Messages

How do you stop reincarnation, is it possible to do it within one lifetime? I would like to think that it is.

Graveyard,
Yes, the wheel of rebirth can be ended and can only be ended when one directly experiences the true nature of reality as it is; enlightenment. This is the peak of all experience, not necessarily the end of experience. The cessation of reincarnation is not the cessation of reality. There is a path that opens the possibility of enlightenment in this lifetime and it is the Buddhist path of Tantra; Vajrayana.
The Vajrayana teachings can only be reieved from a Guru of an authentic lineage and even then he isn't going to just lay the teachings on you, it will be slow going. You have to show the Guru that when he says jump your going to say "how high?".  This turns a lot of people off from this particular path, they can't surrender.
Vajrayana is the real deal and not just a cool spiritual trip. The Guru will see right through your bull anyway and shoot your ego down at every turn.
I am a Vajrayana practitioner so if you are interested you can send me a message.

By the way ,you cannot detach yourself from the "real world". Wherever you are is the "real world". The world at the top of a mountain is just as real as the world in the middle of a city. Practice your path in whatever place feels right and benificial for you, wether it be alone in a cave or in the hustle and bustle of the city.

After I graduate from college in December 2007, I plan on entering a Buddhist monastery to accelerate the process of becoming enlightened. I get the feeling that time is running out and the process of realizing my true nature is of utmost importance (if I can realize my true nature fast enough then I can assist others who are in the same position as I am now). Does anyone know of a Buddhist monastery that is oriented more toward the Western mind or is accessible by someone who is new to Buddhism? Is Buddhism the most efficient path to enlightenment? What is the fastest path? Does anyone know an enlightened teacher I can personally study under (in a monastery or not)? I am ready to give up everything to spiritually grow closer to The Creator and have taken some steps in this direction. Any and all input is greatly appreciated for I feel a sense of desperation yet know there is a plan in place for me and I just have to be humble, patient, and compassionate. Please feel free to contact me personally by email.

Thanks

I think the desire to live a monastic life is very noble. Are you a buddhist already? Have you taken refuge in the triple gem? Do you meditate? Do you study the scriptures? Do you hold the lay precepts? If not, you may want to become a lay Buddhist before making the lifelong commitment of monkhood.
Go to http://www.mettaforest.org/  and write Ajaan Geoffrey Thanissaro. He's the abbot of Metta Forest monastery, they practice in the Thai Forest Tradition of Therevada Buddhism. He'll let you stay there for two weeks and then if you want to stay on longer you just request. After two weeks you'll have a better idea wether monkhood is for you or not. Goodluck.

zappazorn: From my understanding there is no independent being or entity migrating from life to life, body to body, but merely the perpetual appearance and reappearance of a faulty assumption.

Principle: Can you elaborate further?

Hi Principle, all,

Within a body there is nothing you can find that is a soul or self energy. I'm not saying there is no self and that there is just material elements and thats it, but just that the ultimate nature of a being does not exist within a body or outside a body.

When a person does not know their true nature they have a faulty assumption of who and what they are.
Like if a person did not know that there shadow was merely a display of certain conditions such as light, the body blocking the light etc. and because they did not know the actual nature of their shadow they came to a false assumption that it was an actual being following them around. He would wonder where this being comes from when it appears and where it goes when it disappears. Every idea he would have about the shadow would be false because it would be rooted in delusion. That doesnt mean the delusion wouldnt be experienced as real because everytime he saw the shadow or thought about the shadow that particular thought world would arise and be experienced. This deluded view will always arise until he realizes the actual nature of the shadow; that it is merely a display of conditions, that it is not real in itself, just an appearance.

