Buddhism and What it Offers
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2019 10:31 am
Since self is illusion, and all things are result of cause and effect, such that there is no inherent is-ness or self to anything. The illusory self is just a process of chemical and electrical signals interacting with stimuli, the illusory self is an emergent phenomenon and once the chemical and electrical signals stop, the self or the illusion that is called self also stops. This process happens in all humans, from the crackhead in the gutter to the Buddha.
In buddhist lingo, this would equate to the five skandhas ceasing. This happens naturally and without effort, it is the inevitability of all things.
Buddhism does take this further though by positing that there is rebirth, and that when the body stops functioning there is something which transmigrates. Not necessarily a soul, but something, otherwise everyone would reach final nibbana at the moment the body stops functioning. However rebirth takes a leap of faith to believe in, as there is no evidence of such a thing existing or happening at the moment the body stops functioning. There are some interpretations which equate rebirth not in a one body to the next, but a psychological process which occurs all the time, but this seems to be nothing more than a secular interpretation to come to terms with something the Buddha talked about which goes against modern materialism.
But, for arguments sake, if this is a real phenomenon, for it to matter there must be a continuation of experience from one birth to the next. For if there is no continuity, and one illusory self dissolves and another arises from a new body, the former illusory self will have no experience of the latter illusory self and thus practically achieved final nibbana. There is no self, no being, nothing inherent exists, why all the effort to achieve something which already is. If the suffering of the illusory self of this body ends when the body stops functioning, than there are only two explanations. One is that there is a transmigration or continuity of experience, which takes a leap of faith to believe. Or the second which is there is nothing attained in this life beyond relaxation techniques or intellectual curiosities contemplated by following the teachings of buddhism. Such that the crackhead in the gutter, and the ardent practitioner living in perfect accordance to buddhist teachings end up the same, as nothing, because they never were. The illusion stops when the body stops functioning.
Hopefully that made some sense, have a good day.
In buddhist lingo, this would equate to the five skandhas ceasing. This happens naturally and without effort, it is the inevitability of all things.
Buddhism does take this further though by positing that there is rebirth, and that when the body stops functioning there is something which transmigrates. Not necessarily a soul, but something, otherwise everyone would reach final nibbana at the moment the body stops functioning. However rebirth takes a leap of faith to believe in, as there is no evidence of such a thing existing or happening at the moment the body stops functioning. There are some interpretations which equate rebirth not in a one body to the next, but a psychological process which occurs all the time, but this seems to be nothing more than a secular interpretation to come to terms with something the Buddha talked about which goes against modern materialism.
But, for arguments sake, if this is a real phenomenon, for it to matter there must be a continuation of experience from one birth to the next. For if there is no continuity, and one illusory self dissolves and another arises from a new body, the former illusory self will have no experience of the latter illusory self and thus practically achieved final nibbana. There is no self, no being, nothing inherent exists, why all the effort to achieve something which already is. If the suffering of the illusory self of this body ends when the body stops functioning, than there are only two explanations. One is that there is a transmigration or continuity of experience, which takes a leap of faith to believe. Or the second which is there is nothing attained in this life beyond relaxation techniques or intellectual curiosities contemplated by following the teachings of buddhism. Such that the crackhead in the gutter, and the ardent practitioner living in perfect accordance to buddhist teachings end up the same, as nothing, because they never were. The illusion stops when the body stops functioning.
Hopefully that made some sense, have a good day.