Rodney Smith - Stepping Out of Self-Deception

Acute insights... Smiths examination of a profound teaching is thought-provoking.

Publishers Weekly

Smith successfully approaches the Buddhist doctrine of anatta (no-self), which is a concept that is most difficult at the best of times.

The Middle Way: Journal of the Buddhist Society

Every so often a book appears that revitalizes our understanding of who we are and what our lives are about. Stepping Out of Self-Deception is such a book. A wonderfully fresh and beautifully written investigation of the path of awakening, it also challenges many of our assumptions along the way.

Joseph Goldstein, author of One Dharma and Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom

The Buddhist doctrine of anatta (no-self) seems quite counterintuitive to the Western mind: we may not be sure of much, but aren't we sure we are here? Descartes says as much. Rodney Smith succeeds masterfully in laying bare the self/non-self doctrine and its many insidious misunderstandings that more often than not result in our using spiritual practice to reinforce the very pain we hoped it would liberate us from. He makes it clear that the Buddhist goal is not self-improvement or self-elimination but rather the radical recognition that we have never been isolated, we have always belonged. I am deeply moved by this intelligent, practical, and challenging look at the Buddhist path for our time and place.

Zoketsu Norman Fischer, author of Sailing Home and Taking Our Places: The Buddhist Path to Truly Growing Up

I found this book extremely clear and helpful. Rodney is able to explain concepts that are generally hard to comprehend, and make them readily accessible. His words are written from the heart, which is where this book resonates.

Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience

Rodney Smith humanizes the Buddhist path. He probes no-self but in so doing reveals himself to be honest, humble, and wise. His writing makes this most elusive concept come alive.

Mark Epstein, MD, author of Thoughts without a Thinker and Going to Pieces without Falling Apart

Rodney Smiths terrific new book will help us step out of the vicious cycle of self-deception and into the illumined realm of self-knowledge and spiritual realization. His deep, long term of Buddhist practice and liberating wisdom combined with a vocation of service work in the field of death and dying has perfectly equipped him to bring together here the best of East and West in elucidating how we ourselves can explore and penetrate the inner dynamics of identity and self, no-self, transpersonal being, and discover the complete being of our innate Buddhaness, the radiant Buddha-nature.

Lama Surya Das, author of The Mind Is Mightier Than the Sword and Awakening the Buddha Within

I found this work affecting from beginning to end. Chapter after chapter of thoughtful, intelligent counsel encourages us to be curious in the face of what has always before been daunting.

Inquiring Mind

ABOUT THE BOOK

Anatta is the Buddhist teaching on the nonexistence of a permanent, independent self. Its a notoriously puzzling and elusive concept, usually leading to such questions as, If I dont have a self, whos reading this sentence? Its not that theres no self there, says Rodney Smith. Its just that the self that is reading this sentence is a configuration of elements that at one time did not exist and which at some point in the future will disperse. Even in its present existence, its more a temporary arrangement of components rather than something solid. Anatta is a truth the Buddha considered to be absolutely essential to his teaching. Smith shows that understanding this truth can change the way you relate to the world, and that the perspective of selflessness is critically important for anyone involved in spiritual practice. Seeing it can be the key to getting past the idea that spirituality has something to do with self-improvement, and to accessing the joy of deep insight into reality.

RODNEY SMITH is the founding and guiding teacher of the Seattle Insight Meditation Society and a guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society, Barre, Massachusetts. He leads classes and retreats throughout the United States. He is also the author of Lessons from the Dying, a book that grew out of the many years he spent in hospice work.

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Stepping Out of Self-Deception

The Buddhas Liberating

Teaching of No-Self

Rodney Smith

SHAMBHALA Boston & London 2011

SHAMBHALA PUBLICATIONS, INC.

Horticultural Hall

300 Massachusetts Avenue

Boston, Massachusetts 02115

www.shambhala.com

2010 by Rodney Smith

Design by Gopa & Ted2, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Smith, Rodney, M.S.W.

Stepping out of self-deception: the Buddhas liberating teaching of no-self / Rodney Smith.1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

eISBN 978-0-8348-2296-2

ISBN 978-1-59030-729-8 (pbk.: alk. paper)

1. Anatman. I. Title.

BQ4262.S65 2010

294.3422dc22

2010005933

There is no such thing as spiritual practice except stepping out of self-deception and stopping our struggle to get hold of spiritual states. Just give that up, other than that there is no spirituality.

CHGYAM TRUNGPA RINPOCHE, The Myth of Freedom

Every so often a book appears that revitalizes our understanding of who we are and what our life is about. Stepping Out of Self-Deception is such a book. A wonderfully fresh and beautifully written investigation of the path of awakening, it also challenges many of our assumptions along the way.

I have known Rodney Smith for many years, and he might best be described as a Buddhist revolutionary. Not content with formulaic expressions of the teachings, he has delved into the heart of awakening, finding that freedom in the midst of our everyday life. His passion for being awake... now... is evident on every page of this remarkable book. He draws on his own rich life-experienceas a Buddhist monk in Thailand and India, a longtime director of hospice, a loving and engaged partner in marriage, and a teacher for many yearsas a way of understanding what works to free the mind.

Stepping out of self-deception is about stepping out of self, not only in our worldly interactions, but perhaps even more importantly, in our spiritual aspirations. Rodneys teachings are a mirror for our mind, pointing with unmistakable clarity to where we get caught in the delusion of self and to the ever-present possibility of wakefulness. This engaging and heartfelt book is not about living a bit more comfortably or smoothing out some of our psychological rough edges, although these may happen as well. It is about the vital immediacy of the moment, free of self-deception, awake to the wonders such freedom brings.

JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN

Barre, Massachusetts

September 2009

I have been blessed with teachers in many traditions who have nudged me out of one stubborn pattern after another. For all their prodding and poking, I bow with deep gratitude. In relationship to this book, two teachers deserve a special tribute: Ajahn Buddhadassa, who taught me my nature by pointing to nature, and Nisargadatta Maharaj, who made it so difficult to ignore him, I had to surrender and let him in. Others who are indelibly stamped on my consciousness and directly affected the content of this book are J. Krishnamurti, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Adyashanti, and Eckhart Tolle.