Smithereens

Some fun tricks to explode the ego

The world is filled with little ego bombs. If we eat one, the ego explodes for a few seconds. If we eat a lot of them (then zip-zang-zoom) down the Dharma Path we go.

Bomb #1:

You cannot find your self.

You've probably heard this before and believe it's true. But believing is not enough. You must TRY to FIND your self, AGAIN AND AGAIN. Search everywhere. Each search attempt advances you 5 steps down the Dharma Path.

(If you're being a jerk, a dodo, a fool, a tool, a lunatic, etc., then go searching for your self. If you can't find it, then maybe you're NOT one.)

Bomb #2:

You cannot see your self seeing.

Try it. Try to see your self, seeing. Can you do it? Advance 5 steps along the Dharma Path for each attempt. If you can't see yourself SEEING, maybe you're NOT seeing. Maybe you're blind.

It is said that while one eye meditates, a second smaller eye works to keep the first eye from getting distracted. And maybe there's a third eye keeping tabs on the second eye. But where the heck are they? FIND THEM!

Bomb #3:

You cannot look to see what's happening in the present moment.

TRY IT! For real. Seriously. Again and again. Each attempt advances you 5 steps down the Path.

I chewed on this one all night long, in sleep and deep meditation. In the morning I couldn't remember the exact logic of the bomb. But I know it works!

And, last but not least, the next bomb isn't a normal little bomb. It's like one of those atomic bombs that Nicolas Cage has to diffuse before the end of the movie.

Bomb #4:

You cannot focus your meditative attention on the object of your choice (as in Mindfulness).

What? What? Millions of Buddhists are scratching and scrabbling around like starving ants, desperate to do exactly this. And it can't be done? Why not?

The reasons are below. But the important thing is to try it, and try it, again and again. Each try advances you 20 steps on the Dharma Path. You could conceivably advance all the way to Enlightenment just chewing on this bomb.

Reason1: The law of impermanence says everything is constantly changing. You are changing. The object of your meditation is changing. Your intention and motivation is changing. The nature of your noticing is changing. What a slippery mess.

Reason2: YOU are just a story (Empty); you don't have a permanent existence. Your meditative object is another story, no permanent existence. So during meditation on an object we're telling a story, about one story, concentrating on another story. What if you forget a line in one of the stories? What if you suddenly suspect the whole mess is Empty.

Yes it is very messy, but there's nothing tastier than an ego bomb. Eat them and eat them to advance quickly along the Dharma Path.