[pinawinekolad]

I agree the ego is a "virtual reality" conditioned in the mind by acquired opinions, beliefs, attitudes, etc.

However, there are also inherent or in-born tendencies (anusaya) or drives, which are more primal than views & opinions.

Tendencies like sensual desire, reproductive instinct, the will to live, etc.

These things can also condition ego in the mind.

Of 'beings' ('satta'), on the level of ultimate reality, the Theravada scriptures appear to share your point of view:

Ven. Radha went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side.

As he was sitting there, he said to the Blessed One:

"'A being,' lord. 'A being,' it's said. To what extent is one said to be 'a being'?"

Satto, satto’ti, bhante, vuccati. Kittāvatā nu kho, bhante , sattoti vuccatī’’ti?

"Any desire, passion, delight or craving for form, Radha: when one is caught up there, tied up there, one is said to be 'a being.'

"Any desire, passion, delight or craving for feeling... perception... fabrications...

"Any desire, passion, delight or craving for consciousness, Radha: when one is caught up there, tied up there, one is said to be 'a being.'

Satta Sutta: A Being

Elementary, my dear Watson,

Anything that moves in the mind and is identified with is a sentient being. This is so obvious that I'm surprised so many practicing Buddhists miss it. These transitory karmic creations dominate the unenlightened mind with such constant rapidity that the poor mind actually thinks that's who it is. If the agitated mind sits still and slows itself down the space between thoughts will open up.

The Theravada quote in your second posting really is quite elementary and only the blind would miss it. I have a great affinity and respect for the Theravada but its bones are too dry for me.

When I came upon the popularized version of the Bodhisattva Vow of the Mahayana it did not work for me and I soon realized that ignorant translators/writers had obscured the Truth]. For those who depend on authoritative words I offer you this passage from the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch:

We have now vowed to deliver an infinite number of sentient beings; but what does that mean? It does not mean that I, Hui-neng is going to deliver them. And who are these sentient beings, potential within our minds? They are the delusive mind, the deceitful mind, the evil mind, and such like--all these are sentient beings. Each of them has to be delivered by oneself by means of his own Essence of Mind; only by his own deliverance, is it genuine. p.260 end

That is the lean flesh of the Mahayana that has been buried under Buddhist fat created by the sugary religious writings of sentimental writers.

Theravada is the bone
Mahayana is the flesh
Zen is the
SPIRIT
that keeps the corpse
ALIVE

I'm not sure how you have arrived at your interpretation of 'sentient beings'.

My practice has always been experiential and not intellectual or scholastic and that is how I arrived at my understanding of sentient beings and it works for me. If something doesn't work for me I stay clear of it—Tibetan Buddhism does not work for me.

I'd prefer it if you just used the regular font in your posts, Pugdala, please, because its easier to read and I get visual disturbances and migraine with certain kinds of computer font - bold in particular - I'm also finding the bright colors are troublesome for my eyes too when I try to read them. When I get visual disturbances I see wavy lines and zig-zags wherever I look -and my vision is badly affected for quite a while.

Many thanks for your consideration,

Mrs. Hudson, if I may use a colorful character, your discomfort with colorful characters is noted. I shall endeavor to restrain myself from using them. However, as you can see, I cannot guarantee that the urge to dress up my text might overcome me on occasion—please be patient. I find most postings clueless and boring and I prefer to wake up viewers who are victims of humdrum circumstances. Popularized religious writings do not work for me and all religious sentiments are sentient beings that must eventually be removed to be in the Presence of Truth.

If you find my postings unbearable just throw them out in the street and I will seek lodgings for them elsewhere. Please do not alter my postings—no one has that right—just delete them.

Thank you.

Mrs. Hudson, the landlady of Sherlock Holmes, was a long-suffering woman. Not only was her first-floor flat invaded at all hours by throngs of singular and often undesirable characters but her remarkable lodger showed an eccentricity and irregularity in his life which must have sorely tried her patience. His incredible untidiness, his addiction to music at strange hours, his occasional revolver practice within doors, his weird and often malodorous scientific experiments, and the atmosphere of violence and danger which hung around him made him the very worst tenant in London. On the other hand, his payments were princely. I have no doubt that the house might have been purchased at the price which Holmes paid for his rooms during the years that I was with him. The landlady stood in the deepest awe of him and never dared to interfere with him, however outrageous his proceedings might seem. She was fond of him, too, for he had a remarkable gentleness and courtesy in his dealings with women.

To continue with the topic.... Could you say more about the above statement in relation to the Bodhisattva vow, with references to illustrate your point, please ?

What, for you, is the point of the Bodhisattva vow?

Bodhisattvas are the greatest detectives the world has ever seen and ever will see! There is nothing beyond them.