Guest guest Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 " Are enlightened beings infallible? I said they are not; otherwise there would be only one religion in the world. And no doubt, that would be Buddhism, " the teacher laughed when I nodded. " What are you nodding about? Are you a zealot? " I shook my head. " Buddhism has no monopoly on truth. Do you agree? " he asked I nodded again. He smiled. " The fact is that enlightenment doesn't eradicate cultural indoctrination and enlightened beings can disseminate rather absurd beliefs. Yet, most people swear by their favorite teacher and quote his word as the ultimate gospel. A good teacher can show you the way to liberation. But there is no monopoly on truth " " Does anyone know what happens after death? " I asked " Those are only theories. Why should it be any different that what happened to you before you were conceived? " " Nothing happened to me before then. " " Exactly! " " You spoke as if you knew? " " How can I know what happened not. God, the state of non-duality, Buddha nature, or whatever you want to call it doesn't talk. Afterwards, your mind tries to put the experience into words and injects all kind of cultural contexts into it. That is why the Buddha urged his disciple not to believe his words, but to question and investigate. Blind faith is just blind. Wisdom is an intuitive, wordless flash that we always falsify by translating it into cultural context. " " Can you teach me how to get those flashes? " " No " " Can I learn by imitating you? " " How can you imitate freedom? True freedom is a condition of the mind. We can't duplicate freedom by imitating someone's actions. We can't duplicate understanding by believing another's words. There are no realization factories spewing out enlightened beings as if they were sausages. " Why am I here, then? " I don't know. Why are you? " " I want happiness. " " Can you stop swimming for a while? Stop churning the water. Must you always be driven by the urge to arrive and the fear of drowning? Can you float? Can you drift? Can you let experiences glide by without clutching at them? That is the quickest way to happiness. That is happiness itself!. If you think impermanence doesn't apply to your beliefs, your dogmas, your religion, think again. If you think there is an insight, a mental state, a vision of reality, a happiness that is permanent, think again. Only change is permanent, and only going with its flow is liberation. And if you think this is wrong, or right, that will change too. " Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 26, 2004 Report Share Posted April 26, 2004 There is no such thing as Buddhism. Nisargadatta , " seesaw1us " <seesaw1us> wrote: > " Are enlightened beings infallible? I said they are not; otherwise > there would be only one religion in the world. And no doubt, that > would be Buddhism, " the teacher laughed when I nodded. > > " What are you nodding about? Are you a zealot? " > > I shook my head. > > " Buddhism has no monopoly on truth. Do you agree? " he asked > > I nodded again. > > > He smiled. " The fact is that enlightenment doesn't eradicate cultural > indoctrination and enlightened beings can disseminate rather absurd > beliefs. Yet, most people swear by their favorite teacher and quote > his word as the ultimate gospel. A good teacher can show you the way > to liberation. But there is no monopoly on truth " > > " Does anyone know what happens after death? " I asked > > " Those are only theories. Why should it be any different that what > happened to you before you were conceived? " > > " Nothing happened to me before then. " > > " Exactly! " > > " You spoke as if you knew? " > > " How can I know what happened not. God, the state of non-duality, > Buddha nature, or whatever you want to call it doesn't talk. > Afterwards, your mind tries to put the experience into words and > injects all kind of cultural contexts into it. That is why the Buddha > urged his disciple not to believe his words, but to question and > investigate. > Blind faith is just blind. Wisdom is an intuitive, wordless flash > that we always falsify by translating it into cultural context. " > > " Can you teach me how to get those flashes? " > > " No " > > " Can I learn by imitating you? " > > > " How can you imitate freedom? True freedom is a condition of the > mind. We can't duplicate freedom by imitating someone's actions. We > can't duplicate understanding by believing another's words. There > are no realization factories spewing out enlightened beings as if > they were sausages. > > " Why am I here, then? > > " I don't know. Why are you? " > > " I want happiness. " > > " Can you stop swimming for a while? Stop churning the water. Must you > always be driven by the urge to arrive and the fear of drowning? Can > you float? Can you drift? Can you let experiences glide by without > clutching at them? That is the quickest way to happiness. That is > happiness itself!. If you think impermanence doesn't apply to your > beliefs, your dogmas, your religion, think again. If you think there > is an insight, a mental state, a vision of reality, a happiness > that is permanent, think again. Only change is permanent, and only > going with its flow is liberation. And if you think this is wrong, or > right, that will change too. " > > Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 26, 2004 Report Share Posted April 26, 2004 Nisargadatta , " danananda2004 " <danananda2004> wrote: > There is no such thing as Buddhism. OK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 26, 2004 Report Share Posted April 26, 2004 This message does not exist. - danananda2004 Nisargadatta Monday, April 26, 2004 10:34 AM Re: The Way is no Way There is no such thing as Buddhism. Nisargadatta , " seesaw1us " <seesaw1us> wrote: > " Are enlightened beings infallible? I said they are not; otherwise > there would be only one religion in the world. And no doubt, that > would be Buddhism, " the teacher laughed when I nodded. > > " What are you nodding about? Are you a zealot? " > > I shook my head. > > " Buddhism has no monopoly on truth. Do you agree? " he asked > > I nodded again. > > > He smiled. " The fact is that enlightenment doesn't eradicate cultural > indoctrination and enlightened beings can disseminate rather absurd > beliefs. Yet, most people swear by their favorite teacher and quote > his word as the ultimate gospel. A good teacher can show you the way > to liberation. But there is no monopoly on truth " > > " Does anyone know what happens after death? " I asked > > " Those are only theories. Why should it be any different that what > happened to you before you were conceived? " > > " Nothing happened to me before then. " > > " Exactly! " > > " You spoke as if you knew? " > > " How can I know what happened not. God, the state of non-duality, > Buddha nature, or whatever you want to call it doesn't talk. > Afterwards, your mind tries to put the experience into words and > injects all kind of cultural contexts into it. That is why the Buddha > urged his disciple not to believe his words, but to question and > investigate. > Blind faith is just blind. Wisdom is an intuitive, wordless flash > that we always falsify by translating it into cultural context. " > > " Can you teach me how to get those flashes? " > > " No " > > " Can I learn by imitating you? " > > > " How can you imitate freedom? True freedom is a condition of the > mind. We can't duplicate freedom by imitating someone's actions. We > can't duplicate understanding by believing another's words. There > are no realization factories spewing out enlightened beings as if > they were sausages. > > " Why am I here, then? > > " I don't know. Why are you? " > > " I want happiness. " > > " Can you stop swimming for a while? Stop churning the water. Must you > always be driven by the urge to arrive and the fear of drowning? Can > you float? Can you drift? Can you let experiences glide by without > clutching at them? That is the quickest way to happiness. That is > happiness itself!. If you think impermanence doesn't apply to your > beliefs, your dogmas, your religion, think again. If you think there > is an insight, a mental state, a vision of reality, a happiness > that is permanent, think again. Only change is permanent, and only > going with its flow is liberation. And if you think this is wrong, or > right, that will change too. " > > Pete ** If you do not wish to receive individual emails, to change your subscription, sign in with your ID and go to Edit My Groups: /mygroups?edit=1 Under the Message Delivery option, choose " No Email " for the Nisargadatta group and click on Save Changes. -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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