Date:07/20/2024 07/21/2024
Location: Star Ocean Meditation Center
Teacher: Sara
Sitting Meditation
Dismantling the Illusion of Self within the Five Aggregates
The five aggregates shape all physical and mental experience. Mistaking them as a solid and permanent “self” creates suffering. Seeing through this illusion is a key step toward liberation.
1. What Is the Illusion of Self?
It is the misperception that form, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness constitute an unchanging “I.”
2. Foundations of the Illusion
1.Misidentifying the body as self.
2.Misidentifying emotions as self.
3.Misidentifying thoughts as self.
4.Misidentifying habits as self.
5.Misidentifying consciousness as self.
3. Effects of the Illusion
1.Stronger fear.
2.More conflict.
3.Cycles of suffering.
4.Relational strain.
5.Loss of freedom.
4. Ways to See Through the Illusion
1.Observe each aggregate separately.
2.Trace the sense of “I” to its roots.
3.Practice non-identification.
4.Stay aware.
5.Experience non-self.
5. Facts About the Aggregates
Are the aggregates imaginary?
No. They are real but not a “self.”
Does non-self erase individuality?
No. It reduces suffering, not personality.
Is non-self hard to realize?
Only at first; clarity makes it natural.
Conclusion
The aggregates are not the problem—clinging to them as “self” is. Seeing their impermanent, composite nature dissolves the illusion and opens the way to freedom.
