birth

genkaku

My Zen teacher's teacher once said, "There is birth and there is death. In between is enlightenment." Except for the "between" part, my take is that he was just stating the obvious.

Here, but not, perhaps, for the squeamish, is a video example of birth.

And another.

Vastmind

Whoa! You took me through it this morning.... hahaha

Beautiful elephant...then Bam! Wake up people...
your going to be dead soon

jae

@Genkaku I've seen the elephant one before but the xbox one is 'Les couilles de chien'

DairyLama

genkaku said:

My Zen teacher's teacher once said, "There is birth and there is death. In between is enlightenment."

No, it's just dukkha in between...

BhikkhuJayasara

Ajahn Chah talking about birth and death always greatly connects with me, although he obviously speaks about it from the standpoint of rebirth.

http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/B - Theravada/Teachers/Ajaan Chah/No Ajahn Chah/NO AJAHN CHAH Reflections ,Birth & Death.htm

"Our birth and death are just one thing. You can't have one without the other .It's a little funny to see how at a death people are so tearful and sad, and at a birth how happy and delighted. It's delusion .I think if you really want to cry. Then it would be better to do so when someone born. Cry at the root, for if there were no birth, there would be no death. Can you understand this?"

If you're afraid of illnesses, if you are afraid of death, then you should contemplate where they com from?Where do they come from? They arise from birth. So don’t be sad when someone dies, it's just nature, and his suffering in this life is over. If you want to be sad, be sad when people are born: Oh. No, they 've come again. They 're going to suffer and die again!"


"Why are we born? We are born so that we will not have to be born again."

"When one does not understand death, life can be very confusing"

"The Buddha told his disciple Ananda to see impermanence, to see death with every breath . We must know death; we must die in order to live. What does this mean? To die is to come to the end of all our doubt , all our question, and just be here with the present reality. You can never die tomorrow; you must die now. Can you do it? If you can do it, you will know the peace of no more questions."

lobster

my take is that he was just stating the obvious

Ah the obvious. Me like. I'll even go for platitudes when nothing better . . .

Iyengar the well known contortionist and yogi was once asked why he practiced physical yoga as a complete path.
"To have a good death"
It seemed both a trite and immature answer when I heard it. Something about it stuck with me. Like a koan maybe. Now I think it has levels and maturity worthy of a great PE teacher and Hatha Yoga Master.

When we are born, we are on the path to death. We practice for a good Death and life path . . .
:bowdown: