Contemplation on the four keys of self-analysis,
Designed to expose the illusion of the fixed self and open you to interconnectivity.
Find a comfortable posture,
Reflect on your spiritual aspiration and your intention to meditate.
Review the four keys of analysis.
First,
Identifying the self to be analyzed.
Second,
Committing to a binding method of analysis.
Third,
Searching for the self within the five life systems.
And fourth,
Searching for the self outside the five life systems.
The first key,
Begin with identifying the self to be analyzed.
Contemplate that there is no thing that you are more certain of in the world than the fact that you exist.
Search your mind and allow yourself to feel how concretely real you are.
To help with this self-identification,
Remember a time when someone hurt you or falsely accused you.
Remember how fiercely the I arose to defend itself,
Saying,
How could you do this to me?
Now examine how this I or me sense has certain qualities.
First the self is permanent.
It is the same self that has been with you over time,
Year after year,
Since childhood.
You have a sense of continuity.
Second,
The self is unitary.
There is only one of you containing different parts that are unified into a single whole,
A complete self,
Me or I.
You have only one soul,
Essence,
Or agency.
Third,
The self is independent.
You are separate,
Autonomous,
And self-sufficient onto yourself.
You feel unrelated to the world and others around you.
Now the self has been identified as permanent,
Unitary,
And independent.
Allow yourself to feel subjectively how certain you are of this self,
How fixed it is,
How intrinsically real it is,
How all-pervasive it is.
The second key,
Now commit to a binding method of investigation.
Think that if the self exists in the way that you have identified that it must be found upon deeper investigation.
With certainty it must either be found to be identical with the five life systems or separate from them.
There is no third option.
The self must be found or else it does not exist.
This is a binding method of analysis leading to a final conclusion.
The third key,
Now search for the self that is permanent,
Unitary,
And independent within the five life systems.
In Buddhist psychology the self is divided into five categories known as the five life systems.
These include the body,
Sensations,
Perceptions,
Mental constructs,
And consciousness.
Search within each life system for the permanent,
Unitary,
Independent self.
Begin with the body.
At the cellular level you will find that the body is in a constant process of growth,
Decay,
And regeneration.
Nothing is permanent or lasting.
At the level of the organs you'll find smaller organs working together to form more complex systems such as the heart,
Lungs,
And arteries in the cardiovascular system.
No part of the body is unitary or singular.
At the level of the coarse body you'll find a give and take with the environment,
The body taking in nutrients such as food,
Air,
Water,
And heat from sources outside itself.
There is nothing independent about the body.
Therefore the fixed self does not exist in relation to the body system.
Now explore the sensation life system.
There are three main sensations that are discerned by the mind-body complex.
These are pleasant sensations,
Unpleasant sensations,
And those that are neutral or indifferent.
Ask yourself if any permanent,
Unitary,
Or independent self can be associated with sensations.
Upon analysis our experience of sensations changes from moment to moment such as an itch which left unscratched eventually dissipates.
Sensations also change over time,
Activities that used to bring pleasure such as running in childhood bring discomfort when we grow old.
Is there anything unitary within sensations?
Again we find that sensations arise in relation to complex systems such as sense organs and brain regions working together.
Finally,
Is there anything independent within sensations?
Here too we find that our mind-body,
The thoughts,
Words,
And deeds of other living beings,
And the environment all work interdependently in a flow of give and take.
Therefore the self does not exist in relation to the sensation system.
Now explore the perceptual system.
Perceptions occur when the mind registers an internal or external object or event.
Ask yourself is there any permanent,
Unitary,
Or independent self in relation to perceptions?
Reflect deeply.
Think about how perceptions arise,
Abide,
And transform.
Think about the nature and interactions of perceptions.
Ultimately,
The fixed self cannot exist in relation to the perceptual system.
Now explore the mental construct system.
Mental constructs include all types of mental habits,
Thoughts,
Ideas,
Opinions,
Prejudices,
Compulsions,
And decisions.
This is basically the internal world of mind.
Ask yourself if a permanent,
Unitary,
And independent self can exist in relation to mental constructs.
Reflect deeply.
Think how habits,
Thoughts,
And ideas arise,
Abide,
And transform.
Think about the nature and interaction of opinions,
Compulsions,
And decisions.
Ultimately,
The fixed self cannot exist in relation to mental constructs.
Finally,
Explore the consciousness system.
Consciousness arises through 18 factors,
Six sense spaces of eyes,
Ears,
Nose,
Tongue,
Skin,
And mind,
Six sense objects of sight,
Sound,
Smell,
Taste,
Touch,
And thoughts,
And six sense conscious awarenesses that arise in interaction between each of the bases and their objects.
Ask yourself if a permanent,
Unitary,
Or independent self can exist in relation to consciousness.
Reflect deeply.
Think about how sight occurs when a visual object meets the eyes,
How hearing occurs when a sound meets the ear.
Think about the nature and interaction of all the various constituents.
Ultimately,
The fixed self cannot exist in relationship to the consciousness system.
We have thus far been unable to find the permanent,
Unitary,
And independent self in any of the five life systems.
According to our logic and to the binding method of analysis,
It must therefore exist outside the life systems.
The fourth key.
Now conduct a thorough examination searching for the fixed self which exists apart from the body,
Sensations,
Perceptions,
Mental constructs,
And consciousness.
Begin with the body.
Can the self exist apart from the body?
What would you be without your body?
Can the fixed self exist apart from sensations?
What would you be without feeling good,
Bad,
Or indifferent?
Can the fixed self exist apart from perceptions?
How would the self function without ever registering anything?
Finally,
Can the self exist apart from mental constructs?
Can you even imagine a self with basically no internal world,
No thoughts,
Emotions,
Or ideas?
Finally,
Can the fixed self exist apart from consciousness?
How would the self function without awareness?
Ultimately it is absurd to imagine a self that exists outside of and unrelated to the five life systems.
Completely absurd.
Therefore if the fixed self cannot be found within nor found apart from the five life systems then it must not exist.
The sense of self that we are so absolutely convinced of cannot exist.
There is no part of our being which is fixed,
Permanent,
Unitary,
Singular,
Independent,
Or unrelated.
Does this mean that the self does not exist at all?
Notice how your mind begins to tend towards nothingness,
An emptiness,
A vacuum.
To correct this,
Contemplate that the self does exist as a constantly changing process of multiple complex systems relating in an interdependent manner inside itself and with all living beings and the environment.
Accept that the self is an interdependent flow.
The self is itself a mental construct.
You are a selfless self,
An open system.
With no part of you fixed you are free to learn,
Grow,
And change,
To interact,
To relate.
You are completely connected,
Completely free,
Completely free.
When you find that you can let go of the illusionary fixed self which has bound and defined you,
You open to the joyful selfless self of unlimited potential and possibilities.
