Anatta and the Buddhist Practice

Last week, I posted a quote from Jiddu Krishnamurti. He said, “Practicing various methods of meditation only strengthens the ‘me.’ You may cover it up, you may beautify it, refine it, but it is still the ‘me.’”

In that post, I made the following comments:

I have been saying the same thing. It doesn’t matter whether you are practicing Pure Land chants, doing zazen, or other religious rituals. It does not matter which religion you believe in, either. The question is why you do it. Do you expect some benefits or liberation out of it? Buddha said that the self is an illusion. So, if you engage in religious rituals, hoping for certain rewards or trying to avoid certain punishments, the very act strengthens your ego and binds you to your prison. In pursuing liberation through various means, you are moving further away from liberation.

Whenever I make comments like this one, I typically get some backlash. People will immediately accuse me of discouraging others from practicing the Dharma, and I become a public target. Some readers ask about my motivation. Many believe that I am here to undermine Buddhism. The crucial question here is what exactly Buddhist practice is

The logic of my position is clear. If the self is an illusion, why do we practice the Dharma? While my position and Krishnamurti’s seem radical, they are…