06-09-2012, 12:10 AM
Samsara
http://www.dhammaspread.org/page347.htm
Samsara (sangsara) means wandering on, or being stuck in the endless cycle of death and rebirth, and while being merely a concept to most people of the present day, to some yogis, meditators, it is understood through direct experience. Its origins go back some 5,000 years at least, in the Indus Valley region of India, and long before the supposed invasion from the northwest by the Aryans. (1)
The knowledge of samsara came about through the development of jhanas, and when the yogis became skilled in the fourth jhana they developed abhinnya, higher knowledges. These higher knowledges are described as follows:
· Iddhividha: Flying through the air, walking on water, diving into the earth, and the creation of forms.
· Dibbasota: the celestial ear, enabling one to hear subtle or coarse sounds far or near.
· Paracittavijanana: The power to discern the thoughts of others.
· Pubbenivasanussati: The power to remember the past lives of oneself and others.
· Dibbacakkhu: The celestial or divine eye, enabling one to see heavenly or earthly things far or near that are imperceptible to the physical eye, and in particular the dying and reappearance of beings.
In today’s world, such things appear to be within the realm of fantasy, but these are the fruits of willful, one-pointed samadhi leading to jhana. It is worth mentioning here that there are historical records of the yogis of early India traveling west to ancient Greece, and later not only influencing Roman culture but also Middle Eastern culture. They certainly influenced Western culture, indirectly at least, as the descriptive stories of Indian knowledge like walking on water and other such abilities, together with virgin birth, became the basic resume for the hagiography of all religious leaders of that time. You also have to consider that even with such knowledges a person is still an ordinary being ruled by ignorance of the true nature of existence and who the real creator is.
The higher knowledge that gave the early yogis the direct understanding of samsara was Dibbacakkhu, (2) the ‘celestial eye’, and they were able to experience an instantaneous birth into the Yama realm (Thai: Yuma loke) and see the energy form of beings. The Yama realm is also known as the death realm, although the meaning of Yama is ‘that which destroys pain’. What they saw was not what you might expect, particularly as many people have a concept of the soul or spirit leaving the body upon death and going off to a theme-park heaven or some other destination. What they saw was each individual being made up of an oval-shaped mind of fibers of energy or awareness, with certain centers of the energy interacting with energy from outside of them. They understood that all worlds, from the various unhappy states or hells to the most blissful heavenly realms, were all contained within each oval-shaped mind of energy, and when a being died in one realm its center of awareness simply moved to another realm. They understood that the energy was composed of karmic energy (kamma), and that all worlds were illusory or maya. The Yama realm has also been known as a realm for traveling, but that is another story.
This particular experience was not unique to the early yogis of India, although perhaps their understanding of it was. Some more recent anthropological evidence, somewhat tainted by capitalism and modern culture, also suggests that early Mesoamerican people experienced the same realm, although their interest in it was more towards exploratory possibilities than pure metaphysics. Several descriptions in the early Vedas regarding death parallel the descriptions by the Mesoamerican people, and the meaning is exactly the same in both cultures. That other civilizations would experience the same realm is not surprising, it is after all part of the essence of existence and not a cultural or religious experience.
The cosmology of the different realms is a description that existed long ago. Buddhism as such never formulated any cosmology, and simply uses the earlier descriptions found in the Vedas. While they are mere descriptions, the early yogis were quite knowledgeable about the different realms, and no doubt this was a huge science, which for the most part is now long forgotten. The fact that such higher knowledges exist leads to one obvious recognition, and that is that the usual realities of one realm are meaningless in another (something that those who have journeyed into their own minds have no doubt already discovered). Thus, there is little point in dwelling upon such knowledge as not every meditator will experience such things, and more importantly, ‘worldly’ knowledge is not the objective of Buddhist practice.
