There is that, of course -- the idea that any attempt at describing
enlightenment will be by definition fiction.
What I was thinking of with this post, however, was my earlier musing
suggesting (in all seriousness) that "The Lord of the Rings" was as spiritual
as "The Bible," if not more so. I am always astounded by people who allow
themselves to be inspired by tales that claim to be true (Bibles, Gitas, Vedas,
"scriptures," first-hand claims by supposed holy men, etc.) but won't allow
themselves to be equally inspired by works that *admit* they're fiction.
As a writer, I'm am usually *more* inspired by a good work of fiction than I am
by any retelling of true events. One of the reasons is that the people who tend
to write what they consider to be "spiritual non-fiction" tend to be...uh...how
do I say it...crappy writers. They tend to wallow in emotion and use cheap
writing tricks like deus ex machina WAY too much. :-)
From: "anartax...@yahoo.com [FairfieldLife]" <FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com>
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 9, 2014 2:25 PM
Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Maharishi Mahesh -greatest Guru the world has
ever known
Kurt Vonnegut already beat you to it. Under the guise of Bokonon and
Bokononism in Cat's Cradle, he wrote: 'All the true things I am about to tell
you are shameless lies.'
Enlightenment is recognising that the world of experience one was trying to
escape from, to get to a better place, is the only thing that exists, and there
is no escape. It is a very peculiar kind of realisation, not an intellectual
one wrought by reason, that brings satisfaction and fulfilment because you now
know looking elsewhere simply will not work because that elsewhere was a
fiction created by your own mind. This statement itself is not true, it is a
metaphor, and particularly will be perceived as not true by seekers. It is good
to keep it in mind however, because when the seeking comes to an end, it will
have a certain rhetorical significance.
There are other phrases that serve the same purpose. The one that was
significant for me was 'selling water by the river'.
The search for enlightenment is a dream, and when the dream has exhausted
itself, you are awake, which of course, you always were.
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <turquoiseb@...> wrote :
I figure that if I ever teach again, it will be in my writing, within the
context of a book that starts with the words that every "spiritual" book,
lecture, or teaching ever given *should* have started with: "This is a work of
fiction."
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