[MD] an authentic teacher?

[Dallas Van Winkle]

I definitely agree with the death and emptiness thing. In fact, it instantly
sheds light on all kinds of cultural consistencies. For example, in popular
American culture, there is an overt fear of passivity, a fear of the
feminine, a tendency and desire for war like, positive male cultural
attributes. Even in intellectual circles where war is denounced, most
atheists posit the belief in material, as if that weren't redundant.

And of course, the Christian tradition led us to cover our embarrassments in
the shape of laying dirt over corpses. Death is an embarrassment, because it
is a reminder of the ultimate nature of our selves, the lack of any kind of
absolute reality, i.e. emptiness.



On Nov 6, 2007 4:47 PM, Heather Perella <spiritualadirondack at yahoo.com>
wrote:

>
>     [SA previously]
> > I find death to be very comforting and clear in its'
> > direct experience of
> > reality.  I really go through high moments of
> > clarity during funerals and
> > days after funerals.  Some deaths still are strong
> > enough that even their
> > memories stir a clarity of life
> > like no other, one such is my father's. Still, I
> > find the need to stay warm
> > and cozy during these autumn nights and now that it
> > is morning I'd say these
> > mornings, too.
>
>     [Joe]
> > ŒComforting¹ is not a word I associate with death!
> > Louise¹s struggles to pay
> > attention to nothing but her own emptiness were
> > terrifying.  A friend¹s son
> > met death in a motorcycle accident because his body
> > was so broken he was
> > unable to experience anything but emptiness. Such
> > clarity is not comforting!
>
>     Yes, I would agree with you that associating
> emptiness and comforting would conclude non-comfort.
> Notice I didn't associate my experience of death with
> emptiness.  To have a void such as emptiness involved
> with death would be uncomfortable I would assume.  I
> don't have this sense of emptiness at this moment for
> those that have died in my life.
>
>    [Joe]
> > IMO death can only happen to one who has been forced
> > to stare at emptiness
> > either by force or willingly.
>
>
>    Death only happens by staring at emptiness?
> Please explain.  I don't understand.
>
>    [Joe]
> > For myself Œcomforting¹ is not a word I
> > associate with emptiness.  Death is no teacher,
> > Christ notwithstanding.
>
>    Why do you associated death with emptiness?  This
> is unique to me.  Please help me understand your
> perspective.
>     To me everything I experience is a teacher.  Even
> suffering, pain, and Hiroshima have much to teach.  To
> be a teacher, to me, is something that does not
> necessarily have to make somebody happy and numb to
> sadness.  A teacher may induce crying tears from time
> to time.
>    Also, what do you mean by "...Christ
> notwithstanding."
>
> thank you.
>
> woods,
> SA
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
> Moq_Discuss mailing list
> Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc.
> http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org
> Archives:
> http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/
> http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
>