Blind(Unenlightened) People

The Watercooler
1

I think all normal people are blind and seems to be blindly searching for truth. We examine reality and take various conclusions as the truth.

  1. Matter - Science. Thousands of scientists have spent countless hours searching and examining and has discovered a lot of the workings of the reality. Following conclusions are by no means represents the whole scientific community but some/majority of the scientists believe in them in my opinion.
    Consciousness emerges from matter → No Free will → No self (Annihilation)

  2. Consciousness. Many meditators/yogis across different traditions/religions have closely examined consciousness and has arrived at different conclusions.
    I am Observer/Eternal Observer - ( Eternalism)
    All is One / Brahmam - (Eternalism)
    Cessation of Consciousness is Freedom/Nibbana - (Annihilation)

  3. Not self
    Nothing belonging to a self is found → No Self (Annihilation)
    Non dual → Nirvana = Samsara

  4. Fabrication
    Web of Causality → No Doer → No Self(Annihilation)
    We fabricate all of reality → Mind Made reality

All these results can be verified and they can be experienced by themselves. But I think they are not 100% correct and only represent a partial view of reality. Although in each framework there are additional assumptions that make it seem as they are 100% complete. When we compare these conclusions to the Pali canon, it is easy to discover that None of these represents the Budda’s way.

I think our own views are very different from each others as we only view a partial reality as though we are blind. Thus we would approach the Noble Path also through these different views. I think it’s important to listen to different and opposing views as most of their fundamental assumptions are also verifiable as truth.

“Mendicants, there are these four ties. What four? The personal ties to covetousness, ill will, misapprehension of precepts and observances, and the insistence that this is the only truth. These are the four ties.

The noble eightfold path should be developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of these four ties.”

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