Who Is the Self at the Heart of Suffering?

[@mahmoudalawneh8808]

For people asking about his John Smith/King Lear example. You understand this metaphor from some of his other videos. In this metaphor, an actor named John Smith plays the role of King Lear in a play. When the play is over, however, John Smith still perceives himself as King Lear and experiences deep suffering because of his daughters (that is, the imaginary daughters of King Lear, an imaginary character). John Smith's suffering disappears once he snaps out of the illusion that he is King Lear and remembers his true nature, John Smith. King Lear symbolizes the separate self. John Smith symbolizes pure Awareness, our true nature.

[@angelajanebowes]

Thank you 🙏

[@TobasscoJelly]

Thanks for this, you legend.

[@brizhnev]

Thank you bro.. That's a great anology for Non Duality or Advaita 🙏🙏🙏

[@GratefulZen]

“Suffering is always a resistance to our current experience.”

[@Misslotusification]

12:26: Don't get busy cutting the branches (the specific suffering), get rid of the false separate self. Abide in there. 14:20: "We don't attempt to the stories of the separate self because even if we were to resolve those situations, there would be other causes to our miseries. We investigate who we are. The clear seeing of who we are puts an end to any subsequent forms of identifications, limitations (body-mind) and therefore unhappiness."

[@simonhitchenk9]

And with it you can shut down industries of those who are invested in never finding the true solution to your unhappiness. As ever brilliant stuff, many thanks

[@Misslotusification]

@@simonhitchenk9 Might be the issue. This whole society is built on our many insecurities.

[@georgekobtymusic]

Thank you for sharing these freely

[@lovesoneall8129]

I’ve listened to Krishnamurti about getting to the “root” as opposed to the “leafs/branches” and didn’t get it. I’m grateful for Rupert clarifying and making it much clearer

[@sandycarter5300]

The difficulty or challenge is that this imaginary sense of located, embodied existence is an impersonal "program" that is running. It is energetic. It does not simply stop because it is seen through. It can be seen through again and again, and each time resume running because it is a "program." It operates energetically, and it is all there ever is to a supposed body/mind.

[@pedrogonzales9202]

You say that this imaginary sense of located embodied existence is an “impersonal” program that is running.... This is really profound. I’ve never heard Rupert say it this way, as a “program”. It sure feels this way. I have seen through this only to find over night it comes right back full bore. It’s like a computer virus. Have you found any way to “remove”, or in anyway break up this “program”? Naming it as a “program” makes it sound as if it should be straight forward to remove. But this has been talked about for thousands of apparent years and there seems to be no easy way to remove the virus. Any more thoughts on the subject?

[@dorarebelo673]

This video is another perfect illustration... "Suffering is always a resistance to our current experience..." "...and the clear seeing of who we are puts an end to any subsequent forms of identification, limitation and therefore unhappiness. And just to add an excerpt from another one of your videos regarding 'the ghost in the system' that is very pertinent and it serves as a message to the ghost itself. "What is this 'I" on whose behalf I spend so much time thinking and feeling? It is not my body, your body is not upset by some words, you can't upset a thought or an image. It's not my mind that is upset although my mind can express upset and it's not Awareness because Awareness is open and empty. What else is that in your experience? There isn't anything else. It is a fictitious eye, it's the ghost in the system that is not really there in whose behalf we spend most of our lives thinking and feeling." 'Ghosts in the system' out there once admitted that eventually they would get caught. They should listen in sequence a thick audio book called: 'A Long History of the Choices We've Been Making All Along and the Price We've Been Paying for It'. 1) kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXnMeJ2Elt6njLM - Otis Redding - (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay | The story behind the song | Top 2000 a gogo 2) kzbin.info/www/bejne/moSrimuiaZmsqpI - Full Goat Intestine Gravy | Lamb Intestine Masala Prepared By Grandpa | Cooking Goat Boti Curry 3) kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3TMenZve7Old80 - The Shawshank Redemption - Every Man Has His Breaking Point 4) kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4uwhqtoeMujjqs - Dr Hook - Sylvia’s Mother | The story behind the song | Top 2000 a gogo 5) kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZ6mloSCpqdqirM - 当腊味煲仔饭遇上胡椒猪肚鸡你又以为有故事？还是没有！Lap Mei claypot rice | pig maw and chicken soup with pepper Liziqi Channel Even the sadistic evil wears out at some point and gets tired of its own play. Why? Because it is unsustainable. Its foundation and principles are about 'crime and theft'. And it is begging to rest in peace.

