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The thing called life

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china
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#1Jul 1st, 2010
There can be understanding of life, and of the significance and beauty of death, only when the mind on the instant perceives “what is”.
Although we differentiate them, love, death, and sorrow are all the same; because, surely, love, death, and sorrow are the unknowable. The moment you know love, you have ceased to love. Love is beyond time; it has no beginning and no end, whereas knowledge has; and when you say, “I know what love is”, you don’t. We know only a sensation, a stimulus.We know the reaction to love, but that reaction is not love. In the same way, we don’t know what death is. You know only the reactions to death, and you will discover the full depth and significance of death only when the reactions have ceased.
 
Cliffy
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#2

Re: The thing called life

Jul 1st, 2010
This is a very difficult topic to discuss because you start with one definition of love and death that leaves very little room for alternative views. Love, for example (in my view) has nothing to do with how we feel toward another. Love is being connected to the source of love, call it the creator, god or what have you. It is a state of being, not a feeling. Same with death: it is a state, a different way to experience consciousness. The body is just a vehicle and when it runs down and stops functioning as a vehicle it transforms into it components and becomes (or absorbed) into other forms of life. The biosphere we occupy is a vast living organism. Nothing is lost, it just changes forms, from microbe to mammal. Life is a closed system on the Earth so the only death possible is if the Earth dies.

I'm not challenging your view, just presenting a different one. I understand where you are coming from, I just come from a different spiritual understanding.
 
L Gilbert
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#3

Re: The thing called life

Jul 1st, 2010
Quote: Originally Posted by chinaView Post

There can be understanding of life, and of the significance and beauty of death, only when the mind on the instant perceives “what is”.
Although we differentiate them, love, death, and sorrow are all the same; because, surely, love, death, and sorrow are the unknowable. The moment you know love, you have ceased to love. Love is beyond time; it has no beginning and no end, whereas knowledge has; and when you say, “I know what love is”, you don’t. We know only a sensation, a stimulus.We know the reaction to love, but that reaction is not love. In the same way, we don’t know what death is. You know only the reactions to death, and you will discover the full depth and significance of death only when the reactions have ceased.

If we can understand life, then it is reasonable to think we can understand love, sorrow, etc. simply because they are a part of life.
Death is easy to define: it's simply the cessation of life.
And lastly, quit saying "you" (referencing other people) when you mean yourself. IOW, speak for yourself.
 
talloola
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#4

Re: The thing called life

Jul 1st, 2010
Quote: Originally Posted by L GilbertView Post

If we can understand life, then it is reasonable to think we can understand love, sorrow, etc. simply because they are a part of life.
Death is easy to define: it's simply the cessation of life.
And lastly, quit saying "you" (referencing other people) when you mean yourself. IOW, speak for yourself.

love and other emotions we have are instinctual, we don't have to plan to show our emotions, they come
in the package we are, when we are born, so we accept all of them, have the ability to use them in a good
way or not, and change them as we go along in life.
Our emotions, love being one of them are very precious, very valuable, and instilled within our thought
process to care for and nurture as we see fit.
Love and other emotions are part of our amazing makeup as a human, and thankfully we have them, or we would be robots, and it is obvious Gil, you are not a robot, nor am
I.
 
AnnaG
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#5

Re: The thing called life

Jul 2nd, 2010
Quote: Originally Posted by talloolaView Post

love and other emotions we have are instinctual, we don't have to plan to show our emotions, they come
in the package we are, when we are born, so we accept all of them, have the ability to use them in a good
way or not, and change them as we go along in life.
Our emotions, love being one of them are very precious, very valuable, and instilled within our thought
process to care for and nurture as we see fit.
Love and other emotions are part of our amazing makeup as a human, and thankfully we have them, or we would be robots, and it is obvious Gil, you are not a robot, nor am
I.

hehe Me either.
I think what he's saying is that if we can understand life, we can also understand aspects of it. I can understand things like happiness, sorrow, love, disinterest, etc. and I think Les understands those as well.
Um, one part I don't agree with is that those qualities are instincts, though. I think they are emotions. Emotions brought on by interaction with other lives and our environments.
 
talloola
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#6

Re: The thing called life

Jul 2nd, 2010
Quote: Originally Posted by AnnaGView Post

hehe Me either.
I think what he's saying is that if we can understand life, we can also understand aspects of it. I can understand things like happiness, sorrow, love, disinterest, etc. and I think Les understands those as well.
Um, one part I don't agree with is that those qualities are instincts, though. I think they are emotions. Emotions brought on by interaction with other lives and our environments.

my reason for believing they are instinctual is because they are inborn in us, and automatically surface
when triggered by something as small as the twitter of a bird, or the sight of a beautiful sunset, we don't
learn how to respond this way, we just do, so for me that is instinctual. We are born emotional beings,
different from each other in many ways, but those instincts are in us at the moment of birth, then we
use them however we want.
 

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