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Thoughts On It All
Greetings,
I've been interested in Buddhism for the past few years, practiced on and off, it is quite hard to maintain a strict regime being a teen in Southern California, so absolute devotion will have to wait for a few more years. Nevertheless, for me, spiritual literature has always been intriguing and thought provoking.
This point of this post is a discussion on the Six Realms mentioned in Bardo Thodol, go to this link for a quick refresher if you must...
http://buddhism.about.com/od/basicbuddhistteachings/tp/Six-Realms-of-Existence.htm
The Animal and Human realms are explained, and they are the most obvious to us. If we know of these two realms and they coincide then it would only be logical that the other four realms must also coincide with these two realms. Where are the other four realms in our physical world? Some might be quick to say that those realms aren't observable by us, but I think that is because we simply haven't paid attention. There is a big difference between unobservable and unapparent. For example some animals are observable and apparent, yet others such as tiny bugs and what not are observable yet unapparent. (Note: By animals I mean all animate things on Earth, that are not Human).
Humans and animals have something in common, they both go through a process of growth. Where else do we observe growth in our environment? Plants.
So here my theorizing starts, could the spirits in plants be in the realm of "Hungry Ghosts"? And below them the realm of "Hell" be inanimate matter? The realm above us the Planets, and above them the Sun and all other Stars or the Cosmos?
These realms are all dictated by specific dynamics of suffering, communication, freedom of movement, among other things. For example Humans can communicate their condition better than animals, and animals more-so than plants (if at all), and plants better than matter(probably nonexistent). The same goes for movement and malleability of environment.
On the contrary suffering is opposite, plants suffer more than animals, animals more than humans. It is also impossible to make any conceptualizations on the suffering and communication of a being in the higher/lower realms simply because we do not have the capacity to do so. For example an animal might hear two humans communicating but it could never make sense out of anything being said because it is stuck in its own paradigm of communication.
Karma works by appropriating you into one of the realms of suffering based on how much suffering you have caused in your own life. With that, being a human we can induce suffering easily compared to animals, and animals can induce it more than plants, thus a human stands on a very unstable balance of karma dynamics and it is easy to fall down. As the Bardo Thodol describes beings in the higher semi-god and god realms have an even lower threshold for 'abuse' because it is easy to get attached to their new condition of ecstasy, they too will fall... and the cycle in the Void continues...infinite...
What are your thoughts on the realms?
Would you say that we've all experience the realms before, we simply can't remember, or don't want to remember?
Enlighten me.
:namaste:
I've been interested in Buddhism for the past few years, practiced on and off, it is quite hard to maintain a strict regime being a teen in Southern California, so absolute devotion will have to wait for a few more years. Nevertheless, for me, spiritual literature has always been intriguing and thought provoking.
This point of this post is a discussion on the Six Realms mentioned in Bardo Thodol, go to this link for a quick refresher if you must...
http://buddhism.about.com/od/basicbuddhistteachings/tp/Six-Realms-of-Existence.htm
The Animal and Human realms are explained, and they are the most obvious to us. If we know of these two realms and they coincide then it would only be logical that the other four realms must also coincide with these two realms. Where are the other four realms in our physical world? Some might be quick to say that those realms aren't observable by us, but I think that is because we simply haven't paid attention. There is a big difference between unobservable and unapparent. For example some animals are observable and apparent, yet others such as tiny bugs and what not are observable yet unapparent. (Note: By animals I mean all animate things on Earth, that are not Human).
Humans and animals have something in common, they both go through a process of growth. Where else do we observe growth in our environment? Plants.
So here my theorizing starts, could the spirits in plants be in the realm of "Hungry Ghosts"? And below them the realm of "Hell" be inanimate matter? The realm above us the Planets, and above them the Sun and all other Stars or the Cosmos?
These realms are all dictated by specific dynamics of suffering, communication, freedom of movement, among other things. For example Humans can communicate their condition better than animals, and animals more-so than plants (if at all), and plants better than matter(probably nonexistent). The same goes for movement and malleability of environment.
On the contrary suffering is opposite, plants suffer more than animals, animals more than humans. It is also impossible to make any conceptualizations on the suffering and communication of a being in the higher/lower realms simply because we do not have the capacity to do so. For example an animal might hear two humans communicating but it could never make sense out of anything being said because it is stuck in its own paradigm of communication.
Karma works by appropriating you into one of the realms of suffering based on how much suffering you have caused in your own life. With that, being a human we can induce suffering easily compared to animals, and animals can induce it more than plants, thus a human stands on a very unstable balance of karma dynamics and it is easy to fall down. As the Bardo Thodol describes beings in the higher semi-god and god realms have an even lower threshold for 'abuse' because it is easy to get attached to their new condition of ecstasy, they too will fall... and the cycle in the Void continues...infinite...