[@angelajanebowes]

Thank you so much Rupert ❤️😚

[@Eazy_Danny]

But is not about ending a suffering, but becoming intimately in love with a direct life experience, then it is no more suffering but just experiencing. Suffering cannot live any longer if theres not separate personality as such. We no longer seek happiness in anything outside ourselves. This process could not be immediate, and take years.

[@gireeshneroth7127]

The self has got itself entangled in a mind wrap which is the source of everything illusionary that the self is suffering from. Consciousness is living the mind and the mind is living you and your experiences. Consciousness living Consciousness is Moksha.

[@stevecampo1618]

Wonderful teaching.

[@danasloan4106]

We are all one!

[@Sushilkumar92]

Only Rupert can speak with such a clarity!

[@AlistairMelville]

That is not quite true :-) We all have that clarity if we would be the awareness itself instead of 'trying' to get it :-)

[@bornuponawave]

@@AlistairMelville ya but no one does, that’s his point. Haha. Otherwise you can name another teacher who teaches exactly like him.

[@mrnibelheim]

Yes, yes, spot-on, thank you!

[@cesareborgia945]

Thank you

[@luisalbelda67]

Thank you!

[@BW-sm4wu]

Thank you, dear Rupert.

[@mael-strom9707]

"If you use your mind to study reality, you won't understand either your mind or reality. If you study reality without using your mind, you'll understand both." (The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma)

[@OverdoneAndUnderpaid]

@Al Garnier potato

[@OverdoneAndUnderpaid]

@Al Garnier the universe exists so I can have potato. Thank you universe! Do not evolve the potato. It is perfect.

[@cindysholtis3406]

@Al Garnier Everything is indeed perfect when we choose to react from our timeless identity of love instead of responding from our false ego identity by hurling insults.

[@carmiiioi57]

Thank you .

[@bilimoriafirdaus]

Class!!

[@dayanandabs1590]

❤, Illusion of ego, maya, shadow, not self.

[@klasykapolskiegohh8798]

Ego - a defence program which was supposed to protect the body from dieing, has taken over the entire system and runs wild

[@noraoconnor1895]

Real suffering in this life can be hunger, abuse, war, child abuse, do we o accept that and sit with it, is that a cop out, accept it and c if it comes to an end, I've known people whom accepted it and nothing changed, suffering is not always seeking happiness just wishing the enermous suffering would end, it sounds great to think like that but doesnt solve anything, its all grandeous but it doesn't change, anything!!

[@jeansmyth7474]

Does seeing who we really are put an end to a physical painful illness or put an end to our perception that it is painful and causing suffering.

[@lisalawwill4843]

Neither. Suffering comes when we add a narrative on top of the physical pain, believing the pain is happening to 'me' and that it shouldn't be happening to 'me' and it needs to leave 'me' now and why did it happen to 'me' and what if it never leaves 'me'. On and on. In other words, when physical pain is made personal we wrap it in a story of 'me'. That's the suffering and it's created completely in the mind.

[@robinsings]

So it seems.. 😊💜🙏

[@nsbd90now]

"To accept the ego, but not what the ego is resisting... is partial... my suffering is an appearance in awareness... suffering because I don't actually know myself... theory" Rupert Spira is so existential-level cool!

[@Ymiraku]

There is only pure seeing

[@monicajames8022]

Rupert my saviour! Thank you.

[@abhig3235]

Very well explained !!! Lucky to be able to access the videos (gems) of Rupert.

[@annesparfumyoga]

Thanks very much for sharing. With Love 🌹

[@aurelierohmann2518]

❤️ merci ✨✨✨

[@vidyaprabhu8854]

If u r not suffering in life and if u r reasonably happy in your life reasonably content does it imply u r close your true self? Please clarify.