While there are Ajarns in Thailand, for example, who have had such experiences through developing the jhanas, such knowledge is simply termed ‘Tam’ (Dhamma) in the broad sense of the term, meaning the nature of existence, and it is not usually a subject of discussion because it is not a common subject for all Buddhists. Here it has relevance in outlining the origins of samsara, but it is not necessary to experience such things, nor is it necessary to believe them. Through vipassana meditation, meditators gradually comprehend the same essential nature of existence in their own minds, so there is no need to develop these higher knowledges.
The apparently endless journey of samsara is fueled by karma, and even though the early yogis were aware of this none of them knew the details of how to stop making karma. Before his spiritual perfection, The Buddha went through the same meditative developments, experienced the same higher knowledges, and came to the same conclusions, that this ‘wandering on’ was indeed pointless and unsatisfactory. However, he also understood the mind process, and knew the root cause of making karma and how to stop making it.
Very generally, we say that the root cause is ignorance, then, being more specific, we say that the root cause is attachment; we have attachment to things because of our ignorance. The attachment we have is twofold, namely, for the things we like and for the things we don’t like. When we act on this attachment, or react to it, we think, speak, or do something with a mental energy equal to the level of our attachment. We call this mental energy intent, and intent creates karma. Thus, karma is a conditioned energy that we create ourselves, and we later experience the consciousness of this energy through some form of existence, i.e. our present existence or some later existence.
To stop making karma we have to become aware of the mind process, which means that we have to stop being ignorant. To stop being ignorant we have to stop attaching to things, and the only way to do this is to look closely at the objects of our attachment and understand them as they really are. To do this you have to study, not read books, but study your own mind, hence the need to develop vipassana meditation. When you no longer attach to things, then you no longer act with intent and no longer create karma.
Building the mind or building the world
Building the mind or building the world (sang jit reu sang loke, in Thai), is basically a choice that people make in their lives, which means following one at the expense of the other to some extent. Building the mind means developing the mind through vipassana meditation, while building the world means taking the world and its affairs seriously.
This does not mean that yogis ignore the world completely; it simply means that they get their priorities straight. They develop the mind first, and whatever comes upon their path later they are then in a better position to deal with it (instead of being a part of the problem).
If one begins to understand the implications of samsara, then the one thing you realize about building the world is that you cannot possibly win. First of all, you are going to die no matter what, and secondly, whether people believe it or not, the world is maya, illusion. Thus, even if you end up as master of the universe, you are only master of the illusion, and you are merely a temporary phenomenon traveling towards a temporary end.
For those who would aim for a perfect world (disregarding the illusory nature of the world), the world is already perfect, according to its nature, the law of cause and effect. For those who would still insist on building a perfect world, then obviously a perfect world would be made up of perfect beings, so they had better get busy. If you want perfection, then look for it within your own mind.
Building the mind through vipassana meditation will bring you closer to this perfection, and your present journey will become more acceptable as you learn how to avoid suffering. Ultimately, it becomes your ticket out of samsara, as you refrain from subscribing to further destinations.
Footnotes:
(1)
There was no such race as Aryan, which meant an honorable or excellent person in Vedic sanskrit, nor any actual evidence of an invasion, and more recent archeological evidence reveals that the supposed invaders lived in this area at least 8,000 years ago. The historian who came up with such a theory, also happened to be a missionary who probably wanted to portray the superiority of fairer skin color over darker skin color, and that the invaders were perhaps connected to his own middle-eastern based religious culture that he considered to be superior.
(2)
Dibbacakkhu is the real third eye, not the sensual home-entertainment version of the third eye associated with a part of the brain. Whatever body anyone has comes from their spirituality, thus materiality is of no consequence; it is just a mental product. To say that such knowledge is not for the faint of heart is still a gross understatement. In the Yama realm there is no materiality, and one must not forget that it is the death realm, there is no guarantee that anyone will actually come back. For those who do experience such knowledge, then this experience shapes the rest of their lives and their usual view of existence is lost forever. Having said all of that, however, this type of knowledge is still only a beginning, still on the mundane level.
