On first blush, these two POV's would appear to be somewhat contradictory. 1) the self is always there, just not realized, and, 2) the self is never there, and there is no true self to realize.
This is the beginning of the dislocation that can never be fixed or repaired by the mind, because it is the mind that dislocates. So the question the ordinary mind must eternally (or until you die) grapple with is: "Well, you ol' brain you, is there a Self at all, or is there NO self at all? Huh? Which is it?"
The lesson is in the asking, not in the attempted answering.
The lesson is in discovering the why's and how's of asking.
The lesson is in knowing what knowing is.
The enlightenment is in the understanding, not in the attempted explaining. (present explanation notwithstanding... ;^)
As soon as a person says he knows the results of such inquiry, he's just joking and should realize it. As such, all thought is mere speculation.
You can know for certain, without speculation, that the steakknife blade has just - ouch! - cut off most of your forefinger.
You can not know for certain, without speculation, that the enlightenment-training-course you've been on for the last umpteen years - ouch! - has resolved the self/no-self question.
Really, what's the damn point anyway? "self" is just a word that the brain uses to describe momentary neural responses and resonances that keep the brain from suffering a meltdown, and continuing to function somewhat reliably within the greater organism mankind and organic life on earth. There's no need, either, to discuss it, to think about it, to answer it, or to speculate about it. It's just - top to bottom - entertainment for a bored intellect.
What's necessary - and this has been true for millennia - is to control the mind. That's what all teachings are about at their core; mantras, mindfulness, remembering yourself, chanting a word or phrase, twiddling little beads between the fingers, watching the in/out breath. One thing and one thing only - discovering what the "dead brain" is doing (that part of the brain everyone is born with - bar none), from the moment one acquired language, till right this moment... and then one dies. Nothing's changed for anyone, from about the age of 6 or 7 till today, as far as the ordinary brain is concerned. The ordinary brain still, without fail, answers each and every door, picks up every phone, and thinks every "thought" that appears in the head, and because the "I" identifies itself with the thought, therein lies the "problem" and the "solution", could one but grok it.
It's operating without control - uncontrolled mind activity - and all the chit-chatting about unresolvable issues (self or no-self, my guru is enlightened and you're not), as well as the tricks and methods noted above, while entertaining, are just about not dealing with the reality of that.
From instant to instant, one can't control their own neural activity, and are more like an injured animal in the forest, bleeding from countless wounds, unable to stop the bleeding, than a budding conscious being they so wish they were right now - except for the infernal speculating that goes on ad nauseum.
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