somebody, nobody, everybody ...

This no-self topic is cause for more reflection ...

Rupert Spira says: "Being somebody leads to suffering; being nobody leads to peace; being everybody leads to happiness."

Maybe so, though a lack of self-esteem is generally considered a psychological weakness ... as is an excess of it ... perhaps these stages can't be bypassed ... perhaps a healthy, balanced sense of self is necessary to face the prospect of being nothing ... for a while ... hmmm that peace is very seductive, especially if the self-being suffering has been extreme ... is it safe to rest in no-self for the duration? Is this the trap of the permanent retreatant?  Certainly, solitude is an aid to no-being ... supporting the view that we only exist in relation with others ... the selfie craze illustrates this ... look carefully at the image of yourself or another, taken when alone ... check the eyes ... there is a often a vacancy ...

So, does shifting from nobody to everybody entail a return to somebody? What if the discovery of nobody was not so much the annihilation of self, as the recognition that the illusory self as the centre of the universe may be replaced by a lightly held and fluid self as a fragment of the whole .. the everybody or everything as the deeper reality ...

Buddha said: There is suffering; there are the causes of suffering; there is the cessation of suffering; there are the ways to end suffering.

Claire says suffering is necessary to lead us to the spiritual path ... on the road to Santiago de Compostela there were plenty of pilgrims embracing suffering with heavy packs, bleeding blisters ... maybe suffering is often the spark .... but is it necessary to seek it out? Flagellation as a practice? Once the causes of suffering are identified, isn't that the opportunity to find the ways to eliminate suffering? First from our own fragment of the whole and then from the world.. .. ?

This is getting interesting folks and it would be good to have some feedback ... if the comment function is too hard (and it could be easier google) maybe drop an email?

Thanks!