When it comes to reading articles here on LW I don’t get the feeling that everything that could be said is said. Pleading directly for getting rid of the self wouldn’t fit into the overton window.
Well, if you suspect that I have a hidden agenda which I’m not stating for strategic reasons, I don’t know if I can say anything that would convince you otherwise.
I can only say that I have no interest in broad renunciation, and that at least everything that I’ve been doing so far—including my no-self experiences—has only felt liberating; to the extent that it has affected my ability to influence the world, it has felt like I’ve gotten more agency and ability to influence the world, not less. (Though a lot of it has been purely neutral too.) If some meditation technique starts feeling like it’s reducing my ability to achieve things in the world, then I will stop using that technique and try some other technique instead.
Re: arbitrary—I don’t think I have the same connotations for the word as you do. A lot of things can be arbitrary and still be valuable.
Well, if you suspect that I have a hidden agenda which I’m not stating for strategic reasons, I don’t know if I can say anything that would convince you otherwise.
I can only say that I have no interest in broad renunciation, and that at least everything that I’ve been doing so far—including my no-self experiences—has only felt liberating; to the extent that it has affected my ability to influence the world, it has felt like I’ve gotten more agency and ability to influence the world, not less. (Though a lot of it has been purely neutral too.) If some meditation technique starts feeling like it’s reducing my ability to achieve things in the world, then I will stop using that technique and try some other technique instead.
Re: arbitrary—I don’t think I have the same connotations for the word as you do. A lot of things can be arbitrary and still be valuable.
You don’t need to have an agenda of wanting to renounce the self to practice techniques that have that result.