Guest guest Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 , Michael Bowes <rmichaelbowes> wrote: > Dear Friends, > > As I stated in a previous email, classic advaita > vedanta makes a big fuss about reality. Of course, > the technique of negation is a major feature of > classic vedanta practice. Here is a quote from Sri > Ramana Gita: > SRI RAMANA GITA--Chapter One, ON THE IMPORTANCE OF > UPASANA (literally "being seated near", meditation.) > > "First Question: > Is Mukti (Release from phenomenal existence) to be had > by mere discrimination between the real and the unreal > or are there other means for the ending of bondage? > Answer to the First Question: > Abidance in the Self alone releases one from all > bonds. Discrimination between the real and the unreal > leads to non-attachment. > The jnani is unfathomable; he abides always in the > Self alone. He does not consider the universe as > unreal or as different from himself." > > In this passage Ramana states that "abidance in the > Self alone releases one from all bonds. Discrimination > between the real and the unreal leads only to > non-attachment. Ramana goes on to say the "He (the > jnani) does not consider the universe as unreal..." > > Michael says that discrimination between the real and > the unreal leads to a nervous breakdown. There isn't > anything that is unreal so what is there to > discriminate. If you want reality all you have to do > is open your eyes and look around. Life is real. > Life is SELF. The SELF cannot be described because it > is beyond description. Can we describe the universe? > Can we describe life? We can describe a portion of > the universe a portion of life; but the SELF is whole > and it is not possible for us to understand. But life > is real. > > > Read the words of Sri Ramakrishna: > GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA---page 310: > MASTER: "...When Rama said to Dasaratha that He was > going to renounce the world, it worried His father, > and the king sought counsel of Vasishtha. Vasishtha > said to Rama: 'Rama, why should You give up the > world? Reason with me. Is this world outside God? > What is there to renounce and what is there to accept? > Nothing whatever exists but God. It is Brahman alone > that appears as Isvara, maya, living beings, and the > universe.' " > > THE GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA, page 325 > "Vaikuntha: 'Is the world unreal?' > Master: 'Yes, it is unreal as long as one has not > realized God. Through ignorance man forgets God and > speaks always of "I" and "mine". He sinks down and > down, entangled in maya, deluded by "woman and gold". > Maya robs him of his knowledge to such and extent that > he cannot find the way of escape, though such a way > exists." > and a little further on in the same passage-- > > "Hedge it about with Kali's name > If you would keep your harvest safe. > > Surrender yourself to God and you will achieve > everything. > > This is the stoutest hedge of all, > For Death himself cannot come near it. > > 'Yes, it is a strong hedge indeed. If you but realize > God, you won't see the world as unsubstantial. He who > has realized God knows that God Himself has become the > world and all living beings. When you feed your > child, you should feel that your are feeding God. You > should look on your father and mother as veritable > manifestations of God and the Divine Mother, and serve > them as such...." > > > Here is passage from: > The life of Vivekananda, by Swami Nikhilananda: > Narendra, understanding the fatal nature of Sri > Ramakrishna's illness and realizing that the beloved > teacher would not live long, intensified his own > spiritual practices. His longing for the vision of > God knew no limit. One day he asked the Master for > the boon of remaining merged in samadhi three or four > days at a stretch, interrupting his meditation now and > then for a bite of food. "You are a fool," said the > Master. "There is a state higher than that. It is > you who sing: 'O Lord! Thou art all that exists.' " > Sri Ramakrishna wanted the disciple to see God in all > beings and to serve them in a spirit of worship. He > often said that to see the world alone, without God, > is ignorance, ajnana; to see God alone, without the > world, is a kind of philosophical knowledge, jnana; > but to see all beings permeated by the spirit of God > is supreme wisdom, vijnana. Only a few blessed souls > could see God dwelling in all. He wanted Naren to > attain this supreme wisdom. So the Master said to > him, "Settle your family affairs, first, then you > shall know a state even higher than samadhi." > > Michael says: There is nothing but > Life/God/SELF/Brahman. Life is real. Our inner being > has an eternal nature. Once that is realized then one > can be happy and accept existence. > > Love, > > michael > > Sutta Nipata, in its oldest and most characteristic parts, is a deeply stirring Song of Freedom. The verses of this ancient book are a challenging call to us to leave behind the narrow confines of our imprisoned existence with its ever-growing walls of accumulated habits of life and thought. They beckon us to free ourselves from the enslavement to our passions and to our thousand little whims and wishes. Once we have settled down in our habitual ways of living and thinking, we feel less and less inclined to give them up for the sake of risky ventures into a freedom of life and thought full of dangers and uncertainties. True freedom places on us the uncomfortable burden of ever-fresh responsible decisions, which have to be guided by mindfulness, wisdom and human sympathy. Sutta Nipata Uraga Sutta: The Serpent 1. He who can curb his wrath as soon as it arises, as a timely antidote will check snake's venom that so quickly spreads, -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 2. He who entirely cuts off his lust as entering a pond one uproots lotus plants, -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 3. He who entirely cuts off his craving by drying up its fierce and rapid flow, -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 4. He who entirely blots out conceit as the wind demolishes a fragile bamboo bridge, -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 5. He who does not find core or substance in any of the realms of being, like flowers which are vainly sought in fig trees that bear none, -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 6. He who bears no grudges in his heart, transcending all this "thus" and "otherwise," -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 7. He who has burned out his evil thoughts, entirely cut them off within his heart, -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as the serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 8. He who neither goes too far nor lags behind, entirely transcending the diffuseness of the world, -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 9. He who neither goes too far nor lags behind and knows about the world: "This is all unreal," -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 10. He who neither goes too far nor lags behind, greedless he knows: "This is all unreal," -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 11. He who neither goes too far nor lags behind, lust-free he knows: "This is all unreal," -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 12. He who neither goes too far nor lags behind, hate-free he knows: "This is all unreal," -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 13. He who neither goes too far nor lags behind, delusion-free he knows: "This is all unreal," -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 14. He who has no dormant tendencies whatever, whose unwholesome roots have been expunged, -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 15. States born of anxiety he harbors none which may condition his return to earth, -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 16. States born of attachment he harbors none which cause his bondage to existence, -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. 