[Gem]

Hello.

Long time no see.

Originally Posted by TaoSandwich

I had a great analogy come to me today. My pen burst on my hand before an important work presentation and a went to wash my hands over and over to get the ink off of them. When I had finished, I looked at the ring that I always wear and noticed that it was glistening and clean from all of the washes.

To me, meditation gives one the chance to wash away the dirt of the mind, namely, egoism, racing thoughts, and craving. This may only happen for a second, since the mind is highly conditioned (neural networks are extremely stubborn) but over repeated washes, the contamination starts to fall away... and you may find that your virtues are more radiant as a result. Perhaps those things are one and the same :P

True that egotistic behaviours won't continue for long under the gaze of meditation, but still, one must know what meditation is and implement it correctly in order to have that affect... for example, we don't look at a flower to achieve something else, we look at it to admire it. There's no desire in looking at the flowers, yet it's enjoyable none-the-less.

As for formal instruction, Gem, to pull an old Zen cliche, I'd say that it is just as wrong to say "there is no teaching to transmit" as it is to say "there is a teaching". If helping others actively brings on a sense of egoism, that doesn't mean that all people should refrain from it entirely... Rather, one should be aware of these feelings arising and either beware of how they affect the actual instruction. If you think they in any way obscure the teaching, then that is something you should work on before sharing, but that does not necessarily mean that no one should teach.

I think the instructors have means of justification that perpetuate their position as instructors, and I don't have a gripe about techniques per se, but when the activity is done as means to an end, that action becomes of lesser importance, and secondary to the end game. This means that expectation has been aroused and that desire for an imagined future has been instilled.

True, when serving others, one does need to be acutely aware of egotism, and the desire to help is a clear indicator of egotism. When the compassionate kindness arises form some depth of purity a persons actions are intended toward the happiness of all. That just occurs naturally and I don't try to help anyone at all, but for the most part, my acts are beneficial, because by cultivating purity within myself, everyone else benefits, yet I have no investment in it.

fact, interacting with the people of the world in general brings on all sorts of negative emotions, even the most subtle and unavoidable of which can lead to us losing our sense of oneness and sometimes harming others. Should one then become a hermit, and if you think so, would withholding one's self from others do more harm or good?

-TaoSandwich

Sometimes, having done harm unintentionally, causes a person to fear themselves and what they might do to hurt people, so they retreat. Maybe not to a cave, but in a way where they won't form relationships that are close enough that they could hurt someone. They then become harmless, and from there, will only become more and more beneficial, because they obviously wish to break that behaviour, and their retreat was purely intended for the benefit of others. See how wishing to break destructive behaviours, i.e, purifying, is reflected in the good will toward others?