The Buddha Project Reply To: The permanent, unitary and independent self
As Buddhists, we believe that Right Speech takes priority over Free Speech. Put simply, Right Speech means abstaining from gossip and talk which is false, malicious, or harsh. Write only what you believe to be true and relevant, voicing your opinion with kindness and patience. Avoid worldly, partisan, or discriminatory topics and remarks that are patriarchal, misogynist, sexist, racist, anti-semitic, pro-nazi, bio essentialist, xenophobic, transphobic, homophobic or any other kind of hateful views even if such advocacy is couched in terms of ‘discussing the texts’ or ‘maintaining tradition’.
By participating in the forum, you agree to adhere to these guidelines and help maintain the forum as a supportive and enriching place for Dharma discourse. Moderators will be free to delete offensive content without having defend their choices.
If you have a question, need any sort of help, or want to inform us about offensive content or behavior, please contact us at info@thebuddhaproject.org.
I am not really raised with the idea of a soul. Nevertheless, the notion of PUI (permanent, unitary and independent) self, although not existing, does appear strongly. I have all kinds of notions about myself, such as ‘not good at meditation’, ‘good at long distance running’, as permanent characteristics which have become part of my identity. Although they are not the PUI self (the non-existing puppet player or controller which seems to be separate from or somewhere ‘behind’ the aggregates), I do see the PUI self notion contributing to such unrealistic identity characteristics which creates more suffering, disappointments, frustrations than necessary.