A Life of Contemplation.

Yup, we live in paradise already. Just the greedy and power lusting that screw it up.
 
Tao; Greetings dear fellow!

He gets it, by jove I think he gets it. Allah would smile greatly upon you. We indeed already have paradise, it is here for the taking, it is here to be admired, loved, used and appreciated. However most of us are too busy looking for something better.

Hasbun Allah wa ni'am al-wakil.
You.
 
You said:
We indeed already have paradise, it is here for the taking, it is here to be admired, loved, used and appreciated. However most of us are too busy looking for something better.
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You not only think like me, you look like me too... albeit a couple of decades younger.

Welcome to IO.

I look forward to more posts.
 
the problem is though... we romaticise retreats and a contemplatative life... even when we're there, we will still work, and cook, and eat, and chop wood... still there are humans crying and moaning and causing divisions and stirring up hatred and jealousies... just because u put the robe on doesnt mean ur immune to life, and the real day to business of existing...
 
I am personally more suited to periods of retreat for contemplation, although those times have been few and far between in my life. I like to think of my whole life, as it is day to day, as one with balance of contemplation and worship and finding the sacred in everyday actions. Mind, body and soul, keeping all in harmony.

I think a monastic life would be very hard in some ways. Monks and nuns are still people who get on each other's nerves and have no place to escape. You are forced to deal with each and every relationship, good bad and ugly. But there is a sacredness and holiness in that endeavor. It's like what we are supposed to be doing out here in the world any way.
 
path_of_one said:
I had a really spectacular spiritual experience and realized that at the termination of my egoic self is an expansion into unity with absolutely everything. And that expansion is so, so much better in every way than my lackluster ideas about heaven that it just sort of shattered that entirely. Although I certainly miss those I have lost, I know now that when "me" is swallowed up by the Divine, there will be no one to miss and no desire to fulfill.
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Beautifully expressed.

s.
 
Tao_Equus said:
Yup, we live in paradise already. Just the greedy and power lusting that screw it up.
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Sure, and envy and the willingness to shift one's burden of personal responsibility onto the shoulders of others.


eudaimonia,

Mark
 
I couldnt possible devote my life to contemplation.
I do like silence, I can occupy myself and i rarely get bored. I like to have noise, music, some kind of sound around me. (most of the time).
However, i do find i think a great deal and work out problems, (with myself and the world, lol) when i am walking my dog or even better when i am mowing the lawn.
So perhaps i should amend my statement, i could devote a small part of my life to contemplation, but it would have to be a really big yard.
 
path_of_one said:
I can see circumstances where living a contemplative life is not selfish, and others where it would be. If one has no responsibilities in terms of relationships (children or partner) and is wholly free to do whatever one wants, a monastic life would in many ways be beneficial to the world at large. Generally much more energy efficient and sustainable, plus I think that one's work toward a peace and joy filled life matters on an energetic level here on earth. We need more people grounded in compassion and peace, and people seem to struggle with it a lot more in "regular" life.

As for heaven, I'm a theist and I still don't get it either, Tao. I understand the desire for heaven, because of course we wish for some sort of egoic continuity and to see all our loved ones again just as they are, and some sort of life without need for work or pain or death.

I hate to say it this way, but it is truly what happened in my own life- I just outgrew such desires or need. I had a really spectacular spiritual experience and realized that at the termination of my egoic self is an expansion into unity with absolutely everything. And that expansion is so, so much better in every way than my lackluster ideas about heaven that it just sort of shattered that entirely. Although I certainly miss those I have lost, I know now that when "me" is swallowed up by the Divine, there will be no one to miss and no desire to fulfill. I have the rest of my life (and who knows, maybe more later) to work toward realizing this in my everyday life. And when I do consistently, I believe I will have found "heaven" on earth. If we did as a species, we would suffer no more. But I think we're a long way off from that. It takes going through the rather painful transition of increased disbelief and shattering of the ego to emerge on the other side without fear and with a deep-seated peace about death and letting go.

Anyhoo, I think I posted this once before somewhere on IO, but it's really one of my favorites... just in case I haven't...

"Heaven's Here On Earth"

YouTube - heaven's here on earth
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You know, this is why I love you Kim. That's so genuine. Really, really beautiful! That Gibran guy has nothing on you.

Chris
 
Namaste Tao,

thank you for the interesting post.

were i not a married person i would have entered the monestary several years ago.. indeed, my spouse and i have both indicated that we would have ended up there if we would not have found each other first.

there was a time at the beginning of our relationship wherein it became clear to us both and we had to make some difficult decisions regarding what to do and how to conduct ourselves.

the life of a monastic is no more or less easy than the life of a layperson, just very different, from everyone that i've spoken to about it.

there are some cultures in Asia wherein a being enters the monastic order for several months at a time, sort of like the "summer camp" experience for many western hemisphere youth. in any case, that may be the only time they ever set foot within the monastic walls.

the Suttas make clear that a layperson is equally capable of the Final Fruit and thus where a being practices is not as important as the fact of their practice and thus we were able to resolve a potentially explosive relationship issue quite happily.

if i should manage to stay arisen on this world system for longer than my spouse i plan to enter the monastic life to prepare more thoroughly for my own dissolution though, perhaps, my emotional response will get the best of me and i shall fritter my time away in grief...

"always moving is the future, difficult to say." ~Yoda.

metta,

~v
 
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