Thoughts and Observations

[ghost01]

Is it possible that the essence of what we are is simply, awareness?

If you disconnect all the experience you have accumulated, the attachment to it, and judgements of our perceptions based on these accumulations, and experience life always in the moment, then

I am nothing.

I will never die, I was never born, only the accumulation of experiences will cease to be, and they mean no more or no less than that which will come next.

[Spiny Norman]

If you disconnect all the experience you have accumulated, the attachment to it, and judgements of our perceptions based on these accumulations, and experience life always in the moment, then

That sounds like a description of enlightenment.

Spiny

[Mr. G]

Is it possible that the essence of what we are is simply, awareness?

If you disconnect all the experience you have accumulated, the attachment to it, and judgements of our perceptions based on these accumulations, and experience life always in the moment, then

I am nothing.

I will never die, I was never born, only the accumulation of experiences will cease to be, and they mean no more or no less than that which will come next.

You should read the following books:

Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition
Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations

[ghost01]

Sorry for the outburst, I think I may have temporarily lost my mind!

I will check out the books, thank you guys..

[Quiet Heart]

Is it possible that the essence of what we are is simply, awareness?

If you disconnect all the experience you have accumulated, the attachment to it, and judgements of our perceptions based on these accumulations, and experience life always in the moment, then

I am nothing.

I will never die, I was never born, only the accumulation of experiences will cease to be, and they mean no more or no less than that which will come next.

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ghost1:
I've been watching this topic for a couple of days...and I think it's time for a comment as others more knowledgeable aren't commenting.
Do not dismiss this understanding to lightly...but consider carefully what you have understood.
You have the "sharp knife of understanding" there...but you are wrong in taking it by grapsing the blade of the knife, not by it's handle.
I mean this: it is not the I who perceieves that will continue to exist...it is the "accumulation of experiences will cease to be"...as you call it...that will continue to exist even long after the I is gone.
If you grasp that "sharp knife of understanding" by the handle you may be able to use it to cut away the "fat" from the "lean meat" of your understanding.
Here's another tidbit of meat for you to consider.
Perhaps the purpose of your existance as a sentient human being is to understand and then "test by fire" that very understanding in the burning fire of the world?
Use that "sharp knife of understanding", if you can, and see what lean meat you can find there.

[catmoon]

A handy way to check your view is to look at what the sutras present as incorrect.

One extreme is "I exist, there is within me the eternal, permanent and unchanging Me."
The other extreme is "I do not exist, I am nothing."

The extremes are easy to characterize and understand, so they make good guideposts. Buddhism rejects both extremes and takes a path down the middle.

The first one falls since you are obviously not the same person as when you were three, and you continue to change, physically, mentally and spiritually.
The second falls because if you were truly nothing, you would be unable to experience this moment.

[ghost01]

Hello Quiet Heart, Catmoon!

I am happy you've both chimed in, I have been trying to make sense of this on my own with little result.

I am still very new to Buddhism, and do not have that much understanding when it comes to checking the literature to verify and validate my thoughts and experiences, so It's a great help and is appreciated.

it is not the I who perceieves that will continue to exist...it is the "accumulation of experiences will cease to be"...as you call it...that will continue to exist even long after the I is gone.

I think I find this far more comforting than my original assessment, the essence is the same.. but with more profound implications.. and

One extreme is "I exist, there is within me the eternal, permanent and unchanging Me."
The other extreme is "I do not exist, I am nothing."

These together have given me alot to think about. When I said I am nothing, It may have been a bit of a miscommunication, or just a really bad one. This has reinforced it though.

Perhaps the purpose of your existance as a sentient human being is to understand and then "test by fire" that very understanding in the burning fire of the world?

There is nothing I would rather do more. Thank you both.

Buddha is like a doctor to whom we go with our suffering; his teaching is the medicine that can cure us; the community includes the nurses, and perhaps the supportive fellow-patients as well.