Looking Beyond the Veil of Illusion

In many eastern schools of thought, the world is nothing more than illusion. Ignorance is

believing the illusion and to stop ignorance you have to look beyond. How do you look beyond the veil of illusion? Do we even want to look beyond the veil of illusion?

Everyone individual was born unique. We all have a unique perspective that are different from anyone else. We share opinions in common but you see the world, uniquely, through your eyes. We make choices based on our perspective many a times. But our perspective is innately flawed because we are the only one who sees that way. So what should a person base their views on? If you can't count on your preception what can you count on?

In Buddhism, it is compassion that leads to enlightenment, and helps you overcome that ignorance. Everything is rooted in compassion. If you view everyone, yourself, your friends, your enemies and strangers with nuetrality with equal compassion then you take a step towards overcoming ignorance. Why should you love your enemies? Because your enemies are ignorant and should be pitied for doing harmful actions and accumulating bad karma. With the idea of reincarnation, you never know how your enemy could pop up in your next life. (mother, brother, sister) Good or bad actions accumulate karma. Accumulated karma is what gives you a favorable or unfavorable birth in your next life. It is through love and compassion, in stopping the suffering of others, that you truly break through the veil if ignorance. (Altruism)

So why are we born as we are, unique individuals with these unique perspectives? According to Buddhism again, we are born into a life of what karma we accumulated in the last. Past-life karma creates your position. We are continually reborn until we can transcend karma and try to attain Buddahood. Buddahood from my perspective is not becoming a God, which some would disagree, but is the highest goal of attainment for a human being. Buddha represents the highest transcendence of a human being.

We seem to spend a lot of time in life on ourselves and ego. We are naturally egocentric but has that ever brought you happiness? The more we focus on self, the tighter we wrap ourselves in the blanket of ignorance. We must transcend that ignorance if we wish to be happy.

Dialog between Buddha and Jesus in Heaven

The girl state prostrate on the ground, crying. She felt helpless and started to cry out in prayer.

"Whoever up there who can hear me, I cannot live anymore. This world is cruel and unjust and people are the same. What can I do?"

In Heaven two were listening to her, Jesus and Buddha. Both were ready to speak and started at the same time. They turned to each other in annoyance.

Buddha started.

"She is in pain, because of her Karma. She has built up fruition and will be reborn as a hell being, animal or ghost if she does not counteract it. Her thoughts are about endlessly bad things."

Jesus retorted.

"She is in pain, because she sees and feels the evil in this world created by Satan. She must learn about God's love and his plan of salvation for this world and herself. How many times do I have to tell you there is no such thing as rebirths. You are born to serve God and then you die and come to my father's kingdom."

Buddha didn't lose a beat.

"What you call Heaven, is what I call Nirvana. I have ceased being reborn and now have peace and enlightenment. You were good in your life, sinless, that is why there was no need for your rebirth. You could not understand the workings of Karma."

Jesus shook his head.

"You are in Heaven, the kingdom my father created. God, the father of all, created the Heavens and the earth. You were born because he created you. You died and came to Heaven because of your good life and your self-sacrifice for others. You mistake this idea of enlightenment, this reward Nirvana, for Heaven. God is the Alpha and Omega and I am the Son of God."

The Buddha looked thoughtfully and spoke.

"If you believe in the Brahman, the force of all creation, we are all equally apart of creation. We are made to live a life of love and compassion and to live virtuously. With a wish for the cessation of suffering and its origins, one must train in the path of morality, concentrated meditation, and wisdom, and with a highly directed mind focused on selflessness.

Jesus shook his head again.

"What you call Brahman, is a mistaken term for God. God created the world, which became corrupt as Satan tempted the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. Through their sin the world degraded into greater and greater sinfulness and self. People became more comptemptible to the creator and therefore he sent me. I was a pure sacrifice to the world. It is my bloodsheed that made it possible for humanity to come back and be forgiven. It is only through me that one can approach God."

The Buddha shook his head.

"You are telling me that one man is responsible for everyone having a relationship with this God. That all else is wrong and that everyone else is damned to oblivion?"

Jesus looked thoughtfully and spoke.

"Yes, there is no other way to the Father except through me"

The Buddha started getting red in the face.

"Then if this is heaven and I must accept this, why am I here?

Jesus paused then and spoke.

"God wanted the amusement.