24: Differentiating Being from Person

The Initial Steps in the Differentiation Process

Attempting not to get too lost in thoroughness - but what the heck - let us look at the intersection of these apparently mutually exclusive truths - Buddhism's Already Perfect & Taoism's Firing Process.

New Born: Self undifferentiated from Universe

At the beginning of life - it is all a big undifferentiated mess. One’s Being is inextricably linked with one’s environment. Nothing has been differentiated. All is One.

 

Toddler Differentiates External from Family

Gradually the Baby differentiates features of his Environment, which are separate from the Self-conception. At about the age of one year of age ‘separation anxiety’ occurs. While the infant has differentiated between inner and outer, the Mother and Father are still part of the inner. Hence when they leave, the Family Corporation is split apart causing the Infant the pain of separation from self - Probably the earliest feeling of alienation from the surrounding world.

 

Partial Differentiation

Gradually, hopefully, the growing, maturing Child begins differentiating Family from Self.

    So that he can go to School without Fear -

    So that they can eventually leave home,

        Making their way in the External World without too much Anxiety.

The intensity of the emotional pain associated with these Separations

    Indicates the depth of the Attachment and the lack of Differentiation.

        Crying adults watch their child anxiously enter school and then leave home.

 

Most of Us an Ore: Mixture of Attachment & Detachment

The above Diagram most frequently defines the remainder of most People’s Lives. While a useful model for most circumstances, it falls apart in the more extreme situations. A further differentiation is required - that between Person and Self.

Let us explicate with a few diagrams.

Most of us live in a fairly undifferentiated state. We are like Metal Ore. We have strains of Pure Metal, but in general we are fairly connected up with Family, Tribe, and Country - and more loosely with the Planet & the Universe. In general there is almost no differentiation between Person and Being. This state of affairs is indicated in the Diagram below.

 

This conveys the same information as the preceding Diagram with some refinements.

    The Lines indicate a differentiation.

    The Broken Lines indicate a partial Differentiation.

    No Lines indicate No Differentiation.

Hence there are no Lines between Person and Being,

    Because most, nearly all, think that Person and Being are one.

    Most think that their Person is their Self.

This Major Misconception leads to most of our Mental Pain,

    Which we will call avoidable Suffering -

        Suffering for short -

Suffering is different from Pain, which we define as Physical, for ease of reference.

Further this Ore made from Person and Being

    Is partly connected to the Ores of Family, Tribe/Culture, and Country.

    Some of us Tree Hugger types are even connected up with the Planet.

For most of us, these are all states of Partial Differentiation.

    It is a matter of scale and circumstance rather that anything absolute.

The Patriot - sacrifice Person for good of Country

As an illustration of the more extreme end we have the Extreme Patriot - i.e. someone willing to die for their country - who has no Differentiation between his Self and his Country. (Or at least very little.) The Will of the Country - as expressed thru the Leader - is his Will. He will willingly sacrifice his Life for his Leaders regardless of their apparent motivations. This is expressed in the Diagram below.

 

The advantage of the Patriot is the sense of belonging to the greater Community. Note that the Person Being complex, which most of us consider to be our Self, is right in the center of the Patriot’s Diagram - surrounded by Family, Culture and Country - which he considers to be One with himself. This is the profile of the Young Soldier - Ready to sacrifice his young Body for the good of the Whole - Almost a religious sense of abandonment to the Greater Good. At least the Patriot avoids the sense of Alienation because he truly belongs, physically and emotionally to the greater Group.

Evidently our Patriot has No Self Reflection - Else he would see - what is rather apparent - that the Greater Good is many times the Individual Bad. Sometimes it is hard to maintain the attitude of belonging, after the young Patriot has been used up and discarded by the greater Good. Further if he maintains his extreme identity with the Group, then his moods and emotions are dominated by the supposed moods and emotions of the national climate - which are projected and broadcast by the corporate media. They don’t really exist at all. However, when you are the Country, then you become the National Media to know how you are doing. The country’s pains and joys are yours.

The State of Alienation

But at least you belong, which seems better than Alienation, whose diagram is shown below.

 

Note that the undifferentiated Person/Being Complex, commonly called the Self, - (Although it is only the Ore, which needs purification by Firing) - is Totally Separated from the Family/Country/Culture Complex. Further the Person is connected with the Group in an antagonistic way. Abused by Family and Culture the individual retreats into Alienation - Not a fun state - Especially if the Self is not extracted from the Person Ore. It is very easy to feel sorry for oneself - Excluded by the rest - All alone.

Ideal State: Differentiated and Integrated

The Ideal is Differentiation amidst the Mess. Differentiation yet connected, although not attached. This is the State of the Master - the Guru - the Realized One - Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, Muslim or Jew. This is shown in the diagram below.

 

As Children grow up, they come to realize that they are not inextricably connected to their parents. Similarly as one matures spiritually one realizes that We are not our Person. Just as the Parents loves their Children - And wish them the best and will help out when necessary - similarly Being or our Inner Self loves their Person and hopes for the best - will help out when possible - will even feel a sympathetic pain when their Person is suffering.

