Self consciousness is a miracle and a profound evolutionary advantage but it is also a trap. The Buddha described the processes under which self consciousness develops and the way to go beyond it. In this talk we explore the conditioning processes that bind us to the wheel of life.

This talk was part of a series of talks on the Therigatha. It starts by appreciating what a hard life it must have been for the early bhikkunis. Two verses by elderly nuns, Dhamma and Citta, give rise to reflection on letting go of fixed self view as a major component of breaking through to Enlightenment.

We then hear a verse about no-self from the nun Uttara. This leads on to reflections about how we subtly reinforce a sense of self through feeling embarrassed or irritable.

Then in a further verse we hear the Buddha teaching about breaking the first five fetters. We hear about Stream Entry and the point of Knowledge and Vision of Things as They Are on the spiral path. The talk concludes a verse about letting go of self by Dogen.