posted on Dec, 12 2009 @ 11:01 PM
Saying the world is an illusion and saying that someone's dog is living in another reality is fine when you are not on the receiving end. If you lose
a loved one or if you are experiencing difficulties, then it is very hard to remember that the world is an illusion -- if not impossible. But this is
what Buddhists strive for I think.
I can recall a Buddhist story that goes something like this:
A mother lost her child and she was inconsolable with grief. Her neighbor, who was also a woman, came and preached to her that everything is an
illusion and we were all meant to die. The neighbor's words had an effect on the mother, who took those words to heart and consoled herself.
But as chance would have it, the very same neighbor that had preached about the transient quality of life, lost her daughter to illness. Now it was
the mother's turn to console her neighbor and she repeated the same words that the neighbor had told her. She had already incorporated those words
into her life so it was no big deal for her to preach those words.
But the neighbor couldn't stand the mother's preaching and started insulting her saying that she wasn't the one right now who had lost a child.
There is more to the story but I have captured only the parts that are relevant here.
So as the story shows, it's easy to say the world is an illusion when everything is fit and fine. But it is very tough to remember those very words
when everything is going against you. But, that is what we should all strive to remember and if we can, then we will become like Buddha himself.
And I would like to add one more thing. Try and think about infinity. What does infinity mean? If there is a God and if he created everything, then
where did the God reside before the universe was created? What exactly is meant when it is said that God has no beginning and no end? Can we even
grasp the concept that something has no beginning?