17. He who has the five hindrances discarded, doubt-free and serene, and free of inner barbs, -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. I: Reflections on the Refrain The Refrain: -- such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. The shedding of the serpent's old skin is done in four ways: (1) in following the law of its own species, (2) through disgust, (3) with the help of a support, and (4) with effort. The "law of his own species" is virtue. Standing firm in his own law of virtue, and seeing the misery involved, he becomes disgusted with the "old worn-out skin" of the "here and the beyond," comprising (such pairs of opposites) as his own and others' personalized existence, etc., which are productive of suffering. Thus he becomes disgusted and, seeking the support of a noble friend, (a wise teacher and meditation master), he summons his utmost strength by way of the path factor, right effort. Daily practice of alienation from what has been understood to be actually alien will wear thin the bondage to "self" and the world, loosen more and more clinging's tight grip, until, like the serpent's worn-out skin, it falls away almost effortlessly. Just as, according to similes given by the Buddha, the handle of a hatchet is wasted away by constant use; just as the strongest ship- ropes will become brittle by constant exposure to wind, sun and rain and finally fall asunder -- so will constant acts of giving up, of letting go, wear thin and fragile the once so stout and unbreakable fetters of craving and ignorance, until one day they drop off completely. By such an act of "shedding the old skin," no "violence against nature" is done; it is a lawful process of growing, of outgrowing that which is no longer an object of attachment -- just as the old skin is no longer attached to the snake's body. Only in such a way can a person vanquish those passionate urges and deceptive notions of his, which are so powerful and so deeply rooted. In the act of ultimate liberation, nothing is violently broken which was not already detached from the living tissues of mind and body or only quite loosely joined with them. -- this hollow concept of an imaginary self which had hidden for so long the true nature of body and mind. Mind-and-body are now seen as they truly are. Now one no longer misconceives them for what they are not and no longer expects of them what they cannot give: lasting happiness. How big a burden of anxiety, fear, frustration and insatiate craving will have been discarded! How light and free the heart can become if one sheds attachment to what is not one's own! What actually has to be shed is this attachment rooted in the ego-illusion. Yet it is to that hardest task that the Master summons us: "Give up what is not yours! And what is not yours? The body is not yours: give it up! Giving it up will be for your weal and happiness. Feelings, perceptions, volitions and consciousness are not yours: give them up! Giving them up will be for your weal and happiness." contemplation can be helpful: 1. We look at our skin encasing the body: it is now firm and taut, healthily alive, our warm blood pulsating beneath it. Imagine it now lying before you, empty and limp, like a snake's discarded slough. In such a manner you may visualize the feature skin among the thirty-two parts of the body, a meditation[2] recommended by the Buddha. When thus brought vividly to life, it will help you to alienate and detach yourself from the body. 2. Just as the serpent does not hesitate to fulfill the biological "law of its kind" in shedding its old skin, so right renunciation will not waver or shrink from those acts of giving up which right understanding of reality demands. Just as the serpent does not mourn over the loss of its worn-out slough, so right renunciation has no regrets when it discards what has been seen as void of value and substance and replaces it by something new and more beautiful: the happiness of letting go, the exhilaration of the freedom won, the serenity of insight and the radiance of a mind purified and calmed. It is the growing strength of this new experience which will gradually clear the road to final emancipation. 3. According to the commentary quoted by us, the snake feels disgust towards its old skin when the sloughing is not yet complete and parts of the old skin still adhere to its body. Similarly, the disgust felt towards residual attachments and defilements will give to the disciple an additional urgency in his struggle for final liberation. Such disgust is a symptom of his growing detachment. It is strengthened by an increasing awareness of the perils inherent in the uneliminated defilements -- perils to oneself and to others. On seeing these perils, the whole misery of man's situation, the samsaric predicament, will gain for him increasing poignancy; and the more he progresses in mental training and moral refinement, the stronger his distaste will become for what is still unamenable in him to that training and refinement. Therefore the Buddha advised his son Rahula: "Make disgust strong in you" (Sutta Nipata, v.340). This disgust (nibbida) is often mentioned in the Buddhist scriptures as an aid as well as a phase on the road to full detachment. Thus among the eight insight knowledges the contemplation of disgust (nibbidanupassana) follows upon the awareness of the peril and misery in samsara, when formations of existence have become tasteless and insipid to the meditator. And in innumerable sutta passages the Buddha says that when the disciple sees the constituents of body and mind as impermanent, suffering and not self, he becomes disgusted with them; through his disgust he becomes dispassionate, and through dispassion he is liberated. The Noble Eightfold Path itself is extolled because it leads to complete disgust with worldliness, to dispassion, cessation, peace, direct[3] knowledge, enlightenment and Nibbana. When insight is deepened and strengthened, what has been called here "disgust" (in rendering the Pali nibbida) loses the strong emotional tinge of aversion and revulsion. Noble friendship, so rare and precious, is indeed one of the few solaces which this world can offer. But this world of ours would be truly "disconsolate" if, besides the solace of friendship, it did not harbor the still greater solace of the Buddha's compassionate message of an open way to final deliverance from suffering. 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