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velcrodon t1_jasu743 wrote

Reply to comment by Mustelafan in Glorifying the "self" is detrimental to both the individual and the larger world. It neither helps you find your true nature, nor your role in the larger world. by waytogoal

One point that may help clarify some of the general thoughts on ‘self’ in terms of Buddhism - there is a concept of who is watching the watcher. Meaning, if you stop to pay attention to the various thoughts/biases/whatever that pop into your head and watch them flow in, who then is the true self? Are you those thoughts? Are you the watcher and not the thoughts? Are you both.

This is where the concept of self gets very sticky, and is why articles about self and Buddhism speak about the fleeting transitory nature of self and how we all evolve over time.

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waytogoal OP t1_jat5o2d wrote

Thanks for the clarification!

Too many people conflated that "watcher" as their consciousness. The former is much more limited than the latter.

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