Re: Re: Re: What is the deepest question about reality you can ask?
Originally posted by chillmeistergen
Hahaha, nah, I think Descartes put it a lot better.
I agree, although his purpose for asking, and the way he goes about answering it, have very serious issues, but I suppose that is the problem with that type of philosophy, it is very dated, and it shows.
Also its not really a question when he asks it, unless you characterize it as "what is the pure essence of our being? What are we purely?"
And his answer of course is Simply a thinking thing that is completely reliant on god.
But thats incredibly over-simplified.
Look around you. Are there any sights or sounds or flavors that you've never encountered in all your days? Perhaps other worlds and creatures exist within the space that you perceive and sence in a limited way - worlds that are transparent and unrecognizable from our point of view?
This is what Kabbalah about. Kabbalah as a way of illuminating that reality so it is plain to see. Once that happens and we take it all in, our perceptions of reality are changed.
All metaphors aside, neither science nor phylosophy may be able to help us see the deeper reality. But if we arm ourselves with the wisdom of Kabbalah, we can more fully understand our limitations and begin to test the boudaries of conventional reality and how we can transcend them.
Originally posted by svetluThat is a pretty radical statement. I'm not seeing how Kabbalah does any better than philosophy, honestly. No I've never read it, but if you could explain what you mean that would be great.
All metaphors aside, neither science nor phylosophy may be able to help us see the deeper reality. But if we arm ourselves with the wisdom of Kabbalah, we can more fully understand our limitations and begin to test the boudaries of conventional reality and how we can transcend them.
Originally posted by Quark_666
That is a pretty radical statement. I'm not seeing how Kabbalah does any better than philosophy, honestly. No I've never read it, but if you could explain what you mean that would be great.
Let’s make an experiment: just for a moment, try forgetting everything you know. Forget yourself, the universe, your parents, and the chores you have to get around to later. There's nothing and no one. Having a problem getting rid of yourself? Fine, you can keep yourself, since someone has to be doing all that thinking and feeling. But outside of you there is only an ocean of Light. There is nothing in all of reality except you and this Light, the Creator.
This is the reality Kabbalah reveals to us. And whenever you imagine anything besides the Creator or His Light, you are merely seeing imaginary pictures inside of you. In fact, this notion is not so far fetched for the average person, since modern science already shows that the picture of the world we see is actually depicted inside our brain.
But where did we get this knowledge about this ocean of Light that is the only thing outside of us?
We learned it from people who lived in this world just like everyone else, and who one day had a revelation of something higher. They began to see through matter, beyond the physical world. As they explored these new sensations, they discovered that behind everything we see, touch, hear, taste or smell, there is only one force that influences us. And they described it as the “Upper Light” or the Creator.
These people are called “Kabbalists,” and the wisdom they have passed down to us through the ages, Kabbalah, speaks about the revelation of Godliness. To understand what this means, you should cast aside any associations you may have with these terms. In Kabbalah, the revelation of Godliness means knowing how to feel the single force that is all around you, called “Upper Light.”
So how does Kabbalah enable me to feel this? The tools for revealing the Upper Light are Kabbalah books.
The Key Within Kabbalah Books
A Kabbalah book is no ordinary book. It contains a special key that can be used by the person reading the book, if he only knows how to read it.
First, one should know how to tell an authentic Kabbalah book from other books, because not all books that say “Kabbalah” are authentic. Moreover, even if a book is really an authentic Kabbalah book, it may not be suitable for everyone.
This is because Kabbalists composed books in many different styles and in different historical periods. And there is a very specific style that was created specifically for our generation. According to Kabbalists, our generation is the first that will practically begin implementing the wisdom of Kabbalah on the global scale. This is a generation where absolutely everyone is able to reveal the Creator.
So which Kabbalah books are the best for the modern person to read? Any books containing the writings of the last great Kabbalist, Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), who lived in the 20th century. Yet, it is recommended that a beginning student first read books interpreting Baal HaSulam’s writings, to ease one's way into those monumental works.
Such books provide the inlet to the concepts used in Baal HaSulam’s writings, and most importantly, guide one in reading them. In fact, proper reading of Kabbalah books is not an intellectual matter; one does not need to understand what he reads. The key inside Baal HaSulam’s writings is found through one’s desire to feel the reality that they are “trying to show him.”
What does this mean? If one simply reads the book with an open mind and heart, letting it guide him, and allowing the new sensations to pass through him, then one is reading a Kabbalah book correctly. So the formula to revealing the Creator in the modern age is very simple: read the right kind of book, and read it the right way.
Originally posted by Quark_666Because it's not a matter of mindset. Any system which can be expressed in words, images or thought is ultimately only a map, not the territory.
That's all possible without the Kabbalah. I could make me believe it if I wanted to and still reject the Kabbalah to the core. I have recieved no evidence that gaining that mindset makes me any wiser though.