[@abiral_neupane4045]

it only means you are not suffering. you may suffer anytime in future

[@darshonaut]

wonderfully explained, thank you

[@borkapajic3093]

can l please give an insight into suffering.. J. K asked: Can there be such Watchfulness, that neither flattery nor insult, does not leave mark"?The suffering occurs only through being inattentive.. that is not listening...Whom is it that is talking now? All that is not of Love is NOT of Who I AM, that is, my True ID-entity That which is Not subject to duality, to change... I AM is Constant state of Harmony, Changeless 'background'..like the deep of the ocean supports the waves and Is never disturbed by ANY activity on the surface...ln the practical sense of Life, attachment produces suffering, and attachment I'd product of false identification, that is, identifying with mental image formed in thought through inattentiveness..this occurs because of the objective orientation and identification with what is 'seen' through the conditioned perception, concept, mental image formed in thought, and the ignorant 'acceptance', of that label, produces attachment to that judgement which in turn produces suffering, which due to unawareness that my GOOD comes from the other or the outside, instead of the Realization that I AM the SOURCE of ALL GOOD in my experience which flows OUT from me and comes back to me...if I know that LOVE is the SUBSTANCE, fabric and LAW of LIFE, and that if I accept anything unlike LOVE, l will experience that which l have accepted as the real-ity..If I have made direct contact with, and know my TRUE nature, l cannot be DECEIVED by any suggestion contradictory to THAT TRUTH.. l AM ALWAYS and only seeing through every appearance to the TRUTH, If "I and My Father are ONE", than that IS the TRUTH of ALL that I meet, & as l HOLD -STAND on that TRUTH..What ever unlike to that TRUTH MUST dissolve as long as l do NOT REACT to insult - flattery..The POWER RESIDE WITHIN my Consciousness to dissolve every ERRONEOUS appearance - claim..Therefore, "Ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth will set ye free".. Namaste..

[@esneliamunoz5082]

🕉🕉🕉

[@DAnaASMR_]

Thank you Rupert 🙏

[@pedrogonzales9202]

King Lear doesn’t find King Lear, he finds John Smith. John Smith finds John Smith... who is John Smith?

[@abiral_neupane4045]

the one who is dreaming to be king lear

[@thoughts0utloud]

Couldn't "acceptance" be a form of egoic or separate-self subterfuge?

[@thoughts0utloud]

Nevermind, this was addressed. Should've listened all the way through before posting.

[@mechelinekelly763]

Amazing...He who has ears!

[@nameeralaraji1223]

thank you rupert...

[@mtm00]

"Suffer, little children, to come [through] to me."

[@pdvidz2266]

I always understand his words but never have any revelations....

[@IAM-mc4gb]

☀️✨💛✨🌻

[@funtv6404]

I can understand what he is trying to say but i cant understand that as a reality in me . I have been deeply thinking but there is nothing that could be done with this suffering. I sometimes wonder people ask a person who commits suicide why did he do that but i have been asking why do people go on living with this separate self , i could just die .But i am scared of death too . I WILL ALWAYS REMAIN THIS SEPERATE SELF WITH ALL ITS FEAR AND SUFFERING THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TRACING BACK TO SOURCE AND DISSOLVING IN ONENESS .I JUST WANT TO KILL MYSELF BUT I CANT

[@jixie_93]

Me too so far...lets hang on and keep listening and trying to stay open...much compassion and empathy and love to us both ♥

[@pedrogonzales9202]

King Lear doesn’t find King Lear, he finds John Smith. John Smith finds John Smith... who is John Smith? Isn’t John Smith the name of a body like any other? This is a very confusing example.

