Ask a Bodhisattva Anything

Originally posted by ZIPMATT
there is no can and can't anything . where does this process happen? this rejecting enlightenment ? in a box on the 'special' shelf ? what is this mumbo jumbo ?

Maybe related to a meditational state where the person can sense that if they maintain the state they'll be enlightened, so they step back from it, so to speak. You don't seem like you believe any of it though so not sure why I'm trying to explain.

reply to post by robhines


zen was among the first topics within my education . motorcycle maintenance i have not learned .

but i will not beleive what followers have said . no originality nor value in that .

buddhists are so pacified they make me angry . there are no frogs in their ponds nor manure near their kitchens .

they dont know the value of eggs , yet pretend to

throw the golden buddga away . only a real life living buddha is good enough for me .

meditate on that

I wont ask you something...but I'll tell ya....

PEACE TO YOU ON YOUR AMAZING JOURNEY!!

it is far from over but that's the exciting part....

I got three questions:

1. Can we reach spiritual enlightenment through science?

DeGrasse Tyson poses an interesting question in one of his speeches.

He wonders if the same neurons in your brain will activate from scientific revelations, as in religious or spiritual revelations. Knowing that we are all made out of elements created inside stars, that went supernova and spread their material through the universe, makes my spine tingle for sure.

2. When I first really understood the implications of this, really taking into account the "physics, chemistry and biology of it all" I too felt connected with the universe, my whole body shivered and tingled. Is this also a step towards enlightenment?

3. Why is psychological distance so easily achieved with physical distance? It is harder to harm someone directly, but much less difficult to harm others when not directly seeing the consequences. For example, soldiers will have less problems shooting at people from a distance, ie. from a helicopter. At the same time, you are more likely to be shaken by news that 10 people died in your hometown, than 100 people on another continent.

Hope you have the time to answer them.

Sincerely, Frost

Originally posted by ZIPMATT
reply to post by robhines

 

zen was among the first topics within my education . motorcycle maintenance i have not learned .

but i will not beleive what followers have said . no originality nor value in that .

buddhists are so pacified they make me angry . there are no frogs in their ponds nor manure near their kitchens .

they dont know the value of eggs , yet pretend to

throw the golden buddga away . only a real life living buddha is good enough for me .

meditate on that

Have got enough to meditate on already thanks! I'm really not bothered if you believe it or not either, was just trying to help.

Originally posted by Redeemer
I was too harsh and quick with my misguided words earlier in this thread. As someone stated, I was not being compassionate. Apologies are nice but they are only words. I'll let my actions speak for themselves instead and remember what I have learned in the future. We are all students and we are all teachers. Each person has something to share with the world. I have made amends with the op and we came to an understanding. I understand that I make mistakes, we are human. If we didn't make mistakes then we'd have nothing to learn. It is important to analyze ourselves and think if what we are doing or saying at the time is skillful and beneficial or if it is harmful to others.

Spoken like a true redeemer.

You are never alone in this my friend.

With Love,

Your Brother

reply to post by Frostmore


the answers are in the questions . what came first , the command or the statement ?

this is about as far as any master can point , unless he uses his finger ,

paradox nor koan will explain unless in hindsight .

co incidence - now there is a place to follow to

no science can explain what the terrible and august reality is , neither the reality which is perfect.

the way, and your intuition : these are places the true masters have pointed

and to let go of reason , logic , philosophies . go to the higher level

guide yourself along your own path until you learn, then see to guide for the blinded others >

fear god and give him the glory , hallow justice of a universal kind

and say your prayers < never any better advice than this . then you at least and your trusted others can live , and die in peace

and there shall be no peace for the wicked wrongdoers

yet we shall put our children first , them and our animal kingdom .

and , for the ancient trees , what is right , is right , and what is wrong , is wrong

I´m sorry, i saw this thread and decided to ask questions, but ended up with the realization that i already had eve
vry answer to every question i´ve ever asked (for me, at least) sorry for wasting your time and valuable cyber-space..

You are all loved. DEEPLY.

