mike...yes yes yes... you have it down to a T... well said.... merle
Edgar, To be honest, whether you are right or wrong makes no difference to my practice. Many people realise that the world 'out there' is just a process of the brain created in the head. BUT that doesn't necessarily lead them to living an awakened life (just as a scientist specialising quantum mechanics doesn't become enlightened from the knowledge that solid objects aren't really solid and are impermanent). For me, it's more a question of how we recognise that thoughts lead to actions that are either wholesome or unwholesome. Mike Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad ________________________________ From: Edgar Owen <[email protected]>; To: <[email protected]>; Subject: Re: [Zen] Nature of Illusion Sent: Wed, May 29, 2013 11:17:37 AM Mike, Correct. As I've said over and over, illusion recognized as illusion is reality, but illusion taken for reality is illusion. The thought in your head of "Edgar being a member of a boy band" is a perfect example. It's a real thought but the thought is illusory. Now extend that to the entire world you think you live in and YOU'VE GOT IT! Because the entire world you think you live in is a construct of your mind. It exists so it is real, but it is an illusion. Edgar On May 29, 2013, at 12:49 AM, [email protected] wrote: >Edgar, Bill!, > >I don't have much invested in this topic, but just to clarify a few things I'd >like your feedback. >When we make our vows at every sit, one of those vows is "The dharmas are >numberless, I vow to master them". Applying that to this topic, for me, means >that a thought (a dharma) is real even if the object of that thought isn't. >For example, if I said Edgar is a 20 year old member of a famous boy band, >then the thought is real (a dharma) *even though* it is a delusional thought. > >Mike > > >Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad > > > >________________________________ > From: Edgar Owen <[email protected]>; >To: <[email protected]>; >Subject: [Zen] Nature of Illusion >Sent: Wed, May 29, 2013 12:53:51 AM > > > >Bill, > > >Philosophy and illusion >[edit]Just like many other words often used in a different sense in >spirituality the word "illusion" is used to denote different aspects in Hindu >Philosophy (Maya). Many Monist philosophies clearly demarcate illusion from >truth and falsehood. As per Hindu advaita philosophy, Illusion is something >which is not true and not false. Whereas in general usage it is common to >assume that illusion is false, Hindu philosophy makes a distinction between >Maya (illusion) and falsehood. In terms of this philosophy maya is true in >itself but it is not true in comparison with the truth. As per this >philosophy, illusion is not the opposite of truth or reality. Based on these >assumptions Vedas declare that the world as humans normally see is illusion >(Maya). It does not mean the world is not real. The world is only so much real >as the image of a person in a mirror. The world is not real/true when compared >to the reality. But the world is also not false. Falsehood is something which does not exist. if we apply this philosophy to the above example, the illusion is not actually illusion but is false. This is because in general usage people tend to consider lllusion to be the same as falsehood. As per adishankar's a guru of monist teachings the world we think is not true but is an illusion (not true not false). The truth of the world is something which can only be experienced by removing the identity (ego). > > >Edgar > > >
