Zen Buddhism. The Bardo is incomprehesible except as fleeting lights, differentiated only by colors. There is no heaven or hell there, only energies of various frequencies, some of which present values in distinct qualities/quantities.
Jerkey … you do know that Zen emanates from a different fountain than Buddhism … unless of course Buddhism emanates from the same fountain as Zen.
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Is there a pattern here?
The physical manifestation of “stuff” … technology … products … events … imagination followed by an ever growing body of chatter.
Zen enemates from Mahayana Buddhism, pilgrim.
Some argue that Zen emanates from Taoist thought … suppose the history is a bit murky … some legends have Lao Tzu … considered by many to be the father of Taoism … yet … some scholars believe the genesis of Lao Tzu thought is a priori … perhaps as much as 2,000 years before the time of Lao Tzu.
Legend also has it that Lao Tzu opted for voluntary exile … into Tibet … Nepal borders Tibet and recent archaeological discoveries claim Nepal to be Buddha’s birthplace … murky waters for sure.
Chapter 47 Dao De Jing
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Commentary by Wang Keping
This also may explained why the Chinese viewed Buddhism as a brother … more than a stranger … and assimilated some of it into Confucianism and Taoism when it first entered Chinese territory. Contrast this response from the Chinese to Buddhism with the Chinese reaction to Christianity.
This seems to be clearly wrong. Unless we interpret the word ‘all’ as referring only to some limited ‘important’ knowledge. Obviously you don’t suddenly know everything when you become a sage … you don’t automatically know Swahili or other ‘mundane’ things.
And even if it was true, how would the sage know that he knows all without going out and testing his knowledge in the outside world? He could be wrong. He was wrong before he was a sage. How does he know that he is a flawless sage now?
Yeah. Apocalypticists have lost faith and hope in the modern world. Some wanted Trump to win the presidential election because they believed he would bring about the cataclysm necessary to fulfill the prophesies of the Book of Revelation and thus precipitate the second coming of Christ.
Phyllo … your brutal attachment to pragmatism … not a bad thing … may create a “veil” that prevents you from considering a bigger picture.
For example … have you ever asked yourself … “Who is the sage in the Dao De Jing?” Can you see the “face” of the Dali Lama in the sage?
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Surely the sage is someone who knows how the Tao works and he uses that knowledge to be effective in the world.
That’s basically what you can say about Jesus when you strip away the “Jesus is God” narrative.
The word Apocalypse is one of those incredibly complex concepts.
Most users of the word likely see it as a synonym for Armageddon … feel comfortable with the association of catastrophe … annihilation of humanity and planet.
For me … there is enough wiggle room for alternative explanations.
For example … what would an apocalyptic metamorphosis of human consciousness look like?
Apparently the word apocalypse stems from the Greek language.
Phyllo … thank you for softening your posture … if only a tiny bit and only temporarily … on this incredibly complex issue.
The Western Psyche has always called for action … demanded action … reaction … action … reaction.
This behavior created a relentless cycle of action … reaction. When desired results were not achieved the action/reaction turned hostile and violent. The hostility and violence has persistently increased … both in scope and damage.
There is a subtle difference between the Western Psyche and the Chinese Psyche. While not always perceptible the kernel of the Chinese Psyche is non-action … the Chinese expression for this phenomenon is called Wu Wei.
Super Chakra expressed the intent of Wu Wei as: … paraphrasing
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Which is why the West advanced scientifically and technologically, while China stagnated.
The outward focus produces progress.
The questions that remain : Is there psychological progress of individuals in the West? and Is it the same, better or worse than the psychological progress of individuals in China?
maybe god equals psychological progress
they say god is a verb. Or a path.
Phyllo … surely there exists a practical explanation of Western progress and Chinese stagnation.
So many Western scholars/intellectuals marvel at how feudalism survived in China for 2,000 years or so. A valid question … particularly in light of what was happening in the West at the same time.
The answer may be as I stated in my last post … the kernel of the Chinese Psyche is non-action.
Let me take the statement … surely there exists a practical explanation of Western progress and Chinese stagnation to a more abstract level of thought … purely hypothetical of course.
China and the Chinese have been “treading water” … have been in a “holding pattern” … for a considerably long time. Why?
Perhaps waiting for the West to catch up spiritually.
Surely that last sentence will elicit a snort of contempt. 
The explanation seems to be the outward emphasis of Western religion and philosophy. The Western God produces an ordered world and mankind is allowed to use and change it through action.
The Eastern religions and philosophies emphasize changing oneself rather than the world. The world is not so ordered and understandable.
Is it ahead spiritually? You give no reasons why we should think so. Any evidence to support that idea?
I posted this in Manni’s OP this morning … have you read it?
In the NT Jesus tells us the “Kingdom of God is Within” … why the need for churches and hierarchy of leadership.
Are you not the one who keeps saying that very few have a spiritual understanding?
Are you saying that the Chinese do?
Again, what is your evidence? How is this Chinese spirituality manifested?
This also may explained why the Chinese viewed Buddhism as a brother … more than a stranger …
and assimilated some of it into Confucianism and
Taoism when it first entered Chinese territory. Contrast this response from the Chinese to Buddhism with the Chinese reaction to Christianity.
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Some may find fault with the above, and fault can be found with it in terms of what we in the western world consider a journey, but we experience outer directional journeys, because the trend is going out. Inner journeys are untrustworthy because of lack of how we define verification. The influence of the east was much more prevelant in early western thought, and in the east the movement away from it , caused by technological displacement is much less noticeable.
But eventually, regardless, the original authority will have less relevance, and futurism may truncate it where, to the point where causation will break the chain , and changes will occur. This is why tracing the successive forms is so muddy. Zen insists the chain to be unbroken, it is only our knowledge that’s lacking.
Thanks for the paraphrase, very much, for me, it was a jewel of confirmation of interitoriality, of those missing pieces, which can not be outwardly confirmed.