Sunmaster

Actually, I will rename the little boy "Tippa" in your honor.

No problem. I will also erect a statue in your honor....and name a library after you. "The Grand Tippa Library of Endless Secondhand Knowledge". 😁 I'm very surprised you still have questions. I thought Seth had given you all the answers already.... -Hit and sink.-

The books don't symbolize reality, but intellectual knowledge. Everything is real in Timmy's world, including the staircase and the stars. The view from up the staircase gives Timmy a much broader perspective and so he can see reality from a wider, more inclusive viewpoint.

So, as I was meditating this morning, a story popped up in my mind. It relates to the discussion about manuals. I think it would make for another nice children's book. There was a bright little boy called Timmy. Timmy loved looking at the night sky with all the shiny stars, the moon and constellations. He vowed to learn more about them, so he started to get a big book about astronomy. He learned all the names of the constellations, he learned about the planets and their trajectories, he learned about the speed of light and a great number of details. In the course of many years, he continued studying, collecting more and more books. He couldn't be without them and carried them around wherever he went. After all, they were so important to him and his thirst for knowledge. But as he got older, the weight of those books on his back started to take its toll. His back became curved and he realized he was no longer looking at the stars, but he was now only looking at the ground before him and his own feet. He realized that in order to see the stars again, he would have to drop the heavy bundle of books from his back. So he did and as soon as he did, his back started to straighten up again, allowing him to gaze at the night sky again. Not only that. He now notices a staircase he never noticed before. It's a staircase that leads up to the stars. He starts walking and after a while he turns around and looks down. There on the ground he sees the bundle of books he had been carrying his whole life. "If I had continued carrying those around with me, I would have never discovered this staircase!". Timmy had to leave them behind to take on this new journey to the stars. He no longer needed them, because now he was among the stars, he was so close that could touch them. And so it goes. We bog ourselves down with all this intellectual knowledge, but like everything else, too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing. There comes a time when you realize that you don't need all that anymore, that holding on to it stops you from growing. You realize that you don't own this knowledge, but the knowledge started owning you. And so you see a crossroad before you: either hold on to your attachment and become stagnant or let go and grow. Deep down you know which way is the right one.

It's really not his fault that you are not capable of understanding a simple concept. Wait, let me try.... This is the issue... This is you... This is us: You're welcome.

Mate, the contradiction is easily explained. I've already been to the sunset. This was me coming back to tell you about it. As for the weed, well.... Just celebrating the gifts of mother nature.

Meanwhile Sunmaster...

I believe I answered this in second to last post. "You want me to sit around the kitchen table, manuals wide open, and discuss the differences of our manuals. Sorry, but I rather take Basil for a spin and drive into the sunset. " Like I said, I'm not qualified to be Advaita's advocate, nor would I want to. This is not about the maps we use, but how we use the maps we use. Being so adamant (and a bit pedantic ) about the contents of the maps just shows the degree of attachment to it. I used to be just the same, I know the thought processes that go with that behaviour. You can easily scroll back to the beginning of this thread and see how fierce I was in defending my map, listing sources, quotes, trying to make others "see the light" in a number of different ways. The truth is, none of that matters. All that matters is your personal relationship to AllThatIs. Not the map, but the territory matters. Not the engine manual matters, but driving the car. The more time you keep studying your manual, the less time you have driving that nice car that sits in your garage, covered by a 2" layer of dust.

This I can answer, because it relates to my experience. By meditate deeper I mean becoming more and more centered, when it's easy to be in the moment, just being the observer, not attached to anything, stillness, silence and feeling Grace and Wonder at the love flowing. The more you give up of yourself and offer it without resistence, the more the Ur-condition of eternal bliss reveals itself. You are that. Such peak experiences are rare and even if you do all the necessary steps perfectly (fasting, right morals, meditating, praying etc), there is no guarantee. What we can do however, is do our best and practice. Lay a fertile ground so to speak, on which Grace may or may not (yet) bless you with it. I guess you could call that "levels of awareness". "How would be deeper levels recognised?" Recognized by whom? "But I would imagine that coming back from meditation you would be bringing something back which is useful in terms of Sunmaster's reality. Insight, perhaps?" There are various ways to be "in a meditative" state. You can sit in the typical lotus position, you can chant a mantra while you drive your car, you can create art, you can wash the dishes. I found that a certain ritual, involving sitting in meditation is the most efficient, simply because the ability to find the center is greatly helped by a certain setting. A nice cozy little meditation place, your pillow, the rising sun, the first birds chirping away, a fresh mind, an open heart...all that helps. But this takes effort for most of us, at least in the beginning. At first the thought monkeys will play crazy, poking you, stimulation you, stealing your attention away. Day after day though, their monkeying around becomes less frequent. Your thought-less attention becomes stronger with practice. Soon enough it becomes like the morning stretch of your muscles. You do it because it makes you feel good. And then, that feeling that you cultivate during your meditations starts to grow, filling the cup of your being more and more, until it reaches the brim, overflows, and spills out into the ordinary life of everyday activities. This is the ideal. "And if insights then insights on what in particular? How would those insights then be useful to Sunmaster's life, if indeed there was any practical use to those insights?" Maybe we can define insights as "instantaneously recognized truths", and I would argue that there is nothing more practical than that.

