--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > --- In [email protected], "Rick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "Patrick Gillam" > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > (snip) > > > > > An aside: the non-judgmentalism of the witnesser may explain why > > purportedly > > > enlightened people can be assholes. They have no motivation to > > change because their > > > relative personalities, jerks though they may be, are fine to the > > non-judgmental Self. > > > > > > Wow! Now that's a stretch. > > > > Here is another version of the two birds in a tree analogy: > > > > > > "After recognizing the possibility of divine guidance and actually > > realizing its presence within ourselves, there naturally descends a > > profound spirit of awe and reverence. God is so great and so good > > that He is personally concerned with little insignificant me, you > > and everyone else! More than that, we are not separate from Him, > or > > He from us. The Upanishads compare it to two birds on the same > > tree. One bird represents the Supreme Lord and the other bird the > > individual spirit soul. One bird is trying to enjoy the fruits of > > the tree, but the other bird, representing the Lord, is simply > > watching and waiting for His friend to turn his attention to Him. > > Unfortunately, living beings are very busy trying to enjoy the > > fruits of the material body some sweet and some sour but the > > Lord is simply the witness and waits for us to become fed up with > > the fruits of material life and turn our attention to Him." > > > > I would say that the enlightened asshole is a busy bird who > although > > may have attained great insight has still not lost the taste for > > sour fruit. Why can't "enlightenment" be something that has many, > > many levels and degrees and just because someone has become "close" > > to God on some level it doesn't mean that they don't have a long > > way to go on others? > > Bottom line is that no matter how much the bird enjoying > the fruits "turns his attention" to the bird *representing* > the Lord, it's still a condition of duality. As long as > there is still a "witness" witnessing, there is still duality. > I suspect, as you say in your last paragraph, that this is > merely an early stage of enlightenment, one that ripens over > time into one in which there is no witness separate from > activity because there is only one bird. > > Unc
No bird, no tree... Not even birdshit. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
