Mira/Ivan/Dan/Berkeley/matter

[Guest guest]

Dear Mira,

 

I think I remember your post. And Dan has been explaining it from a

slightly different angle as well.

 

You asked about my chin and the pain. In my experience, nothing is there

unless it appears, and not really even then! So I never think a chin is

there. But sometimes I am looking at my chin in a mirror, but the looking,

mirror and chin all arise inseparable from each other. Sometimes it hurts,

but nothing really happens unless it arises in consciousness. Pain is not

different from the mirror or the chin. The happening IS the arising, not

outside of it. The important point is that the arising doesn't represent

an outside event or substance of some sort.

 

Here are some websites on Berkeley, from the upcoming Western Philosophers

Page on Jerry's website. He is one of the most accessible English writers

of philosophy, and I'd really suggest that you start with the THREE

DIALOGUES BETWEEN HYLAS AND PHILONOUS. It's the most user-friendly book,

available at most (English language) bookstores. It's a cool and friendly

dialogue, reminiscent of the Socratic dialogues - Hylas believes in

material substance. Philonous does not, sees it as just ideas. There are

puns too, because Hylas means "rock" in Greek, and Philonous means "love of

knowledge."

 

 

George Berkeley (1685-1753)

Great overall Berkeley "portal" page

http://www.epistemelinks.com/Pers/BerkPers.htm

Simple Berkeley studies page

http://www.ets.uidaho.edu/mickelsen/berkeley.htm

Comprehensive Berkeley studies page

http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~ursa/philos/berkeley.htm

 

Love,

 

Greg

 

 

>"Mirror" <mirror

>

>Greg:

> > I had a Berkeley seminar from a great Berkeley scholar in 1983, and

>haven't

> > believed in material substance since. And though I've never been hit by a

> > bus, I did have a skating accident 3 months ago, cut my chin almost to the

> > bone.

>

>Is your chin still there when you don't think about it?

>Do you feel the pain when your attention isnt focussed on it?

>

>I've been trying to make the same point about no matter existing outside of

>mind, and all that can arise to the mind is an idea, in my first post to

>Ivan. But this probably landed in your Deleted Items Bin already. (Leave it

>there please). I would like to know more about Berkeley. Do you have some

>more on this?

>

>Love always,

>

>Mira

>

>>All paths go somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Nowhere is Now Here. All

>paths, places, and sights and perceptions exist only in the Space of

>Awareness. Awareness does not come and go but is always Here. You are not

>"in" the now. You Are the Now! Here is Home. Home is where True Rest Is.

>Home is where the Heart Is. It is the Seer resting in the Seer, the

>Self-Nature, the Buddha Nature, or call it what you will. The Radical

>Truth is Radiance of Awareness. It is both the path, process, and the

>goal. It is Finality of Being without any support. It is Total

>Independence and Ever Present. The Truth of the Self needs no

>psychological or spiritual crutches. It needs no philosophy, no religion,

>no explanation, no teaching, and no teacher, and yet It is always their

>support. A true devotee relishes in the Truth. The Truth of Self-Knowledge

>which is Pure Intelligence. Welcome all to a.