a reply to:
EviLCHiMP
Eh, it is what it is. The path itself though difficult as it may seem, it nothing compared to the patience it takes to see the people of the world
sitting in a burning house not even knowing it is on fire, and all one can do to help the situation is patiently point... The dogma of terms are no
help at all, as they can blind and choke people the same as the smoke from the burning house, needlessly over complicate pointing at the exit, and
sometimes drive people off the path altogether. Jesus?... deflector shields activate! Atheist?... Bring me the Holy hand grenade of Antioch!
Labels and dogmas help no one, other than ones ego to express how studious one has been in their reading and study of whatever flavor of spaghetti
they savor for a savior.
An example of this; is the term Tathagata, many swap it out for comprehension sake as the Buddha when reading, when neither of those clarify the
meaning which causes a lost of comprehension to what is being conveyed. Suchness, is a more comprehensive word and truer to the situation, suchness is
a description of one without a self or ego. If anyone loves suttas/sutras(discourses with the Buddha, pali=sutta/sanskrit=sutra) then might I suggest
going back and reading their favorites swapping out Tathagata for the concept or understanding of suchness instead... if you do not have a favorite
might I suggest The Heart and The Diamond suttas/sutras.
If Buddhism is not your jam, then try using suchness in the place of whatever luminaries name you prescribe too, and the text will be more illuminated
and so will you, as one stops seeing the acts as miraculous and only achieved by one person so special one must worship he/she before all others and
condemn those that think theirs is more special. When they understood what suchness was and were merely pointing the way out, the character many
admire was/is from simply being egoless... please note that does not equate to being a doormat, some will flip tables and get nailed to a cross, some
will eat spoiled meat and die, simply because it's the thought in ones gift that counts.
Sure many see one standing there pointing, but only admire the finger the pointing to the path, or the words of the path: "Hey you! The house is on
fire, get the hell out of there!" They fail to see they have the same exact ability to point to the exit once they see the finger hear the words then
get the hell out of there.
They first must realize 'This whole damn place is on fire...' then see bloody finger and it's owner(s) patiently smiling showing the way out. Many
say holy hell the house is on fire... then see someone standing there calmly pointing, and think "ok, as long as that guy/girl is calm and peaceful
about it being on fire... then I have nothing to fear." "Cheers, to you finger pointy guy/girl for standing there, ever so patient... one of these
days, I might just look beyond the finger and see what it is you are pointing at."... "Oh, and by the way... I told those fruit loops down the
street, my pointy guy/girl is better than their pointy guy/girl they seemed like they wanted to go to war over it, but you've got my back doncha
pointy guy/girl always here when I need ya, never around when I don't, which is kinda odd... oh, btw do you ever smell smoke? I do think my ol
olfactory organ is off it's rocker sometimes."
Seeing past the veil, isn't difficult... seeing the self clinging to it's own camouflage of self created drama and letting go isn't difficult.
It's seeing all the burning bodies writhing in pain and suffering saying "I'm ok! false alarm!" behind the veil and drama... when all you can do
to help them, is point at the same damn door everyone else has pointed at since noticing the fire, seeing the finger through the smoke, and running
the finger path to the door to escape. Once this occurs, the siddhi power of not being burned by fire occurs...
Yes, for those that may not have realized it yet, some of the supernatural power attainments are not wholly literal... but can also be figurative, as
we are dealing with many levels of delusion covering one base of reality. I suggest reading any scripture pointing towards the door as if there is
some heavy innuendo involved... as that is usually the case. Especially the ones that causes you an ah ha! moment, at the ah ha, stop and understand
what it said to you that resonated, then reverse it's course and see what it wasn't saying to you, as that will be an ah ha! moment to someone else,
this unravels the delusion that you just learned something special and unique or validates your experience which does nothing more than feed the
ego.
Care to see how much of an ego you may still have? Pick a topic right here at ATS you feel you are an authority of, and go post your best thoughts and
feelings on the subject in it or create a topic about it... it won't be long until someone comes a long to either deny your ignorance of the said
subject, or show you how woefully incorrect your thinking has been. Be sure to notice your thoughts and reactions to the comments beyond your control,
how do you feel? Do you retort because the response wasn't or was what you expected? A star here, a wink and a nod there, an oh it's that person
again... a forum is a great place to humble oneself and kill the ego, doesn't take an all night long session on a cushion with legs crossed for luck
and staring into the void.
I supposed I digressed quite a bit, and went into nonsense I noticed that helped me find the door... as you were, pay no attention to the silly man
behind the curtain.