Philosophical Speculations

This response of attempting a sort subdued shaming is also typical you. You wrote this before. Not super effective, if I may say. But interesting, to say the least, coming from a no-self who is supposedly developing "its higher capacities and compassion and becoming transparent and open to the...

Whoever wants to be my disciple must... you have quoted that verse so many times Eugene. Around in circles. These words are so much your typical last resort since they lay themselves open wide enough for you to mistreat them as "linguistic labels" and enroll them at the service of your pr...

I did the exercise, in fact, I've done it many times before. I know, Cleric, you are referring to a "mysterious" intuitive sense of "self-reference" and "self-agency" that most people carry deep in sub-conscious. I lost most of it some time ago. When I do "I think...

I would like to add a clarifying question here. When we take the "I" as something that needs to be defined and explained, it might be difficult to reach agreement. Let's look at something simpler. Eugene, can you think the words "I think" in a meditative manner while feeling the...

Ok, then I'll give an alternate definition of "I" (though I would say it amounts to the same as the one I gave earlier): the "I" is (at least, it might be more) awareness of permanence in what is experienced. I look around the room and see most of it is the same as what I saw ye...

So "awareness-thinking-willing" is eternally existing. If you don't want to say it is an "entity", fine -- that is just a debate over the meaning of 'entity'. It is still an ontological claim, just as my starting point that "there is only ideational activity" is ontolo...

If you look into your direct experience, you will not find any "real I" other than your idea of "I". The idea that there is some "I" behind the actions that cannot know itself "just like an eye that cannot see itself" is only an abstract idea that we have bee...

No it's not a whole different discussion. This mindset reveals the core issue - and duality - from yet another angle. Preliminary philosophical speculation to "clear the (intellectual) way" is arbitrarily kept separate from the direct inner experience that should realize that same way. Th...

Eugene adds the caveat that presence-awareness isn't sufficient and we should also add in the higher cognitive practice, but I can't imagine this concretely means anything. Why? Because he also wrote this to you - " If the "direct method" alone works for you without any reinforcement...

Well, what you are describing is the span of attention, but not the presence-awareness in a sense that Rupert is referring to. Usually in our mundane state of consciousness, be it in children or adults, we completely disregard the presence-awareness. PS: Well, to be more precise, in our mundane mod...