Level 9: Self-Liberation

Self-liberation is the process of becoming free from everything that blocks the expression of your highest potential, what Mahayana Buddhists would refer to as your Buddha nature. This Buddha nature is always present, but crowded out by afflicted thoughts and emotions or unskillful behaviors and habits. By cultivating merit and wisdom, we can free ourselves from harmful behavior and the mistaken beliefs that keep our true nature from shining through.

To be selfless doesn’t mean we cease to be, it means we recognize the ever-changing nature of who and what we are. We don’t become a doormat or give up our agency, we recognize equality and the interconnectedness between self and other. Selflessness means we can go about our lives without automatically reacting to the world and living like everything is all about us. What an enormous relief! This is how selflessness can lead to happiness.

Buddhism is generally divided into 2 major philosophical schools, the older hinayana and the newer mahayana. These two schools differ in how one defines a Buddha and highly realized beings and how one understands the reality of self and phenomena. They have a different understanding of vicarious joy and equanimity, as well as differing understandings of the 10 perfections. For Mahayana Buddhists, everyone has equal potential to become a Buddha. Buddha-nature is not discussed by Hinayana Buddhists.

Buddhism’s two accumulations are merit and wisdom. For Mahayana Buddhists, accumulating merit and wisdom is the absolute best approach for making progress on the spiritual path and developing spiritual realization. Merit is the accumulation of positive actions carried out through our body, speech, and mind. Wisdom is seeing clearly how things really are. Wisdom helps us behave meritoriously, while meritorious behavior makes wisdom more likely to flourish.