Welcome to Wrong Planet.
I was almost born pondering the nature of life, existence, the universe, is there such a thing as God. It has been a life long passion. At age 19 I became a bhikku and led a monastic life for just over a year; then went to university to study a science degree. Many years later, loosely speaking, I'm now a Zen Buddhist / atheist / scientist. I don't follow a particular religion and have no religious beliefs. Consciousness itself is something that has fascinated me all my life. I'm now aware (primarily as a result of meditation) that my real essence is consciousness itself - however it is not my consciousness, but rather consciousness illuminates the thoughts, memories and emotions that pass through this beings brain. There is no "me", no "I". This is very difficult to put into words or explain. The following poem by Thich Nhat Hanh expresses the same thing more eloquently:
Quote:
Please Call Me by My True Names
Don't say that I will depart tomorrow --
even today I am still arriving.
Look deeply: every second I am arriving
to be a bud on a Spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.
I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death
of all that is alive.
I am the mayfly metamorphosing
on the surface of the river.
And I am the bird
that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.
I am the frog swimming happily
in the clear water of a pond.
And I am the grass-snake
that silently feeds itself on the frog.
I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.
And I am the arms merchant,
selling deadly weapons to Uganda.
I am the twelve-year-old girl,
refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean
after being raped by a sea pirate.
And I am the pirate,
my heart not yet capable
of seeing and loving.
I am a member of the politburo,
with plenty of power in my hands.
And I am the man who has to pay
his "debt of blood" to my people
dying slowly in a forced-labor camp.
My joy is like Spring, so warm
it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.
My pain is like a river of tears,
so vast it fills the four oceans.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and my laughter at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart
can be left open,
the door of compassion.
_________________
I've left WP indefinitely.
08 Apr 2012, 8:18 am
