[MD] Food for Thought

[Ham Priday]

[SA]:
> The only difference between your philosophy and
> mine, is, you separate essence from existence.
>
> Why does essence have to be beyond existence?
> I don't see it that way.

I don't either.  "Getting beyond existence" is the perspective the
INDIVIDUAL must strive for to understand the essential nature of Reality.
Essence itself of course transcends (encompasses) all that is actualized in
the subject/object dichotomy.

[SA]:
> The way I view primary reality, since it is undifferentiated,
> is essence experienced here and now.  This is the only
> difference between your view and mine.  Where does
> existence begin and end, nobody can point to it, for the
> Way is bottomless, unending, with trees along the Way.

The experience (sensibility) of "absoluteness" is possible only for Essence
itself.  The creature (being-aware) experiences only the Value of the
primary source.

[SA]:
> I agree that change and transition in nature is
> limited via sensory awareness, yet, the mind is the
> disposition of this place where our senses allow all
> to 'fall' into place.  Our minds are as valleys where
> the senses are the water paths leading into the ocean
> (mind).  Do our senses limit our experience of nature
> and thus the disposition we find ourselves upon using
> our birth-senses (non-technological)?  Sure, since
> I've just mentioned leaving out technology, which has
> enhanced much more to meet our senses.  Yet, our
> senses are still the only tools we have, technology
> just enhances.

Technology enhances our knowledge of relations and provides an
ever-expanding catalog of factual data about them.  But objective data does
not take us beyond the SOM realm of finitude; it does not reveal knowledge
about Essence.

[SA]:
> What of this thinking mind?  What a wonderful
> experience this intellect.  Calm and quiet this mind
> as creatures in a snow storm and you'll walk upon
> all kinds of animals that would have just run away
> before.  Are you evading something upon this
> experience we have upon this earth, Ham?  Or, maybe,
> a better way to put it is, what is it that you yearn,
> yet, feel you don't have?  Will death only bring it?
> When will essence be joined with you?  Or, are the
> distortions and limitations you mention not serious
> problems for you?

My yearning, desiring, is expressed in what I value.  Much of what I value
is in this world of experience.  But I know, intuitively, that the things
and events that make up my life point to a higher, grander reality than I
can ever experience.  Thus, I see that my essential reality is not my
personal being, or my experience of otherness, but Value which I can only
sense conditionally.

[SA]:
> Why make intellectual judgments?  I'm sure I do,
> but a practice of mine is to put quiet upon the path
> as I even discuss with you.  Clutter, distortions do exist.
> Mistakes are rampant, and so, I make it clear that a
> mystery is here.  Do not think too much upon what I say,
> yet, we never stop thinking, so, clarity, quiet, mystery,
> and nondistinctions are what I mention, for no answer
> will be found here.  And yet, when I say this, it is not
> just me saying, but it is an experience I like to keep
> still with that I'm quiet about.

We are all equipped with the capacity to make intellectual judgments; why
not use it?  Life is a mystery that we are all called upon to resolve in our
own way.  I disagree that "no answer will be found here."  We may not be
able to experience it, we may not fully comprehend it, and we surely will
not escape it.
But we all arrive at some fundamental belief, whether we can "prove it" to
our own satisfaction or not, and this belief or conviction represents our
valuistic
interpretation of reality.  It is our most precious asset because it is our
essential self.
> I've found a way that is stable, real, practiced, thoughtful,
> but how do I say this, I can't say proprietary awareness,
> can I?  I talk about it, but just because you read this doesn't
> mean you'll notice this is one place with quiet that is the
> same quiet here and now.  And I keep just saying what to
> do, and yet, this being quiet is not an on-going affair.  Quiet
> doesn't go at all.  Quiet is in the sky, the earth, the mind.
> Quiet is as a moment and we all realize together this in quiet.
>
>  What I'm saying is be quiet!

I hear you and will respect your wishes.  I'll be quiet.

Happy New Year!
Ham