The Human Condition

Wednesday 09 Mar 2016

(As seen through Buddhist eyes)

Definition of life.

Life is the experience of both consciously holding on to and conditioning oneself in relation to the world, or being subconsciously held, while being conditioned in relation to the world. Our experience and view of the world can also be conditioned and changed when we are unconscious in relation to it.

Life’s Purpose.

When we are awake to life from this perspective or view, the purpose becomes being aware of these defining situations and working to develop the Wisdom needed to balance the conditions (Past & Future) into the Present Moment. Gradually our “stream of our consciousness” will then become visible. This becomes our life’s work!

Wisdom.

Wisdom is the knowledge that allows one to see clearly what the Buddha called the Three Characteristics of all things. Namely:

• Dukka (The ultimate truth of suffering & dissatisfaction experienced in holding on to life)
• Annicca (Impermanence --- as the nature of all conditions. (things)
• Anatta (The ultimate truth of no permanent Self or Soul. Life is a stream of changing conditions seen consciously or subconsciously).

Practice that follows the Buddha’s “Eight Fold Path”, allows insight and knowing to be refined to deeper levels of sensitivity until life can be seen in relation to Consciousness itself, rather than to the World. One can then become mindful of consciousness and notice that it too is a condition that will cease when it is balanced into the present moment.

Ultimately refining this knowledge with a deeper practice in this direction makes it possible for Wisdom to gradually let consciousness go as this ultimate knowledge matures. The present moment can then be clearly seen as a place of Truth that contains the whole Universe along with a bridge to the “Deathless”.

 The Conscious Field

“Recognising that it is Consciousness that makes up the Universe”.

Deep meditation reveals that it is consciousness that makes up our world. Pure consciousness can be seen as an infinite aggregation that can even connect to multiple universes or epochs. Past to future movement makes a stream of pure aggregation, which shows itself as a stream of still consciousness. This matrix provides the conditioned space for the energy of consciousness to build itself into all the compounded aggregations and gives a structure (Space) for it all live in. (In other words the entire universe lives in consciousness.) Pure consciousness is fungible and as such is not a discrete part of conditioned phenomena. It can swap and arise anywhere because of its interchangeable nature. This insight fundamentally shows the interconnectedness of the Universe and Universes. (Multiple Universes are only acknowledged here because they form part of scientific language.)

Rebirth (Phase Transition)

With the demise of our physical body at death our “stream of consciousness”; that has been grasped and embodied, becomes unrestrained, or unfettered from our body.  Nature is overseeing what is experienced as a “Phase Transition” where the physical body is being subsumed back into energy of the Mind itself. The physicality that was created by the momentum of our discrete stream of consciousness at birth is then retracted back into the mind or what can be called the “consciousness field”. In most instances this process is either subconscious, or unconscious; however there are examples of people who remember the transition.  (This situation can be simulated and verified before death by anyone practiced in deep mediation --- especially with what is called Jhana practice!)

At death the once embodied “mind stream of consciousness” will simply flow into the Conscious Field contained as the Universe and have its effect on this field. In turn the field will embrace the stream of conscious conditioning that our “life” has developed as me and mine and affect a change in it to bring about a new natural rebirth that reflects the grasping momentum that it contains. “Cause and Effect, or Karma and its Fruit --- all in a Dependent Arising!” 

It is said, for what would seem obvious reasons of familiarity; that most human beings will be reborn in and around familiar surroundings with “good and bad” guises that naturally follow on --- fruiting depending on one’s Karma. Good and bad is mentioned in order to cognise and allow for any, incongruences in the shadow side of being that may have potential to fruit. For example a hating condition being born with what is hated.

Memory of Past Lives.

Memory of a past life inside a new life can be problematical, although Professor Ian Stevenson late of the University of Virginia has shown that remembering past lives is a relatively common event for children. He identified that when children are first learning to speak, some remember and speak about their past life, especially if it ended dramatically. Their bodily appearance may also carry a physical memory of the trauma in the form of a scar or marking. He has thousands of case studies. Memories in children have mostly disappeared at 5 or 6 years old. 

Hypnosis in later life can also reveal past lives. Many people have suspicions of past life events, or feel they are reliving conditioning suspected to have come through with them at birth and may seek out the help of a good hypnotherapist.

Deep meditation can also reveal evidence of past lives. When stillness is developed such that conscious conditioning of this current life can be supressed and held at bay, while questions are asked of the subconscious mind. Other people may have a spontaneous memory when something “key” --- an event or happening triggers and unlocks it through one of the 5 or 6 senses, if you count the mind.

The fungibility of consciousness means it is also possible for our Karma to take us across species barriers for rebirth. It may mean that animal existence could be on the cards if animal traits have been substantially developed.

If a more refined consciousness is developed, say, beyond the need for a body, then all kinds of Deva or heavenly realms will ripen and fruit.  A myriad of possibilities are there to arise dependently on how we have conditioned ourselves.

In explaining the “why this or that” of rebirth the Buddha gave the analogy of the Oxen closest to the stable door coming out first and then a progressive “fruiting” (to mix the metaphor), but remembering if the Ox at the back has a mind to get out first, it may succeed!

The Deathless

The Buddha encouraged us to develop Wisdom in order to have the right view of life --- to understand and become conscious in the context of the present moment. This is where the fruit of the Buddha’s path can allow us to let go of delusion and know the un-conditioned. To know the “The Deathless”! A knowing beyond birth and death!

A practitioner can work to know pure consciousness as a condition so well, that it will become obvious to them if and when it finishes, leaving no mind for the currently active stream of consciousness to store or re-embed itself in. In effect, for this practitioner, life at these times has become so right and pure that their conscious mind has ceased. The conditions are no longer in place for them to be reborn if they happened to die when this cessation of consciousness is present. It is an infertile experience that is heralding what the Buddha called Nibana.  In some Buddhist circles it is referred to as “extinguishment”. (As a rough analogy it is like the removal of a computer Hard Drive (HD) and leaving the Random Access Memory (RAM) to follow its coding until it is switched off. Without a HD present to identify itself to the RAM or give instructions on where it left off, the computer is in effect finished.) 

During cessation the practitioner will observe and know that this current active life is continuing to follow its Karma. Cessation will last as long as the momentum that caused it continues to have metier to sustain it. But the knowledge of it is complete and practitioners will know beyond any doubt that this is the pathway to peace. The practitioner will know what cessation is and have the knowledge to continue developing it even if it takes more lifetimes. The Buddha said no more than seven! They will have the ability to work toward a death where all Karma and Rebirth will cease --- extinguish, and he or she will have knowledge of the Deathless. Perfect peace, Nibana --- their life’s work complete!

Post Script

I have titled this blog with a sub title “The Human Condition Through Buddhist Eyes” to recognise that there are people who have developed the ability to see the truth being pointed to here, but will explain it differently to the way I have. This will happen even in Buddhist circles. Further I also want to recognise that there are people who have no interest in dedicating themselves to  investigate how this life comes about and I recognise there choice is just as valid as mine. The Universe is after all, always in a perfect balance, and does not judge who is right or wrong.  However I do think that the “dukka” we naturally experience in life and the dissatisfaction it brings will always send us on this search for freedom. By and large we are naturally engaged in a search to know ourselves and we will all eventually clearly see the confabulation we engage in to convince ourselves that we are free, a confabulation that keeps us on the wheel of life and death… The Buddha said each of us with our own insight wisdom and volition needs to “get out of the house of self”. He said the “house of self is on fire, get out as soon as you can”.