In the film, What Dreams May Come, we see Robin Williams' character try to end the fixation of his wife when she's put herself into a hell. It's a wonderful piece of writing and entirely reflects Angela's words below. And much more -- it's a film that really puts out on many levels. It is so spiritually instructive -- cognitively -- that I'd put it right up there with, say, Waking Life, Groundhog Day, Smoke Signals, Being There, The Truman Show, Truly Madly Deeply, Whale Rider, Wizard of Oz, etc.
Edg --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Angela Mailander <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I was interrupted, so in my last post the sentence got garbled. "Sin" to Dante is merely an obstacle on a path, and it is an obstacle because there are consequences to be worked out. The whirlwind is a consequence of Paolo and Francesca's action. The difference between hell and purgatory for Dante was that the soul in hell suffers, but does not know that there is an end to the suffering and also does not understand why this suffering has occurred. The soul in purgatory also suffers, but it knows that there is an end to suffering and it is also very clear about why this suffering is happening. a > > TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Angela Mailander > <mailander111@> wrote: > > > > > TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> quoted Buddha: > > > You will not be punished for your anger, > > > you will be punished by your anger. > > > > This is the overall message in Dante's Divine Comedy as > > well. And that provides a definition of sin as that which > > will punish you. > > In most of the Buddhist thought I have heard > or read, there is no real notion of "sin," > merely the consequences of karma. And there > are two levels of karms -- one is potentially > long-term, taking years or lifetimes to work > out, and the other immediate. Indulging in > the lower emotions is of the "immediate" > type of karma, in that these emotions lower > your state of attention *immediately*. There > is no waiting. Indulge in anger, or hate, or > any of the other toxic emotions (as they see > them), and the resulting state of attention > *is* your Hell, right here, right now. No > need to wait for all that dying stuff. :-) > > > In Dante, however, there is a divine limit set by divine > > mercy on how far in the wrong direction you can go, and > > hell is that limit. > > I doubt that Buddhism conceives of a divinely- > set limit to the depths that a state of attention > can sink to, because it doesn't need a divine to > explain things. > > > Modern Christianity thinks of hell as somewhere where > > you are punished for your sins eternally. In Dante, the > > situation was more like, hell is an eternal place, but > > that doesn't mean you have to hang out there forever. > > That would be more in accord with Buddhist thought, > as I understand it. Each *state of attention* is > a "place," and an eternal place. The qualities of > that state of attention, and the karmas of dwelling > there, are pretty well-known. How long you choose > to dwell there, however, is up to you. You can > wake up from the dream of Hell, and its particular > state of attention, at any time. The ability to > wake up from the bad dream is just as available > to you in Hell as it is in Heaven, or anywhere > in between. It's just a matter of choice. The > first long quote I posted from the Dhammapada > is, in fact, often grouped under the heading > "Choice." > > > > > > Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com >