=========
Cosmology
http://web.singnet.com.sg/~alankhoo/DharmaRealm.htm
http://www.dhammaspread.org/page347.htm
Samsara (sangsara) means wandering on, or being stuck in the endless cycle of death and rebirth, and while being merely a concept to most people of the present day, to some yogis, meditators, it is understood through direct experience. Its origins go back some 5,000 years at least, in the Indus Valley region of India, and long before the supposed invasion from the northwest by the Aryans. (1)
The knowledge of samsara came about through the development of jhanas, and when the yogis became skilled in the fourth jhana they developed abhinnya, higher knowledges. These higher knowledges are described as follows:
· Iddhividha: Flying through the air, walking on water, diving into the earth, and the creation of forms.
· Dibbasota: the celestial ear, enabling one to hear subtle or coarse sounds far or near.
· Paracittavijanana: The power to discern the thoughts of others.
· Pubbenivasanussati: The power to remember the past lives of oneself and others.
· Dibbacakkhu: The celestial or divine eye, enabling one to see heavenly or earthly things far or near that are imperceptible to the physical eye, and in particular the dying and reappearance of beings.
In today’s world, such things appear to be within the realm of fantasy, but these are the fruits of willful, one-pointed samadhi leading to jhana. It is worth mentioning here that there are historical records of the yogis of early India traveling west to ancient Greece, and later not only influencing Roman culture but also Middle Eastern culture. They certainly influenced Western culture, indirectly at least, as the descriptive stories of Indian knowledge like walking on water and other such abilities, together with virgin birth, became the basic resume for the hagiography of all religious leaders of that time. You also have to consider that even with such knowledges a person is still an ordinary being ruled by ignorance of the true nature of existence and who the real creator is.
The higher knowledge that gave the early yogis the direct understanding of samsara was Dibbacakkhu, (2) the ‘celestial eye’, and they were able to experience an instantaneous birth into the Yama realm (Thai: Yuma loke) and see the energy form of beings. The Yama realm is also known as the death realm, although the meaning of Yama is ‘that which destroys pain’. What they saw was not what you might expect, particularly as many people have a concept of the soul or spirit leaving the body upon death and going off to a theme-park heaven or some other destination. What they saw was each individual being made up of an oval-shaped mind of fibers of energy or awareness, with certain centers of the energy interacting with energy from outside of them. They understood that all worlds, from the various unhappy states or hells to the most blissful heavenly realms, were all contained within each oval-shaped mind of energy, and when a being died in one realm its center of awareness simply moved to another realm. They understood that the energy was composed of karmic energy (kamma), and that all worlds were illusory or maya. The Yama realm has also been known as a realm for traveling, but that is another story.
This particular experience was not unique to the early yogis of India, although perhaps their understanding of it was. Some more recent anthropological evidence, somewhat tainted by capitalism and modern culture, also suggests that early Mesoamerican people experienced the same realm, although their interest in it was more towards exploratory possibilities than pure metaphysics. Several descriptions in the early Vedas regarding death parallel the descriptions by the Mesoamerican people, and the meaning is exactly the same in both cultures. That other civilizations would experience the same realm is not surprising, it is after all part of the essence of existence and not a cultural or religious experience.
The cosmology of the different realms is a description that existed long ago. Buddhism as such never formulated any cosmology, and simply uses the earlier descriptions found in the Vedas. While they are mere descriptions, the early yogis were quite knowledgeable about the different realms, and no doubt this was a huge science, which for the most part is now long forgotten. The fact that such higher knowledges exist leads to one obvious recognition, and that is that the usual realities of one realm are meaningless in another (something that those who have journeyed into their own minds have no doubt already discovered). Thus, there is little point in dwelling upon such knowledge as not every meditator will experience such things, and more importantly, ‘worldly’ knowledge is not the objective of Buddhist practice.