What are your thoughts on the realms?
Would you say that we've all experience the realms before, we simply can't remember, or don't want to remember?
Enlighten me.
:namaste:
0
Comments
Tupinambis,
Welcome to the board! Your post cracks me up, I think you might take yourself a little too seriously. You ask, actually demand, to be enlightened... which is so funny! You're holding the reigns and telling others to ride your horse for you.
The realms are patterns of mental states, or ways that we interact with phenomena that perpetuate our patterns of dissatisfaction. I can understand why you might look to the world of form to identify them, like we do the animal or plant kingdom, as there might be a 'hungry ghost' kingdom. This is not the intent of the lessons in the teaching.
With a stable meditation practice, we can observe how most of us have moved between the realms at one point or another, and how the lessons they taught us fuel the compost of today's transformation.
Do you meditate? Sometimes, the teachings can become somewhat confusing if we are also not spending time dissolving our sense of self, which can otherwise grab onto the teachings at odd angles. I wonder if you've done some practice? I imagine with some consistent practice, your ample awareness would really blossom.
With warmth,
Matt
Relax.
Just read things as you find them, take your time, and enjoy your youth.
Such intensity is not a pre-requisite, and can actually damage your practice.
From what I have learnt, the states are allegorical, and we can be in any one - or all of these - mind-states at any time, during the day....
We 'go through them' simply by being.
Being Mindful, and 'seeing' your frame of Mind(fulness) in that moment, will identify which realm you're travelling through!
Thanks for posting, and welcome to the forum.
Nice to meet you!
I have practiced on and off, sometimes with much devotion, other times I've allowed myself to get caught up in the inattentive happenings of high school life.
Currently I'm taking summer classes at university, transitioning to my second year. This summer has been lonesome but its allowed me to catch up with reading, and recently more practice.
My first year of college was a bit bumpy, and practice was scarce, I got into some things that I should have left behind in high school, and was surrounded by some bad company, but its given me a good perspective on the type of people and things I don't want to associate myself with any longer.
But I must say that I have my doubts whether or not going to college was the best choice for me, and could use some guidance. I'm majoring in Electrical Engineering and I'm a very outdoorsy person, love camping, nature, spirituality. Sometimes I just feel like going here to perpetuate the field of technology is ultimately futile, or am I just not seeing a middle ground between the two? How do I dissolve my sense of self while I'm here to build one that will earn me money in the future! I feel helpless, like I have to keep doing this because its the only way to make a living now days... Don't get me wrong I like what I'm doing, but the two things just seem at such an opposition...
Think of it as Yin-Yang.
For every passive action (camping, being in Nature) there is an opposite dynamic. And it looks as if you've achieved this by having a 'foot in both camps'.
Do what you love, and love what you do.
Enjoy the value of your experiences, whatever they bring you.
negative or positive are all the same coin....the two sides that flip this way and that in your pocket.
Bring the peace and tranquillity of Natural living to your Electrical Engineering.
bring the dynamic structure of your chosen profession into the existence in natural surroundings...
They can - or the concepts of them - be mutually supportive.
They are not separate, if they are both 'you'.....
Tupinambis,
Your conundrum makes sense to me. If you're someone who enjoys the outdoors, perhaps looking at spending your life in a laboratory or cubical is not something that appeals to you. Before you throw in the towel, consider a few points.
There are many fields that a degree in EE could potentially fuel. If you talk to an advisor at your school, they could certainly help you brainstorm for potential fields (pardon the pun:)). Also, they might be able to point you in the direction of some other types of classes you could take that might help you see more clearly the options in front of you.
Another thing to mention that college is often a maturing process from high school to adulthood, and the freshman craziness is so common that it is a stereotype, so don't be hard on yourself.
As far as your practice is concerned, I think if you could settle down and just sit for 20 minutes a day, that a lot of these other questions you have will naturally become more obvious to you. Often, we don't need to create a list of pros and cons when looking at life decisions, rather sitting in meditation will help us see the best option without struggle. I have a friend who constantly gets lost in the whirlwind of mental noise that arises from possibilities in his life. However, once he settles his mind, we both get a good chuckle out of the monsoon he created. It always blinds him from what is obvious after he settles down. This is all I meant by dissolving the self. Not removing the personality, but letting your mind get out of the way so you can see how and where to apply your energy.
And, I'd like to say that my hat is off to you! The contrast between your posts appears direct and amazing.
With warmth,
Matt