Thusness:
Whether it is expressed as “exist conventionally but ultimately empty” or “appear but are empty” is simply a matter of flavour.
Whether it is expressed as “exist conventionally but ultimately empty” or “appear but are empty” is simply a matter of flavour.
What is important is the taste of seeing conventional
things as empty till one’s entire body-mind is pervaded with emptiness - like
space, free and unobstructed.
Another way of putting it is this : the ego,or sense of self, being evaporated...
" .... like space free unobstructed... " , so in such situation/experience,all the subtle,astral and etheric bodies have been " destroyed" ? And after the death of this physical body, one no longer born in any realms anymore,right?
" entire body mind pervaded with emptiness " ...this is going to take lifetimes!
"One should not underestimate art of letting go ...even aeons of lifetimes may still not enough to understand breatdh and depth of letting go ... "
Aeons of lifetimes is actually just a figure of speech.
Once you realise the nature of dharma (at least to the point of stage 5~6 as in http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2007/03/thusnesss-six-stages-of-experience.html ), if you have not eliminated all fetters, you are guaranteed to attain full liberation in no more than 7 lifetimes.
A stream entrant has at most 7 more lifetimes in samsara and assured to only be reborn in the higher realms of human or devas in the next life. A once returner can only return once more. A non returner can only return once more in the brahma realms. An arahant has attained nirvana and no longer returns to samsara.
See http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2014/05/early-buddhism-model-of-awakening.html
Also, 7 lifetimes is the maximum. There is no minimum. Someone may attain stream entry one day and then attain arahant the next day. There's no telling. It depends on the effort of the practitioner.
The Buddha taught the four noble truths to his first five disciples, who then attained stream entry right then. On his second discourse, Anatta Lakkhaṇa Sutta which was delivered on the fifth day of the following fortnight after the teaching of the First Discourse, all five of them attained arahantship on the spot.
Just figure of speech? Nope, dont u see , u just underestimate the " breadth and depth " of letting go !Exactly in the same way the sentence is saying! For it said NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE BINDING POWER OF ATTACHMENT
Yes never underestimate it, but it takes only at most 7 lifetimes from initial realization to complete liberation. Buddha said so. You cannot go more than 7 lifetimes once you attain the correct realization. It's like once the spring/summer sun arrives, no matter how thick the ice is, the sun just melts them all in a matter of weeks.