What do you think happens when a person dies?

I was asked this recently.

My reply:

don't know - not dead yet.
Old story:
young monk asks old monk/master;
Q: What happens when you die?
A: I don't know.
Q: But you're a master, a guru.
A: But I 'm not a dead master/guru.

that being said.

it's hard to put into words...

Since there is no person, no individual with choice and volition, no "person" dies.

Perhaps I can explain it this way.
There is only Consciousness - awareness.
for some reason, within consciousness itself, that which we call mind arises (made of consciousness, of course) and the mind acts as a "lens" to "generate" form and duality.
At death, this mind ends.
There is no change
no change in consciousness
no change.
there is no form, merely appearances arising in mind/consciousness
So, "nothing" goes back to god or to The Source.
There is only The Source appearing to itself.
So, one could say the story of Joe ends.

And, as I said, I really don't know - i'm just making up stories.
They are not "true" - they are merely convenient symbols to express and represent and point to That which cannot be symbolized, conceptualized, expressed or represented.

Or, try this: Imagine there is only the ocean. And due to its nature, at times a portion of the ocean swirls to form a small whirlpool.
What happens when the whirlpool stops?
Nothing really - it always was water and still is water.

Again....there is nothing happening. Nothing created, destroyed. Nothing is born or dies.
That which I (and you and all) TRULY are was never born or dies
No beginning or end
No time no space
In Ultimate Reality:undifferentiated, undefined, containing all and being no-thing: no Existence.
Simply, the infinite potential, the infinite possibly.

What happens to the people in the movie when you turn off the movie camera?

Or, better yet, what happens when you are dreaming and "you" are in the dream and then you wake up? Where did "you," the dream character, go?

Four Options

Someone recently wrote to me:

It appears there are four options.
God is getting even with me
God does not know I exist
There is no God
There is no me

My Reply:

why"getting even" - do you think you are being punished? for what?

(Depending on how you define god) it's not possible for god (your creator) to not know you exist.
God, may not, however, care a fig for the content of your thoughts

Define "God"
Define "Me"

There is no me - then how is the writing happening?


I'm not (just) being flip.
Examine your assumptions and conclusions and data that underlies these conceptualizations.
How do you know they are true? or not?

Lost

Been watching the series Lost. Lots have told me over the yars I should watch it.
It's been engaging and interesting - especially the writing which seems uneven - particularly the character development.

The metaphysical aspects are touched on - but not as clearly as in the Matrix.
Hugo does come to the bits around "what is real" and then just skips over a Major Portal to Truth - that "real" is subjective,not objective.

If I think I see a bear coming at me and respond accordingly, what does it matter if "you" - another thought form of mine, agrees or not. Agreement - from who - another mental creation?

think about that.

Nothing in particular

2 months since my last post - not "busy" - but also this is really a habit or discipline and I seem to have fallen out of both.

One thought: The mind is all or nothing. It is either saying "It will always be like this" or " It will never again be like this."
The minds "job" is to separate out into bits of detail the universal Whole that cannot be reduced to bits of detail.

The nature of perception is to perceive edges and separation.

It's not like it is in books

I’m pretty thoroughly confused. I regularly let myself get caught up in the discrepancies and paradoxes inherent in all this. I did want to ask you about something related. You mention this journey is nothing like they say in the books and Leo says “The problem with preconceived notions about the much-coveted holy grail of truth and the packaging in which it should be delivered, is that such notions prevent the seeker from seeing that the liberation he is looking for is always fully present and instantly available.” I don’t know what “awakening” really is, what it looks, feels, or even tastes like. I don’t know what effort, or non-effort, is required on my part. I do know that I have many preconceived notions about it. What I want to know is if it would help if I was to clarify for myself the details of those notions? Or would it just reinforce and solidify them?

E is not an experience or state of being. What does it feel like. Well, pretty much like "it" always has. There is perception, cognition, sensory feelings, thoughts and emotions.
Awakening is often marked by an "event" a shift in perspective. But, I would say for myself it's a realization and recognition of what has always been here but is too subtle, or obvious, shall we say, to be "it." E can't be "that" easy. Yes and no. No on that side, yes on this.

