Dear Bananafish,
Thank you, thank you for your guidance and for your response to my responses to the last set of questions ; )
I am smiling.
Kindness

Hello Bananafish,

Thank you for the questions.

1) Is there a separate entity 'self', 'me' 'I', at all, anywhere, in any way, shape or form?
Was there ever?
This is not a separate entity 'self', 'me' or 'I' at all, anywhere, in any way, shape or form.
There never was.

2) Explain in detail what ...

Hi Bananafish,

Thank you for sharing your story.
When I encountered Buddhism I felt as though I fell in love with it so I feel that I understand your being in love with what is. How very beautiful!

And yes, I am keen to try a set of questions to check whether my understanding is firm.

Thank you!

Hello Bananafish,
It is evening in the U.S. and I had a lovely day.
I have appreciated your responses and questions and guidance.
I am curious about you and your path and would love to read whatever you would like to share with me.
With gratitude,
Kindness

Hi Bananafish !

We have had a lot of rain for the past month. It was cloudy this morning and now the sun is shining through the clouds. The autumn leaves are colorful and falling from the trees. It is all very lovely. Are there seasons in Yokohama?

I feel fabulous to see this, to know that there ...

Hi Bananafish !
OK, with certainty ...
the self = memories, story lines, assumptions, thoughts, ideas
it is insubstantial, ah yes! like a character in a story ; ) ... imagination
The thought of my self is not my self
I have thought of my self as my behaviors (past tense)
When I feel angry, depressed ...

Hello Bananafish!

It is getting chilly in NH, U.S. as well ... and very windy, and this morning, there were tiny bits of snow falling from the sky!

So what and where is the self?
So, the self, as I have thought of as my self, is perhaps memories, story lines, ideas, thoughts.
And where is the ...

Hello Bananafish!

Thank you for your response, all the way from Japan!

You ask excellent questions!

Is the "you" in your memory yourself, or a memory of you, which is not yourself?
the 'me' in my memory self is a memory of 'me' which is not my 'self'

And I love this
What are you, when you don't ...

Hello Bananafish,

Thank you for your welcoming and offering to be my guide! I appreciate that you have asked about my experience of myself, and given me the freedom to write about whatever comes up.

So here goes:
I grew up in a dysfunctional family, with an alcoholic father and both of my parents ...

LU is focused guiding for seeing there is no real, inherent 'self' - what do you understand by this?
I understand no real, inherent 'self' to me that we are not separate from others but our backgrounds, experiences, upbringing and relationships have us creating a story about "who" we are. This ...