[@abiral_neupane4045]

in this analogy john smith is pure consciousness and king lear is seperate self

[@mahmoudalawneh8808]

You understand this metaphor from some of his other videos. In this metaphor, an actor named John Smith plays the role of King Lear in a play. When the play is over, however, John Smith still perceives himself as King Lear and experiences deep suffering because of his daughters (that is, the imaginary daughters of King Lear, an imaginary character). John Smith's suffering disappears once he snaps out of the illusion that he is King Lear and remembers his true nature, John Smith. King Lear symbolizes the separate self. John Smith symbolizes pure Awareness, our true nature.

[@pedrogonzales9202]

@@mahmoudalawneh8808 Thank you for explaining this reference from a play. In all of the RS videos I have seen I had never heard of the full reference to a play. On the one hand it seems like it should be obvious. Yet, somehow there has been this hook in it for me as to the significance of consistently calling awareness by a common persons name. I think it bugged me because the actor “John Smith” isn’t really John Smith at all. Some day John Smith will have to realize he is not John Smith. But it’s just a metaphor. Just a metaphor. It’s just a hook in the mind of King Lear!

[@pedrogonzales9202]

@@abiral_neupane4045 Thank you, I see this now.

[@mahmoudalawneh8808]

@@pedrogonzales9202 You're welcome. From what I understand, using John Smith (ultimately yet another character) as a symbol for pure awareness actually makes the metaphor more effective. Why? Because (I haven't experience this personally. I've only heard it being said by multiple teachers) Awareness/Concsiousness/Being/God are themselves concepts that must at some point also be transcended if we are to discover our true nature. We're giving names to that which is by definition *nameless*, so these names must necessarily be useful concepts but, ultimately, just that: concepts.

[@spaceforthesoul6286]

He talks about seperate self, and i was wondering, what's that? To me, there's only trueth inside and thoughts without truth. Than he says seperate self doesn't exist? Hmm... will listen again.

[@shaolinwesterner4533]

The term separate self refers to an imaginary version of your true self. We imagine ourselves to be separate in essence but in reality we are not

[@renesonse5794]

Rupert often qualifies it as the "apparent separate self" meaning it appears to be real and the experience of it as well, but in reality, it doesn't exist.

[@shaolinwesterner4533]

Exactly friend! Even the term 'True Self' is a description from which the truth exists independently

[@dohaabdelrahman7161]

🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@madhavangopalan7463]

YIsha yoga center shiva arthritis celeberations

[@Misslotusification]

WOW

[@N8teyrve]

Rupert went all clockwork orange for this one :)

[@robinaguenkel7534]

👍🇩🇪

[@malabuha]

no comments hey? lol

[@glynemartin]

I have to disagree with Rupert this time around...at least in part....suffering could be the result of extreme physical pain caused by disease...like type one diabetes, pancreatic cancer or a toothache or worst of all...Physical Torture. All suffering is not emotionally based. Excruciating Physical pain or agony is suffering where the relief or removal of the pain takes precedence over seeking happiness. Seeking relief or escape from intense physical pain is not necessarily seeking happiness.

[@glynemartin]

Intense pain causes suffering too Eslam....ever heard of painless suffering?...

[@glynemartin]

If there's no pain...there's no suffering...mental pain is suffering...excruciating physical pain is suffering... *choose one!* ...

[@troysantos]

Reverend, is this your first name or your title? Whichever, you seem to be an adherent to the Gospel of Hatred and Anger ;) To Glyne, I can only write from an intellectual understanding. That understanding is, that once you've seen your true face/awakened/(call it whatever), then you'll see that suffering is due to the misunderstanding that there is a separate self, who suffers. You'll still notice pain, but you won't suffer over the pain. In Buddhism there is a teaching regarding 2 arrows. The first one is pain of the body, the second one is the suffering that occurs due to this misunderstanding. You've apparently been following Rupert's teachings. If you think he's onto something, maybe you can take the attitude that *maybe* you're misunderstanding something. I also question him regarding several things. But since I believe he's really onto something, I hold my skepticism lightly. Since I have so much faith in him / myself (this "faith in myself" is an interesting tangent that I won't go on), I give him the benefit of the doubt, yet resist taking his word for it 100%. He himself says in a recent video (that I read the transcript of in a recent Facebook post) that it's good to be skeptical, and push, push, push :)

[@glynemartin]

