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Originally Posted by Past Tense
I have a question for you.....
I really want to know what you think happens after we die.....
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OK, I'll try to explain what I think...
Imagine the universe was a sea of water, the water represents the "essence" or energy of the universe present in everything that exists. Our lives are like waves in the sea, rising and falling. We all rise from the same thing, are made of the same thing, and return to the same thing. It is an error in our perception for us to consider ourselves as separate from the universe. It isn't "me" and then everything else, we are a part of the whole, existent in the universe.
So when we die, our energy just returns (well not really, since it is already there) to the universe. The energy changes into a different form. Our lives end, but begin again in a different way. Another way to think of it is like a lit candle lighting an unlit candle, and then the first candle being put out. The second candle is not the first candle, but its existence is a result of the first candle's existence, and they are both the same thing.
If you're wondering what the effect on our consciousnesses as we know them now will be, I think it will be void. The word nothing does not really describe the kind of void I am talking about. There is neither nothing nor anything, no thing exists. To think this is a bad thing is a misconception, there is only one way to take the void and that is with indifference. It is not good, it is not bad, it also isn't anything between good or bad.
As for eternal life or damnation, what I've said above does not mean they don't exist. Eternal life can be realized in your time "alive." When most people think of eternal life, they think of infinite as long, when actually it is beyond the concept of long and short. Eternity can't be long or short because it has no length, and length is relative. Eternity is right now. The current moment is infinitely small, it is impossible to measure it because as soon as you do it's already gone. Being infinitely small, it is also infinitely large because infinite can't be small or large.
So experiencing a moment is experiencing an eternity, and you can also find solace in the fact that the moment is always there. Even after your death, the moment is always there, as is the universal essence. As individuals, wanting eternal "life" wouldn't make sense, because us being alive means we have to die. If we didn't have to die, we wouldn't be alive. Nothing in the universe is permanent, absolutely nothing. Everything will change, and is constantly changing, wanting things to stay the same would be like going against the flow of the ocean, when you yourself are a part of it. You are the very thing that is flowing, and it's impossible to use your own power to go against yourself, you can't do anything other than what you're doing.
However, while nothing is permanent, at the same time everything is eternal. Since everything is part of the universe, and exists in the now, everything is infinite. A clever person would say to me, "well, if you adhere to your proposed law, doesn't that mean the universe is also impermanent, if nothing is permanent?" And the answer to that is yes, the universe is also impermanent.
This can be explained by the fact that everything runs on vibrations and fluctuations, small and large. From our hearing to our lives, everything is vibrating. And you can't have one side of the vibration without the other. You can't have a sound without a silence, otherwise you wouldn't be able to hear it. You can't have a day without a night. Everything is rhythmic and follows a pattern. One you are probably aware of because it is noticeable during our life time is the seasons, they always change, but always follow the same pattern. Lunar months are the same. One example of a fluctuation out of our life time is the climate on the earth... It goes from ice age, to non-ice age, back to ice age and so on. We go from life to death as a fluctuation, and then go back to life in another form. I suspect the same of the universe, that it fluctuates in and out of existence. If you believe in the big bang (I am not sure if I do, I don't think its necessary to speculate on the beginning of the universe), one idea could be that the universe will reach the apex of its existence, implode back into the nothingness from which it came, and then explode back into existence... But that's just speculation, nobody really knows what the mechanics of it would be.
"Heaven" and "Hell" can be experienced while "alive" but technically require death (and rebirth, both metaphorical). Heaven has been described as God's kingdom, and being with God. God is everything, think of God as the "essence" of the universe, the water. He is part of us all, he is everything, everywhere. To be with God all it takes is to realize you are with God, you can't not be with God. The feeling of heaven (could be considered contentment but that is a terrible word for describing what it feels like) is amazing. If you feel it even once, it feels like your life can end whenever and you wouldn't mind. You are at ease, no longer requiring anything. Remember I said eternal life is possible because the universal essence is eternal, and you are the universal essence? Just put God in there and it means heaven. "Eternal life in heaven is possible because God is eternal, and you are God/God is you." The death I speak of that is required is death of your "self." All your life you have probably thought of yourself a single person, once you realize the truth of the whole, that single person ceases to exist.
Hell is eternity without God. Many christians are in hell, they are searching for God. Obviously if they are looking for God they don't realize they can't not be with God. Other christians are christians because they are trying to understand things better, not "find god," because they realize you can't find him, hes already everywhere. Being in hell is eternal suffering, caused by desire. Hell is explained very well in Buddhism, they call it Samsara, the world of suffering. Funnily enough, that is just the world as we know it. Full of wants and desires that are impossible to fulfill. Or as soon as they are fulfilled, a new want/desire emerges. Here is an explanation of it, an excerpt taken from a text about the 2nd noble truth, the truth about the cause of suffering (craving aka desire, and ignorance).
CRAVING
is the deep-seated desire that all living beings have for the pleasures of the senses, and for life itself. For instance, people always seek to enjoy good food, entertainment and pleasant company. Yet none of these can give them complete and lasting satisfaction. After the fine meal has been eaten, the beautiful music heard and the pleasant company shared, one is still not content. One would like to enjoy these pleasures again and again, and for as long as possible.
People who desire to own many things also can never be fully satisfied too. Like children in a toyshop, they crave all the attractive things they see around them. But like children, they soon become dissatisfied with what they already have and desire more. Sometimes, they can hardly eat or sleep until they get what they want. Yet when they succeed in getting what they want, they may still find their happiness short-lived. Many will be too worried for the safety and condition of their new possessions to enjoy it. Then when the object they possess eventually breaks into pieces and has to be thrown away, they will suffer its loss even more.
When we have obtained something we desire, we may want more and more of it, and so greed arises. Because of desire and greed, people will lie, cheat and steal to get what they want. Uncontrolled desires can also lead to addiction, for example, to smoking, drinking and overeating, all of which lead to suffering and cause mental and physical harm.
If another person prevents one from getting what is desired, one may feel anger towards that person. Desire, when obstructed, can lead to ill will and anger. This in turn can lead to harsh words, violent quarrels and even fights or killings. All this is suffering.
IGNORANCE
Craving or desire is like a great tree having many branches. There are branches of greed, of ill will and of anger. The fruit of this tree is suffering, but how does the tree of craving arise? Where does it grow? The answer is that the tree of craving is rooted in ignorance. It grows out of ignorance.
Ignorance is the inability to see the truth about things, to see things as they really are. There are many truths about the world which people are ignorant of because of the limitations of their understanding.
Science has shown, for instance, that there are sounds that people are unable to hear and waves of light that they are unable to see. People would be totally unaware of radio waves, or ultra-violet light rays if special instruments had not been developed to enable them to observe these things. So long as people remain ignorant of things about the world in which they live, they suffer from all kinds of misunderstandings and delusions.
Sound like our existence? Yes. Sound like Hell? Yes, to me at least, this is what hell is like.
If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, but I think that explains it at least vaguely.
03-16-07, 05:34 PM
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