hi, Sufism is the one path that unites all and it even predates
Islam. All great men come from Afghanistan like Rumi …even Zen
buddhism was said to be handed down from sufi masters. So I’m
wondering if anyone of you practise sufism?
Hi, I have recently written an article about the mystical core
of all religions, and their relation with Buddhism.
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On the surface it seems very similar. For example, Hinduism
teaches Self-realisation, Non-ego, and purportedly provides a path
to enlightenment and liberation for its followers. (Mystical)
Taoism, Christian Mysticism, Islamic Sufism, Judaist Kabbalah and
so on are also very similar.
Because when we're talking about the core of religions, it's the
mystics/contemplatives that are the 'highest level'
practitioners... who seek to understand the truth of their
religions not just by belief, theories or even feelings/emotions
(common religious seekers may have powerful life-changing
experiences or encounters with the divine force/spirit, or
miracles, but Spirit/God will always seem to be "separate" from the
"seeker" until they realise union/its true nature) but by complete
union with the true essence of god.
But for the mystics, its a direct experience of the UNION with
the Divine Presence of God, or in Hinduism they call it the
realisation of the (true) Self, which is a non-personal Self, its
the true self, the God-self. "God-consciousness". It's a complete
dissolving of any sense of individuality into God/true-Self, a sort
of non-dual experience (but not the kind of non-duality in
Buddhism) and realising the true identity of luminous pure
consciousness as God.
In Hinduism its the identity of atman with Brahman (God, the
Whole). Means completely dropping false notions of self and
become/realise the true divine mind.
In Christianity, Paul said: I no longer live, but Christ
lives in me! (Gal. 2.20) -- see http://frimmin.com/faith/mysticismintro.php
In Taoism, Chuang Tzu calls it entering the Divine, the One. The
Tao. And the forgetting of the 'self'.
The falling away of self is common to all religions. But in
Buddhism, No-Self is not a state or stage of the falling away of
the ego or personality or a state of union with divine, it's
actually a Dharma Seal or the nature of reality. And, there is no
identification with an eternal witnessing consciousness as the
Self, the view and experience of other mystics.
That means, those mystics experience Consciousness/Awareness as
an Eternal Watcher (which is God), a non-judging and permanent
watcher watching everything in life yet remaining unaffected and
unchanged. But when non-duality is realised, it's seen that
there is no Observer apart from Observed. The true face of
consciousness is seen. Scenery sees, there is no seer. Sound hears,
there is no hearer. Thought thinks, there is no thinker.
All along the
transience rolls and knows; no separate watcher is real or
needed.
Also the core difference in Buddhism is the teaching of
Dependent Origination, Emptiness. It's difficult to explain, but
even for the Hindu Advaita-Vedantins for example when they
experience pure consciousness, they will make Consciousness into a
permanent luminous-void background reality where phenomenon arise
and subsides within while the background is unchanged (notice the
duality here)... they will fail to realise that consciousness is
everything without a background. And furthermore, they will fail to
see that consciousness and conditions cannot be separated, and the
nature of consciousness is Empty.
For example, Shaivism which worships Shiva teaches that since
all things are Shiva, and Shiva is real, everything is real. This
is the realist point of understanding, but they will fail to
understand that consciousness is Empty and inseparable from
conditions.
I am not good at explaining, but just want to say that the
subtlety of spirituality cannot be overlooked. Have a good
understanding of No-Self, Emptiness/Dependent Origination, and
everything will be very clear.
You probably read this, but if you haven't, this is our
moderator Thusness's Six Stages of Experiences, from the
realisation of the pure consciousness of I AM, to No-Self, to
Emptiness. All are related to pure consciousness, but just that
whether the true nature of pure consciousness is realised.
http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2007/03/thusnesss-six-stages-of-experience.html