There is a constant to all my life. A constant feeling of Being, of Awareness. This is the only thing that is REAL and TRUE. Everything else is a mental construct and so is not true or real.


It's not too far a stretch to say that the effort to awaken gets in the way of awakening. All action taken in service of (as) the Ego just reinforces and perpetuates the ego. The ego cannot truly desire to self-destruct. Yet this desire manifests, strongly in some. This is the slippery slope McKenna refers to. When/if it comes it's ually a surpirse. Some (Like Tolle) didn't have the concepts or words for it and spent years learning EAstern ideas to be able to verbalize it. His "ripples on the surface of being" is a good way to describe being in form/perception/experience.

Toward the end I'd really had enough of all this shit and there were some dark times. yet I kept going. not out of choice as much as being compelled (puled/pushed). Bear in mind I have been committed to this search for over 23 years. I have a large tattoo of the buddha burned into my right forearm as reminder and promise. And still had no idea what was coming. It's not like anything I can describe. Everything I thought was true was laid bare. it is not really some thing anyone can really want. If most people really got the intense impersonal, non-anthropomorphic nature of the universe; how little the universe cares for the thoughts and beliefs in their head, they'd surely kill themselves (or stop buying things, or be better people, who knows)
Don't be bummed if you don't fully awaken. It's rare and not based on personality, karma or anything like that AFAIK. Trust me, there will be NO egoic satisfaction if E occurs. There will be no ego identification left to have the satisfaction!
Do you feel Egoic satisfaction when you breathe? Of course not. We are "conditioned' to believe "we" are in control and take credit for that which is not ours. That there is "we" The marionette has no control. Yet it feels like it does How odd and wonderful.
It either will or won't and you, who believe to a greater or lesser degree, that you choose, are frustrated.
So what is one to do. Well, nothing, really, just keep doing what you're doing and work to rid yourself (ie. evaluate and validate) all pre conceived ideas, ie beliefs.

And, it took YEARS of Really Hard Work. Pretty much non-stop, every non-occupied, waking moment for the last 5 years. I was always focused on it. Looking for it everywhere. Reading, spiritual autolysis, mediation, reflection, esoteric acupuncture, focused use of psychedelics. No too mention, zazen, Buddhism, yoga. 23 years of work and in spite of all of that was still able to wake up; my guide was impressed.

I would also say it's like taking a big shit. Can't make it happen, can't prevent it from happening. When it's time, it's time. Keep a few spare squares around.

Spirituality for Solitude

Zen Koans, meditation, yoga, exercises, inner journeys, unanswerable questions...
At times it occurred to me that these were devices invented by those who would be called "Enlightened" by the rest. And when the rest noticed that some few were not involved in the rat race that is human life, started asking: "How can I have that. How can I have what you have?" An absurd question, on many levels. And probably pretty annoying after awhile. Since there is not a real answer to that question, in the practical sense it's being asked. In a sense, like the previous post on cat's Buddha nature. Asking the question "What must I do to become awakened" means you've already lost.

So, these "Masters" developed these intense spiritual practices in order to give them some peace and quiet. Basically a version of "go away kid, you bother me."
They (apparently) figured it out for themselves, so let the rest do it too.

Maharshi with his: "Who am I" - That's a Great one - that will keep people busy for a while.
Or Nizy with: There are no steps or practices, nothing that can be done. But, you want something to write down in your little books, so here you go..."

Love it. Maybe just really lazy guys who are trying to keep the masses away from them.

Buddha Nature

"Does a cat have Buddha nature? This is the most serious question of all. For if you say yes or if you say no, You lose your own Buddha nature."

There is no cat.

There is no separate being or entity called cat to have or not have nature. Once you answer yes or no you have taken on the underlying assumption there is separateness and so you've "lost."

Ask the cat and he'll say: "Only if I can eat it, sleep on it or rub up against it."