Buddhism and Vedanta
“But the essence of the doctrine, as expressed in the Prajnaparamita and Nagarjuna, has lived in India until to-day, and, under the name of Vedanta, it is still the official doctrine of Hinduism on its highest level.” (Edward Conze, Buddhism: its essence and development, 66)
Magic in A Course in Miracles
A Course in Miracles contains as one of its basic ideas the idea that mind (or consciousness) is the cause of all experience. Mind is not conditioned by, or at the mercy of, experience, but is the basis and substance of experience. Mind is actually responsible for the experiences that arise in it.
I am responsible for what I see.
I choose the feelings I experience, and I decide upon the goal I would achieve.
And everything that seems to happen to me I ask for, and receive as I have asked.
(ACIM 21.iii)
The belief in magic, on the other hand, is the idea that experiences are somehow causal and can condition mind. It is the belief that some aspect of my experience — a special word or ritual, for example — can effect change. By relying on such magical practices, we disregard the causal power of the mind and remain blind to the truth that the special word has no power of its own.
An analogy for this is the film being projected onto the screen. The figures on the screen appear to push and pull each other, but actually they are only the light from the projector displaying various forms.
This kind of magical thinking is very common in our world and pervades just about every aspect. When we evaluate any aspect of experience as being absolutely necessary, we have an example of such magic.
Fripp & Eno – Equatorial Stars
Thinking in photons
I was amused to see a fellow on the sidewalk, wearing a T-shirt that said, “I’m not arbitrary. I’m just thinking in photons.”
Reflections, echoes of thoughts
“Where there is no love, put love — and you will find love.” St. John of the Cross
The experience of life depends on our preferred narration of events. With a released narration, a change of thoughts used to interpret the situation, comes a different experience. If we aren’t experiencing love, we can dream of love, say a loving mantra or some magic words, and let the situation reflect our thoughts.
Robbie Basho
What are the thoughts thought? Discrete entities? Or systemic outcroppings?
Let’s say they link up with mental events, maybe outside the scope of awareness. It’s as though we are always dreaming, but many times only pay attention to what suits us, what is like us. Meanwhile, the particular thoughts we meet are springing forth from a big context we’re not fully aware of. One that might swallow us up if we tuned in to it.
Suppose these thoughts emerge from thought-soup or thought-field. And that thought-soup is formulated by so many tendencies, a vast storehouse of thoughts, an endless warehouse of ideas, images, impressions, fragrances, associations, styles, patterns. And as the whole thought-body sloshes around, heaves and hoes, various faces rise to the surface.
Maybe we try to have a very hygienic kitchen or maybe it’s sloppy and nutmeg mixes in with the mayonnaise. But when I grab your toe, I find that I’ve grabbed the corn fields and the stars, the stickiness of toothpaste on the sink.
In this way, when a thought surfaces, we can trace its links to many other thoughts. And maybe that’s dream interpretation: looking for connections between thoughts and images and experiences. The meaning of the dream is the system of thoughts it reveals.
Watching the waves on the ocean’s surface.