Originally posted by traditionaldrummer

Originally posted by Mishmashum
TD, I sense a real curiosity in you. If you'd like to experience something beyond mundane existence you should read up on lucid dreaming. The types of worlds you can explore are mind boggling. While I'm sure I have a perfectly good imagination. It's hard to believe that as I'm asleep, and for all intents and purposes unconscious, that I'm able to visualize whole worlds I couldn't even draw or properly imagine while awake and conscious. There's something truly magical about the worlds dreams let us access.

Thanks. I've done lucid dreaming before and it's a great experience. However, the things my imagination can generate are not other "worlds" that can be experienced, and technically are just part of the material world as everything else is.

im an veteran lucid dreamer and i can tell you the worlds i have created and explored are like nothing i have ever seen. granted they are still material but to consciousness as we experience the world that is all we can grasp. so unless you flex your imagination and push the boundaries you will never see what you currently cant see.

reply to post by Frostmore


Not sure if you have read through the whole thread but he is not taking anymore questions due to the negativity it created for some.
I would like to say though that science will become a major part of becoming enlightened. Many sciences are bringing our knowledge directly towards enlightenment for those that are having trouble believing in such things. Here's an example - everything you see is the past. How? Think of how light travels, your eyes and brain need to process the information they are receiving. Of course the things that you see are close to you but there is a very short amount of time that it takes to filter through. This can be observed with sound as it travels a great deal slower than light and can become distorted from many factors on its journey to your ears and then through to your brain for processing. Light from the Sun takes around 8 minutes to reach the earth, this is proven in science. So regardless it takes a very small amount of time to reach your mind, I hope you are able to follow. The only true place for the now is in the mind which is where true creation is, all the things you see that has been made by man was first created in the mind and then our creative energy was directed upon the the elements of the earth in order to transform the earth into the objects you see.
Most religious or spiritual texts refer to the the thought and the word at the beginning, this is more true than many realize and science is beginning to help us all understand and gain knowledge with these concepts.

Hope this helps answer and also sparks new questions for you.

Peace

The god in me honours the god in you.

OP, I have not had a chance to read through the entire thread so this question may be redundant.

First of all congratulations on youre awakening!

.. In one of your earlier posts you mentioned that your existence only causes suffering. I feel like this statement maybe needs some clearing up because I do not believe that your existence ONLY causes suffering. I do understand that your existence does cause suffering, which is very admirable and enlightning (most people would not realize this fact. They would argue there are others that cause more suffering therefore their degree of cause is a non-factor. Which we know is just an excuse.) but to say it ONLY causes suffering neglects that fact that you can do good and probably have done good.

I think this is the whole idea of karma. We, by nature, cause suffering just by existing. Therefore we must live life to make up for the suffering we will cause no matter how hard we try not to do this. That is why we should learn to serve others, not only will we be letting go of our ego and live on a higher vibration, but also to create the least resistant path to enlightment.

Do you agree?

reply to post by Frostmore


I think science is a great tool and understand that these are my opinions that I am about to give to you before you read any further. It's my personal belief that what we refer to as "enlightenement" can not be revealed to us with direct knowledge and science alone but we must also undergo personal reflection and have our own insights. Thank you for your question and your time. I am not the op but since he is no longer taking part in this thread, I gave you my two cents for what it's worth.

reply to post by robhines

There’s no need for us to quarrel. Your last post indicates that your understanding and experience of Buddhism is of its philosophical and disciplinary (meditative) aspects. This is exactly what I mean by a Western understanding of Buddhism, but that doesn’t mean these aspects are not Buddhist. They are what the West has taken out of Buddhism.

These teachings of the Buddha are essential to monks in the Theravada tradition, and to a very great extent the Mahayana tradition too. However, they have little to say to lay people in either tradition. The Buddha made it very clear that the path to enlightenment and finally to nirvana is a path that only world-renouncers can tread. In Buddhism, if you want to be saved, you have to be a monk. You can’t just practice mindfulness and meditate and chant a couple of verses from the suttas and still keep your job as a carpenter or housewife or derivatives trader. You can’t be married, you can’t have sex, you can’t engage in trade or a craft. You have to give all that up and sit down to meditate until you finally ‘awaken’. In the meantime, you keep yourself alive as best you can.

However, because his disciples were forever pestering him about it, the Buddha finally offered some rules of conduct for lay folk. He was at pains to point out that followers would at best be able to achieve reincarnation into happier circumstances than those of their current lives, but even that was not promised. It would depend on how much karma was accumulated or discharged in the present lifetime.

