Quote:
Originally Posted by Dent
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Very interesting and concise view that encompasses much of Eastern philosophical thought. The main concept of Hinduism is, put bluntly, that everything we experience is just the dream of "It", pure consciousness, and we are inside of that dream. This is why so much of Eastern thought talks of "waking up". Indeed, the very thing that sparked my curiosity in Eastern philosophy was when Buddha said "Remember me as the one who woke up."
Woke up from
what???
I often think about how similar the Eastern mind is to the concept of Solipism in this way, but instead it would not be one individual (human) imagining all of existence in its head, but rather that
we are all potentially fragments of one single consciousness expressing ourselves differently. Effectively, it is possible that every-thing and every-one is simply the Godhead or Consciousness or The Universe or Ultimate Ground of Being, whatever you want to call it, experiencing itself in infinite, myriad forms,
forever.
Which is a
mindfuck.
But it does change the concept of Death from something to be feared, to something to be grateful for, no?
It is a very difficult concept for many to wrap their minds around, I think, because of how strongly attached to our personal identities most people are, especially when we are young. I would also wager that only those who have had their personality collapse or have decided to abandon their personal identity for some reason would even be able to fully comprehend the idea as a serious possibility. Those who lean towards the mystical or shamanistic experiences, people who lose children or spouses are some of these people.
If you didn't watch this video I posted before, you definitely should now. It deals directly with the question you are asking, and Alan Watts is even referenced in the Wiki article you posted. It is >4 minutes, and when I first heard this speech I was awestruck. Even if it's not true, it is an extraordinarily fascinating thought-experiment. If you were God, and eternal, wouldn't you get bored? (Assuming an ultimate consciousness is capable of such an emotion). How would you alleviate that boredom? What, really, is there to
do throughout eternal existence? And wouldn't that significantly alter your view on death?
What are
your thoughts on it?