Post #1339

"There is a method by which we can eliminate this belief in a self which is the attachment to "I" or "me." If we examine the self The Correct View of Buddha-dharma carefully and try to discover what and where it is, we will not be able to find anything that is "I." It cannot be logically established. Through this careful reasoning process, we will come to under-stand that the thought "I" has no inherent reality. There is no "I." It is only a delusion. This understanding undermines the belief in a self and thus cuts the root of the disturbing emotions. The Buddha taught this method of analysis in the Foundation vehicle and showed how to attain liberation from samsara by realizing the "selflessness or egolessness of the individual." In the second turning of the wheel of dharma, the Buddha taught the methods of the Mahayana (the greater vehicle). The scope of the Mahayana is deeper than the Foundation because here we are concerned with not only helping ourselves, but also with helping all other sentient beings. In the first turning we may fear the suffering of samsara as long as we believe that it has true existence. However, in the second turning, the Buddha taught that phenomena of samsara are also empty of any inherent true nature. Realizing the emptiness of phenomena, the belief and attachment to a self will be finally eliminated. The teachings of the Mahayana were called "the middle turning" (the second of the three vehicles), in which the Buddha taught that all phenomena (whether body, mind, or material things) have no inherent nature of their own. All phenomena are devoid of a true nature and are therefore empty. By seeing the emptiness of all phenomena, we can become free from the belief in and attachment to a personal self and of phenomena's illusion. We also become free from fear of suffering as well as from actual suffering. Having freedom from suffering and the fear of suffering, we are in a position to truly help other beings." Thrangu Rinpoche