about.
The way ego feels about its situation (skandha of feeling) determines which of
the six realms of existence it creates for itself.
http://www.tibetanlama.com/buddhism/The_Five_Skhandas.asp
--- In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com, "SteveW" <eugnostos2...@...> wrote:
>
> So how does one separate ego from mind?
>
> Hi Dave, pleased to meet you. So tell me, if ego is just a convenient term for
the 5 skandas, who is it that wants to separate ego from mind?
And if the skandas arise in Mind, how would that even be possible? Who is it
that is afflicted with OCD? Just some stuff to think about.
Namo Amitabha!
Steve
