“The Buddha said “Self is the refuge of self” or “Self is a refuge for itself.” Dhamma is the true refuge. Self being the refuge of self means that mind with Dhamma is refuge, but this mind is clung to as being self. Dukkha is born and can exist because mind feels it has self: self to be born, self to age, self to get sick, self to die, self to achieve, self to fail, self to win, self to lose, self to profit, self to go bankrupt. These are matters of mind that has self, that has problems. When there’s no more self, all those problems fall away completely.”

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From the book “Seeing with the Eye of Dhamma” by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu.