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So, I've been meditating a lot lately (Bhuddist Philosophy) and have really come to understand the illusion we create and call "Reality".
Anyone else touched enlightenment? I found it almost too much to take, like the weight of the understanding could dissolve me! What was your experience?
Yes, but then I found my enlightenment was a illusion too.
ASATOMA SAT GAMAYA TAMASOMA JYOTIR GAMAYA MRITYORMA ANRITAM GAMAYA
The above is an ancient Sanskrit sloka (hymn of praise dedicated to God) which translates as:
Lead me from the unreal to the Real Lead me from the darkness to the Light Lead me from the temporary to the Eternal.
IMDB cinephiles among you might realize this sloka was included in the soundtrack of The Matrix Revolutions, during the final confrontation between Neo and Smith. (The fight in the rain with all the Smith clones watching.)
Oh! I like that one!
One of my favorites is in the Pali Language (used by the Theravada School of Buddhism, particularly The Dhammapada)
NAMO TASSA BHAGAVATO ARAHATO SAMMA SAMBUDDHASA
translation:
Hail and salutations to Him, the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Supremely Enlightened One
I defy anyone to prove that he or she is not just a brain in a vat being stimulated electrically to think it is a person experiencing everyday life.
Can anyone prove he/she is just a brain?
Plants don't have brains, yet they were shown to respond better or worse, according to the type of music played, with all other variables the same.
Reality is real to us in it. When we dream, that is real to us too, until we wake.
Exactly!
There's a story of a boyscout, who came running back to camp, screaming, dirty, scraped up, bleeding with his clothes all torn up.
His scout leader, asked, "What happened to you?"
The boyscout explained, "A poisonous snake tried to strike & kill me, so I ran down the steep mountain!"
The leader asked what the snake looked like & the boyscout explained what the snake looked like.
The leader then said, "Oh, that kind of snake couldn't kill you."
The boy said, "If it could make me run off a cliff, it could!"
Exactly!
There's a story of a boyscout, who came running back to camp, screaming, dirty, scraped up, bleeding with his clothes all torn up.
His scout leader, asked, "What happened to you?"
The boyscout explained, "A poisonous snake tried to strike & kill me, so I ran down the steep mountain!"
The leader asked what the snake looked like & the boyscout explained what the snake looked like.
The leader then said, "Oh, that kind of snake couldn't kill you."
The boy said, "If it could make me run off a cliff, it could!"
Beliefs are powerful -whether true or not!
That's an excellent example of how a belief that something exists is actually more important whether or not that thing actually exists.
Exactly!
There's a story of a boyscout, who came running back to camp, screaming, dirty, scraped up, bleeding with his clothes all torn up.
His scout leader, asked, "What happened to you?"
The boyscout explained, "A poisonous snake tried to strike & kill me, so I ran down the steep mountain!"
The leader asked what the snake looked like & the boyscout explained what the snake looked like.
The leader then said, "Oh, that kind of snake couldn't kill you."
The boy said, "If it could make me run off a cliff, it could!"
Beliefs are powerful -whether true or not!
Actions that a person takes based on their beliefs can kill. All the more reason to not believe false things, but to believe what is true. Futhermore, we need to realize the limits of what we can know for sure and therefore, exercise caution and not be too certain about our beliefs. It is when we are certain (and wrong) that we are most dangerous.
It's too bad that the people most certain about their beliefs, and most in need of this caution, are least likely to consider that it is they who could be wrong.
Actions that a person takes based on their beliefs can kill. All the more reason to not believe false things, but to believe what is true. Futhermore, we need to realize the limits of what we can know for sure and therefore, exercise caution and not be too certain about our beliefs. It is when we are certain (and wrong) that we are most dangerous.
It's too bad that the people most certain about their beliefs, and most in need of this caution, are least likely to consider that it is they who could be wrong.
My irony meter just exploded into a thousand jagged pieces.
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Honoring The Tathagata
