Siddhashunyata

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Posts by Siddhashunyata

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  21

  It's simpler than you think.

  by Introspection in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok, with all this talk about beliefs and whatnot i thought this might be a good post.. i have addressed it before but i think i can make it clearer now.. it kind of comes down to this: there's no such thing as a true thoughts, but all thoughts are real.

  all thoughts are real simply in that you're having the thoughts - even if it's not true, it is true that you are having a thought.

  more mind?

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  Siddhashunyata

  Anyways, it doesn't really matter how much I talk about it, for people who treat it as a concept it will be just a concept

  Introspection, thank you. Your point is that many who hear this concept about the limitation of concepts do not get the sense of it nor are they aware of how dramatically it ( the process of conceptualization ,with its limitations) is affecting their relationships and their lives. Most of us are used to just using our bodies and minds without understanding how they work. You are explaining the way we think, how we use our minds, and you are pointing out the limitations of thought. You are also pointing out that when we stop thinking , the mind does not disappear but it begins to function on another level, directly perceiving objects and people as they are and without the encumbrance of conceptions . This is new to many people here because they have not experienced the difference in their own minds. They keep running your idea through the conceptualizing apparatus without sensing that it is the limitation of that apparatus itself that you are pointing out. If I heard this for the first time I would be confused because it is such a different idea, almost destablizing. It forces one to think about whether or not one's own mind is a reliable guide. The silverlining is that the mind is a reliable guide once one understands the limitation of the conceptualization process and the mind perceives naturaly.
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  15

  Saddam's Idiot Son Reveals Smoking Gun

  by Perry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  uday hussein admits smoking gun

  january 24, 2003

  saddam husseins son uday is now threatening a poison gas retaliation if we attack, is that not the smoking gun weve been looking for?

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  Siddhashunyata

  Perry, where did the report come from?
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  43

  The Third Alternative

  by Siddhashunyata in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  alternative 1 ---believe.

  alternative 2---don't believe.

  alternative 3 ---go beyond believe and don't believe .

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  Siddhashunyata

  SaintSatan, certain concepts point the way to fruitful meditation. One of these concepts is the idea that our thinking "self" is an illusion . On the surface this concept is difficult to understand and, once understood, it is difficult to accept as true. If it is accepted as true then meditation is a means to free one of the illusion. The irony is that the illusion is the one seeking. Put another way, the ego seeks to be liberated . This is an impossibility. The ego-self is the problem, it must dissolve. That's why Zens teachers might ask a student "Who is it that that seeks enlightenment?" An odd question especially when the student is known by the teacher.

  When the ego-self dissolves one experiences the "real self". To understand how different the real self is from the the illusionary thinking self we need another pointing concept. So we will use the following reasoning :

  (1) If I were to define the real me what would I include in that definition? If I think long enough I will come up with a very long list because the "real me" is a result of everything that influenced me in every way. That would include my body and mind and everything that formed them including my parents and everything that influenced them and their parents etc. The list would include food, sunlight, air , the stars etc. In fact it would have to include everything that has ever been. In fact ( this is difficult to grasp ) every thing and every person is defined in exactly the same way. This is a pointing concept. It has all the limitations of a concept in that it is not the "experience" of the real thing.

  (2) Accepting the above concept as true, that is, ' an accurate definition of the " real me" must include everything' , we can ask, "What is it like to know this directly; by experiencing it apart from any concept we may have of it?

  (3) The direct experience of this has been named many things depending on one's conditioning....God, God Consciousness,Christ Consciousness, Oneness..... Universal Consciousness.

  (4) It is my understanding that the experience of this truth is not Enlightment but that it is on the path.
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  43

  The Third Alternative

  by Siddhashunyata in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  alternative 1 ---believe.

  alternative 2---don't believe.

  alternative 3 ---go beyond believe and don't believe .

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  Siddhashunyata

  outoftheorg...... To add to Introspection's post. When that friend died from lightning, You would naturally feel the feelings of being human . However you would be aware of these and not attach to them and not deny them. They are real but not permanent. By not attaching, by not attaching you will not be carried away by thoughts, you will continue to be in the moment and a different kind of understanding becomes operative.

  By practicing this you will experience a shift to participation in " what is", with understanding. The understanding will be direct, it will not be slow as with the thinking process, you will not be looking at things through mental symbols, you will be looking at them directly with understanding. The understanding process will "feel" different and that feeling has been viewed as having a relationship with God. Note this enigmatic statement by St. Francis:

  " What You Are Looking For Is What Is Looking."
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  43

  The Third Alternative

  by Siddhashunyata in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  alternative 1 ---believe.

  alternative 2---don't believe.

  alternative 3 ---go beyond believe and don't believe .

