--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "wayback71" <wayback71@> > wrote: > > > > Re death and dying, I have found Yogananda's books of > > comfort. I just started his Gita translation/commentary > > and it seems packed with all sorts of good information. > > Haven't looked at it in decades. Thanks for the tip; > I'll check it out.
The Gita commentary by Yogananda that I have is a 2 volume set that was published only recently. Don't know if it is different than any decades old volume you might have. > > Personally, I would find it comforting to have some > > large extent. All this meditating and yoga for all > > these years, trying to live a "good" life while having > > some fun, caring for family. I am counting on a > > compassionate universe to include me and frankly > > everyone in the normal flow of transition. > > You've just *nailed* the difference between the Hindu > approach to dying and the Tibetan Buddhist approach > to dying. That is, underlying the Hindu approach to > dying is an assumption that the universe is sentient, > is compassionate, and that it has the ability to act > on that compassion with regard to the living and the > dying. In the Hindu cosmology, the basic concept is > that the universe really "runs the show" when it comes > to how and as what one will reincarnate. The Tibetan > Buddhist approach is more based on free will. As a > seeker, you are responsible for your own enlightenment, > or for the realization thereof. > > If you believe that the universe is really running > everything and you don't have all that much to say in > how and where and as what you incarnate next, where > is the impetus to study the mechanics of death, dying, > and reincarnation? You just die and hope for the best. :-) > > On the other hand, if you firmly believe that there > are things that you *can* do to further your own > evolution and find a cool next incarnation in which > *to* further it, then you might tend to study death, > dying, and reincarnation rather thoroughly indeed. > That seems to be what the Tibetan Buddhists did. > Different strokes for different folks, that's all. > > > I don't think we all have to feel responsible for > > learing how to manage each stage of life. > > Nope. But for those who are interested, there is a > wealth of valuable information available. Whether > you are interested in that information or not > probably has a lot to do with how much of a hand > you believe you have with regard to your own evo- > lution, and with regard to how much you think is > *out* of your hands. I do think things here in the unviverse, including me, run on autopilot and that the sense that I have free will is an illusion. This is based on TM meditation - related experiences I have had, so I feel pretty convinced of this (while also recognizing that first, I probably have only experienced a tiny piece of the BIG picture, and second, the meditation technique that gives rise to this may do just that by changing the brain in specific ways related to the technique, but that is another discussion) Nevertheless, since most of the time I have the sensation/illusion that I am controlling my life, I have no choice but to keep on exerting my will and seeking! And if in the midst of this world I DO have some free will, I am betting it has to do with evolution and related choices. So, I am curious. Is there some reading you could recommend? Can't get to Dharamsala in person for at least a few years! snip To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
