Photo by Linus Nylund on Unsplash

On Being Self Less

The Supply Chain of You

Selflessness

I was taught selflessness as some aspect of Christianity, that Jesus was selfless and we should be too. And I learned that this kind of selflessness was about thinking about others, considering others, putting others before you. And I was indoctrinated that I should put others before me.

Selfish

I rebelled against this and went to take care of my needs first (well first I had to figure out what I needed cause I’d been brainwashed by society). This caused the Christians in my life to call me selfish. But if I didn’t take care of my needs, and other people didn’t take care of my needs either, where did that leave me? Was I supposed to be ok with that?

Selflessness Redux

As I’ve gone deeper into the Tibetan Mahayana Buddhist canon of emptiness, I came against “selflessness” again. Selflessness is supposedly one of the easiest ways to understand the weight and important of emptiness (I disagree, but that is a post for another day), because by starting with selflessness, you supposedly realize emptiness directly and relatedly to yourself. (There are also some epic mental logistics!)

Dependent Arising

This “you” is dependent on many things. It’s dependent on the evolution of DNA so you have a brain and a body to move around in this world. It’s dependent on the social structure and education and global politics and the food you eat and what your ancestors ate and food is itself dependent on the earth and the sun.

The Supply Chain of You

Now, apply this scenario to you. You are the box of cookies. Your existence is dependent on many things. You can not exist separately. You are dependent arising. If you understand and accept that you are a result of the “supply chain of you” and you are constantly changing based on context, you may also accept/realize that you are not as solid as you think you are.

Resolution?

My Christian understanding of selflessness is about putting others first because ??? IDK Jesus said so?

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President, The Purple Tornado, a strategic intelligence company tracking the future.

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Heather Vescent

President, The Purple Tornado, a strategic intelligence company tracking the future.