When one doesnt know the nature of the mind, it is assumed as an entity that expereinces an environment, experiences pain and pleasure, does good and bad actions. This identity is the result of ignorance, just like the shadow-being is the result of the persons ignorance of their shadows nature.
Ones true nature does not go anywhere or come from anywhere, its what makes this display we call reality possible. So one has eternity to cling to a deluded view because one is not actually going anywhere. Its just the appearance of identity birthing and dieing simply because one is ignorant of there true nature. Also the actions one performs has a direct influence on the condition of the identity and the way the identity views its world. For example, if the identity is conditioned heavily by negative states such as hatred, greed and jealousy, the identity views and experiences the world through this hostile condition. When the identity is in a  hostile environment, he is more likely to react in a hostile manner, reconditioning  his hostile idenity and hostile world view. The condition of the identity will condition its particular form, a mind with the condition of an animal cannot express as a human form. Though a human through particular actions can condition his identity in an animalistic direction and in the next "life" appear as an animal. This all has to do with karma, which is so tightly tied in with reincarnation.

My understanding is that ultimatly reincanation doesnt happen, it just appears to happen. One isnt actually human, animal, demon, heavenly being etc. one just appears that way because of actions which spring from delusion.

From my understanding there is no independent being or entity migrating from life to life, body to body, but merely the perpetual appearance and reappearance of a faulty assumption.

So the question is, when can we love the way love was meant to be?

I agree only a Buddha is expressing unconditional love. Love is service.
We can only love/serve the way loving/serving was ment to be when with wisdom we cut through the illusion of a substantial self/world. With wisdom one sees that the inner and outer flow together as one, so the love that was directed inward on an illusion no longer directs anywhere, it permeates all directions without end. We are by nature loving servants, but buried beneath ignorance we end up serving a limited illusion of self. Our true nature is not limited like that, so when we love our ego we are not fully loving ourselves, so we are deprived which is why we are never satisfied and always searching for happiness. Our true nature is unlimited so our love must be unlimited, we must love and serve the whole which is all there is. The only way to do that is to dispell the illusion, you cant force yourself to love things or learn to love things. The love is already there, it is our true nature. So we have to cultivate wisdom in order to see the empty nature of self/world. Once the illusion of a substantial self/world is dissovled we love autimaticaly. We already love ourself, so once we realize our self is the whole we autimaticaly love the whole.

Its been a while since I last posted here. hello all,
All beings have an innate desire to be happy. This desire for happiness is always present, its presence is suffering because as along as the desire is there it means we are unfulfilled. The problem is we dont know how to fulfill that desire. We lack the wisdom to see that the true nature of reality is dependantly arisen (arisen from causes), empty of self-essence and impermanent. Lacking this wisdom of the true nature of reality we cling to it as if it is substantial and can fullfill our innate desire for happiness. It doesnt quench that thirst for happiness, in other words our suffering, because what we cling to is always changing so our happiness is not stable or lasting. We may attain moments of happiness, but it is never lasting as our world is always changing. Depending on this impermanent world for our happiness is like patching a leaky hole in the roof of your house with cardboard, it may hold for a little bit, but eventually the rain comes through and you have to put up another peice, its just a temporary fix. The innate quest for happiness puts ourselves in a subtle, but constant state of suffering which fixates our attention to ourself and the desire to ease it. Like if you have a pounding migraine its pretty difficult to focus on anything else put your pain and your desire to be rid of it. Lacking the wisdom to see the not-self nature of our personality and reality we continue to cling to a reality we see as substantial and capable of releiving our suffering. On the path to freedom from all suffering, love and wisdom are inseperable. With wisdom our attachment to our self weakens because we begin to see the dream-like selfless nature of reality. We cannot cling anymore to a reality that has no more substance than empty space. When we let go, our suffering ends and our ultimate desire for lasting happiness is fulfilled, simply because we no longer are serving an illusory self and illusory world. The desire for happiness is love itself. We by nature love our illusory selves which is why we desire happiness for ourselves, which is why we suffer. To see the emptiness of self and the world we let go and that love that was directed inward on an empty self that was taken as substantial is released and freedom is realized. The ultimate unending happiness is to simply love all unconditionaly. Your consciousness is empty, it is a good thing. That means it is free and fluid and not restricted and bound up, it is unconditioned, and the unconditioned is love and wisdom inseperable.

zapazorn: What exactly is your definition of illusion? If you think about the word illusion, it only means non-existence, so how is it that nothing exists? Now a proper word for the physical isn't illusion, but distraction. We are distracted into duality. I suppose you could call it ignorance, but nothing about the planing of the universe is ignorant, its all extremely intelligent, and everything, including duality has perpose.

