SageTree

Let me first say, I will used God here and other exclusive terms of religions that I find and reflect personal meaning inclusivly. In my mind God is a verb, its action and creation, physical laws and principles coupled with my ideas of Consciousness and how energy doesn't die as physics has shown it not to. If there is A God in noun form, I consider It subject to the larger laws of Dharma and not to BE the Dharma itself, only experiencing it. Reader beware

I can't answer your questions about that but I can offer you my thoughts. I am leery of what a mainstream thought it on Jesus, without clarification. The Jesus I Love to read about the most comes from the Gospel of Thomas, not excluding other gnostic and and canonical accounts. And these gnostics are not mainstream with in most Christian churches, in my experience. So I hesitate to put my mainstream on you.

And about becoming God...I feel that we are part of God, as I've laid out, because we are part of creation, which would infer our breath is 'his' breath. There isn't dualism involved, in my opinion. I'm part of it all and that means all is part of me. It's our buddha-nature if you will. It's there we just have to realize it. Which is also how I interpret the Atman and Brahma in Hinduism. The goal being to dissolve the attachment self, as was mentioned, and see that there isn't a barrier at all between 'us' and the 'world'...we are it, we are nature, we are the same as the cosmos.

I think that knowing if you mirror him is a personal decision between you and you or you and God, which ever you relate more clearly to yourself.

I personally found the moral code in Buddhism really similar in goals and aims. As well they were very clear and had a means of suggested practice. This accessibility, I felt brought me closer to the Dharma Buddha expounded on, and that I was acting in as a Jesusist or though Jesusism if you will. Helping me feel closely aligned with my understanding of Jesus's message.

Buddha's understanding is considered a vehicle to the Dharma, through the 'laws' of Dharma. Which I find compatible with many things familiar in physics. It's truths to get to the Truth, the faith in Buddhism is in His methods as he contends he found something that was always there. And this is how I also consider the words and teaching of Jesus. He is a vehicle in which we know God/Ourselves better and with clarity. Showing us a higher road that will relieve suffering, which is to say, create an understanding of it, allowing us to act more freely and accepting. This is the element of science, we must test and work through these ideas. We can't force physical laws on the world either without something blowing up in our face eventually.


I think this also speaks to my non-dualistic beliefs. If we are God or the Universe touching and experiencing itself as a nerve ending, then our understanding should be in accord the Dharma, not resisting it. Therefore this passage says to me, know our understanding is part of a larger consciousness and that we shouldn't assume we can out whit the Universe. And if we rest in that present moment of NOW, they 'He', the Dharma or what have you, is directing our path.

Jesus also offers advice on how to cope with these constant changes in life, and seeks to show us a path to a centred place where we can reside in the present moment of Existence, how to meet God, which inhabits all things.

Sounds familiar? I tried not to cut and paste Buddhism right over that, but to me there IS overlap worth just changing some names to fit the metaphor, speaking in Perennial Ideas of religion, and the understanding of Self.

In Buddhism there exists lists to recognize enlightened states based on consensus, which is as vast as the people who have reported it. So in a way there is a field guide for that 'fruit' as you put it. But still think there are many unidentified species of enlightenment.

Nirvana doesn't come to my understand as a place beyond the present. It's a state of non-dual, non-attachment and awareness to the nature of things. An unshakable knowing it's okay and we can bend to what happens. It's pure awareness.

I think that is enough for now. I will go back and fix my typos.

The most important thing to me is to say, these are words, with meaning, yet that all differs as we do. Trying to put my thoughts into a box isn't my favourite thing to do, but it's a message board, so I must try a little I suppose if anything is going to come from desire to help others.

So please take these as a journal entry about your questions and not an authoritative direct for you to act.

I like what you said about joint. That is pretty funny, and a very apt observation about how words play with out thoughts and our thoughts play with words.

-SageTree

Mydriasis, I like what you had to say, but I don't have as wordy of a response for you. I hope you saw some of your questions touched on.

Namaste.

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