I hope you don't expect me to answer all those questions. 😅 I thought about this post while driving from Korat back home. Almost 4 hours of thinking. In order not to forget, I had to write my points in messages to myself while waiting at red lights, getting gas or stopping for a leak. So forgive me if the end result is a bit disconnected. I also have to warn you....my German side is fond of directness and has very little patience for empty diplomacy. It can be easily perceived as rude or aggressive, but remember, it's not personal. I never said that AV is better than other maps or that Swamiji (or AV) has all the answers. I respect him greatly, because when I hear him talk, I recognize that he is not just talking from intellectual knowledge of the map, but he has walked/is walking the territory. When he talks about those beautiful mountain roads, I know he's been there because I remember them too. So, one thing I want to make abundantly clear is that I neither have the knowledge nor the interest in promoting or defending Advaita Vedanta (or any other philosophy/map). Not that AV would need defending from an amateur like me, of course. Like I said in a previous post, AV is simply a map and should not be confused with the territory. AV focuses on self-inquiry and direct experience and as a practical tool to navigate the territory, I've yet to find a better one. My intention is not to chide you or your worldview, but merely give you a little taste of the medicine you so freely prescribe to others, which is to question your own map and ask yourself whether your map is more important than the territory it describes. You mention the analogy of the engine manual. OK, I can roll with that. Yes, you're right that it's important to use the best manual you can find and that once you found it, there is little point in reading other, less detailed manuals. By doing so, you gain a solid base on the functioning of the engine, which is important. As an engineer this surely appeals to you greatly....the rationality and logic behind all those parts working together to produce a complete, efficient engine. Brilliant. When there is a fault, simply consult the manual and do a straightforward fault finding. It's all laid out perfectly before your eyes...A leads to B, which turns C, which produces D...easy peasy. However, does the manual teach you how to drive that car? You'll say yes, my manual has 10 whole chapters about driving! I keep asking you, how does it feel to drive on a beautiful mountain road in autumn just before sunset? You'll say, ahh my manual talks about this exact thing in chapter 4, section 8, paragraph 5 in great detail. It's beautiful. OK, but how does it feel? Have you actually experienced it? Well no, but I know everything there is to know because I studied the manual for many years. The manual says it's beautiful so I'm sure it's great. Right... Your manual may have the better electrical diagrams while the one I use focuses more on valve adjustment. If I ever have a burnt-out light, I will certainly use yours to solve the problem, and if you like you can borrow mine when your engine sputters. No problem. You may have the prettiest manual, with the latest updates and laminated pages so you can spill your coffee without worries, but still, when it comes to driving the car, there is nothing compared to the actual experience of driving the damn thing. Even though, for the sake of intellectual honesty, you generously concede that there is a small chance that your manual might be wrong or incomplete, I have a hard time believing you. Deep down you think your manual is spot on on everything, because if one slim part of it is not, that would mean that all other parts could be off the mark too. Where would it end? It's either all or nothing. If there are parts in other manuals that don't seem to fit with yours, that obviously means that those manuals contain distorted information. Hmmmm....There is not much difference in this attitude compared to someone who uses the bible as a manual. They too confuse the map with the territory. You see, this one card trumps all other cards. No matter how good or detailed a manual is, it's no substitute for the actual driving experience. It is only by driving that you become a better and more experienced driver. And then there comes a point when you will have no need for a manual at all. Holding on to the manual will actually slow you down. You want me to sit around the kitchen table, manuals wide open, and discuss the differences of our manuals. Sorry, but I rather take Basil for a spin and drive into the sunset. Again, sorry if this post is not the most coherent and doesn't have a flowing prose. I was driving the car. (pun intended).

