Yin Ling: How Does No-Self Feel Like? And Other Posts

 Yin Ling

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How does no-self feels like?

The felt sense of “self” is a contraction. But u won’t know u are contracting because u don’t have a comparison of “not contracting”. It feels Normal to u. So most ppl live with a strong sense of self thinking it’s normal.

But once anatta (no self) realization stabilises, the boundless felt sense is so strong that it’s so hard to contract.

U just feel like the whole world when u wake up and walk around and there’s no Center to contract to.

And u don’t need to even put in any effort. u don’t think about how u sense the world unless being asked. It’s natural for u. The body sensation is just purely another sensation like a sound. Very pure. U don’t think much about it really.

But everything is very close to u.

Coz the energy that “I feel like me” is in everything.

It’s a very intimate feeling.

It’s hard to imagine how to harm others when i have this strong “me” feeling in others too. It’s feels counterintuitive.

After awhile, U will even forget how is it like sensing from a self. And the idea of other ppl sensing from the head is just really really strange.

u remember once u used to think that too and u wonder how can u think that ? It’s so obvious there’s no one there.

That’s Anatta imo. That’s how I experience it.

It sounds radical but actually

Very ordinary.

Life just goes on. In anatta.

24You, John Tan, William Lim and 21 others

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• John Tan

  "After awhile, U will even forget how is it like sensing from a self. And the idea of other ppl sensing from the head is just really really strange."

  After a while, the "no-self" is also exhausted. This does not mean one returns to self-view, but the antidote (no-self) in relation to "self" is also relinguished into the natural state of spontaneous presence, free from sense of apprehender and apprehended.

  

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  • Yin Ling

    John Tan wow, thanks !!

    

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  • André A. Pais

    "No trace of enlightenment remains." ~ Dōgen

    

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  Mr. J.P. H

  I'm starting to see the self as contraction. Also as a sort of grasping, claiming ownership of sensation. Regularly when I sit now, there is this "dropping"....I don't really know what to call it. Where the sensations are there but disconnected. Just floating in the mind space. The seeing, hearing, etc just shimmering like the surface of a lake. But always something extra like the damn foot is still connected or my knee  Sometimes insight feels so close in one moment and the next it is many lifetimes away.

  

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  • Yin Ling

    Mr. J.P. H very very nice 

    Ignorance can’t stay long, it’s not how things are. So with right view and diligent practice it has to go. 

    

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    Mr. J.P. H

    Yin Ling Based on my description is the rewiring of my brain going in the right direction? 

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  • Yin Ling

    Mr. J.P. H

    Yes.

    “Sensations are there but disconnected , just floating in mind space, shimmering like the surface of the lake.”

    I remember reporting this to my teacher too, and she just grinned.

    Then over the next few months the i investigate the gap between

    “Who is knowing all these sensation ?”

    Because vipassana or noting this way make me realise I have never note a “knowing” after 1000 hours 

    Then Like a dog chasing its tails , utterly confused for awhile..

    “Does knowing knows knowing? Then who knows the first knowing? Then who knows the second knowing ?… ad infinitum..

    My mind was so exhausted.

    Then One day I. shockingly realise the sensation has been knowing itself 

    Then the gap between knowing and known close.

    and the insight of there has never ever been a gap, since time immemorial, arises.

    Then…

    

    

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    Mr. J.P. H

    Yin Ling Ahh very cool. I always enjoy when you share these details. "Then who knows the second knowing?"  Sometimes I will just say to my mind out loud "stop doing that" haha.

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  • Yin Ling

    Mr. J.P. H

    Lol it’s alright . let the mind search

    Coz one has to search, and search, and search… look and look.. again and again

    Bc it is this effortful searching that allows the mind to understand thoroughly. It’s quite stubborn. Mine is.

    It’s a very exhausting thing to do. I often need alot of sleep after vipassana like that. It’s Hard work. Frustrating too

    But only after such effortful searching one will truly know what is effortlessness.

    Most “effortlessness” talk on Facebook is just an excuse to not do a thing and chill. Easier to go to the beach  lol .

    U can notice that on current ATR discusssion. Let’s do nothing but chill and be Buddha 

    

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• Mr./Ms. DL

  Fantastic post!

  I have a personal question with regards to my vipassana noting and. Who is knowing all these sensations?

  Example: awareness of hand touching hands, skin touching chair, birds tweeting etc. this awareness in my case is rather one directional. One object at a time etc.

