Jim, There is only Now. Past is just a memory. Future is a projection. They are both concepts - illusions. Time (other than Now) is an illusion. The flow of time is an illusion.
...Bill! --- In [email protected], "jfnewell7" <jfnewell7@...> wrote: > > Yes, of course. We don't know what Bankei meant, and wouldn't even if the > words were translated exactly, because words are inadequate to fully describe > consciousness. > > In some of the world's traditions, there is a theory that all times exist > simultaneously, and we just think me are moving through time. If that is > true, then when enlightened, we would have a NOW which included all the past > and all the future, seen all at once forever. > > I can't say whether or not that theory is true. I don't know whether the real > NOW moves through time, so the past really is gone and the future really > hasn't happened, or the real NOW forever includes all moments of time. > > If we could find out, it would affect our judgment of when we are seeing > accurately. For example, if NOW spreads eternally, and we see a NOW which is > only a short moment, we would know that we aren't actually seeing the real > NOW yet. On the other hand, if the real NOW is only a short moment, then we > would know that we either are seeing the real NOW, or we are close. > > But since I am unable to tell you which theory is true, I couldn't decide > whether or not your experience is true, even if I could directly detect what > is in your consciousness. > > Jim > > --- In [email protected], "billsmart" <BillSmart@> wrote: > > > > Jim, > > > > Bankei did mean something profound. He was doing his best to describe the > > raw, unfiltered, holistic (non-dualistic) experience Zen Buddhists call > > Buddha Nature. He did this in the context of hearing a bell. He did not > > try to explain it. He tried to describe it. > > > > He used some terms that are very important. Now these terms have been > > translated into English so we don't really know EXACTLY what he said, but > > if the translation was close then he's using terms in a way that we don't > > use them in everyday English. > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> 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/