Indeed the Master loves the whole world - Hoping for the best for everyone and everything - And will help out the best he can to strip away illusion - wrapped around Being like a straitjacket - covering her in ignorance - strangling experience and Life - Before she can even begin to manifest - Emerging beautifully - before the great open sky with the blanket of stars - spread as far as the eye can see.

Hence the point is to simultaneously Differentiate and Connect. We don’t want to remain in the state of the Patriot because we are alienated and afraid of Them. However we don’t want to enter the state of Alienation, separate and all alone. In short we attempt to attain the Ideal state - Connected like the Patriot - Yet Differentiated like the Alienated.

Note: in the Diagram of the Ideal State all is enclosed in one package, as there is no separation, And yet each condition is firmly differentiated from the Rest.

The Primary Differentiation between Person & Being

The main Differentiation, however, is one that most won’t accept. Most run away screaming at the very thought. Most call it weird - Eastern - Out of Touch. However, it is a way to avoid throwing yourself off balance.

 

The Primary Differentiation is between Being and Person. When Self and Person are inextricably connected - like the baby with his parents - this is the Ore that needs to be removed by the Firing. But just like the Baby, we scream and cry when anyone or anything attempts to detach the two. Most of us think that we are our Person. It is the culturally acceptable way to think - Encouraged by parents, teachers, and politicians worldwide.

Group discourages Differentiation

This is because it is better for the Collective - the Group - for each of us to connect up with all the links that inevitably bring us to the Whole. In other words, if one is differentiated from his Person, one will also be more differentiated from all the other links in the chain. As one disconnects from one’s Person, one simultaneously disconnects from all the greater corporations that the Person is connected to. Thus differentiating one’s Inner Self or Being from one’s Person automatically breaks all the chains - because all the chains are based upon the Person Ore. Disconnecting from these chains allows one to achieve Transformation and Growth.

Person equals Mind, Body, & Emotions

Who is this Person that we tend to think that we are.

Roughly speaking the Person consists of the Mind Body complex.

 

 

Part of this complex is the combination of Mind and Body, which we call Emotions. When the Mind disturbs the Body with Mental Projections, the Body excretes Hormones that create a physical as well as an emotional reaction. In many ways this is the most difficult part of the disconnection.

 

 

Thus practically speaking the Person is made up of three components, Mind, Body, and Emotions, each with their own components.

 

Person is not equal to Being or Inner Self

But remember that these three components which make up the Person are not the Self or Being - Although it is most often thought that they are.

Further this construct is so ingrained in our Consciousness that the whole Work becomes suspect because we are even suggesting otherwise. Suddenly the Intellectual Form of this work is tainted - which taints the Content, which is the Function.

You, the Reader, might wonder why we even bring up such charged topics if they threaten the acceptance of the entire work. It is because these ideas are foundational to the Firing Process. As long as one holds onto the Ore, the Fire will not get hot enough to burn it away - Nor will the Cauldron be able to contain enough Energy to bring about Emergence. The Person remains a Person - Lives their Life and Dies. No Immortality here.

Chinese energies and the Person

The Chinese connect these three components with three body parts - each with its own unique mind and energy.

 

 

The Body is associated with the Crotch Mind - which manifests the energy of our material side, our physical energy - jing - The automatic, conditioned energy of Matter - obeying all the Laws - like an automaton. While this energy is considered to be unrefined, it is as necessary for the next phase, as is Ore to the refined Metal.

The Emotions are associated with the Heart Mind - which manifests as our internal energy - chi. This is the energy that is used to purify the physical energy. This is the cooking energy, which needs to be concentrated and stored.

The Mind is associated with Brain Energy, which manifests as spiritual energy - shen. This is the energy that results from the purification of the physical energy by the internal energy. While this might seem relatively simple, there are traps connected with each feature of the Process.

Connection between Chinese energies and Hindu gunas

The Taoists call the three energies of human experience Jing, Chi, and Shen. The Hindus also divide the phenomenal world into three energies, which together they call the Gunas. Tamas, like Jing refers to the material side - the sluggishness of Matter - the Body. Rajas refers to the excess of energy, restless - like the Chi, without the proper Master - Emotional - from the Heart. Satva is the balance. Like Shen, Satva should be the Master - but is instead many times relegated to the role of neglected bystander

Being or Inner Self, not these attributes of Person

While each of these classifications of the human experience, i.e. Western, Taoist, and Hindu, are similar, they are not equivalent - certainly not isomorphic. Further they only refer to the endless motion of the phenomenal world. None of them equal the Self that is at the Heart of Reality and the source of Bliss.

Being separate from the swirl of Person

The Person, with Body, Mind and Emotions, is in the midst of the constant swirl of Minds, Energies, and Gunas - Each just a different facet of the Grand Crystal - And yet none of them are the Self, which is the infinitesimal at the Center of Being.

Being connected to Greater Reality

Being is not part of the constantly spinning disk but is instead the Pole that runs up the Center into another dimension, which is connected to, but separate from, the Personal Dimension.

While intersecting with Person, Being is connected to a Greater Reality - combining with an existence that is incomprehensible to the Mind-Body continuum in which the Person resides - with his petty worries and ambitions - hopes and fears.

While Being, slips into other dimensions, is of another universe,

    She is also the Mother of the Person -

        Trying to provide all the support she can -

    Empathizing with the Person’s Drama -

        & even Participating when possible.

 

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