From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Dec 07 2004 - 13:49:34 GMT
Hi Chuck, DMB, All:
> DMB said:
> "...There is an idea in Buddhism that the cause of all suffering is fear
> and desire, but we're not just talking about cowardice and lust here. We're
> talking about the fear of death and the desire to live. We cling to life
> and ego in such a way that it blinds us to the immediate reality that is
> right in front of us all the time..."
>
> Chuck adds:
> Ultimately, it's the fear of separation fueling all this existential angst.
> The Buddhists are here to tell us that such fear is pointless because these
> lines are illusions, especially the one between life and death.
>
> All the laughter upon enlightenment is the realization of the transcendent
> punch line, that reality is "right in front of us all the time" and
> "heaven" does indeed exist on Earth, so really, what was all the fuss
> about?
I agree with the implication that there's nothing mysterious about mystic
experience because "it's right in front of us all the time." All you have
to do is look. Thus, writing about and discussing it at length, while
interesting perhaps, isn't necessary to understand it. In fact, words and
thoughts get in the way. The following quote from Krishnamurti puts
mysticism in proper perspective:
"The real is near you, you do not have to search for it; and a man who
seeks the truth will never find it. Truth is in what 'is' -- and that is
the beauty of it. But the moment you conceive it, the moment you seek it,
you begin to struggle; and a man who struggles cannot understand. That is
why we have to be still, observant, passively aware."
Which leads to my favorite quote of all time, from Franz Kafka:
"You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and
listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still
and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It
has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet."
Platt
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