Alaber, probably there is not much use in describing my experiences. For example, at the age of five I realized that the human world is false. People speak of ideas which are theoretically true, but in practice they are far from true. Still people keep them as “truths”.
It’s actually mind-blowing. May be it was especially mind-blowing for a 5 years old boy, whose parents pretended to be clever and right, logical and rational… Though one day I discovered they were more rationalizing and indulging than actually rational.
They couldn’t explain some facts, but still pretended to be knowledgeable. They kept holding something as true though it was obviously demonstrated as contradictory.
How well could people imagine what I felt? Adults seem to be used to such things and don’t really notice them. Would you see anything strange in what I just said?
For that boy it was a notable experience. He realized that human world, all in those perfect squares and circles, was a theatrical decoration.
When people thought “it is…”, the boy might ignore that opinion. He looked at the reality, discarding – or not relying on – labels and explanations.
I didn’t greet people, because I saw no sense in that. They said, I was impolite, but honestly: why say ‘hello’?
You are here, I am here. We see each other, we can communicate. But saying “Good morning” – what for?
Thus my behavior was sometimes unconventional, and the parents took me to a psychiatrist. On the other hand, sometimes people told me that though I was a child, my eyes were like those of an old sage.
At the age of ten I heard about the Four Noble Truths and the story of Ashoka. It was another overwhelming experience. Before that, I was already puzzled, why people do stupid things, why they remain stubbornly ignorant, why they create suffering (because they obviously often did that by themselves).
And suddenly I learned that I was not alone in the world – Siddhartha was also interested in such questions. He already studied the problem and created a teaching which worked. Ashoka stopped his conquest voluntarily (!) – realizing that it led to suffering.
It was very impressive.
So, perhaps this experience – the realization that human world is illusory, like theatrical decoration – could be classified as Stream Entry. Freedom from:
- Identity view – perhaps, that boy didn’t believe in labels.
- Attachment to rites and rituals – no sense in rituals, even no “Hello”!
- Doubt about the teachings – no doubt, Dharma was seen to be the answer.
Is all that story useful to know?
Maybe people could meditate on those things and reach stream entry too?