An interesting story of pride comes from Professor Martin Verhoeven who used to be Bhikshu Heng Chau. This is the gist of it. One time, he was battling with pride (as throughout his life, he always wanted to be No.1), so he went the other direction - he became humble. One day, his teacher, Master Hsuan Hua saw what he'd been doing and decided to check him out to see how humble he really was. So Master Hua took Heng Chau's hat, threw it on the ground and started stamping on it. Heng Chau was speechless! "Hey Shifu, that's MY hat!" After that, Master Hsuan Hua said to him something like, "The humility that you are cultivating is not real humility. You are cultivating humility for the sake of showing off to the world and saying, 'Hey, look at me, I am No.1 in humility - no one is more humble than me!' - that's not it either". So the Master probably dusted off his hat, gave it back to him, smiled and said, "Keep practicing ;)"
There is actually a threefold conceit - I am superior is a conceit, I am inferior is a conceit, I am equal to is a conceit (A 6.49) and that if one who has fully penetrated through these has put an end to suffering. So here, I am superior, I am inferior and I am equal to is still self view and is comparing yourself to others. The "I am" is the conceit, the self view.
"Those samanas and brahmins who, relying on the impermanent, unsatisfying and transitory nature of material form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness,conceive that: ˜I am better", or ˜I am equal", or ˜I am worse", all these imagine thus through not understanding reality."
~ S 22.49
What sort of reflections can help see through this self view?
"Whatever form... feeling... perception... mental formations ... consciousness there are: past, future or present; internal or external; gross or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near – all should be seen as they really are through true wisdom
thus: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.
~ MV 1.6, S 22.59, Anattalakkha Sutta
http://www.freesangha.com/forums/index.php?topic=399.10;wap2
No comments:
Post a Comment