I thought that today’s essay was a very intriguing read. I have never really investigated what Buddhism is about, but I still feel somewhat confused with what goes on in this belief. The concept talking about the “Selflessness” is a difficult idea for me to grasp. Despite some misunderstandings, I did however think that there were several thoughts in the essay that I could relate to.
One of the passages that I enjoyed the most was where Thurman was talking about finding your true inner self. The belief of finding yourself in most cultures is when you figure out what you stand for and what your beliefs are, but this is sort of opposite of the Buddhist belief. What Thurman thought about finding your “Self”, was that this is the realization of how your environment affects you. For example, he said “You will discover that you are part of the infinite web of interconnectedness with all other beings.” This to me is contrary to how I feel your inner “Self “, should be. Being connected to others to me means that you are following others paths, or tagging along with the “crowd”. I also don’t feel that I’m connected to everything around me because I probably don’t have a direct affect on most things. The things and people that I do affect the most are probably the ones I come in contact with most frequently, so I more than likely don’t have a direct affect on what is going on in Antarctica.
The one part that I thought was accurate was the mention of feeling alienated from others. Buddha said that when you believe in your rigid “Self”, you would feel separate and unique from others. I think that everyone should feel this way at times because of who they are and what they believe. I feel like this sometimes because of the beliefs that I hold. For example, when I was in high school I frequently felt isolated from a lot of my classmates because I didn’t drink, so I instead stayed at home and did homework. I don’t necessarily think that feeling isolated from others for reasons such as these is such a horrible thing. However, these feelings of alienation are posed as being the opposite of what is desired.
For the most part, I didn’t agree with the essay. The views that were displayed throughout the entirety of the essay were the opposite of what I think they should be. I think that finding your inner self should be more about figuring out what your stances on life are, and not how you’re connected to everything around you. Not only is it important to know who you are, but holding firm to your beliefs is the other aspect of being yourself. For me, my beliefs are the most important aspect that I possess, and that is what makes me “me”.