+Troy Santos _" That understanding is, that once you've seen your true face/awakened/(call it whatever), then you'll see that suffering is due to the misunderstanding that there is a separate self, who suffers"_ We're discussing the direct mechanical experience of pain. Pain is a danger signal from nature that something is wrong and it should be addressed or your very life could be lost. If there is a "separate self' that directly experiences excruciating physical pain or not is another matter. Pain is the catalyst, suffering follows. Extreme physical pain is no joke and cannot be passed off as some kind of esoteric perception. If for example, your knee cap gets ripped off in an accident (God forbid) you will experience crushing pain and instant suffering beyond any intellectualizing. Physical trauma is undeniable. Seeking "emotional happiness" as "the escape from emotional/mental suffering" becomes trivial in these extreme cases. Rupert references emotional pain from a deep feeling of lack caused by interpersonal relationship breakdown or failure. That kind of suffering is not the same as the suffering caused by extreme physical trauma and should not be confused with it. Rupert's advice is *priceless* in the scenario he presented, however when it comes to the direct experience of extreme physical traumatic pain, you may not be able to reference and/or use this valuable advice for help in removing the source of your pain and its resulting suffering. I highlighted this to show that whereas i DO agree with Rupert, his context does not encompass the suffering caused by extreme Physical injuries that are lethally serious....Hope you get my point... (smile)...

[@intrepidmercenary_1]

+Glyne Martin Pain can be mental or physical. Suffering is always mental. The source of the pain becomes immaterial, the suffering results from HOW you internalize the pain. This is why two people may have the exact physical injuries but their level of SUFFERING may be very different.

[@anweshaP14]

Eckhart is way better . Atleast he is consistent in what he says and simple to follow

[@TheJooberjones]

Anwesha Paul eckhart will get you to the ocean, but he isnt going to shove you into it. This is the drawback of a huge enterprise like his, too wide an audience.

[@claudelebel49]

Way better for whom? Everyone in the whole wide world?

[@thedentistbakery2010]

Anwesha, come back to this video. It's a real gem. I am a huge advocate of Eckhart but Rupert is just as profound and knowledgeable. Eckhart led me to the water but Rupert helped me drink X

[@lisalawwill4843]

As an avid Eckhart follower myself, I came to realize, after I listened to Rupert, that Eckhart teaches the first stage (so to speak) of a progressive path which is valuable, that of being the witness to all that arises. At some point, when you're ready to go deeper, Rupert Spira is a true gem. Put him on the shelf for now but keep him in mind.

[@tracy3364]

@@thedentistbakery2010 well said

[@sandycarter5300]

Why continue referring to it as the "separate self"? Instead, name it for what it is - the next thought, sensation, feeling, etc. To continually use the term, "separate self", reinforces the fiction that there is, indeed, a "self". There is immense power in language, essential for clarity and understanding. If you use the term "separate self" repeatedly, the teaching remains dualistic. This is not "compassionate". Truth must be the foundation of a teaching, and this Truth is what we are. It must be reliable and trustworthy if it is to be considered compassionate.

[@keithoyoung34]

Sandy carter All teaching is dualistic.

[@anweshaP14]

V wordy, not at all practical advice. Just going round n round in words. If I am to finally see my original self how will I do that ? You start by saying allow the separate self don’t resist and then you say that’s pseudo advaita so we do not allow suffering because it is not real but find the real self . But no direction on how to find the self. Not a good teacher at all. Still v much in your mind and v verbose and you don’t make sense

[@mael-strom9707]

The original self can only be pointed to. Sit in silent meditation and observe what comes up. The empty space in between two thoughts ...THAT'S IT! ^^

[@amanitamuscaria7500]

For someone who rejects Rupert so completely, you give him a lot of attention a d make many comments. Why?

[@anweshaP14]

Amanita Muscaria well I had to give him a fair chance and see whether he resonates with me or not. And then decipher why he does not , to understand better why others do. Nothing personal. Infact some later videos of Rupert are quite ok. This was quite sometime back . I’m surprised at the tone of my own comment now that I read it.