  I cannot seemingly simultaneously be aware of everything at the same time, only flickering from one object to another in fast succession.

  If all sensations have been knowing themselves what is this single pointedness and why is it not polyphonic awareness?

  Why is there more attention on newer objects rather than continuous awareness on sitting or breath? (With addition of birds tweeting) without birds cancelling out attention to breath?

  This single ness or one pointedness awareness almost feels like the illusion of a self or I.

  Only being able to have attention on bird sound and forgetting the constant aircon or skin touching skin or sun on my face. Only able to lean into singular phenomena instead of all as one?

  Im trying to investigate this gap versus knowing. 1st knowing, 2nd knowing as you mentioned. And find a possible (all knowing) with no gaps.

  In the true event that phenomena is happening spontaneously at the same time yet my sense of awareness can only focus on one event at a time i

  feel constricted and exhausted, almost like the who or illussion of me is that singular attention.

  Is there something here anyone is familiar with? Im not very articulated in my thought streams anymore too, lol.

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  • Yin Ling

    Mr./Ms. DL

    I sort of understand what you are saying , but see if u resonate coz these things might be tricky if I don’t clearly get u.

    I think there’s a few steps here.

    First is to get clear about this “knowing”. Like seeing mind in zen.

    Then When one is sure and confident this knowing is not apart from sensation,

    A small switch to knowing “no self”, which the split we initially thought is there was never there.

    But at that point sensation for me is still “one after another”, separated, like you say in “single pointed rather than polyphonic”.

    It’s because we still see “self” in sensations, they are separated and seems independent , exactly like u say “ feels like the illusion of self”.

    At then we practice emptiness of sensation/phenomena, learn dependent origination, deconstruct the self in phenomenas, the essence and the boundaries will slowly be deconstructed very gradually

    Let me know if I get what u mean correctly 

    

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  • Mr./Ms. DL

    Ha yes ying! you got me.

    This singular pointedness on breath then breath can suddenly fall away and there is just spacial awareness, is this what you refer to as zen mind?

    I recall some states where there is a sort of polyphonic awareness but more evenly spread, nothing is prominent but everything is almost in the background of amness.

    Yes that 3rd stage you mentioned, practicing emptiness. Perhaps i need to restructure my practice and find what stage there is weakness. Perhaps i need to revisit earlier stages of non self, i have a feeling ive neglected something.

    Thanks

    

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• Mr. MSc

  Thanks Yin. Anatta is currently my Koan.

  

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Yin Ling

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The understanding(right view), experience and realisation in the buddhadharma.

10John Tan, Sim Pern Chong and 8 others

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Yin Ling

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https://wisdomexperience.org/.../https-wisdomexperience.../

HHDL talks about his daily routine in his new sets of book and I remember reading it probably a year ago and seared in my mind ever since.

When I don’t feel like practicing, or think I’m good enough, I remember the Dalai Lama at 80+ waking up at 330am to practise and feel great shame

If a great reincarnate who have practice for many lives still practice like this…

Who am I to think I’m good enough for no practice ?!!

WISDOMEXPERIENCE.ORG

The Dalai Lama's Daily Schedule - The Wisdom Experience

People often ask me about my daily schedule and Dharma practice. I am a very poor practitioner, but I keep trying because I am convinced that practicing the Dharma is the path to peace and happiness. In Dharamsala, India, where I live, I wake up at 3:30 a.m. and immediately visualize the Buddha and....

9You, John Tan, William Kong and 6 others

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Yin Ling

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  · 

https://wisdomexperience.org/.../https-wisdomexperience.../

HHDL talks about his daily routine in his new sets of book and I remember reading it probably a year ago and seared in my mind ever since.

When I don’t feel like practicing, or think I’m good enough, I remember the Dalai Lama at 80+ waking up at 330am to practise and feel great shame

If a great reincarnate who have practice for many lives still practice like this…

Who am I to think I’m good enough for no practice ?!!

WISDOMEXPERIENCE.ORG

The Dalai Lama's Daily Schedule - The Wisdom Experience

People often ask me about my daily schedule and Dharma practice. I am a very poor practitioner, but I keep trying because I am convinced that practicing the Dharma is the path to peace and happiness. In Dharamsala, India, where I live, I wake up at 3:30 a.m. and immediately visualize the Buddha and....

9You, John Tan, William Kong and 6 others

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