While there are Ajarns in Thailand, for example, who have had such experiences through developing the jhanas, such knowledge is simply termed ‘Tam’ (Dhamma) in the broad sense of the term, meaning the nature of existence, and it is not usually a subject of discussion because it is not a common subject for all Buddhists. Here it has relevance in outlining the origins of samsara, but it is not necessary to experience such things, nor is it necessary to believe them. Through vipassana meditation, meditators gradually comprehend the same essential nature of existence in their own minds, so there is no need to develop these higher knowledges.
The apparently endless journey of samsara is fueled by karma, and even though the early yogis were aware of this none of them knew the details of how to stop making karma. Before his spiritual perfection, The Buddha went through the same meditative developments, experienced the same higher knowledges, and came to the same conclusions, that this ‘wandering on’ was indeed pointless and unsatisfactory. However, he also understood the mind process, and knew the root cause of making karma and how to stop making it.
Very generally, we say that the root cause is ignorance, then, being more specific, we say that the root cause is attachment; we have attachment to things because of our ignorance. The attachment we have is twofold, namely, for the things we like and for the things we don’t like. When we act on this attachment, or react to it, we think, speak, or do something with a mental energy equal to the level of our attachment. We call this mental energy intent, and intent creates karma. Thus, karma is a conditioned energy that we create ourselves, and we later experience the consciousness of this energy through some form of existence, i.e. our present existence or some later existence.
To stop making karma we have to become aware of the mind process, which means that we have to stop being ignorant. To stop being ignorant we have to stop attaching to things, and the only way to do this is to look closely at the objects of our attachment and understand them as they really are. To do this you have to study, not read books, but study your own mind, hence the need to develop vipassana meditation. When you no longer attach to things, then you no longer act with intent and no longer create karma.
Building the mind or building the world
Building the mind or building the world (sang jit reu sang loke, in Thai), is basically a choice that people make in their lives, which means following one at the expense of the other to some extent. Building the mind means developing the mind through vipassana meditation, while building the world means taking the world and its affairs seriously.
This does not mean that yogis ignore the world completely; it simply means that they get their priorities straight. They develop the mind first, and whatever comes upon their path later they are then in a better position to deal with it (instead of being a part of the problem).
If one begins to understand the implications of samsara, then the one thing you realize about building the world is that you cannot possibly win. First of all, you are going to die no matter what, and secondly, whether people believe it or not, the world is maya, illusion. Thus, even if you end up as master of the universe, you are only master of the illusion, and you are merely a temporary phenomenon traveling towards a temporary end.
For those who would aim for a perfect world (disregarding the illusory nature of the world), the world is already perfect, according to its nature, the law of cause and effect. For those who would still insist on building a perfect world, then obviously a perfect world would be made up of perfect beings, so they had better get busy. If you want perfection, then look for it within your own mind.
Building the mind through vipassana meditation will bring you closer to this perfection, and your present journey will become more acceptable as you learn how to avoid suffering. Ultimately, it becomes your ticket out of samsara, as you refrain from subscribing to further destinations.
Footnotes:
(1)
There was no such race as Aryan, which meant an honorable or excellent person in Vedic sanskrit, nor any actual evidence of an invasion, and more recent archeological evidence reveals that the supposed invaders lived in this area at least 8,000 years ago. The historian who came up with such a theory, also happened to be a missionary who probably wanted to portray the superiority of fairer skin color over darker skin color, and that the invaders were perhaps connected to his own middle-eastern based religious culture that he considered to be superior.
(2)
Dibbacakkhu is the real third eye, not the sensual home-entertainment version of the third eye associated with a part of the brain. Whatever body anyone has comes from their spirituality, thus materiality is of no consequence; it is just a mental product. To say that such knowledge is not for the faint of heart is still a gross understatement. In the Yama realm there is no materiality, and one must not forget that it is the death realm, there is no guarantee that anyone will actually come back. For those who do experience such knowledge, then this experience shapes the rest of their lives and their usual view of existence is lost forever. Having said all of that, however, this type of knowledge is still only a beginning, still on the mundane level.
=========
Cosmology
http://web.singnet.com.sg/~alankhoo/DharmaRealm.htm