Now this monkish rule of conduct is what the majority of ‘initiated’ Westerners understand by Buddhism, although very few of them are actually monks. In countries where Buddhism is an historically established faith, however, the vast majority of Buddhists do not practise monkish disciplines or meditate. The go to a Buddhist shrine, make offerings and perform religious rituals. They attend ceremonies where monks chant the sutras, hoping to acquire merit by hearing them, and may leave the ceremony with a thread or scroll that they believe has been ‘blessed’ by the chanting, and which will protect them from harm or bring them luck. They also perform acts of dana, charitable giving – to monks, to the poor, or even to stray animals – in hopes of gaining merit. They believe that the more merit one gains, the happier one will be in one’s next incarnation. It’s a bit like the now-suppressed Roman Catholic practice of buying indulgences, actually, except that you cash in your merit chips in a physical life to come rather than a spiritual existence in Heaven*.

In other words, Buddhism as a religion of the people is just the same as any other religion – a collection of seemingly meaningless things people do to placate a deity, invoke its protection, ask for favours and try to ensure a good death and a happy life hereafter. It has little to do with the spiritual disciplines and philosophical ideas of the hermetic tradition, which are what the West thinks of when it hears the word ‘Buddhism’.

That should make things a little clearer. I am not insulting Westerners; I am pointing out that Buddhism has been hugely misunderstood in the West. It is not different from any other religion in its trappings and its effects on people, except perhaps for making them more respectful of animal life (though sadly this does not seem to apply to human life); but Buddhists, by and large, are just as thoughtless, uncharitable, vicious and murderous as anybody else.

Perhaps you see now what I was getting at in the post you first took issue with.

*Though you could, if you were lucky and a Mahayanist, be reborn into one of the multitudinous heavens that are believed to exist in the many sects of that form of Buddhism – but even such an existence is limited and subject to karma.

reply to post by Astyanax


Well said!

Buddhism is very much based on Vedic thought, as is Sikhism.

It is the Pundit's mis-interpretation of Vedas and Upanishads that people do not realize this. Pundits do this as they earn money from temples they run, so they have vested interest in mis-leading people.

The concept of 'Nirvaan' is no different from Vedic concept of "Samadhi". Both can be attained only after complete 'detachment' from worldly affairs.

reply to post by Buddha1098


Im sorry but I have to shout shannagins on this.

OK... I have to ask...


WHAT IS THE SOUND OF ONE HAND CLAPPING????

reply to post by Astyanax


Thanks! That does clear things up. I thought you were coming from that angle a bit yesterday but had other stuff going on and my crappy mood probably didn't help when trying to work out what you meant, and when replying to you either. Thanks again.

Originally posted by hudsonhawk69


OK... I have to ask...


WHAT IS THE SOUND OF ONE HAND CLAPPING????

Slap yourself across the face and listen!

Thanks for your answers I missed the parts where he said he wouldn't answer any more questions. Too bad

@ZIPMATT: Your answer is a little hard to grasp, but I can see the wisdom in there. You mentioned the ancient trees. Have you heard about the Siberian Cedars?

@Rellix: I follow you on the light and that all we perceive being the past. It is exciting to explore how perception relates to reality. It is a known fact to psychologists that perception distorts and interprets reality differently, for example in witness testimonies. Ideas are indeed powerful, they have shaped our modern world. But where are ideas from? Thats interesting

@Redeemer: I agree, there are probably several types of enlightenment. Personal enlightenment should probably come from self insight or dramatic events. But for me, knowledge have in a way sparked personal insight. Many say astronomy is a character building experience. Carl Sagan for example, was often discussing environmental, political and ideological issues and the future of man with a perspective from astronomy. To see the big picture, makes me care more for others.

if all you la la's are so enlightened,

shouldn't you be somewhere else?

like doing something cool, instead of hanging on the internet?

lol!

maybe fasting for a month or solving some world problems at the top of a mountain?

contemplating your navel?

Originally posted by pirhanna
How can I make some additional money?
I'm an artist in my spare time, and it costs money to make art.

Stop doing art and you'll have some extra money! A penny saved is a penny earned afterall.



To the OP: What? Why did you leave most of it out?