--So which is it? Suffering is eliminated, or is it reduced? Occasionally, a scale of 1 to 10 is used in questionnaires to rank one's subjective level of suffering....say migraines. Are you saying that with a rank of "k" or below, suffering is eliminated, but reduced if it's above "k" level? Or, are you saying that anything - 10 or below - can be eliminated? What's your evidence for this?
- In [email protected], "Marek Reavis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Comment at bottom: > > ** > > --- In [email protected], "claudiouk" <claudiouk@> wrote: > > > > "Ignorance is only apparent, it isn't real" - I know, fundamentally > > and philosophically this is supposed to be so and yes one can > > appreciate the "cleverness" in that magical trick - it's only a rope > > that appears like a snake etc; but experientially suffering is real > > enough. The deception then becomes not playful but unimaginably > > cruel. And there is just smugness in the philosophy, no real > > compassion, unfortunately. It's voyeurism on the part of the Self - > > witnessing like in a peep show, at safe distance, whilst the whole of > > creation is left languishing in despair.. > > > **snip to end** > > It's not the cleverness of the philosophy that removes the sting of > suffering but the realization that you can truly remove your attention > from the suffering. And that's done just by putting attention on > attention. > > Think of all the surgeries that take place while the patients' > attention is removed from the physical plane. It would all be the most > hideous of torture except that the patient isn't allowed to feel it. > So is that suffering? The same act done with the patient's attention > allowed to be drawn to it would result in great suffering, but remove > attention and there is no suffering. > > And if you have children, do you remember when they were very young and > they had bad dreams and how scary and upsetting that was for them? > Sure, of course, right? But you knew that it was just a dream and that > there was no "real" hurt that happened or could happen. But even so, > weren't you still full of compassion for their emotional pain and > suffering, even knowing that the cause wasn't real? Of course you > were; all any parent wants to do is soothe and comfort their child. > > No matter how terrible and scary and hurtful life can be, and is for > all of us at one time or another, suffering evaporates like nothing and > *is* nothing when attention is removed from it. When attention gets > drawn to itself on a regular basis then it begins to insinuate itself > into every situation and creates a kind of lubrication that reduces the > friction (pain) of experience. Kind of like a mag-lev train, or a > hydraulic cushion between the experiencer and the experience such that > suffering is eliminated or reduced. >
