11/12 Zen Seeds Pages 81-82

my self, here,and now

Whether you are a rag, a shirt, male female, how often do we wish to be something else. Richer, better, enlightened, Buddha..? Are we at one with the fact that ourselves, here, now is the whole practice? Nothing outside, of it?

question

when do you find yourself more likely to wish to be someone else?

Plum Blossoms harmonize with snow
I liked this chapter a lot. We must remember that we are unique. There is no one like us, nor will there ever be anyone like us. To try to artificial create ourselves using a model from someone else is like trying to grow plum blossoms in a greenhouse. on the outside, looks find, on the inside how much more is lacking..?

question
Why do you constantly compare yourself with others?

Beautiful

gassho

ray

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When do you find yourself more likely to wish to be someone else?

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That is a easy question. I wish to be someone else all the time.

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Why do you constantly compare yourself with others?

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Half of the time because I feel bad about myself. And, half of the time because I feel good about myself. ;D

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When do you find yourself more likely to wish to be someone else?

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Why do you constantly compare yourself with others?

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I am happy to report that i gave both of these up as a bad job many years ago :D

Never wanted to be anybody else ever! Don't know why perhaps an inflated sense of self worth :wink:
I don't compare but it is interesting to see what your year group are doing from school or uni. In this respect I have a slight vice but it doesn't lead to me wishing to be anywhere else or with anyone else doing something else, if that makes sense :|
Sitting sees to all that!

I'm with Nigel on this one, there were few times in my life where I wanted to be someone else; on the other hand, the subtle wishes of being healthier or being more important; I guess they are there at times. It might be in the human nature to be wanting to "improve", to "fix things", but just being a cleaning rag can be quite nice too.

About the second question; I not compare myself much with others, its rather that I want to be accepted by others, or want them to see what a great guy I am :-D This is an amazing chapter, I like the plum blossoms just being even in cold winters snow. I think I would like to be so as well, and thats closing the circle leading back to the question why I want to be different from what i am :-)

_()_
Peter

Hi all,

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Originally Posted by Seiryu

When do you find yourself more likely to wish to be someone else?

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I have never wished to be someone else, at least not that I can recall. As a child I probably wanted to be Luke Skywalker, but since then I have been content with who I am. That doesn't mean it has been easy or that I ever wished for some pain to go away, but since I was a child I have rarely thought, "Why me?" I have instead thought, "Why not me?" That has led to facing some very deep and at times "dark" issues, but also left me with a lasting sense of empathy. When a shirt becomes a rag, its role is no less important...and perhaps even more so!

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Why do you constantly compare yourself with others?

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I think we are programmed in the mass media to compare ourselves to what others have, especially those who are rich. I read that somewhere quite recently, so I cannot take credit for it...but I did agree with the sentiment expressed. We don't often stop to think what those who lack in wealth might have in other areas of life like true love or compassion, although the time is near when various versions of A Christmas Carol attempt to remind us.

Thank you for your questions Seiryu.

Gassho,
Dosho

I've been reading, I've just been lazy about posting. hahahaha

I wouldn't rather be someone else, however... there are times when I fantasize about being a zen monk when things get too stressful in my life. Then I laugh it off like I know anything about what it is to live in a monastery. hahaha

I compare myself to others sometimes... but not that often anymore. I really stopped doing that in my mid-twenties. I used to be obsessed with how I looked. Then one day I realized that it was consuming my life, and I just couldn't do it anymore. Now I make healthy comparisons with other people wondering how it would be if I did things differently, etc. I think that is healthy and normal, but I don't compare myself to others in a condescending way anymore.

Gassho,

Risho

P.S. Ok I lied about the 2nd one. I think it's a very subtle comparison. Sometimes, for instance, I read posts on here and I'm struck at how intelligent a post is and I wish my understanding of the Dharma was that deep. Or at work, I sometimes get blown away by how ingenious a solution is. I think I compare myself to others in terms of intelligence than anything. I do it because I've always prided myself in being very smart. It's one of the ways I cling to to identify myself.