When I paint, I use a number of different brushes and techniques. I could paint with one brush alone and in a single style, but the result would not be the same. It would be quite boring and would not give me the desired result. You "think" you have the answers, but your misunderstanding of Vedanta tells me something else. I'll retire into my bomb shelter for the next few days, just to be on the save side. 😅😬

What? That we try to avoid pain and seek fulfillment? Isn't that obvious in everything we do? And you came to that conclusion after skimming through a couple of videos?

Actually, we did that for a few years (mainly for Thais) over 10 years ago. I was teaching at that time plus starting my own business. 2-3 weekends a month, we would load the pickup with all kinds of wedding decorations and cakes and drive around Thailand, set up everything, wait for the ceremony to end and then dismantle again. It was hard work. We were doing quite well, but then stopped when my biz took off.

Just did a few workshops to pass the time. Today I made flowers in jelly. Surprisingly easy.

My personal baking girl got the first prize! ❤️❤️❤️

My posts are longwinded? I think you're confusing me with someone else. 😄

I have the sneaking suspicion that you may not be the most impartial judge when keeping score. I could be wrong though...

Yes, yes, yesss! You don't post often, but when you do, you hit the nail right on the head! Love it. Anything that helps lessen the grasp of the ego is worth pursuing. I too had such a short glimpse of what it means being truly awake, that's why I often use the dream analogy. I spent 3 decades studying, but I finally came to the conclusion that nothing works like direct experience. Meditation is for me, a great tool to circle back to that state. Art helps as well. Walking alone in a forest or on a mountain is great too. Watching yourself from an eagle's perspective is also a great way. Whatever works is good. Another thing I realised recently. I always assumed that finding the silence behind the thoughts would automatically reveal pure awareness, but it turns out that this silence is just another stepping stone. There's a lot more to it than just quieting the mind. The silence of the mind just gives you the best working conditions for the next step.

The dream is only real in relative terms. When you are in the dream and believe it to be real, it will appear real to you and you won't question any impossibilities or incongruous elements in it. Then, when you wake up, you realize that the waking state is "more real", simply because more of your awareness is now shining its light upon this waking environment, which is consciousness itself. Transposing this to the ultimate reality, you see that this makes sense. Awakening to your true nature allows consciousness to self-reflect by an even greater amount of awareness, thus making it even more real than our waking state. Sure, this everyday reality we're living in feels real enough and it too is made of consciousness manifested. But to call it the same as absolute reality would be a mistake. Laurence Fishburn docet.

Pepperoni in Italy are peppers. What you call pepperoni is salamino piccante. Do I have to teach you everything?!

My wife makes sourdough bread too, so I'm covered. 💪

Exactly, meaning this reality is a dream. Or in vedantic terms, relative reality as opposed to absolute reality.

Funny, because I always interpreted that scene as choosing to stay as the body-mind personality instead of transcending the ego and awaken to the true Self, with the red pill being a symbol for introspective practice. But this interpretation would be at odds with your belief, since you don't believe in transcending the ego. Right? Now look what I have to do...chasing you down in this sandbox thread...the ts ts.

And Ian...lots of dumb Ians. 😄

That's the standard condition of everybody. The inner dialogue is how we make sense of the world around us. We lable all the objects and experiences, put them in neat categories of "good - give me some more" and "bad - avoid at all cost". Thoughts jump around like monkeys, distracting us, stealing away our attention in an endless merry-go-round. You wake up, the mind starts slowly like a steam train. Your first thoughts are "what time is it?", or "that was a weird dream". You are more or less on autopilot until you have your coffee. Your mind however is already in full swing and hasn't shut up since that first thought. And so it goes the whole day. And for most of us, we believe that this constant stream of more or less useless thoughts is who we are and that it is our normal, unavoidable nature to be this way. But that's the opposite of true. It's completely false and everybody can verify this on his own. No books needed, no guru, no funny hat or white coat people. All it takes is the first step and then the second step, and the third and...Well, you get the idea. It will take some time and some effort, sure, but before long you will notice subtle changes in you. The first realisation is that you and that thought stream are not the same. "You" are the observer of that stream. It creates a space between the 2 and in time it becomes more and more difficult for the monkey to run away with your attention. Of course this is only the beginning, but this step will already give you unimaginable benefits in your life. And it's free! Don't give up, it's worth it. 💪💪💪