RELG 252
Harvey writes, “Identifyingn the Buddha’s day, the spiritual quest was largely seen as the search for identifying and liberating a person’s true Self” (28). Peter is right in the sense that he identifies himself with all of those things, but when he looks in the mirror, he sees none of them. We all put labels on ourselves regardless of if they are ‘real‘ or not. Discovering who we truly are is an important step towards enlightenment. “Who Are You?” is a Buddhist poem because it elucidates the misconceptions we have with our self-identity and also highlights the always changing nature of our world. Anatman, one of the three marks of existence, helps describe Peter’s false self-identity. Anatman, or Anatta …show more content…
Peter believes he is a collection of all of those things but if he were to lose a component of his identity would he still be Peter? We can not add or take anything away from ourselves. Dharmakaya, a dimension of Buddhahood is essentially the perfect realization of emptiness (Braitstein, October 7, 2013). The ideas of not-self and emptiness are essential for Peter to understand himself. When Peter looks in the mirror and realizes he is ‘empty’, finally he can begin whatever it is he wanted to …show more content…
Mindfulness of the body is considered important for meditation and enlightenment for it “in turn aids the arising of understand and wisdom” (Harvey, 323). Mindfulness (Pali sati, Skt, smrti) is the process of bearing something in mind, be it remembered or present before the sense or mind, with clear awareness; it keeps one connected to what is actual, and reminds one of what is skillful. (Gethin, 2001: 36-44) (Harvey 322)
Not only does it apply to ourselves, but we can’t see anything for what it really is until we understand mindfulness. Peter describes how both the motherless son and the father of a successful daughter are ‘within’ him but it has no they have no form or appearance. His justification of “Where else could it be?” displays his confusion of what is actual. A clear awareness of the fact that no memory of ourselves is within us nor can a memory define us will lead to a better understanding of