Kabbalah is the mystical facet of Judaism, and like any mystical system it ultimately depends on a direct experience of transcendent reality. Anything else (if you'll pardon another metaphor) is the menu, not the meal. But as with every mystical system, there is instruction on how to reach for this experience. Typically, the Western mystical systems call it prayer, but I think this tends to confuse Westerners. The Eastern mystical systems call it meditation, which is clearer, but even this word has distracting connotations. I've always found the following a wonderful way to express what action is required...
A merchant came to a Zen master and said, "Master, I know you are busy, so please write on this scroll some maxims of the highest wisdom for me to study." And the master wrote, "Attention." The merchant was puzzled, and said, "I don't understand." And the master wrote "Attention. Attention."
"But all you're doing is writing 'attention'. Isn't there anything else?"
And the master wrote it three times running: "Attention. Attention. Attention."
Exasperated, the merchant demanded, "What do you mean by 'attention', anyway?!"
"Attention means attention," the master replied.
So much for the proper tool/technique. The next logical question would be, "How do you know if what you are experiencing during meditation is transcendent reality?"
That's the $64,000 question. Theoretically, transcendent experience is open to careful observation, prediction (especially as it may translate to the empirical world) and intersubjective consensus. But more immediately, the answer is, you don't know. At the very least, if meditative insights help to improve the quality of your life, then minimally it has that merit.
Mindship: Kabbalah is the mystical facet of Judaism, and like any mystical system it ultimately depends on a direct experience of transcendent reality. Anything else (if you'll pardon another metaphor) is the menu, not the meal. But as with every mystical system, there is instruction on how to reach for this experience. Typically, the Western mystical systems call it prayer, but I think this tends to confuse Westerners. The Eastern mystical systems call it meditation, which is clearer, but even this word has distracting connotations. I've always found the following a wonderful way to express what action is required...(quote)
There are no meditations in Kabbalah. There are intents and precise forces of thought that lead the world (actual leading and affecting of the world is possible only through thought).
Tibetian stidies lower a person to vegetative, or even a still level. Those who study these methods feel comfortable because the most comfortable situation is that of stone, which is still. After all, what else could man want but to rest? These studies are built entirely on the destruction of the ego. But egoism(our desire for pleasure) must not be destroyed because it is our very nature. From this we can understand how destructive such studies are to one's egoism.
By this way, man will never attain the purpose of creation. If we are to live like a plant or a rock, we might as well not be born at all.
Kabbalah maintains that we should take all our egoism, all our nature, and begin to deal with it correctly. Then we will reach the highest situation, not the lowest.
Originally posted by svetluOn the contrary. It may not be called "meditation," per se, but there is (eg) contemplation of the sephirot, or of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Whatever the focus, the idea is the same, to clear the mind of its on-going daily ruminations so that the light of the divine may begin to shine through. Heck, what do you think the motions of davening are for, or the prayer shawl which covers and separates the Jew from his immediate environment.
There are no meditations in Kabbalah.
Tibetian stidies lower a person to vegetative, or even a still level.Incorrect. The idea, again, is to still the mind. Its inner dialogue is like the sun which blocks the light of the stars. Quiet the mind, and the more distant light of God's emanations become "visible." Put another way, the same developmental sequence which enables one to grow from infancy to adulthood is "re-ignited," so that the sequence may carry us from the ego to higher states.
These studies are built entirely on the destruction of the ego.Again, not correct. "Ego death" is the common (and erroneous) Westerner's perception of what meditation does. The ego is regarded as a necessary step in the development of human consciousness, to be superceded, not destroyed, no more than the child within us is destroyed by the adult. It merely takes its place.
Kabbalah maintains that we should take all our egoism, all our nature, and begin to deal with it correctly. Then we will reach the highest situation, not the lowest.This I would agree with.
quote: (post)by Mindship:
On the contrary. It may not be called "meditation," per se, but there is (eg) contemplation of the sephirot, or of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Whatever the focus, the idea is the same, to clear the mind of its on-going daily ruminations so that the light of the divine may begin to shine through. Heck, what do you think the motions of davening are for, or the prayer shawl which covers and separates the Jew from his immediate environment. (quote)
In athentic Kabbalah there is noting to do with any material thing like Hibrew letters or shawl or tefilin, etc. There is only person's job with his thoughts and aims. There are no ceremonies in the study of Kabbalah.
Originally posted by svetluAuthentic. It's been a while since I read the history of Kabbalah. I remember Kabbalah having a few different versions (eg, Lurianic). Same core concepts, but slightly different shades of interpretation, particularly how the Ein Sof begins Its manifestations.
In athentic Kabbalah there is noting to do with any material thing like Hibrew letters or shawl or tefilin, etc. There is only person's job with his thoughts and aims. There are no ceremonies in the study of Kabbalah.
Also how does authentic Kabbalah see Akiva in relation to Moses?