You're asking questions from a higher power, you're going to have to prepare your way of thinking a little more to hear it clearly.

OK when I say illusion. I am talking of eye consciousness, nose consciousness, ear consciousness, tounge consciousness, feeling(body) cosciousness, intellect consciousness. All of that is distraction, or ignorance. All of that is the universe, your world, my world his world. Yes there is purpose to the duality, it is through this duality that we can attain to that ONE. There is ignorance, so there is the world. When there is ignorance there is the body, when there is the body there is the six senses, when there is the six senses there is the world and when there is the world there is birth, decay and death and everthing else inbetween. The world and ignorance are one and the same, they come simultaneously just as heat comes with fire. But it is through this world that we may realize wisdom. It is like a ladder we climb or an ocean we sail across. This world is really a beautful thing, when you look at nature it is RIGHT. It always moves in the direction of Rightness, like a tree turning to the sun with out thought, it just does what nature intends. We are like that tree and this world is our sun. We will all grow and become perfect as nature intends.
Yeah I agree that the word illusion can mean non-existence, and I say that THIS world is truly non-existent and it is your SELF alone which is existent. But the only way to realize the ever existent SELF is through growth. We are all growing right now, turning towards the sun, even the ones which seem to be spiraling down are really growing, there spiraling down is part of there growth, part of there path to perfection.
In the state of samadhi eye, nose, ear, tounge, feeling and intellect consciousness cease and the only thing to remain is you SELF, or God or Atman or whatever you want to call it. This is the only thing which is unchanging, permenant, and real and you are that.
I agree I think distraction is a much better term to use than illusion.

And who's to say that too isn't an illusion aswell?

Thank you for keeping me on my toes. I know my post probably comes off as I KNOW THE ANSWER YOU DONT!
But I promise that is not my intentions. I do stand firm in conviction with the knowledge I have attained through my efforts. Which is why I speak that way. But I am open to learning. I do realize that any insights one attains can easily be turned into more conditioning bovine excrement if one clings to there views, no matter how true they are. So thank you for keeping me on my toes, even if it wasnt your intentions.

bovine excrement? HA!

yes. this world is only our ignorance manifested. When the SELF is realized it will swallow the infinite. You will no longer exist within the infinite, the infinite will exist within you. When ignorance is eradicated the Self that was buried beneath the layers of ignorance is released and explodes out engulfing the infinite.

We are in a dream. Your life and identity is nothing but a dream. We have been stuck in this dream since, as the Buddha would say, beginningless time. Why are we in this false reality? Because we are ignorant. Ignorant of our true nature. Out of ignorance we take this dream to be true and real, so we interact with it as if it is real. We take the suffereing as real, we take the pleasure as real. With our will we seek what we think is pleasurable. With our will we run from what we think is not pleasurable. To seek what one thinks is pleasurable is to run from what one thinks is not pleasurable. To run from what one thinks is not pleasurable is to seek what one thinks is pleasurable.
Seeking and running arise simultaneously. You cant seek with out running away from something, you cant run away from somthing without seeking something. This right here is the trap. We want total peace and total pleasure, but as long as we seek that, we cant have it, because with our seeking of pleasure arises the pain. This is ignorance. This ignorance is what creates this world, this dream. Our thoughts are ignorant, all of our thoughts revolve around this seeking of pleasure and running from pain. This world is the manifestation of our ignorance. This world is our ignorance.
When you still the mind completely your mind will stop chasing pleasure and running from pain. The duality will cease, your ignorant thoughts will cease and this dream will cease, because this dream is our ignorant thoughts. When that stillness comes you will see your SELF and your SELF is pure pleasure, pure bliss eternal. The pleasure and peace that we seek is within. When we stop seeking, we will stop running and our idea of pleasure will cease and so will our idea of pain and then there will be true bliss.

Zein Ananda