Octabal

I’m sorry, dear, but this is where we part company. I guess that you are looking for the Big Let Go. And for me that is not what Buddhism is about. Apparently, from what I read in many of these posts, that this is what some are after; that is, Nirvana (or, if you want to be cool you say Nabanna).

Rather than trying to find some cosmological thrill ride to the Ultimate Center of the Galaxy, Buddhism is above all, a way to live. And what the Buddha is trying to say is that you don’t need to solve all of your problems, that you don’t need to answer all the questions, you don’t need to become a perfect person, that basically that is a part of the game you are playing that leads to more games, not to less games.

Sure, there are ways to Let Go of the Big One. But, why should I tell you to waste another 27 years of your life looking for something that you already have. Hell, if you want to its your life. But, I’m here to tell you that you don’t need anything more right now than you have already got.

Mystical experiences can be interesting, but in and of themselves they are useless if they don’t teach you about a better way to live your life. And, having the Ultimate mystical experience, to blow away all traces of yourself is anathema to the middle way that Buddha taught. And, that is to know the ultimate truth while living in the realm of one’s life. And, that ultimate truth is that you are beyond all description and beyond all knowability.

So, when you have in your heart a letting go, in showing compassion and forgiveness to those who wronged you, and most importantly to your own self for all of the seemingly idiot choices that you have made in your life, then you rest in the highest truth. The presumption that you have to have the big let go to reach the supreme level, or you haven’t succeeded as a Buddhist, is only about playing more games, not less.

I find it rather amusing that having never sought Nirvana, or salvation, or no-self, that I have had so many varied and deep experiences, while only seeking to investigate myself and the truth. While so many of you have paid thousands of dollars, read countless books, and pursued for so many years of your lives some ultimate experience in the belief that somehow it would save you from yourselves and your lives.