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  Siddhashunyata

  Introspection, outoftheorg ; my post was done without seeing your last two posts. Just wanted to clear that up so there's no misunderstanding.
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  43

  The Third Alternative

  by Siddhashunyata in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  alternative 1 ---believe.

  alternative 2---don't believe.

  alternative 3 ---go beyond believe and don't believe .

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  Siddhashunyata

  Introspection , to some the manifestation of suffering motivates teaching and teaching with seriousness. Buddah taught , not for himself but for those seeking an end to suffering. You know these things and honestly , I'm glad you are happy. To me the truth about existence is precious and ignorance is the enemy. While most of my moments are lighthearted moments, it is difficult for me to treat this subject lightly. This is not a criticism because I know there are different approaches to this. Its just that for me the path has been a serious one. While it can be viewed as a game , to me it would be a better game if one were able to choose to play or not. Because of ignorance one must play. One must suffer.

  The option of direct knowing , and enlightment, has become a mainstream toy. The promises are the same as the promises of mainstream religion ie......Your Ego self can be nurtured to attain immortality. The truth of existence has been cheapened and is offered like snake oil. Money is being made and a market is steadily cultivated. Personalities are famous because they sell an "easy" path.

  As Jehovah's Witnesses we were robbed of a truly Spiritual life. Road blocks were set up to stop the transformation process. We suffered while trying to follow an inner guide that would have led to a release from this feeling of separation. Our ego was being stregthened by conforming to WT practice. Now we are out and now we can take up the task of finding out what is going with ourselves. And one thing that's going on is suffering.

  From the beginning I have been trying to stimulate discussion among posters. It is difficult as you know. I have felt all along that a direct approach was best, one that touched on the sources of the pain such as the loss of Belief. My objective was to help someone see that there is another way.
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  43

  The Third Alternative

  by Siddhashunyata in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  alternative 1 ---believe.

  alternative 2---don't believe.

  alternative 3 ---go beyond believe and don't believe .

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  Siddhashunyata

  jgnat, your right "the process of observation is impossible to teach" . The student has to experience it himself. The teacher can only point the way or stimulate awareness of the process. This thread was started with that in mind.

  Many on this board are suffering because they have lost a belief system. Some are experiencing profound emotional pain because they sense belief systems, in general, are vulnerable regardless of their level of sincerity. The Third Alternative thread is an attempt to raise awareness that there is another way to approach one's spiritual need. There is nothing new in what I'm saying here but many are not aware of these things . I thought it would help to stimulate interest by contrasting Belief/Non- Belief.....with the experience of Direct Knowing .
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  32

  Dilemmas......What is their Purpose?

  by Siddhashunyata in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  what is the purpose of moral dilemmas?

  do they point us to god or to ourselves?

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  Siddhashunyata

  Inquiry, No . I'm doing the best I can with all this. This is very dissappointing.
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  43

  The Third Alternative

  by Siddhashunyata in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  alternative 1 ---believe.

  alternative 2---don't believe.

  alternative 3 ---go beyond believe and don't believe .

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  Siddhashunyata

  outoftheorg , that language you hear is the mind doing what it is supposed to do. It analyzes. It is a tool. The problem is that the tool has taken on a personality, a self. This has happened everywhere and so all these selves are afraid of each other. To see this clearly one has to watch that self at work, that is watch what your mind is doing all the time. This is not easy and if you are afraid, simply observe that fear and keep watching . Eventually the mind will quiet down and the analyzing will stop and you will be where you are and simply look. This is a practice and the mind will become quiet sooner and sooner as you continue to observe it.

  I too have an analytical mind but I'm on to it. Let it be your tool.
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  43

  The Third Alternative

  by Siddhashunyata in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  alternative 1 ---believe.

  alternative 2---don't believe.

  alternative 3 ---go beyond believe and don't believe .

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  Siddhashunyata

  Brummie, there are many teachers that have studied the mind. The best of them recommend that we study our own mind. I recommend this to you because it is self evident that what they have we all have. There is no discrimination here. They all knew this.

  The method is simple but you will confront a most formidable foe.....yourself. The method is simple. Observe without guilt or judgement . Watch your thoughts as they arise. That is your mind. It is difficult because we attatch to the thoughts and they motivate us to action. With practice one can see the process and one can know himself. Just watch don't judge.

  Psychology strengthens the self, that is it enables a person to function among other selves. The truth of existence is much greater than that. There is only one self and it is at play everywhere. Therefore, spirituality is opposed to psychology in that it , spirituality , destroys that small ego-centric self . That is what happens when one sees clearly what the mind is doing. The mind is a tool but it has taken on a life of its own. This is the real meaning of the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. Man is ill in that he is judging everywhere, everything. He has no sense of the single self that is operating everywhere because he is using the process described as alternatives 1& 2. This process carries with it a sense of separation from all other things. It is a feeling, a sense.

  By observing your mind you will weaken the minds power to exist as a "self" and the sense of separatness will be replaced with the truth of no separatness.. One thing alive.