Quote:

"Self-relation is a defeasible and disequilibrial constructive process. it is a process whereby geist utilizes the intelligibility of its structural transformations (its history) as a model for conceiving itself from the standpoint of a reality that is in excess of it. Not only are geist's actions informed by this mode[l], they also exhibit it. The positive freedom of geist- the freedom to do something- is an expression of this self-relation, which is that of formal autonomy. In its simplest terms  and most embryonic form this self-relation is the trivial tautology 'I am I' (I=I). But in positing this very tautology, geist comes to the realization that the accomplished individuality that it takes itself to be is in fact an ongoing process of individuation from the perspective of that which is not this I: the other I, and reality in its radical otherness. That is to say, the positing of self-consciousness as formal- as abstracted from any particular or substantive content- enables what is conscious to be conscious of itself only in so far as some other object mediates its 'immediate' relation to itself"

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Duncan Rowhl said:

This thread is forever active.

Let him dance in his own fire.

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Quote:

that quote does not seem relevant to Buddhist practice as far as I can unravel; where in this picture is the awareness of mental contents arising and passing without indulgence or avoidance?

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Quote:

The only model that is acceptable would be voidness, i.e. no model, in order to accommodate a continuum of change.

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