The Path to no Self
Is it possible to achieve a state of no self? Asian spiritual tradition emphasis this idea a lot. Of course, at superficial level, this concept appear to be impossible. To ask, "is it possible to achieve a state of no self" has already proven that there is a self, who raises a question. Thus, what does the state of no self means? One of the explanation is to say, there is no essence of a person but only existence. To achieve a state of no self, people just need to realize and be conscious of their existence without essence. It is to understand more about our state of being (like) rather than our being, in which being is more or less only stand as an illusion. However this view, is problematic. In Phenomenological Philosophy, self must exists, in order that the concept of no-self is meaningful. There are several more issues. First, without self, there is no objective world ever comprehended. Yet, we know objective knowledge do exits (for denying it is to affirm subjectivity is objective).Second, without self, according to Aiden P. Gregg and Constantine Sedikides, there is no distinction between thing, no 'here' and 'there' because there is no self to apprehend what is actually me and what is actually thing that is not me. Third, to be conscious of self is to prove that there is a self. There was a major and progressive shift also in Christian faith after the existentialist movement, particularly after Sartre. Essence was being slowly downplayed in the modern discussion. The emphasis is more toward the meaninglessness of being since birth, by which we need to fill the values and meaning by ourselves, as we like (Libertarian). The other consequences, Theology from bellow is more likely to be celebrated than Theology from above. It is important for us, to bring the true message of the Genesis-Revelation which point us back to a God who is an artisan,who created human being with divine telos in His mind even before we were existed. Moreover, Genesis 1:26-27 pointed us to an idea that we are created in the image and lightness of God, which set our values, meaning and destiny. To believe in God, our essence always precedes Existence.
Nevertheless, the path of no self can be defined in another way. Christian faith believe in two nature of man. The old self and the new self. The old self referring to the self after the fall, it is our sinful nature. The new self is referring to a new life that Christ has given to us through His atonement. To achieve a state of no self, is not by denying self but by fighting against so that we are dying to self without losing self. And to achieve this state, is not an instant achievement but progressive. Martin Luther says that in this world before consummation, we owned these dual identities all together in tension (Simul justus et peccator). There is always tension between old self and new self, between the flesh and the spirit, or it is between self (ego) and our true self. As Christian, we need to pursue a state of no self. We maybe start with self, but we need to end with true self. Yet, we cannot die with our self (ego) unless we let God us to do that for us. It is by depending on God Grace more, to shape us to be more like Christ. The other way is to be constantly reminded our current state in Christ, whereby there is a deep union between us & Christ. Through an intimate relation and constant communication with God, we can actually feel and experience better that God is in us, and we are in God (Mystical Union with Christ).Our relation is not Ego vs God or God vs Ego anymore but Ego-God and by this, the old self is slowly gone and transformed to a new self. This state of union is not novel reality for Christian as Bernadette Roberts aptly says, "the discovery of this deep, existential union was not the discovery of new union formed between God and the soul, but the discovery of a union already existing...but was only now fully revealed".
Is it possible to achieve a state of no self? Asian spiritual tradition emphasis this idea a lot. Of course, at superficial level, this concept appear to be impossible. To ask, "is it possible to achieve a state of no self" has already proven that there is a self, who raises a question. Thus, what does the state of no self means? One of the explanation is to say, there is no essence of a person but only existence. To achieve a state of no self, people just need to realize and be conscious of their existence without essence. It is to understand more about our state of being (like) rather than our being, in which being is more or less only stand as an illusion. However this view, is problematic. In Phenomenological Philosophy, self must exists, in order that the concept of no-self is meaningful. There are several more issues. First, without self, there is no objective world ever comprehended. Yet, we know objective knowledge do exits (for denying it is to affirm subjectivity is objective).Second, without self, according to Aiden P. Gregg and Constantine Sedikides, there is no distinction between thing, no 'here' and 'there' because there is no self to apprehend what is actually me and what is actually thing that is not me. Third, to be conscious of self is to prove that there is a self. There was a major and progressive shift also in Christian faith after the existentialist movement, particularly after Sartre. Essence was being slowly downplayed in the modern discussion. The emphasis is more toward the meaninglessness of being since birth, by which we need to fill the values and meaning by ourselves, as we like (Libertarian). The other consequences, Theology from bellow is more likely to be celebrated than Theology from above. It is important for us, to bring the true message of the Genesis-Revelation which point us back to a God who is an artisan,who created human being with divine telos in His mind even before we were existed. Moreover, Genesis 1:26-27 pointed us to an idea that we are created in the image and lightness of God, which set our values, meaning and destiny. To believe in God, our essence always precedes Existence.
Nevertheless, the path of no self can be defined in another way. Christian faith believe in two nature of man. The old self and the new self. The old self referring to the self after the fall, it is our sinful nature. The new self is referring to a new life that Christ has given to us through His atonement. To achieve a state of no self, is not by denying self but by fighting against so that we are dying to self without losing self. And to achieve this state, is not an instant achievement but progressive. Martin Luther says that in this world before consummation, we owned these dual identities all together in tension (Simul justus et peccator). There is always tension between old self and new self, between the flesh and the spirit, or it is between self (ego) and our true self. As Christian, we need to pursue a state of no self. We maybe start with self, but we need to end with true self. Yet, we cannot die with our self (ego) unless we let God us to do that for us. It is by depending on God Grace more, to shape us to be more like Christ. The other way is to be constantly reminded our current state in Christ, whereby there is a deep union between us & Christ. Through an intimate relation and constant communication with God, we can actually feel and experience better that God is in us, and we are in God (Mystical Union with Christ).Our relation is not Ego vs God or God vs Ego anymore but Ego-God and by this, the old self is slowly gone and transformed to a new self. This state of union is not novel reality for Christian as Bernadette Roberts aptly says, "the discovery of this deep, existential union was not the discovery of new union formed between God and the soul, but the discovery of a union already existing...but was only now fully revealed".
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