Hi Will @monklet

I am following the teachings within spirituality, not specifically the buddha. And the Self that I am referring to is that part of us that seems to guide us. It is the best of who we are. It has many names – our intuition, inner child, Higher self or maybe even soul. I usually call it my intuitive spirit because it is the spirit of who we are.

You are right. I have no idea what the Buddha called that part of us. I follow dharma (the teachings of buddha) which I understand to be the natural way of things – that we are all connected and not separate – rather than the unnatural way of materialism ‘things’ and the ego and I.

That is how I see the world. I am not religious, nor a Buddhist. I have just read many different sources on spirituality and have concluded that everyone is saying the same things – be self-compassionate, compassionate to others, and live in the moment now. Everything else is extra topping (ie. how we go about that and whether or not there is a Higher Power are personal decisions).

I got the precepts from SN Goenka when I did a 10-day vispassana course. The course made a lot of sense to me and changed my life. The meditation practise from SN Goenka is based on Buddha’s teachings in the simplest and purest form without specific mantras, lamas to follow, or complicated meditative techniques, and is completely open to anyone of any faith or no faith.

SN Goenka talks about the precepts for a clear mind to meditate and also to purify our bodies. He states that the Buddha said that an enlightened person abstains from all intoxicants. Therefore if we want to be enlightened then we need to do that too.

I do not have to stop consuming intoxicants completely (a beer, wine, coffee, joint etc). At the moment I am being a vegetarian and I could go and eat some chicken if I want, but that is not the point of my project. My project is (believe it or not) fun and very rewarding! and it is also a challenge and serious and sometimes tough.

But I am doing it because I want to get to know my Self (who I am, what I want, what makes me tick) and I would also like to inspire others too, so that maybe in the future I will make a positive difference in the world.

My understanding of spirituality is, again, that in order to be fully awakened (enlightened) we need to be unconditionally self-compassionate, compassionate to others and live in the present moment. I don’t think we need to be a monk, and think we are all capable of achieving this and still living perfectly harmoniously around others in the ‘real world’.

My posts are becoming more challenging which I guess is my way to be more creative too because I love writing, so my question for my next post (which you can read about here) is Can intoxication be Self-compasssionate? because I wonder if I am attempting to be my Higher Self (the best that I can be), is there a place for intoxicants?

This is an ethical, moral, environmental, spiritual, scientific, philosophical and psychological question?

I have not come to a conclusion and I do not propose an answer. I want to keep this debate interesting and open because I genuinely want other people’s opinions. On 30th April, I will take everything that I have learnt and write a full report with quotations and various sources and then I will come to my own conclusion based on what everyone has said and I have experienced so far.

If you want to know more about my project, then I would be absolutely ecstatic if you chose to follow my mission by signing up on my main page at howtobeabuddha.com to my email updates or Facebook page!

Thanks for the email Will. You definitely got a good reaction out of me 😉

Hugs!