Hi all,

Does anyone have any recommendations for books / resources on self inquiry?

I found these two books this morning. Both look really interesting but I'd really like to hear from anyone who has practiced this technique here. Im not even sure where it fits in budhism. I don't remember seeing it in the Satipatthana Sutta or even in the parts of the Majjhima Nikaya i have read so i presume it's a later practice in Mahayana?

• Master of Self Realization
• Self-Inquiry - Dawn of the Witness and the End of Suffering

Thanks..

Actually, I think self inquiry is not a buddhist practice per se, although it gets mixed in a lot, especially in pragmatic dharma circles. As far as I can tell, the source of this practice is the advaita vedanta, which, if I'm not mistaken, goes back to early brahmanism. The central idea there seems to be that there is this eternal unchanging ever-present all-encompassing primordial awareness/consciousness (the atman) , and you are it, and all phenomena arise in this awareness without ever changing it, touching it, threatening it, etc. The core elements of this system seem to have already existed in the buddha's lifetime and his teaching on anatta (or an-atman) can be read as a dircet reaction to this point of view.

Regarding books, I can recommend taking a look at "the direct path" by Greg Goode, which is basically a series of experience-based contemplations, where you work through all your experience bit by bit and look for the self. This practice can be interesting, but it's analysis-heavy and doesn't have much to do with actual meditation (as in noting or concentration or metta etc.). The outcome is also predetermined and therefore not very surprising. So if the underlying philosophical axiomatics (eternal big self) don't bother you, you could give it a try. (Greg Goode also has some videos on youtube where you can get a good impression of his approach.)

This is an Advaita Vedanta practice. It is also practiced in some schools of Zen (see: Ch'an Master Hsu Yun).

My e-book dedicates a section to this: http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-e-booke-journal.html

There is Gary Weber's book, Happiness Beyond Thought which is basically all about self inquiry.

I think of self inquiry as a way to get better insight into no-self.

Thanks Christian. That was the kick-start I needed on this..

AEN I will try to read your ebook once more (and get as far as that part) I am currently reading the AYP book linked above and it makes for intresting reading so far. It seems that by his standard I am already a good way down this practice as he goes on and on about "inner silence" being the both the prerequisite for cultivating the witness as well as actually being the witness. My own experience has included a lot of mental silence for a long time now. Im not yet at the practical exercises in this book yet so I'll update this thread when i've read it.

Jason I tried to read Gary's book but I found it just awful. Really hard to read, tons of typos as well. I should probably try to be more persistent but I just couldn't do it. It was to irritating..

Instead of making it complicated I just read the following instructions and practiced:

Awareness watching awareness

I got one heck of an open eyed jhana with this one that it confused me as being nirvana some years ago.

Hi BTG,

Based on a more recent post of yours, what I writing below may be too little too late, but I won't let that stop me...

I read the AYP book a while back; it didn't make much of an impression with me. I haven't read "Master of Self Realization"-- but I just ordered it.

I got more out of the Chan take on this with respect to practice technique in "Shattering the Great Doubt: The Chan Practice of Huatou" by Sheng Yen. The author is a 3rd generation Dharma heir of the Hsu Yun referenced above by AEN.

The section in AEN's book is well worth going over.

The bits that deal with the actual practice of inquiry in Gary Weber's "Happiness Beyond Thought" are in section G pages 41-46 if you want to make a surgical strike.

"The Path of Sri Ramana Part I: The Jnana Aspect of the Teaching" by Sri Sadhu Om was the first thing I ever found that made any sense of this as a practice. You can find this free online in PDF (sorry to recommend one more thing in one of your least favorite reading formats)

I hope this helps.

Eric

Nisagardatta

Some free stuff here: http://www.nonduality.com/asmi.htm

Eric!

I've ordered the Chan book, thanks for that. I have Gary Webers book but I found it almost unreadable so discarded it some time back so thanks also for the specific reference, I'll get right on that.



Awesome. The "I am that" book looks really interesting, and certainly has some very enthusiastic reviews on the amazon uk site. Probably wont be able to get it till next year but it's on the list, thanks! Will check out the online resource shortly.

My current practice continues to focus on vedana/sensations in various ways. I hope that adding a self inquiry component to this practice will prove interesting...

You'll like "I Am That". When I first got it, I tried to read it like something that just to be plowed through. The chapters are individual dialogues that are short enough to read in a single sitting, and then play the "maybe just one more" game. It makes good reading right before going to sleep at night.

Perhaps the best instructions to self-inquiry can be found in chapters 7 and 8 in The Path of Sri Ramana - Part One. The book is free. Sadhu Om, who is the author of that book, was a disciple of Ramana Maharshi.

"Instead of making it complicated I just read the following instructions and practiced:

Awareness watching awareness

I got one heck of an open eyed jhana with this one that it confused me as being nirvana some years ago"

Which is meditation. I.e. observing the self, as opposed to concentration, or mental imagination. Also described as self-inquiry in some camps.

"Spacecruiser Inquiry" by Almaas is a great book on both self inquiry and mutual inquiry. "Self-Inquiry" by Adyashanti is not bad either (available on Sounds True). Toni Packers "The Silent Question" is also warmly recommended.