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Contemplative, illusionist, progressive.
One of the beautiful things about photography to me is the eloquence of silent communication that happens when an image is perceived. My current situation can easily didacted into 3 concise images. And I have become intimate with scrolling random images and embroidering a short story built with image and prayer and music.
Ryan Singer, Practicing Diamond Way Buddhist since 2004
Written 1 Apr 2012 No, it doesn’t mean that it’s pointless at all.
Buddhism invites us to look closely to see how things really are. From an ordinary point of view things seem very solid and real. However when you look closely you will see that things are constantly shifting and changing. Also when we are in a good mood we see lots of good things. But somehow when we are in a bad mood we only see problems around us. In this way, the example of a dream or an illusion is used to show how the things we experience outside and inside aren’t as solid and real as we are used to thinking.
It’s important to remember that there is a big difference between a good dream and a bad dream. When the dream is pleasant we relax, we become more open, we are able to go beyond our own limitations and become interested in others, etc. While if the dream is bad and we are being chased or something unpleasant is happening, the experience is tight and constricted and painful.
So it’s both an illusion and also something to work with skillfully. According to Buddhism, whatever pleasant or unpleasant experiences we have are due to our past actions. Like, meaningful actions lead us to future pleasant experiences while harmful actions produce problems.
It’s good to mention that the goal in Buddhism isn’t to just have a good dream. In Buddhism the goal is to go beyond good and bad dreams and rest in the unchanging awareness that is behind all the passing ups and downs. This experience is more intense than the best dream and it is lasting. From that basis we are able to really help others. 15.7k Views ·